Comparative NYT Political Reporting 101

Now that we've been thrown back into the Republican elite world of canned hunts and bloody excursions with powerful partners, this time undisclosed, I took a look back at the last time the NYT covered a Democratic hunting story, which was Kerry's  hunting trip photo op just before the election.

The poisonous Jodi Wilgoren covered that outing, doggedly and happily sticking to the RNC narrative that Kerry was a boob who needed to shore up his "macho bona fides" by killing some geese.  She even repeated a joke, told by Dick Cheney and built on a lie, that Kerry bought a new camo jacket for the trip.  In fact he borrowed one for the hunt and then, Wilgoren tells us, was back in his suit and rose-colored tie for another photo-op.

So we've established that ownership of hunting equipment is a big hairy deal for the NYT.  That's why I was surprised to see  Anne Kornblut, who never heard GOP spin she didn't eat up with a big ol' spoon, let this go unquestioned:

She [Mrs. Armstrong] said she believed that Mr. Cheney was shooting a 28-gauge shotgun and added that guests typically bring their own firearms.

I understand that Annie was busy repeating quotes about how getting shot is no big deal and explaining in careful, White House-approved detail exactly how the dangerously careless Mr. Whittington got himself shot, but if we care who owned the coat that Kerry wore when he didn't shoot a human being, we probably care about who owns the gun Cheney used to nearly kill a man.  Was Big Swingin' Dick unfamiliar with the weapon?   Certainly Texas law enforcement will need that information to complete the reckless negligence charges. 

Comments

[DavidByron]

You should cross post this one. But change the title to something very specific like, "NYT bias: Cheney's hunting story vs Kerry's"

There's a ton of Cheney stories out there but none that I know of with the historical context / comparison.