Tuesday, December 11, 2007

With Hillary Clinton as everyone's new favorite target, the truth be damned?

It's getting harder and harder to be a well-informed voter. In case you hadn't noticed, the mainstream media leans more toward opinion than fact. Point in case, Media Matters catches the Washington Post's David Ignatius, who ignores poll results from his own paper to promote his own opinions:
Washington Post columnist David Ignatius asserted of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign: "[V]oters are grappling with the unusual questions that would surround her presidency. And the most important of these is the 'two presidents' problem. Whatever you think of the Clintons, it's hard to get your mind around having a current and former president in the White House."

But a September 27-30 Washington Post/ABC News poll found that 60 percent of respondents said they "personally feel comfortable ... with the idea of Bill Clinton back in the White House." And in several other 2007 polls, a majority of respondents stated that Bill Clinton is an asset to Hillary Clinton's campaign or would have a positive effect on a Hillary Clinton administration.
Whatever you think of Hillary Clinton, this type of misleading writing -- his article was titled, "Hillary's Ex Factor: The 'Two Presidents' Issue Isn't Going Away" -- must be addressed. The frontrunner in any race is always the target of scrutiny -- that's a reality of human nature (who doesn't love an underdog?). But Ignatius and others like him in the MSM are not scrutinizing, but are promoting their own opinions -- despite facts to the contrary.

Perhaps David Ignatius is "grappling" with the historic possibility of having a former President in the White House again -- as a first-spouse. And maybe Ignatius finds it "hard to get your mind around having a current and former president in the White House." But to say that "voters are grappling" with an issue when 60 percent are not is not just poor writing -- it's a lie.

1 comment:

Mauigirl said...

I think Clinton being the First Gentleman will just be a plus. Because ironically, I bet if Bill ran again today he'd win in a landslide. So having Hillary and Bill can only be helpful.