Bush on Cindy Sheehan -- er, Iraq
 

     White House beat reporter Anne Kornblut uses her Friday lead story, "Bush Cites Gains But Sees No Cuts In Troops In Iraq," as a good excuse to talk more about Cindy Sheehan, the anti-war Bush-loather who lost a son in Iraq.

     Interspersed with Bush's calls for fortitude in Iraq are references to Sheehan: "For Mr. Bush, questions about an exit strategy in Iraq have become especially delicate as a crowd of antiwar protesters has expanded at the edge of his ranch, rallying around Cindy Sheehan, the California woman whose son Casey was killed in Iraq in 2004."

     She pops up again: "Ms. Sheehan, of Vacaville, Calif., began her vigil here last weekend, and says she will not leave until Mr. Bush meets with her to explain the reason for her son's death and to hear her argument for quickly ending the war. Although two senior White House officials met with Ms. Sheehan when she arrived, Mr. Bush has not done so, fueling passions within a growing group of demonstrators, who now include at least five other mothers of slain American service members. In his statement, Mr. Bush took pains to convey his sympathy for the families of the forces in Iraq and Ms. Sheehan, whose campaign has drawn widespread news media attention and caused disruption for this tiny town. 'Listen, I sympathize with Mrs. Sheehan,' said Mr. Bush, who met Ms. Sheehan once before in a group of grieving relatives, at a time when she said she did not want to make a public case against the war."

     Sheehan indeed recalled the meeting with Bush differently at the time. In June 2004 Sheehan told a local newspaper about her meeting with Bush: "I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis. I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."

     The Times repeats a now-standard encomium to Sheehan's "articulate" presentation: "Ms. Sheehan's constant presence and her soft-spoken, articulate presentation has presented a thorny issue for a White House that prides itself on its strong alliance with active and retired members of the military."

     On Monday a similar line read: "She is also articulate, aggressive in delivering her message and has information that most White House reporters have not heard before: how Mr. Bush handles himself when he meets behind closed doors with the families of soldiers killed in Iraq."

     What Kornblut leaves out about the "articulate" Sheehan is that she's accused Bush of "traitorous" behavior: "The evidence is overwhelming, compelling, and alarming that George and his indecent bandits traitorously had intelligence fabricated to fit their goal of invading Iraq. The criminals foisted a Lie of Historic Proportions on the world. It was clear to many of us more aware people that George, Condi, Rummy, the two Dicks: Cheney and Perle, Wolfie, and most effectively and treacherously, Colin Powell, lied their brains out before the invasion. The world was even shown where the WMD'S were on the map. We were told that the 'smoking gun' could come at any time in the form of a 'mushroom cloud' or a cloud of toxic biological or chemical weapons. Does anyone remember duct tape and plastic sheeting?"

     Kornblut even ends with Sheehan: "Ms. Sheehan, who has become so inundated with media requests she enlisted the help of a public relations firm, issued a statement Thursday in response to Mr. Bush's remarks. 'The president says he feels compassion for me, but the best way to show that compassion is by meeting with me and the other mothers and families who are here,' the statement said."

For more of Kornblut on Sheehan, click here.

Politicizing A World War II Movie
 

      Movie critic Stephen Holden doesn't like the new World War II movie "The Great Raid," for one thing because "it illustrates a depressing similarity between reckless war-mongering and grandiose moviemaking. Historical films with vainglorious ambitions, like ill-fated imperial ventures, often overlook the human factor, a miscalculation that usually results in a rout."

     Holden wouldn't be making an anti-war point, would he? Judging by his previous politicized reviews, maybe so.

     Another thumbs down -- portraying Japanese soldiers as sadistic to U.S. troops, no matter that that "uncomfortable stereotype" happens to be, well, the truth: "With its radically desaturated color, which drapes everything in hues of mud and dust, 'The Great Raid' flaunts a visual stylization of the gritty look of 1940's black-and-white war films. Its scenes of torture and murder also unapologetically revive the uncomfortable stereotype of the Japanese soldier as a sadistic, slant-eyed fiend."

For more Holden on "The Great Raid", click here.

NYT Discovers Air America -- Just Two Weeks Late
 

     The New York Times, on top of the big stories. In a story buried on page 3 of the Metro section, Friday's Times acknowledges the financial scandal at the liberal radio network Air America, less than three weeks after the New York Daily News ran a story July 26.

     Not that the headline or subhead of the story actually mention "Air America," mind you. Instead it reads: "Bronx Boys Club's Finances Investigated -- Officials Look Into Loans Made to a Liberal Radio Network." The two words "Air America" presumably couldn't fit into that 15-word space.

     Even the Metro Section front-page tease to Alan Feuer's story puts the onus on the boys club, not the left-wing radio network: "A nonprofit Bronx club is under scrutiny for its dealings with Air America radio."

     Feuer's actual story picks up the scandal from the boys club end, not emphasizing the juicy Air America angle: "The state attorney general's office and the city's Department of Investigation are looking into whether a boys and girls club serving poor children and ailing elderly people in the Bronx had improper financial dealings, including loans to the Air America radio network, state and city officials said yesterday. The separate investigations are trying to determine whether the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club, run from an office in Co-op City in the Bronx, made improper loans of up to $875,000 to the radio network, known for its liberal programming and hosts like the comedian Al Franken, the officials said."

     Michelle Malkin points out there's a very relevant piece of quote missing from Feuer's story.

     Feuer quotes a transcript made by New York City's Department of Investigation on Monday featuring Air America host Al Franken talking about Evan Cohen, the former chairman of the board of Air America at the center of the "loan" controversy: "I don't know why he did it. I don't know where the money went. I don't know if it was used for operations. I think he was borrowing from Peter to pay Paul."

     But Malkin points to blogger Brian Maloney, who broke the story among the blogs and has an audio file of what Franken actually said (quoted material missing from the Times in brackets): "I don't know why they did it, and I don't know where the money went, I don't know if it was used for operations, [which I imagine it was]. I think he was robbing Peter to pay Paul."

     Another mistake: Franken actually said "robbing Peter to pay Paul," not "borrowing from Peter to pay Paul."

     Malkin explains: "The omission of those five little words matters because Al Franken's actual statement suggests that the money was in fact stolen from poor kids to pay Air America's bills -- a speculation that the Times attributes to 'conservative-leaning blogs,' but not to the Times' favorite liberal talk show host who said it himself."

     Whether the fault for the deleted words lies with the city's transcript or the Times itself isn't known.

     There's no dispute about the paper's double standard when it comes to the travails of left-wing talk show hosts as opposed to conservative ones. When Rush Limbaugh announced his addition to prescription painkillers on his October 10, 2003 radio show, it made the front page of the New York Times the very next day, and the paper followed up with several stories referencing Limbaugh's addiction.

     In a twist, the last Times story on Air America (from June 15), which dealt with Al Franken's Senate (!) prospects, allowed the left-wing talker to criticize Limbaugh's addiction.

For more Alan Feuer on (sort of) Air America, click here.

In the News: Tom DeLay -- er,  Jack Abramoff Indicted
 

     Friday's Page One story from Philip Shenon manages to throw in an aside about House Majority Leader Tom DeLay ("U.S. Fraud Charge For Top Lobbyist -- Abramoff Is Also Linked to DeLay Allegations"), even though he's not at all connected with the indictment.

     Same with the actual story, in which Shenon writes: "Jack Abramoff, the once-powerful Republican lobbyist involved in ethics allegations facing Representative Tom DeLay, was indicted in Florida on Thursday on unrelated fraud charges involving his purchase of a fleet of gambling boats from a businessman who was slain amid bitter wrangling over the sale."

     "Democratic Congressional leaders have called on the House ethics committee to investigate the relationship between Mr. Abramoff and Mr. DeLay, the House majority leader, and the propriety of lavish overseas trips that Mr. Abramoff arranged for Mr. DeLay, a Texas Republican. Mr. DeLay has described Mr. Abramoff, a former action-movie producer and restaurateur whose entry into Republican politics on a national level began with his election as chairman of the College Republicans, as among his 'closest and dearest friends.' Members of the ethics committee have suggested that they will consider opening an investigation later this year of Mr. DeLay and other lawmakers who were close to Mr. Abramoff."

To read the rest of Shenon, click here.