Only way to get the media to report them is to carry the story yourself.

This is why I laughed so hard when Joe Scarborough, a "real conservative" on MSNBC, claimed the media would have covered the foreign policy disaster of our butchered embassy workers if only Mitt Romney had not issued a press release.

Romney is attacking Obama for "jumping the gun" on claiming the embassy attack was "spontaneous" and "not a planned terrorist attack" and "caused by a YouTube video" -- mimicking Obama's "shoot first, aim later" quip -- and also for calling the four murders he could have prevented "bumps in the road."

Obama also claims Iran's threat to attack Israel is just "noise."

What is the White House response?

“His indication that developments in the Middle East represent bumps in the road is a very different view than I have,” the Republican candidate told ABC News. “I can’t imagine saying something like the assassination of ambassadors is a bump in the road.”

Romney gave a similar comment to NBC News. “There are extraordinary events going on in the Middle East and considering those events, either one of them or all of them collectively, as bumps in the road shows a person who has a very different perspective about world affairs [than] the perspective I have,” he said.

Shortly after the interviews, while speaking to a crowd in Pueblo, Colo., Romney declared, “These are not bumps in the road, these are human lives.”

Well, to call Romney's statements "desperate and offensive," and claim Obama was talking about something else. Context, you see.

Gee, the great Orator sure needs a lot of clean-up on his remarks.

This doesn't work. When Obama is talking about the recent problematic phase in the Arab Spring -- as Jay Carney insists he was -- he is also talking, unavoidably, about the primary problem as it affects Americans, to wit, the murders of four Americans.

In other words, once again, the "context" is just that he's saying exactly what Romney says he was saying, but they want to claim the "context" transforms it into something completely different.

You Know Who Agrees The Media Will Not Ask Questions About Libya? A CBS Political Director. Romney had better push the story himself, this political director says, because the "press will not make that case for him."

more...

Posted by: Ace at 12:25 PM | Comments (213)
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There are so many highlights, and so much scoring, they only show one play of the first thirty nine points. They just skip the first thirty nine points, to get to the good stuff.

It's the last 45 points of combined scoring that count.

Posted by: Ace at 12:00 PM | Comments (73)
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"Game Change" -- a thoroughly Television Movie of the Week sort of production, dim and weak -- won everything.

Beating worthy shows like Sherlock (which is as sophisticated in its writing and direction as it comes). It also beat out "Hatfields & McCoys," which was actually viewed by six times as many people, but apparently not the right people.

Because, at the end of the day, they voted for the shows they actually watched, and being liberal, they all watched Game Change. And as usual, they voted for the affirmation of their politics, not for the art itself.

Oh: The Emmys' ratings slid again, and it got beat by an early-season game.

Posted by: Ace at 11:38 AM | Comments (229)
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Marcotte on "anti-sex radicals," being all anti-sex and radical.

Even though 95 percent of all Americans have sex before marriage and 99 percent of sexually active women use contraception at some point, the Mississippi law assumes that these life choices fall somewhere between "highly controversial" and "unmentionably evil."...

Meanwhile, in New York City, some schools have gone beyond simply teaching about contraception to actually offering it to students...

These kinds of gulfs between communities have a real effect on health outcomes. In a place like Mississippi, where scolding kids about the supposed evils of sex is considered more important than protecting their health, the teen birth rate is 55 out of 1,000 girls ages 15-19. The state of New York's is less than half that, at 22.6 births. These kinds of differences aren't just a matter of sex education, especially since some schools in New York have the same kind of poor in-class sex education as schools in Mississippi. Some differences can be chalked up to the cultural values kids learn in school, at home, and in the community at large. The sex education available is simply a reflection of these kinds of community values.

Indeed. Because she overlooks an important statistic that Ross Douthat (@douthatNYT) points out for her:

Quick, what word is missing from this Amanda Marcotte piece on New York's teen birth rate vs. Mississippi's?: http://slate.me/RXFzMS

Mississippi's teen pregnancy rate in 2005, per Guttmacher: 85 per 1,000 teens. New York state's: 77 per 1000. http://bit.ly/NN4iGV

Mississippi's abortion rate in 2005, per Guttmacher: 11 per 1,000. New York state's: 41 per 1000. http://bit.ly/NN4iGV

In other words, both states have a substantial teen pregnancy problem. New York "solves" it with the highest abortion rate in the U.S.A.

But by all means, Slate, give us more pieces about how the problem is Mississippi's "anti-sex radicals," w/no mention of abortion.

If only Mississippi's had NY's enlightened sex ed and liberal values, their teen pregnancy rate might be ... almost exactly the same.

Posted by: Ace at 11:08 AM | Comments (170)
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I'll just quote the best parts.

Hey Philippe:

A few quick questions for you. Why didn't the State Department search the consulate and find AMB Steven's diary first? What other potential valuable intelligence was left behind that could have been picked up by apparently anyone searching the grounds? Was any classified or top secret material also left? Do you still feel that there was adequate security at the compound, considering it was not only overrun but sensitive personal effects and possibly other intelligence remained out for anyone passing through to pick up? Your statement on CNN sounded pretty defensive--do you think it's the media's responsibility to help secure State Department assets overseas after they've been attacked?

Let me know if you have a second.Michael

______________________________________
On Sun, Sep 23, 2012 at 11:28 AM, Reines, Philippe I wrote:


Good morning Michael

...

In terms of the media's responsibility, I'll start with the outlandish statement that I believe the media does have responsibilities. Your question seems to imply they have none and any expectation of responsible behavior is too much to ask. To be specific:I believe CNN had the responsibility to act as human beings and be sensitive to their loss when they first approached the family.

I believe CNN had a responsibility to not make promises to the family it would not keep.

If that's too much to ask, I believe CNN had at the very least a responsibility to make their intentions on the use of Chris's diary clear to the family from the outset.

I believe CNN had a responsibility to not deceive its own viewers for more than 48 hours on the source of their reporting, using convoluted attribution they themselves had to clarify, before admitting it was the diary they were relying on.

I believe that when they finally did admit to using Chris's diary, they had a responsibility to their viewers and to the family to explain why they broke their pledge.

I believe that many within CNN agree with everything I'm saying.

...

______________________________________
From: Michael Hastings
Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2012 12:04 PM

To: Reines, Philippe I 
Cc: Nuland, Victoria J

Subject: Re: Request for comment

Philippe:

Thanks for getting back to me. No, you read my email correctly--I found your statement to CNN offensive.

From my perspective, the scandal here is that the State Department had such inadequate security procedures in place that four Americans were killed. And then the Ambassador's diary--and who knows what else--was left behind for anyone to pick up. Thankfully, it was CNN--and not Al Qaeda or some other militia--that found it and was able to return it to the family. That CNN used portions of the material in the diary they found at the scene--material that appears to contradict the official version of events that State/WH has been putting out--is completely in line with practices of good journalism.

...

The misinformation here seems largely to be coming from State and the administration. The defense that the administration has offered that there was no intelligence warning of an attack is weak. If there was no intel, then clearly the CIA and other intel agents stationed in Benghazi weren't doing their jobs well. If there was intel, then we have some kind of cover-up--whether out of incompetence or ass covering before the election or just the trauma of losing four good men, it's hard for me to say at this point.


All the best,


Michael

______________________________________
On Sun, Sep 23, 2012 at 12:45 PM, Reines, Philippe I wrote:


Why do you bother to ask questions you've already decided you know the answers to?

______________________________________
From: Michael Hastings
Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2012 12:50 PM

To: Reines, Philippe I 
Cc: Nuland, Victoria J

Subject: Re: Request for comment 



Why don't you give answers that aren't bullshit for a change?

______________________________________
On Sun, Sep 23, 2012 at 1:38 PM, Reines, Philippe I wrote:

I now understand why the official investigation by the Department of the Defense as reported by The Army Times The Washington Post concluded beyond a doubt that you're an unmitigated asshole.

How's that for a non-bullshit response?

Now that we've gotten that out of our systems, have a good day.

And by good day, I mean Fuck Off

______________________________________
From: Michael Hastings
Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2012 01:40 PM

To: Reines, Philippe I 
Cc: Nuland, Victoria J

Subject: Re: Request for comment

Hah--I now understand what women say about you, too! Any new complaints against you lately?

______________________________________
On Sun, Sep 23, 2012 at 1:48 PM, Reines, Philippe I wrote:


Talk about bullshit - answer me this: Do you only traffic in lies, or are you on the ground floor of creating them?

And since Fuck Off wasn't clear enough, I'm done with you. Inside of 5 minutes when I can log into my desktop, you'll be designated as Junk Mail.

Have a good life Michael.

______________________________________
From: Michael Hastings 

Date: Sun, Sep 23, 2012 at 1:50 PM

Subject: Re: Request for comment

To: "Reines, Philippe I" 
Cc: "Nuland, Victoria J"


I'll take that as a non-denial denial.

It appears the media understands this is a cover-up, but won't report that. They just seem mad that Team Obama/Team Hillary isn't letting them in on the secret.

Corrected: The exchange is with a BuzzFeed reporter, not a CNN reporter. I have changed the headline to reflect that.

Posted by: Ace at 10:34 AM | Comments (220)
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Steve Krofft sensed Obama was making a problematic utterance that would cause complications for his campaign and for the media Narrative.

So he helpfully guided Obama away from the troublesome answer, and then decided not to air the admission at all.

@benk84 posted this in his headline compilation but I think it deserves its own post.

Posted by: Ace at 09:47 AM | Comments (230)
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I know, polls. Still, likely voters. 48%.

This is a bad number for an incumbent president.

Another gem buried in there, most voters continue to favor repeal of Obamacare, but are split evenly on whether it will be.

That's motivatin, right there.

Via @SissyWillis on Twitter

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 09:22 AM | Comments (192)
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Let's just kept this between us ok? Whatever you do, don't tell any swing voters about this. And for God's sake, don't let the women folk know about this stuff.

[Former Romney deputy chief of staff Renee] Fry said, "From the personal side, after government, in 2008, I had a massive (noncancerous) brain tumor and nearly died. I can tell you one of the first phone calls I got was from Governor Romney."

"I was a little medicated at the time and I was telling him, it just wasn't fair. In his very reassuring voice, he said, 'Whatever I can do to help, I will be there for you,' " she said.

Lindstrom, who had young children when she served with Romney, said the governor told her: "Family comes first."

"To have a boss say, 'We'll have mistakes but they'll be our mistakes,' was very empowering," she said.

Herzfelder said: "I see this man up there that I know has this great strength, this great warmth. His actions really speak to the kind of man he is."

Gillespie recalled how Romney called her every night, for 10 straight nights, when her father was in a coma after heart surgery.

And she told one more story. The day she moved to Massachusetts, the moving company didn't get all her furniture inside the house. The governor called and asked her how things were going. She said furniture was still on the driveway.

"I'll get the boys," Romney told her.

It's great that these women are doing interviews and all but I have one question....WHERE THE HELL ARE THE DAMN ADS?

I keep hearing about all this money and the big blitz. What the hell are we waiting for?

Modesty is a commendable trait...most of the time. You don't have to be Obama and insert your imagined awesomeness into every sentence but it seems there are a few stops along the way between Mitt's let's not talk about this and Obama's narcissism.

Posted by: DrewM at 08:38 AM | Comments (241)
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Above the post update: Added the question mark because, well it might be nothing after all. Warren was licensed in New Jersey until two weeks ago. The cases Legal Insurrection lists are federal and wouldn't require a MA law license.

Original (and in doubt) post:

Via Andy, Legal Insurrection catches the great liberal hope in a potentially felonious situation.

I don't want to steal LI's big scoop, so go over to his place for the details on how the great liberal hope was representing clients in Massachusetts without ever getting around to being accredited by the state bar association. That seems like the kind of thing a "consumer advocate" like Elizabeth Warren would be against, no?

Following the report, Warren admits LI has the goods on her she isn't admitted to the MA Bar (which may not matter).

Whatever deal Scott Brown made with the Devil he can't complain because the Devil is keeping his end of the bargain up.

BTW- What the hell is Mrs. Screw Big Business And Save the Little Guy doing making a cool $250K from an evillll insurance company anyway? Oh right, hypocrisy is only for conservatives.

Congratulations to Professor Jacobson!

Posted by: DrewM at 06:20 AM | Comments (418)
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• Obama: Israeli Concerns Over Iran Are Just "Noise"
  
  
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• Romney Gets Large Turnout In Denver
  
  
• Has Lizzie Warren Been Practicing Law Without A License?
  
  
• Please, No More Apologies For Free Speech
  
  
• CBS Doesn't Air Part Of Interview Where Obama Admits Mistakes
  
  
• Isn't It An Odd Coincidence That All Former News Anchors Turn Out To Be Liberals?
  
  
• Bay Buchanan Challenges Joe Scarborough's Conservatism Right To His Face
  
  
• Greece Caught Underreporting Its Budget Deficit Nearly 50%
  
  
• More Americans Commit Suicide Than Die In Car Crashes
  
  
• Ad War Heats Up In Ohio
  
  
• Two Pennsylvania Counties Trying To Bypass Voter ID Law
  
  
• The Healthcare System That Ate America
  
  
• Frustration With Polling Metrics Leads To UnskewedPolls.com
  
  
• Romney And Our Broken Tax Code
  
  
• Howard Stern Exposes Obama Supporters
  
  

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Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:20 AM | Comments (136)
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