The New York Times Rewrites Its Swift Boat Past

Is the Times actually suggesting that the media did their due diligence during the dog days of August 2004 and quickly highlighted the holes in the Swift Boat allegations?

That the press unmasked the Swift Boat accusers and dirty tricksters and held them accountable? That Beltway journalists stepped forward and conducted robust fact-checking and concluded that the partisan Swift Boat accusers were not to be taken seriously?

What campaign was the Times watching? It reminds me of that great Kim Richey song, with the chorus, "You remember the way it never was."

Read the entire column at Media Matters.

Comments

[Wombat]

Journalists have not done the "News" since grandpa Reagan was in office; they do exercises in fairness and balance so as to demonstrate a lack of liberal bias. By allowing an unfiltered presentation of right -wing propoganda they are being "Fair" to the right by not enguaging in liberal cennsorship of political arguements.. Turn this the other way around and the media demonstrate their lack of liberal bias by castigating liberals" for spreading propoganda: witness the swiftness ( pun intended) with which they jumped on General Clark for supposedly "swiftboating" John Mc Cain.

[tinarm]

What is interesting is that the media stinks. In 2002 they did a crappy job in the run up to the war, 2004 crappy job on the swift boats, now a crappy job on the 2008 campaign. John McCain has taken off almost every weekend, any questions? John McCain is under investigation for his bank loan for his campaign, any coverage. McCain has flipped on issue after issue, any coverage? Black, is a scum bag with all kinds of nast ties, any coverage? Schmidt thinks the president is basically a dictator, any coverage? I can go on and on, but it won't do any good, because the media sucks. They ought to call themselves the 24 hour Nat. Enquirer. They report tabloid trash and never ask if the story is true. Anderson Coopers famous line, "We report both sides and you decide." Um, isn't it the media's job if one side is full of crap to tell the public? I guess not, that would be to hard. Fair and Balanced has come down to the color of your skin and if your latest boob job is even.

[demfriend]

Like this administration and McCain does daily rewriting history is the name of the game. It's just too bad like with bush amd mac that we have video proof of the things said and done and NYT has the print version. MSM jumped on the bandwagon and allowed the truth of John Kerry's record to be trashed and lied about to the degree it was obvious to everyone but those who bought the lies. Unfortunately too many bought them/ And now we have another round going with the swifties as Mac wrote the big old loop hole for the GOP to drive the truck through. Once again they will get by with it because the MSM is bedding the GOP and Mac for all I can see. McCain has gotten away with so many lies and gaffes while Obama is under the microscope with anything he says or does. All mac has todo is yell flip flop and MSM yells louder flip flop Obama even when he is only refining and defining his view points. MSM gets away with it because the owners are Republican.

[nicciaugust]

It's interesting - and more than a little disturbing - to watch history literally being rewritten before our very eyes.

[jmpurser]

I'm looking for a good Swiftboat resource showing who was on each side and what's changed, been proved, or disproved since th election if anyone has one.

[jmpurser]

I found one in an article referenced by the full article above.

[fpie]

And watch out 'cause here they come again. Fortunately Obama is a better politician than Kerry but the press has been carrying water for Republican candidates ever since they fell in love with Saint Ronnie. And they are lined up for McCain, ready to carry their boy into the Whie House. Obama better be ready for the fight of his life.

[MPeter]

Yep. The NYT lost credibility a long time ago. That is why it is losing readers everyday and at the rate the blogsphere is going, more and more of us now know how worthless the so-called reporters at the publication have become. They are a frigging joke.

[Durango]

I am not sure it matters "how good of a politician" one is when the Corporate Media is out to get you.

We will see with Obama.

But if/when he gets to the White House they will go all out to smear him like they did Clinton.

Remember Hillary's Travel Office scandal which wasn't? They weren't in office a week before all that crap began to get circulated.

And you are 100% right about Saint Ronald. That was the place where "facts" no longer mattered any more.

I fear for the fate of my country.

[JJK]

I don't know. You might be right, but the bottom line is that Senator Kerry and his "braintrust" let the charges go unchallenged for nearly the entire month of August. Maybe the Times figured if the candidate didn't think it was worth fighting they wouldn't either.