Right is Wrong: the New York Times Corrects Latest Kristol, Brooks Columns on Obama

In a rare move, the New York Times offered a total of four corrections today, right under its editorials, covering the two latest columns from conservative op-ed columnists William Kristol and David Brooks.

Kristol has been plagued with errors since his column was launched several months ago, keeping internal and external fact-checkers busy. The man is a correction-generating machine. One of my country music friends calls Kristol and his conservative stable mate "Brooks and Dumb," and they are featured in my new book on Iraq and the media.

Several bloggers quickly pounced on Monday when Kristol declared that Barack Obama faced difficulties as indicated by losing the West Virginia primary by 41% -- which Kristol said was unprecedented for a frontrunner in recent memory. In fact, they noted Mitt Romney had trounced John McCain by much more than that in Utah just this year, and McCain had lost a couple of other contests by nearly that margin.

Here are the Times' corrections for Kristol:

In his column on Monday, Bill Kristol said he could not find a recent primary in which the candidate who would go on to win the nomination lost by as big a margin as Barack Obama lost by (41 points) in West Virginia. Mitt Romney won the essentially uncontested Utah primary on Feb. 5 with about 90 percent of the vote.

Also, the California Supreme Court is based in San Francisco, not the state capital, Sacramento.

Along with that, the paper carried two corrections on the latest Brooks opus:

The column by David Brooks on Tuesday said incorrectly that Senator Barack Obama voted last week for the farm bill. Mr. Obama did not cast a vote on the bill; he supported it.

Also, Senator John McCain spoke from Chicago on Monday, not Detroit.

Greg Mitchell's new book, which features more Brooks and Kristol follies, is So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed on Iraq (Union Square Press, $11). It features a preface by Bruce Springsteen.

Comments

[Irons]

A couple of trust-fund kids banging the drums of war. Sickening.

[RS]

Yes indeed.

Trust-fund kids = PFCs (Privileged Fascist Chickenhawks)

[MM5]

Two neocons who helped/cheered on trumping up a war...everything is pretty much a lie.

[bascombe]

too late. they haven't had credibility since 2002.

[chronic]

They never had credibility.

Thats the problem!!

[suekzoo]

"Kristol has been plagued with errors since his column was launched several months ago, keeping internal and external fact-checkers busy."

Heads up, folks. This is the Republican version of job creation.

[zippywpinhead]

no liar left behind...

[realpolitic]

Kristol's very first column contained a glaring error. I bet when he comes on Fox News they never mention his tendency toward errors.

[Mas]

Blair.....

[StillAmused]

Among older union sidemen in the society music biz, there was a classic observation whenever a really BAD player stunk up the place: "Just goes to show you... ANYONE can get work."

So much for journalistic standards at The Times.

[csepwede]

Kristol was the same guy who used an incorrect newsmax source that said that Barack was at a controversial sermon of the Rev. Wright.

Turns out Barack wasn't even in town that day and had a public speaking engagement in Florida.

[csepwede]

Bloggers contacted the Times and gave them the right info because Obama's schedule was online, along with the church schedule.

When newsmax was contacted, they refused to change their story.

[youknowwhat]

If this is a pattern the Times are following then look for Hannity and Limbaugh to hired next.

[forpeace]

*

Kristol: Lieberman’s Liberal Bashing Makes Him A Good Choice For Vice President

On Sunday night, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) gave the Norman Podhoretz Lecture at the annual dinner of the Commentary Fund, in which he claimed that the “Democratic party has completely lost its way on foreign policy.”

The speech — and an “adapted” version of it published in the Wall Street Journal today — was enthusiastically received by conservatives across the board...........

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/21/lieberman-kristol-commentary/

*

[Wanjiru]

...I am not sure who this Kristol guy is or why I should care...

...however everytime I have seen his name (or face!) in the news, it was for something he got wrong...i.e. he has ZERO facts...

...I would have assumed that after so many times of falsification/fabrication/tailoring/skewing/spinning/twisting /making-up/embellishing/etc of facts, his EMPLOYER WOULD HAVE DFIRE HIM by now!!!...

...is it just me?

[jsarets]

William Kristol and Robert Kagan were the founders of the infamous Project for a New American Century, the think tank which, prior to 9/11, advocated for a series of military strikes and regime changes in the Middle East and argued that the radical change they sought would only be politically viable if there were an attack on the American homeland on the scale of Pearl Harbor. Prior to the invasion of Iraq, he derided as nonsense the "pop sociology" that held that Sunnis and Shia wouldn't get along and that the latter would want to set up an Islamic theocracy.

[BlueOnBlue]

Yes, and you should add that one of Kristol's biggest supporters prior to 9/11 was John McCain who bought totally into overthrowing Saddam and invading Iraq as sensible ideas. Some people think McCain's love affair with neocons like Kristol is a recent thing, but McCain has been with them almost since their beginning.

[Wanjiru]

RoboA2008:
jsarets:

...thank you both for the info...

...I didn't know just how high up there this man has been with the neocons...I thought that all he was was a right-wing journalist...

.

[RoboA2008]

The guy is a neocon and the head of an organization that believes the United States should conquer the world and bestow upon them "democracy". Cheney is a part of his wicked group. He his a Fox News Flunkey.

[Raymondf]

I think if you will read the full article you will understand, that Kristol was talking only about Democratic % point not repubs.

[donkee]

I don't see

that anywhere

heh...

[GBecker]

Wrong AGAIN!

[yoli647]

Why is Kristol still employed, it makes me questions NYT when I read it. Mmmmmmmm!!

[ChiGuy]

At least the NYT was willing to put it front and center on their op-ed page.

Maybe now, they'll verify before printing.

[bigeugene]

Once again, it takes those "pesky" bloggers to point out the facts to the august New York Times. It's funny that their correction only included Utah. It should have included Huckabee's blowout of McCain in Arkansas, Kansas, and a few other states, I believe. So even their correction requires further explanation. Total BS.

[flabingo]

I recently cancelled my subscription to thr NYT and I feel better without it. Judith Miller was not a mulligan but Kristol is a joke and Brooks is marginal

[wmbear]

DARN IT!...

I can't cancel my subscription to the Times because I don't have one. I read it free onlin. All the content, including columnists is accessible for free online now....

[chronic]

ha ha! funny one

[MSaldana]

wmbear: Not the crossword puzzle...

-MS