Mother Jones - Comments for "The War Against Gore"

Kevin, couldn't people like you at least ask the electronic media how they would treat the story if Clinton or Gore was involved? For example, how they would have responded if Gore had said that McCain palled around with terrorists (like G. Gordon Liddy or John Singlaub)?

A lot of what's wrong with our media has to do with double standards.

Yes, Somerby goes on and on about it. And it's important why? Because this is the SAME MEDIA that is doing THE SAME THINGS over and over, fellating the GOP and darkly hinting at the Democrats. For chrissake, if McCain weren't completely nuts and thrown his biggest fans off his goddamned airplane, they'd still be singing his praises. Just wait until the "liberal media" slurs start up against an Obama administration, assuming that Diebold doesn't just steal the thing again. Don't think they won't do it....they're just gearing up for it.

Those who consider the Gore 2000 narrative just history and irrelevant to Obama should consider this: Today the talkers are saying in the same breath that the McCain campaign is the most embarrassing campaign they've ever seen. And yet... he could pull that inside straight and win the election. Why, in 2000 everyone had Gore picked and in 2004 Kerry was leading right up to election day. The fact that they can say this with some credibility while simultaneously acknowledging the sorry state of McCain has much to say about how the media still regards Republicans and how they fear accusations of being too liberal. McCain shouldn't have a prayer to win, but he does. x + 3 = 8 years of MSM grief for Obama.

Kevin's a piece of shit. Fuck'm.

The sinking ship is a result of the sailor who is not bailing fast enough or who sails with a soft spot for becoming wealthy on sea water .
Bob Somerby exposes a lot of wet sailors who for their own reasons employ deep-sixed philosophy's .

What vastleft said, because I'm only up to grunting "ugh."

I find it shocking that no one has mentioned that the Republican war on the media, begun officially by Nixon, Agnew and BUCHANAN (yes, the very same Pat Buchanan you see on the "liberal" teevee), has been an earth-shattering victory. Kevin comes out and admits he's worried about being made fun of by the kewl kids. Just ask yourself if Republicans - you know, the party that impeached a popular moderate President out of talk show spittle and pure greed - would ever allow their candidates to be subjected to unbeneficial media nonsense?

I'll gladly weigh in Mr. Drum.
If all the low-information voters, that is, the millions of voters who don't read web sites like this, knew the real story of the press war against the Clintons, Gore, and Democrats in general, then many things in our country would be very different. If liars were called out on their lies, they (the Republicans) might think twice about lying.

It's that simple.

shorter drum: bob is right, but so what?

We're on the verge of a sea changing landslide and Somersby wants Democrats to whine about being oppressed? How will that convince anyone we're putting adults back in charge? He's welcome to wallow in his old hurts but the rest of us are busy trying to make productive arguments that'll win this election.

Extraordinarily short sighted. Clinton, in 1992, got widely favorable coverage compared to the incumbent and that meant shit. By 1994, the Democrats lost the House and the Senate and Clinton was being accused on a national TV of murder. Somerby's message is: the press corps is ignorant, easily swayed, shallow and, when so moved, very vindictive. It's best not to trust them, nor remain ignorant of their capabilities. The counternarrative Somerby has documented about the ineptitude of the press corps will be very helpful when the bloom comes off the Obama Administration.

Sommerby is not part of a broad progressive movement -- his sympathies are not consistently progressive.

Thats astonishingly ignorant. Somerby's worked with and in inner city schools for the better part of 20 years. What the fuck have you done?

He is obsessed with Gore for the same reason many of the no-quarterites and PUMAs are obsessed with the Clintons and the supposed injustices done to them: because Sommerby sees the Clinton-Gore wing of the party as a substantive political optimum. Most of the rest of us don't.

You've never read him. Or you can't read. Either or.

Hard to believe anyone could possibly equate the 2-year all out war on Al Gore's character with the self-destruction of a lightweight like Palin, but I have to believe that Kevin Drum and people like him are partly responsible. As Somerby continues to point out, you don't really want to criticize the Washington Post, The New York Times or a television network if you'd like to get a job there.

One of Somerby's larger points is that a corporate millionaire press corp can't really speak to a middle class democracy. Corporate careerism has almost killed self-examination in the media.

And Kevin Drum would have a lot more credibility if the "War on Gore" had EVER been discussed in the main stream media AT ALL!

Many journalists, pundits, whatever, love one thing more than their liberal politics: the sound of their own witticisms.

Remembering Gore is a reminder that yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theatre is dangerous, even if it is we who yell it, and even if, of course, we meant it as a joke.

One thing we know about elephants: they never forget. So if a charge about ACORN or Rev.Wright, or William Ayers, or whether Gore invented the internet goes unchallenged, the elephant will surely remember it when it is advantageous to use it again. Moreover, the elephant will remember those who turned the other cheek and go back and hit them again, and again, and again.

The "liberal media" is their main thing. Nothing else remotely compares in their level of reliance, care and feeding. Nothing else is nearly as effective. Without it, the modern GOP ceases to exist. The War on Gore is exhibit A thru Z to counter it. I see Bob's point.