Friday, November 23, 2007

The Continuing Decline of Big Media Journalism

Wolf Blitzer thinks forming an organization to show the truth about a candidate (or show the falsity of his lying statements) is "swiftboating".

To the contrary: "Swiftboating" is smearing a candidate with lies.

This inability or refusal, as the case may be, explains in great part the decrease in the size of the audience for news. While it of course plays to Our Leaders' interests, it is not healthy for a democracy such as we once had.

The raw data, as it were, via RawStory:
New York City Deputy Fire Chief Jim Riches does not want to see his former mayor become president.

As head of the group 9/11 Firefighters and Families, Riches works tirelessly to spread the message that Rudy Guiliani failed his first responders on 9/11. Riches appeared on CNN's Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer to discuss what he's trying to do. While former New York City Police Commissioner Howard Safir also appeared to defend Giuliani's record.

"Let's get right to the issue," Blitzer said. "Are you trying to 'swiftboat' Rudy Giuliani?"

"No, we're going to set the record straight on 9/11 and we don't think he's the hero he says he was or the leader," Riches said.

Riches, who lost his son when the Towers collapsed, faults Giuliani for the Fire Department's faulty radios, a lack of training at the World Trade Center, an inept Office of Emergency Management, and "incompetent and cowardly" police and fire commissioners.

"I take it that you're thinking of starting what's called a 527, a committee that would raise money to go after a specific candidate without being involved in any another candidate, is that right?" Blizter asked.

"We're all from different-, we're conservatives, we're Democrats and I voted for Bush and I voted for Giuliani three times," Riches said, "This is not political, this is strictly about his leadership."

Riches also rejected claims by the Giuliani campaign that his group was politicizing 9/11.

"Well, that's a lie because they've politicized it from day one and if he wants to run on his record of failure and everything else then let him run on it, but we're going to set the truth out," Riches said.

Riches's group has been visible in the past days in the media and in the early primary state of New Hampshire. The group was in the State meeting with local media and holding events, countering a Giuliani ad released the same day touting the candidate's 9/11 credentials, according to a DNC press release.

Giuliani's opponents for the nomination are also beginning to poke at the former mayor's constant invocation of 9/11 on the campaign trail. In a CNBC interview recently, Giuliani said in defense of waterboarding, "I'm very reluctant to take away presidential prerogatives and decision making, maybe because I've faced crisis more than the other ones have."

Retorted rival John McCain, "I do not know which 'crisis' the mayor may have been talking about. My experience goes back to the Cuban missile crisis and every conflict we've been in since."

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