Oops! Drudge and enablers get an Eric Boehlert smack down!

[ProSense]

Eric Boehlert
10.06.2006

Oops, I Thought Matt Drudge Was the "Walter Cronkite of His Era"

Famous for doing the GOP's bidding by launching smear offensives against Democrats (see the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth), Matt Drudge this week became completely unglued over the widening Mark Foley scandal, flailing around trying to help Republicans get back on the offensive.

First Drudge claimed Foley was the victim of underage teenage "beasts" who were "egging the congressman on" with their lurid communications. When that trial balloon went over like a lead zeppelin, Drudge posted a screaming headline about how one now-famous IM exchange was between Foley and an 18 year old page, as if that made everything okay. Strike three came Thursday when Drudge went into high alert "world exclusive" mode (would anybody else really want to claim it?) that "the now famous lurid AOL Instant Message exchanges that led to the resignation of Mark Foley were part of an online prank that by mistake got into the hands of enemy political operatives."

I'm laughing even harder than everyone else because I just got done reading The Way to Win, the brand new conventional wisdom Beltway blueprint to electoral riches by ABC's Mark Halperin and the Washington Post's John Harris. Wildly impressed by Drudge's acumen and--readers are assured--his nearly limitless media power, Halperin and Harris devote an entire chapter to Drudge, toasting his "visionary" "insights" and anointing him "the Walter Cronkite of his era." (ABC News repeated the claim in a report this week, simply cribbing off Halperin's book. How's that for synergy?)

I wonder, given Drudge's car-wreck week, when he had no effect on the news cycle other than to provide comic relief, whether Halperin and Harris would like to have their kinds words back. Then again, Drudge did plug their book....

Read my full take on "The Way to Win" at Media Matters.

UPDATE: Harris in today's Washington Post continues to sing Drudge's praise, while conveniently ignoring the fact the online hitman's made a fool of himself this week. Go read the http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/05/AR2006100501811.html">very odd, page-one piece, which cobbles together portions of The Way to Win with random thoughts on the Foley story. Apparently ABC News and the Post have no reservations about turning over their news operations in order to help market books. I'm sure Halperin and Harris' colleagues have taken note.

UPDATE II: Halperin is also sticking close to Drudge. On NPR today, discussing the Foley scandal, Halperin announced "Matt Drudge is driving this story." (Emphasis added.)

[Orrex]

1. Halperin and Harris were on NPR's "Fresh Air" the other day

One of them, I'm not sure who, said again and again and again and again that the "old media" of newspapers, magazines, and network news had a decidedly pro-Democrat bias, but he never once gave any evidence to back up his assertion. He repeatedly brought up the Right's greater savvy in handling the "new media," and each time he did so he reminded the listeners that the "old media" was pro-Dem.

They had, IMO, some good observations about the weaknesses of Kerry's 04 campaign, but overall they told me nothing that I didn't know already.

Also, Drudge is the quintessential new-media commentator, while Rove is the greatest genius at political campaigning that the world has ever seen, with the possible exception of Bill Clinton (who so recently lost his temper, as Harris and Halperin dutifully noted).

I don't think that they're partisan hacks, but at least one of them went out of his way to say nice things about the Right.

[ProSense]

5. Is this your comment or theirs?

Also, Drudge is the quintessential new-media commentator, while Rove is the greatest genius at political campaigning that the world has ever seen, with the possible exception of Bill Clinton (who so recently lost his temper, as Harris and Halperin dutifully noted).

Either way: Drudge is a GOP hack and Rove is as crooked as they come!

[Orrex]

6. Theirs

I think that Clinton is an excellent campaigner, but the pro-Drudge and pro-Rove sentiments came from Harris and Halperin! Drudge is a hack and Rove is smarmy jackass.

Sorry for the confusion!

[ProSense]

9. Thanks!

That's why I'm fond of the grey boxes, but not everyone likes them!

[BootinUp]

2. These hacks will never live that comparison down.

Drudge to Cronkite, too ridiculous to make an attempt at humor even.

[KharmaTrain]

3. Drudge Has Never Broken A Legit Story

He's not a journalist...and he fancies himself as some modern day Walter Winchell...a scandal monger. He doesn't write the stories...others do...all he does is links to them.


His only "claim to fame" was breaking the Monica fiasco (which was fed to him by Coulter and others) that was going to come out in the LA Times (IRC) the next day...he just got the adveance "scoop"...more like a heads-up...and even that was used to as a fall-back that in case the Monica story didn't hold up, it was Dridge who would have taken the fall. Unfortunately, that one report was true. But then it was Drudge who also claimed that he had reports of more women with Clinton, that were never proven or the "black child" paternity story and then the sex in the White House theater..."scoop" after "scoop"...all very wrong.

Then, of course, there's the story in 2004 about Kerry having an affair with an intern. Drudge was orgasming bigtime on that one. I think he put 2 sirens on his page for that one. It was debunked, but the "Walter Cronkite" or whatever Halperin calls him didn't retract the story...he just tried to ignore it...and he can. He doesn't write 'em, he only links to 'em.

It just shows how lazy Halperin is that he never investigated beyond the surface to see where Drudge gets his "scoops" and how they're planted. But then he's not a journalist, either.

[whometense]

4. from the Media Matters piece

...Among the most important of Halperin and Harris's take-away tips -- their so-called "Trade Secret" -- is for candidates seeking the White House in 2008 to basically not act like Democrats. Specifically, Halperin and Harris stress that recent campaigns by Gore and Kerry failed because they lost control of their public image via the press, in sharp contrast to Bush's campaigns, which, thanks to the hard work of Karl Rove, were able to control their public image. What Halperin and Harris absolutely refuse to acknowledge is the willing role the press played in those key Democratic setbacks and the media's shrieking double standard that's been on display for the last decade.

For instance, Halperin and Harris's simplistic analysis of the Swift Boat fiasco, as it is for every Democratic public relations loss detailed in the book, is that the Kerry camp should have just convinced the press to stop writing damaging stories. Halperin and Harris's purposefully naïve construct is that Kerry and his aides had the power to fix negative press coverage -- just like Gore and Clinton did before him -- but for some bewildering reason they failed to do it. Apparently, all Democrats had to do was ask nicely and Beltway reporters would have stopped reporting made-up stuff about Whitewater, stopped reporting false claims about Gore inventing the Internet, etc., and stopped reporting fabrications about how Kerry's war service was riddled with mysteries.

Halperin and Harris refuse to consider the option that it's been a conscious choice the press has made to dog Democrats while going easy on Bush, repeatedly holding him to an absurdly low standard of professional and personal conduct...

[Gabi Hayes]

7. boehlert is the best....a real journalist. did you read his book,

Lap Dogs?

I linked his MM article in the Halperin/Harris thread, which extolls their book!

Boehlert's gutting of The Note, ABC's paean to the powers that be is the highlight, for me of the entire book

[whometense]

12. No, I haven't read it yet,

but I intend to. He's a terrific writer - and a clear thinker.

I've loved just about every column he's written at Media Matters.
http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/search_results?qstring=boehlert

[wicket]

8. Excellent!

K & R

:kick:

[Gabi Hayes]

10. read the comments here.....some very incisive snips

http://mediamatters.org/columns/200610030008

this sums it up most succinctly:

"Halperin is the most obnoxious sort of courtier.....

self-congratulatory, obsequious, a rank careerist. He recently fouled ABC's air by likening Matt Drudge to Walter Cronkite. What an ass."

[BootinUp]

11. Listening to their NPR show

They credit Rove for the type of grass/netroots movement that got Lamont the Primary win. What nonsense. I mean you can credit Rove in this way, he has pissed off the left so much that a new grassroots movement and way to organize was begun on the left in 2003.

WHo is the "Rove" republican model for the Lamont campaign? Somebody help a fool like me out.

[wholetruth00]

13. The Republicans know that they can just throw out any lie and 25%

of those hearing it will believe it no matter how much it is subsequently proven to be a lie. Hence, the Saddam-9/11 link.