http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/horsesmouth/2007/04/richard_holbroo.phpRichard Holbrooke Blisters Media: Syria Story "Exploited By Journalists Looking For Fake Controversy"
April 09, 2007 -- 07:03 PM EST // View Comments (0) // Post a Comment
Check out this appearance by former Clinton Ambassador Richard Holbrooke on today's Hardball (at link).
Holbrooke delivers a stern lashing to, well, the entire American media for its pathetic performance on the Pelosi-to-Syria trip story. And he explains why this story's bogus in terms simple enough for even CNN's Suzanne Malveaux to understand:
Favorite bit: Note how reporter David Gregory -- quite uncharacteristically -- employs one of the more vacuous and exhausted GOP talking points of this whole affair. And note Holbrooke's response:
GREGORY: But why is it appropriate to have Congress and have Democratic leaders pursuing a shadow foreign policy?
HOLBROOKE: David. David. They're not pursuing a shadow foreign policy. They're making trips to the region. The Republican group had gone out before her. She had Republicans on her group. Congressmen are supposed to travel to understand better how to spend the taxpayers' money, which is their responsibility...What Speaker Pelosi did was completely in longstanding keeping with members of Congress taking foreign trips to difficult areas to learn and to exchange views.
One other favorite bit. Holbrooke offers his diagnosis of the media's coverage in stinging terms:
I think this whole thing has been blown out of proportion by a delibrerate ambush plan by the opposition in this case the Republicans, and frankly, exploited by journalists who are just looking for a fake controversy. There is no issue here. Congressman Wolf, a major Republican, was in the region a few days earlier. Republican were on her trip. There's no issue. None.
Er, yeah, that's right.
One point about this. Maybe I've missed it, but I haven't seen any Democratic elected officials or direct Pelosi allies denouncing this story in such stark terms -- that is, by striking directly at the fraudulent nature of this whole tale, by asserting that this story is a complete GOP ruse that's only being kept alive because of journalism that's incompetent at best and outright dishonest at worst. And frankly, I'm wondering why I haven't seen more Democrats doing this.
Is anyone else wondering the same thing?