February 12, 2004
PROGNOSTATHON ALERT--WHO WILL BREAL THE STORY IN THE MAINSTREAM?:
Will Press Pounce on Drudge's Kerry Rumor? (E&P Staff, February 12, 2004, Editor & Publisher)
Reached by E&P for comment, AP spokesman Jack Stokes said, "We simply don't comment on stories we are pursuing or not pursuing."Leonard Downie Jr., executive editor of The Washington Post, acknowledged that his staff had begun to dig deeper into the life and career of Kerry, but said he had not heard anything about an alleged infidelity. "What we're finding, I don't know," he said. "This is the first we are looking into him this way."
The Drudge site also declared that General Wesley Clark, in an off-the-record chat with reporters earlier this week, predicted that the Kerry campaign would soon implode due to an "intern." It would seem strange, however, if he really believed that, that he would drop out of the race, as he did yesterday.
The site added, however, that the Kerry rumor helped explain why Howard Dean did stay in the race and has been increasingly aggressive in his attacks on Kerry this week.
Smart money is betting on John Solomon at AP to be the first big media source to run the story, though Michael Isikoff at Newsweek is a decent sleeper pick. The big test is whether Chris Matthews can avoid mentioning it on his show tonight. Posted by Orrin Judd at February 12, 2004 5:06 PM
Sheesh. I always objected to my colleagues handicapping the elections as a horserace instead of writing about, you know, policy.
Now we're gonna handicap the reporters?
Fourth Thursday in November, I'm giving thanks for being a mere provincial newspaperman.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at February 12, 2004 5:18 PMY'all have to be good for something--our amusement if not information...
Posted by: oj at February 12, 2004 5:28 PMThe interesting thing will be the National Enquirer test -- the media immediately jumped back in October when the Enquirer reported, correctly as it turned out, about Rush Limbaugh's purchase of illegal painkillers. For them to suddenly go back to treating the Enquirer like Ross Perot's crazy uncle down in the basement will be tough to do. That doesn't mean they won't try, but it would be nice if someone would ask the heads of the various news gathering organizations about the sudden change in ethics in a period of just over four months.
Posted by: John at February 12, 2004 8:03 PMOh, c'mon, Democrats aren't held to these standars anymore... if anything, this'll make Kerry more popular because it'll make him look less stiff and aloof and more like a "regular guy" plus it'll deflect all the criticism he was about to get on the more important issues (the Hanoi Jane, the special interest money, the voting record) and allow his Democratic defenders to say "GOP is sliming him unfairly because they're obsessed with sex, his personal life doesn't effect his fitness for office, etc. They pulled it off with Clinton and he didn't have a war record.
Posted by: MarkD at February 12, 2004 9:06 PMI'm somewhat serious in saying this. Boy, John F. Kerry is lookin' more like JFK in that the press won't report certain things about his social life.
Infidelity aside, if Kerry "suggested" that she leave the country and enabled her to do so, that will finish him. He is supposedly going on Imus on Friday morning to begin the counter-offensive.
Chris Matthews spent 15 minutes tonight talking with a somewhat uncomfortable and somewhat confusing man who says Bush aides "viewed" his military files in early 1997 (April or May, doesn't remember when). Tomorrow night, who knows? I'll bet Domino's is busy in D.C. tonight.
Posted by: jim hamlen at February 12, 2004 11:05 PM