The New York Times tonight on its Web site noted that well over 2000 comments had been left on its original McCain story -- so it is now soliciting questions from readers that will be put before those who reported and edited the story on Friday. You know what to do.
In addition to its main McCain response article on its site, it added tonight the following passages: "Later in the day, one of Mr. McCain’s senior advisers directed strong criticism at The Times in what appeared to be a deliberate campaign strategy to wage a war with the newspaper. Mr. McCain is deeply distrusted by conservatives on several issues, not least because of his rapport with the news media, but he could find common ground with them in attacking a newspaper that many conservatives revile as a left-wing publication. 'It was something that you would see in The National Enquirer, not in The New York Times,' said Steve Schmidt, a former counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney who is now a top campaign adviser to Mr. McCain.
"Mr. Schmidt, in lengthy comments to reporters traveling on Mr. McCain’s campaign plane, said The Times had rushed the article into print so it could beat The New Republic in the publication of an article about the story behind The Times’s investigation of Mr. McCain." The author of that article told E&P today that this was mainly McCain "spin" - he had no idea if his article sparked the Times to do anything.
2 comments:
Typical NYT. Run a smear campaign without ever checking the facts and then back peddle when other reputable news outlets actually take a look at the truth. Nothing to see here, move along...
I have no idea if the charges are true, but I am concerned that Drudge ran a story last December reporting that the NY Times had this story, and that McCain had asked them to spike it. It looks manipulative for the NY Times to sit on the story all through the primaries, when Republicans could have chosen someone else if they had reported what they had, and then print it just after McCain has the nomination in the bag. It makes it look like the purpose was to allow someone to smuggle a boxcutter onto the Republican plane.
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