Posted by
Ed Lilly on Saturday, May 17, 2008 11:30:53 AM
ESPN’s Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic have a recurring called “Predictions Sure to Go Wrong.” It is usually an amusing segment where they predict the outcomes of future sporting events, which makes sense as they host a sports radio talk show during morning drive time.
While I don’t get to listen to Mike & Mike very much anymore (for some reason the local radio station that used to be an ESPN affiliate switched format a few months ago), I was reminded of their segments when I read through Michael Goldfarb’s (hey, another Mike!) comment at The Weekly Standard’s blog on an apparent “controversy” involving former Clinton Administration official Jamie Rubin and presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain. Rubin wrote a column in Friday’s Washington Post accusing McCain of hypocrisy and saying that McCain’s position with regard to meeting with terrorists such as Hamas is the same as presumptive Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama’s, so it’s unfair for everyone to think that only Sen. Obama and his fellow Democrats are appeasers.
In a somewhat surprising turn of events, the mainstream media actually did their jobs and corrected Rubin’s editorial lies. Of course, the media only did so after having had the relevant facts put in front of them by Sen. McCain’s campaign. But still, at least the truth did eventually make it out.
So where does the story go from here, if anywhere? Here’s Goldfarb's post:
CNN Reports: Jamie Rubin Lied
Here's the transcript:
CNN'S DANA BASH: "You remember these interviews were done shortly after Hamas won the Palestinian elections. Lou, the McCain campaign just in the past couple of hours, found a link to more of Jamie Rubin's interview from back then. In it, I'll read you a quote from the rest of or at least more of the interview, In that quote Sen. McCain says, 'I think part of the relationship will be dictated by how Hamas acts, not how the United States acts.' Now the McCain campaign, as you can image, says that this is proof that Senator McCain has been consistent all along, and I should tell you that CNN asked Jamie Rubin earlier today for the rest of the interview or at least for a transcript and he said he didn't have it. He said he only had this particular quote he said that was e-mailed to him."
CNN'S LOU DOBBS: "Well that seems, certainly to, as you report, to substantiate precisely what Senator McCain is saying."
Yes, it does seem to substantiate precisely what Senator McCain is saying. Rubin initially claimed that McCain "was ready to do business with a Hamas-led government." But the full transcript shows that any business with Hamas was contingent on Hamas meeting certain conditions, i.e. renouncing violence and recognizing Israel's right to exist. This is no different than his position today.
Rubin now offers a pathetic defense of his smear at the Huffington Post, complete with the exculpatory response from McCain that engagement would depend on Hamas, not the United States. But does anyone believe that he had not seen the full transcript before writing his piece in the Post? Or that the paper's editors would have allowed him to publish this smear if they'd seen the full transcript themselves? The Post got hoodwinked, and they must be furious. It's hard to imagine they don't rebuke Rubin with a prominent correction in tomorrow's paper.
Let's focus on this last (highlighted) part. A prominent correction in tomorrow’s paper? Really? Should we truly expect the Washington Post editorial board to be so outraged by Rubin’s antics that they will address it in the way Goldfarb anticipates?
Color me skeptical. So, I figured I’d fire up the tubes of the internets and see what the Washington Post has to say in today’s (Goldfarb’s tomorrow’s) paper.
Naturally, I am as shocked, shocked as Casablanca’s Captain Renault to find that the Post has not followed through in the manner predicted by Goldfarb. Here are today's corrections, in full:
· A listing in the May 16 Weekend section incorrectly said that a program at the Arlington Planetarium is for ages 7 and older. "Larry, Cat in Space" is for ages 2 and older. Also, admission is $3, not $2.50. For seniors and children 12 and younger, it is $2, not $1.50.
· The Working item in the May 15 Business section mischaracterized Charmaine Ruppolt's commute. She bicycles to Washington from Alexandria, not Arlington. Also, she said she skips about three weeks of bike commuting a year because of vacations and bad weather, not simply because of weather.
· The Alexandria-Arlington Community Events section on May 15 incorrectly said that the Del Ray House and Garden Tour's sponsor is Del Ray Artisans. It is Del Ray Citizens Association. Tickets for today's event are available at A Show of Hands and Del Ray Farmers Market.
· The nutritional analysis for the Honey Double Gingerbread recipe in the May 14 Food section gave an incorrect amount of fiber. It is 0 grams, not 26 grams.
· A May 13 Health-section item about chocolate and pregnancy incorrectly said researchers tested women's blood in their first and second trimesters. The tests were done in the first and third trimesters.
Pretty hard hitting factual errors, no doubt. And I can see where it was much more important for the editors at the Post to make sure the correct ticket prices for “Larry, Cat in Space” make it to their readers. After all, there’s only so much newspaper space and bandwidth in the world. Tough decisions have to be made in allocating resources.
I guess it wasn't so hard to imagine not rebuking Rubin's lies after all.
UPDATE: As of Sunday morning, it appears that the Washington Post (at least in their online edition) has still failed to issue a correction to Rubin's lies about Sen. McCain. Good luck to Sen. McCain in his ongoing love affair with the mainstream media.
SECOND UPDATE: Just to make sure, I sent the links to Mr. Goldfarb's and my blog posts to the corrections@washpost.com e-mail address. I won't hold my breath waiting for the correction.