The American Spectator

Print Email

Text Size

The Spectacle Blog

After two days of prominently placed page 1 stories on Sen. George Allen, the Washington Post has relegated its coverage of his re-election campaign to its previous spot, the Metro section, practically burying today's story in a tiny corner at the bottom of page B1. Evidently it's not big news that Sen. John McCain stumped for Allen yesterday in Norfolk, or that Allen's opponent James Webb drew all of 40 people to his appearance in safe, ultra-liberal Arlington (I think I drew more than that when I once spoke to the Arlington Kiwanis, the group Webb addressed yesterday), or that Webb supporter Wesley Clark included war hero McCain among the Republicans he says have let military veterans down.

Of course, the "macaca" story was replayed early in the report, in the weasely way that has come to exemplify liberal media bias, as editorializing fills in where empirical reporting won't or can't go. This, from paragraph 3, about McCain's appearance for Allen:

But the event was partly overshadowed by continuing criticism over comments Allen made last week to a Webb volunteer of Indian descent that many have said were demeaning and insensitive.

"Partly overshadowed"? Only in the eyes of the reporter, evidently, since no effort is made to confirm that point, not even via a single quote from anyone in attendance. And who might the "many have said" be? (As if you had to ask.) Finally, "Webb volunteer"? Reverse the Post's political affiliation and it would have read, "Allen stalker."

topics:
John McCain, Military