In a 9.11 N.Y. Times column called “Blizzard of Lies,” Paul Krugman described the central malignancy affecting MSM news reporting, which delivers perhaps the greatest lie of all: “Why do the McCain people think they can get away with [their torrent of lies]?,” Krugman asks. “Well, they’re probably counting on the common practice in the news media of being ‘balanced’ at all costs.
“You know how it goes: If a politician says that black is white, the news report doesn’t say that he’s wrong, it reports that ‘some Democrats say’ that he’s wrong. Or a grotesque lie from one side is paired with a trivial misstatement from the other, conveying the impression that both sides are equally dirty.
“They’re probably also counting on the prevalence of horse-race reporting, so that instead of the story being ‘McCain campaign lies,’ it becomes ‘Obama on defensive in face of attacks.'”
Exactly so. And with such a system and attitude in place among MSM reporters and TV commentators (except for a small handlful, led my Keith Olbermann), where is incentive for McCain and the fiends running this campaign to play it fair and straight?