Thanks Digby

By DHinMI

Thank you Digby, thank you.  Thank you for the image of somebody taking a grapefruit, Cagney style, shoving it in the face of the Kool Kidz at the ABC News "blog" The Note, and grinding the sour, acidic fruit right in to their eyes. 

You could go to The Note and read what Digby describes as The Note's "fellatory daydream,"  but for the sake of your blood pressure, and because that online rag--and someone needs to come up with an analogue to "rag" for online publications--isn't worth your time, just read Digby's demolition of their defense of poor, persecuted Karl Rove. 

For just about everyone, the blossom is now off the turd, but the syncophants at The Note refuse to acknowledge that there are problems with the Bush administration, and that the Democrats aren't a hapless klatch of wimps.  I've never liked The Note.  I've long hoped that someone would would let Mark Halperin et al in on the fact that smug, dumb and cheeky is no way to go through life if you don't want to end up looking foolish.  But Halperin seems not to give a crap about looking foolish, and apparently neither does The Note's landlord, ABC News.  I don't have a problem with their format; NBC's First Read is a good overview of the the political landscape from a DC media perspective, and they often make insightful points.  But The Note is just unbearable in their daily propoganda for the GOP.  And I don't use the word propoganda lightly.  Whatever is happening in the news, whatever the state of politics are for the White House and the GOP, The Note figures out a way to spin it as a failure of the Democrats and part of an inevitable march toward victory for Karl Rove and Grover Norquist's legions. 

Now they're making excuses for Karl Rove--or at least it seems that way, through their foray into fiction, with their hypothetical speech by Turd Blossom--by suggesting that he really didn't do anything wrong in the Plame outing.  As Digby puts it,

The Note wants us to actually swallow this utter bullshit that the brilliant, masterful, political genius Karl Rove "forgot" his conversation with Matt Cooper in which he spilled the beans about Wilson's wife. In a court of law, perhaps Pat Fitzgerald would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Rove lied about that. In the court of public opinion, it is as ridiculous as the idea that OJ didn't do it.

Perhaps Karl can spend the rest of his tenure in the White House looking for the real leakers.

The funny thing about The Note defending Rove is that ABC News is one of the only major news outlets that Rove and Libby appear not to have leaked anything about Valerie Plame.  If I were with ABC News, I'd almost feel left out, like Karl Rove and Scooter Libby didn't think my network was worth their efforts.  But instead of gloating over the fact that their network wasn't exploited for political gain by the administration, or at least reporting on the case with the seriousness it deserves, the syncophants at The Note continue their "fellatory" peans to the genius of Karl Rove.

You'd almost think Mark Halperin was auditioning for a job with Karl Rove.  Whatever the case, it's hard to mistake their arrogant musings on politics as serious, clear-headed analysis.  And except for it's value as an example of bad political journalism, what they write sure as hell isn't noteworthy.

Comments

[DemFromCT]

First Read isn't just better. At 9:30 AM, it's first.

[Newsie8200]

So true about First Read v. The Note.

I haven't read The Note in a long time. I can get GOP talking points elsewhere. First Read actually makes some insightful points that I hadn't read elsewhere. The Note is a regurgitation of the latest GOP talking points, with a dose of "Neener, neener, I know something you don't know" of snottiness.

First Read is also usually shorter and more accurate in its overview of the political landscape and dynamics. I don't have to like the current state of affairs and therefore, First Read's take, but I know I won't get something totally warped by GOP shills.

[DHinMI]

Oooh, snotiness, what a great way to describe their tone.

And you're right, First Read is much shorter, and it's also much better written. But one thing I think that helps The Note maintain some relevance is that they don't really write it for people outside the beltway, they write it for flacks and hacks and the DC press corps. Thus, all those all-so-knowing tips of the hat to operatives, press secretaries, campaign operatives, behind-the-camera producers, etc.

After the GOP talking points aspect of it, it's the damn frat-boy/sorority girl insiderness of it that makes we want to puke.