december:
Drudge and Limbaugh’s reports are naturally based on sources, but those sources far too often themselves are doing nothing more than repeating rumors they had heard themselves. Drudge in particular openly brags about the “uncensored” nature of his reports, by which he means “I haven’t actually bothered to check any of this stuff, I’m just reprinting what other people are saying.” This is vastly different than the mainstream media, which does not, as a matter of course, report rumors until there is either independent confirmation of their accuracy or the rumor itself has grown to the point that it becomes the story because of its effect on the politician/public figure/whoever. I notice you still haven’t offered a liberal or moderate equivalent of the conservative rumor-mongers I identified.
Naturally, it’s sometimes difficult to draw the line between repeating a rumor and reporting on the effect of a rumor. The Jeb Bush adultery charge is a good example of that. The difference is that the mainstream media usually makes an effort to draw such a line, unlike conservative rumor-mongers like Limbaugh, Drudge, and a fair portion of the stuff I’ve seen on Fox News.
Rumors of Clinton’s dalliances with women were indeed reported before Linda Tripp dumped the Lewinski story on Newsweek. For instance, you may remember Troopergate and all the follow-up to Gennifer Flowers, in which it was widely reported that Clinton was believed to be a serial philanderer. But without confirmation of those charges, the mainstream media quickly abandoned the rumor-mongering. Obviously, right-wing Clinton bashers did not.
As for Gore’s alleged “heavy drug use,” I remember significant coverage of that story in Newsweek and other outlets. (You’re talking about the guy in Tennessee who says Al smoked a ton of weed until he ran for Congress, right?) Since it was basically one person’s word against another’s, and Gore had already admitted to taking some trips on the ganja train, the story was quickly abandoned. On the other hand, I do not remember mainstream reporting on Bush’s alleged cocaine use, other than to the effect that he still refused to answer the question.
About Bush’s DWI conviction: Yes, I do know at least one person for whom driving while intoxicated is an absolute vote-killer. She wasn’t terribly likely to vote for Bush and Cheney in the first place, but their DWI’s sealed the deal. I’m quite sure other people feel the same way. Personally, I don’t really give a damn about a 24-year-old DWI charge. But I sure do care about Bush’s attempts to hide his criminal record from the public, which was the focus of the majority of the reporting on the issue once the story broke.
And yes, I would ask a job applicant about his criminal record, right down to the speeding tickets (and I have several). I’m a lawyer, and we’re held to a high standard of conduct when it comes to such matters. A candidate for President should be held to no lesser standard.
It does look like I was wrong about 60 Minutes and Juanita Broaddrick–it was indeed Dateline NBC where she (with much media fanfare) told her story, while Kathleen Willey was on 60 Minutes. Broaddrick’s story may have been the subject of Drudge Report muckracking for months or years before she came forward, but until she did come forward, it was nothing but the kind of unsubstantiated rumors the mainstream media does not report on. That’s especially true because, as “Jane Doe #5” in the Paula Jones suit, Broaddrick specifically denied via affidavit that Clinton had ever done any such thing. So what’s the repsonsible thing to do when faced with unsubstantiated rumors of rape and an alleged victim who denies everything? Lead with it on the evening news?
Interestingly, though, Kathleen Willey’s story was reported by Newsweek long before she went public. The difference there is that Michael Isikoff had Linda Tripp’s eyewitness testimony of Willey’s story and demeanor, even though Willey denied it to Isikoff. It got reported in Newsweek a year or so before the Lewinski story broke, although it didn’t get much media attention because the victim denied it and there was no other verification.
Elvis:
I’m a big fan of the Fifth Amendment and the principle that declining to answer a question is not the same thing as admitting its allegations. Dubya admits to having had a wild “youth” :rolleyes:, and I think his explanation that addressing any specifics of the party years would make everything about those years fair game is quite plausible. Answering “Did you use cocaine?” naturally leads to “What drugs did you do, and on what dates did you do them?” and “What about those two stewardesses and the golden retriever in the back office of your failed Midland oil business?”