Media Advice From Palin to Paul

Personally, I think he should just remain in an undisclosed location until November.

But Sarah Palin has other ideas for her protege Rand Paul -- and a warning that the Main Steam Media are liberal! (Who knew?)

I'm going to be charitable and assume that Palin had too much caffeine when she attempted to explain to Politico,

"One thing that we can learn in this lesson, that I have learned and Rand Paul has learned now, is don't assume that you can assume in a hypothetical discussion about constitutional impacts with a reporter or media personality who has an agenda, who may be prejudiced before they even get in the interview in regards to what your answer may be or the opportunity that they seize to getch ya," she said. "They're looking for that 'gotcha moment.' That's what it evidently appears to be what they did with Rand Paul."

Rand Calls Out New York Times

Dr. Rand Paul notes that a piece in Sunday's New York Times is flat-out wrong on the facts.

The Times wrote that "if Mr. Paul wins -- and early polling suggests that could happen -- a Democrat would be favored to win."

As Paul points out on his website, two polls have shown that he would beat either Democrat Dan Mongiardo or Jack Conway. Of course, the polls also show that Trey Grayson would also beat the Democrats. The Democratic primary has become irrelevant.

C-J Disses Its Token Conservative

One would think that the Courier-Journal would be proud of the praise that John David Dyche has received for his new book, Republican Leader, A Political Biography of Senator Mitch McConnell. Dyche, after all, is a C-J columnist; his success reflects back on the paper for having the good sense to run his column.

Yet the C-J has failed to review the book, even though stores have been selling it for months. Perhaps the C-J is boycotting mention of the book because Dyche's biography flatters McConnell; the paper would no doubt give glowing reviews if the book skewered McConnell.

The C-J also failed to report that Dyche appeared on the Sean Hannity show. A native son gets flattering coverage on one of the highest rated television programs in the nation, and the C-J writes . . . nothing.

For years, Dyche's brilliant column has allowed the Courier-Journal editorial staff to feign an openness to opposing viewpoints. Conservatives knew it was a sham, of course. Still, Dyche has given the paper cover, and for the paper to not cover him shows that its hatred of all things conservative transcends even common courtesy and Kentucky pride.

Sarah's Next Step

CBS News would do well to replace Katie Couric with Gov. Sarah Palin. The ratings could only go up and the justice would be poetic. Now, some media snobs might submit that Palin is not bright enough. They would be wrong, though intellect did not seem to be a job requirement when CBS hired Couric. In any event, it's much easier to ask questions than to answer them.

Think of the joy that seeing Palin's smiling face every night would bring to the likes of Maureen Dowd. Speaking of Mo Dowdy, I cannot improve on Andrew Breitbart's rebuttal to the yesterday's hit piece on Palin:

Misses Dowd, Couric and Fey - Mr. Obama’s Angels (featuring Joy Behar in the role of “Bosley”) - used a potent mix of mockery, snobbery and vitriol to undermine Mrs. Palin’s feminist bona fides. . . .

Primarily motivated by a desire to keep abortion "safe, legal and rare," female liberals in the media have carte blanche to do and say anything.

But since Mrs. Palin, a mother of five including a boy who was known to have Down syndrome before he was born, is a potent symbol of the pro-life movement, she is considered an enemy of the sisterhood. . . .

While Mrs. Palin is at ease with her gender, as well as her place in the workplace and at home, Misses Dowd, Couric and Fey convey a base insecurity in their feminine skin. Their rage is fueled by liberalism's false feminist dogma and they take it out on a woman who chose not to join their angry sorority.

The governor of Alaska's compelling narrative - athlete, beauty queen, wife, mother, hunter, successful politician - shows adherents of narrow leftist dogma that, perhaps, women really can have it all. Most importantly: freedom of thought.

In calling Alaska's governor "Caribou Barbie," Miss Dowd used beauty as a weapon to diminish Mrs. Palin's achievements. A man would be reprimanded for this, but Miss Dowd is a Pulitzer Prize-winning pad thrower and is licensed for such vindictive pettiness.

"Caribou," of course, is a stab at Mrs. Palin's backwater, Red State ways, attacks on which an Upper Westside liberal snob can never get enough. Miss Dowd goes on to ridicule "Sarah's country-music melodramas." This is her barely veiled attempt to call Mrs. Palin "white trash." And this has been the loathsome subtext of all media criticism of the Palins. They even went after their children. Mercilessly.

And Mrs. Palin during the Letterman saga finally cried, "Enough!"

Exposed in the relentless Palin attacks is not just political bias, but unmitigated class bias. The American mainstream media in its current free-fall is begging for more comeuppance when it continues to berate the values and lifestyles of the folks in flyover country who in simpler times used to be considered valued customers.

Maureen Dowd is the reason that the New York Times has stock prices to rival that of Government Motors. It and CBS News are dying as institutions, and none too soon. Sarah Palin, on the other hand, has a bright future. Perhaps not in politics. Maybe we'll get to watch Palin yank the anchor chair out from under Katie Couric.

WHAS Ex Does NOT Dis Palin (Updated)

A former WHAS 11 reporter who moved on to a Tampa Bay station is getting her 15 minutes of fame, just not the 15 minutes she might have chosen. Freerepublic ran a picture of Ms. Carol Minn Vacca at a Sarah Palin rally in Florida, filing her fingernails.

Minn Vacca previously worked for the campaign of Georgia Governor Roy Barnes, a Democrat.

Update: I just spoke with Minn Vacca's mother in law, who clarified me that the photo was not taken while Palin was speaking; Palin had not even arrived. Ms. Minn Vaccca, moreover, got up at 1:00 in the morning to cover the rally and spent four hours waiting for Palin to arrive, thus the down time. So she was not expressing any disrespect for Palin, and I am sorry to have suggested otherwise. I am trying to get Freerepublic, where I got the link, to publish this update in fairness to Ms. Minn Vacca. In the heat of the campaign, we need to keep the focus on ideas and remember that these are real people, with feelings.

Columbia Journalism Review: Ifill Should Not Moderate Debate

Even the Columbia Journalism Review concedes that PBS's Gwen Ifill has a conflict of interest that interferes with her ability to moderate tonight's vice presidential debate, according to Hotair.

It's one thing for reporters to grow misty-eyed with love for Barack Obama. Ifill crossed the line because she has a pecuniary interest in an Obama victory: her new book -- to be released on Inauguration Day -- is entitled "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama."

Even the CJR recognizes that Ifill won't sell as many copies if (against all odds) January 20 heralds the Age of McCain.

Yarmuth and Chandler Are Exempt From The C-J's Criticism Of House Vote

The Courier-Journal today takes to task the House Republicans who voted against the bailout legislation on Monday:

Particularly galling was the defection of most House Republicans, who generally explained their opposition to the bailout either as a matter of principle or accused the Democrats of causing its defeat.

Nonsense. The notion of a principled stand has no application to the House GOP, which has acquiesced to the Bush administration on ruinous tax cuts, the unnecessary war in Iraq and condoning torture. This resistance to a Bush measure was a craven attempt to play to the anti-bailout mood of the public, which will prove temporary once the pain cuts more broadly.

In contrast, the C-J makes no mention of Congressmen John Yarmuth and Ben Chandler -- both Democrats who also voted no.

One would think from reading the C-J's editorial that House Republicans controlled the fate of the bill on Monday. Except that, last time we checked, the Democrats have the majority in Congress -- and, unlike in the Senate, the Republicans have no filibuster power in the House.

It would be nice if the C-J would at least place some blame on the Democrats at least some of the time for the nation's ills. Count on Obama putting lipstick on a flying pig before that happens.

Update: On Politico's list of Congressmen who may change their vote from nay to aye, neither Yarmuth nor Chandler is mentioned. Nor is any other member of the Kentucky delegation. So much for the influence of the C-J's editorial board!

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Moveon.org Pads Post-Debate Polls

Keep this in mind as the networks purport to tell you who won the debate. Moveon.org has urged its readers to respond to the networks' post-debate polls, and helpfully includes the links to the polls.

I knew that NBC, CNN, MSNBC and the like are in the tank for Obama. But I had not realized that the networks had subcontracted their reporting to Moveon.org. Newsroom budgets must be really tight, and no wonder: Fox has more viewers than CNN and MSNBC combined, including a large percentage of Democrats and Independents.

The Antidote For Anti-Palin Spam

If your inbox, like mine, is overflowing with emails from Democratic friends who are trying to rescue you from your delight in Gov. Sarah Palin's nomination, you can get the truth on many of the internet rumors from Newsweek, of all places.

Newsweek debunks the rumor -- spread by CNN -- that as Governor of Alaska, Palin cut state funding for special needs students by 62 percent. That's not only false, Palin actually tripled special needs funding in three years, a move that educators called "historic."

Nor did Palin push for Alaska to secede from the Union, endorse Pat Buchanan or insist that schools teach Creationism.

The worries on the left that Palin favors lower taxes, a strong national defense and the sanctity of life, however -- those are true. You go girl!

Update: Juan Cole has a piece at Salon that includes many of the internet falsities, such as that Palin banned Harry Potter from the Wasilla library (when in fact, it wasn't even written at the time of the supposed incident.) His article is entitled "What's the difference between Palin and Muslim fundamentalists? Lipstick."

Now what was all that about bashing Obama by reminding people that his middle name (like that of his African half-brother) is Hussein? Unlike the rumors about Palin, the Obama boys really are named Hussein. That's what is known as a fact.

Palin Scores Two Hits On Left-Wing Biased Media Targets

Heads are beginning to roll among the left-wing media after Palin's assault in her Convention speech last week. According to a Politico post from yesterday:

The NY Times reports tonight that Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann will no longer anchor during upcoming political news events, as network insiders reveal more about what's been happening.

After months of accusations of political bias and simmering animosity between MSNBC and its parent network NBC, the channel decided over the weekend that the NBC News correspondent and MSNBC host David Gregory would anchor news coverage of the coming debates and election night. Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Matthews will remain as analysts during the coverage.

Apparently Matthews and Olbermann had many chances to rehabilitate themselves but couldn't kick their bias habits, so management decided tough love was in order:

In interviews, 10 current and former staff members said that long-simmering tensions between MSNBC and NBC reached a boiling point during the conventions. “MSNBC is behaving like a heroin addict,” one senior staff member observed. “They’re living from fix to fix and swearing they’ll go into rehab the next week.”

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Dems Give Two Thumbs Up to C-J

The "progressives" at the Courier-Journal must be proud of all the accolades they've earned from Democrats this week -- a good omen for invitations to all the celebrity-studded parties at the Democratic National Convention.

First, the C-J won an implicit compliment from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, when the DSCC quoted a C-J editorial. This is at least the second time that the DSCC has highlighted the C-J in connection with Kentucky's 2008 U.S. Senate campaign. That's no surprise, because the DSCC communications director, Matt Miller, has helped the C-J with previous attempts to smear Mitch McConnell.

The C-J's reach exceeds its grasp, as the DSCC relies upon the C-J as "documentation" for its TV ad against Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS). That's right, the same agitprop that Louisvillians endure is now being used to justify negative ads against Republicans in Mississippi.

Taking a cue from his handlers at the DSCC, Bruce Lunsford once again quoted a C-J editorial in his latest ad attacking Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. If only the C-J would just go ahead and endorse Lunsford once and for all; its supposedly impartial reportage is like a leaky faucet that keeps dripping Lunsford talking points. Make no mistake, however, the C-J is writing for Lunsford, not vice verse.

C-J Acknowledges U.S. Is Winning War in Iraq -- On The Next To Last Page Of Section A

The Courier-Journal never ceases to amaze with its biased placement of news articles. Today, the paper begins page A1 with the headline "GOP faces high odds on keeping Senate seats," pooh-poohing Republican chances of victory in the November election. This headline is followed by "Homeowners' relief awaits Bush's signature", as if the President's slowness in signing legislation was to blame for the mortgage crisis instead of the bad lending and borrowing practices of the people who lent and borrowed the money. (The latter headline is not surprising as Bush, of course, is blamed for every ill the C-J staff can think of.)

Readers must plow through most of Section A before coming upon the headline that should have been in big block letters on A1: "U.S. now winning war in Iraq that seemed lost," an Associated Press piece that flies directly in the face of Senator Barack Obama's refusal to acknowledge that the surge has worked. It's good to see that the C-J deemed the AP analysis at least newsworthy enough to print, even though it is buried at the end of the section in the apparent hope that few would actually read it.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

C-J Loves Piglet (D-KY)

The Courier-Journal makes no pretense that it is a detached and impartial gatekeeper of the news. Take its coverage of earmarks flowing to Kentucky.

This week, it ran a flattering account of Congressman John Yarmuth delivering a whopping $900,000 in earmarks for assorted projects in Louisville.

But the paper ignored a news release about a much bigger prize -- $10 million -- that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell procured for U of L. The C-J ignored an earmark that is ten times the size of what Yarmuth obtained.

Its coverage was exactly opposite of what a rationale reader would expect. Size matters.

The paper complains about pork, except when it comes from Yarmuth, whom it shamelessly promotes for reelection. The difference in the coverage cannot be explained by the number of zeros in the earmark, but rather the "D" next to Yarmuth and the "R" next to McConnell.

Scaring Up Support For McCain In Kentucky

The most popular spin from Senator Barack Obama's media sympathizers as to why Kentuckians aren't fawning over him is that they are "racists." But now there is a new line to explain his dismal showing. According to Steve Johnson of Associated Content, Obama trails Senator John McCain in polling in the Bluegrass State because "[c]learly, the GOP tactic of scaring the vote out of people is still viable." We're shaking in our boots -- with laughter.Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

C-J Fails to Print Letter from University Presidents

The presidents of three of Kentucky's largest universities wrote a letter to the Courier-Journal to rebut David Hawpe's nonsensical assertion that Mitch McConnell caused Kentucky colleges to raise tuition. It's an important rejoinder from three people who address Hawpe's subject with knowledge and authority. Yet the C-J failed to print the letter in hard-copy; it only ran in the on-line edition.

The letter comes from James Ramsey, president of University of Louisville, Gary A. Ransdell, president of Western Kentucky University, and James C. Votruba, president of Northern Kentucky University. When three of the highest-ranking educators in the Commonwealth speak with one voice on an issue,most would call whatever they have to say newsworthy. But not the C-J.

This is the consequence of a the C-J's monopoly status: when it decides to go after a candidate, it fails to give its subscribers the opposing view. The paper tries to inoculate itself from a charge of bias by printing the university presidents' letter in the online edition, where only a small fraction of its subscribers will read it.

This blog previously addressed the merits of Hawpe's arguments that McConnell, a U.S. Senator, could cause tuition to raise at Kentucky colleges. McConnell likewise has responded to Hawpe's accusations.

Because the C-J will not keep the online edition available for the entire election season -- and because it failed to print the letter in its hard copy -- I will reprint it in its entirety:

Sen. Mitch McConnell has used his seniority and considerable influence in the United States Senate to move Kentucky's universities forward in extraordinary ways that allow us to serve Kentuckians and improve the quality of life for our commonwealth's citizens.
In David Hawpe's recent column "Give Mitch McConnell Credit Where Credit is Due," he cites a number of examples of federal funds earmarked for the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Northern Kentucky University, the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville and Western Kentucky University. We would argue that federal dollars are going to be spent, and we much prefer to have them spent at Kentucky's universities where we know best how to solve real-life problems that plague Kentuckians than at universities that will never touch the lives of Kentuckians.

At the University of Louisville, the Cardiac Innovation Institute – a groundbreaking research center designed to bring together the best minds in the field to improve the quality of life for heart failure patients -- was made possible because of the work of Sen. McConnell. He also helped secure federal dollars to expand Uof L's library that has earned it the distinction of being one of the Top 100 Research Libraries in America for our students, faculty, and the Louisville community. In Owensboro, federal dollars obtained by Sen. McConnell were used to start a Uof L partnership with the Owensboro Cancer Research Project to use tobacco plants to create cancer drugs.

Sen. McConnell has secured nearly $60 million for WKU over the last 10 years. WKU's Rural Mobile Health Unit, purchased and equipped with federal funds obtained by Sen. McConnell, takes students and faculty into surrounding communities to provide needed dental and health care services to school children while at the same time giving WKU students valuable real-life work experience. Federal funds have also been used at WKU for energy research, environmental initiatives, intervention programs for at-risk youth, and much, much more.
At Northern Kentucky University, Sen. McConnell has directed important funding for Kentucky math and science improvement, informatics and economic development initiatives – all a part of the university's talent development business plan designed to escalate Northern Kentucky's contribution to Kentucky's economic progress.

To lose the critical federal funding that Sen. McConnell directs to Kentucky's universities would be devastating. Those federal funds not only benefit our universities, but they directly impact Kentuckians who badly need the services and programs these funds support.
So together we thank Sen. McConnell for what he has done to help us advance higher education in Kentucky. He certainly does deserve proper credit, and we'll continue to thank him when an opportunity is presented.

James Ramsey is president of University of Louisville, Gary A. Ransdell is president of Western Kentucky University, and James C. Votruba is president of Northern Kentucky University.

Hawpe and his cronies at the C-J are entitled to their (mistaken) views. But by failing actually to print the university presidents' letter, they have crossed the line from partisan to deceitful. They manage to print letters from numerous cranks every day; surely a direct response from some of the Commonwealth's most esteemed educators warrants the same courtesy.

Pictures Deconstruct Thousands Of Words

In his letter to the editor, printed in today's Courier-Journal, Steve Seger points out what many of us noticed on yesterday's C-J Forum pages: photo editorializing run amok. But whereas my reaction was simply to roll my eyes and think, "nothing's going to change at the C-J, so why write about it?", Seger mustered the energy to respond, so good for him. Kudos also to the C-J for allowing the letter to see the light of day. Here it is:

Despite repeated complaints from readers, your editorial page staff continues to print majestic leadership-inspired photos of Democrats and buffoonish pictures of Republicans. The latest example was Wednesday with Barack Obama, jaw firmly set, sterm [sic -- The C-J still needs to hire a proofreader] eyes agaze, peering into the future no doubt.

Beneath that was a shot of John McCain, probably a still taken from a video, looking like he was about to burp up his lunch. Surely you don't think this kind of thing is going to make a conservative reader suddenly switch sentiments? More likely the inmates are running the asylum down at the good old C-J. What a shame.

Segar's letter neglected to mention the most unflattering and unfair photo juxtaposition of all in yesterday's paper: a picture of President Bush doing the boogie with a New Orleans jazz band above a picture of rubble from Hurricane Katrina. The sophomoric caption that the C-J gave to that montage was "Disaster Relief? Heckuva job, Georgie."

Given the C-J's editorial staff's photo antics yesterday, perhaps their depiction of the three Stooges in today's edition is meant to be a self-portrait.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Media Bias at the Lexington Herald-Leader (No!!)

Headlines reveal so much more than the news. Take this one from the Lexington Herald-Leader: "Aide: State will be reimbursed." Then note the subheading: "BESHEAR USED STATE PLANE TO ATTEND POLITICAL RALLIES."

Now imagine that we were still under a Fletcher administration. There is absolutely no way that the first headline would have mentioned that the state will be reimbursed -- thereby preventing a potential scandal from blowing up. At the very least, the sub-heading -- listing the impropriety -- would have been the main headline. In fact, what the Herald-Leader used for a headline here probably would have appeared as the last sentence, requiring the reader to jump from A-1 to D-37.

Another "Non-Partisan" Attack By The C-J

It's becoming difficult to distinguish between when The Courier-Journal engages in deceptive writing or just sloppy journalism. Pam Platt, in her column today , reprises what James Carroll did three weeks ago: take what is the liberal agenda of a Democratic front group to attack Republicans and report it as "non-partisan" fact.

Platt accepts without question a bogus report of the Center for Public Integrity entitled "Iraq -- The War Card: Orchestrated Deception on the Path to War." According to Platt, the Center for Public Integrity is a "non-profit, non-partisan and independent journalism" organization. Platt also conducted an e-mail interview with Charles Lewis, the founder of the Center for Public Integrity, and didn't ask a single question to probe the funding sources for this group or to examine CPI's political agenda.

Either Platt is intentionally deceiving us -- not good for a columnist writing about supposed lies of the Bush administration -- or didn't do her homework.

As Hugh Hewitt explained when articles from The New York Times and the Associated Press first reported on CPI's "findings" last Wednesday (yes, the story is that old; it took the C-J four days to catch up with national media):

[T]he Center for Public Integrity hardly qualifies as "independent". It gets much of its funding from George Soros, who has thrown millions of dollars behind Democratic political candidates, and explicitly campaigned to defeat George Bush in 2004.

Nowhere in these articles do either news organization bother to inform their reader of the partisan nature of the CPI. Besides Soros, it gets financing from the Streisand Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Los Angeles Times Foundation. The FIJ [i.e., Fund For Independence in Journalism, which issued the report with CPI] shares most of its board members with the CPI, which hardly makes it a separate entity in terms of its political direction.

Dafydd at Big Lizards does a good job of pulling apart the supposed quotes that CPI used to blow some hot air into the limp "Bush lied" meme, but even the New York Times wasn't impressed.

In fact, there is nothing new in this site that hasn't already been picked apart by the blogosphere, and some of it discredited. It includes the debunked charge that Bush lied in the "sixteen words" of the 2003 State of the Union address. Joe Wilson's own report to the CIA and to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence confirmed that, at least according to Niger's Prime Minister, Iraq had sought to trade for uranium in 1999. The CPI site has the sixteen words posted as one of their false statements.

Let's boil this down. An organization funded by known political activists puts up a website with shopworn quotes taken mostly out of context and misrepresented -- and this somehow qualifies as news?

Apparently so for a C-J columnist when the story-line fits her bias -- noted elsewhere, including here and here -- and she doesn't do any objective reporting of the bona fides of the group creating the "news."

New York Times Endorses Romney (Sort Of)

Any time The New York Times vilifies a Republican, there's a good bet that the object of the Old Grey Lady's scorn is a true conservative with a chance of getting elected and maybe accomplishing something.

So I read with interest the New York Times' attempted character assassination of Mitt Romney:

TAMPA, Fla. — At the end of the Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire this month, when the Democrats joined the candidates on stage, Mitt Romney found himself momentarily alone as his counterparts mingled, looking around a bit stiffly for a companion.

The moment was emblematic of a broader reality that has helped shape the Republican contest and could take center stage again on Thursday at a debate in Florida. Within the small circle of contenders, Mr. Romney has become the most disliked.

The Times then characterized the other GOP candidates feelings' about Romney to include: "anger"; "visceral scorn"; "special animosity"; "ill will"; "resentment"; culminating in a "gang tackle."

Then the Times put in a plug for its favorite RINO, John McCain. "In stark contrast to Mr. Romney, Mr. McCain seems to be universally liked and respected by the other Republican contenders, even if they disagree with him."

If McCain were a real conservative, he would write a letter to the editor of the New York Times and demand that they retract that glowing compliment.

Ann Coulter said it best: "The candidate Republicans should be clamoring for is the one liberals are feverishly denouncing. That is Mitt Romney by a landslide. "

John McCain may well take the Times' praise and recycle it in campaign literature or ads. Conservatives will recognize that as akin to listing Satan as a character reference.

The Story the C-J Refuses to Cover

Somebody correct me if I've missed it. A few days ago, Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell's campaign released new poll numbers that showed him with a 61 percent approval rating and double-digit leads over every conceivable candidate, with the exception of David Hawpe.

Yet I have not seen that story covered in the Courier-Journal, or the Lexington Herald-Leader, or on local television news. National journalists covered it. But the Kentucky dinosaur media ignore it. Sometimes, media bias becomes most evident by the absence of coverage.