Month: August 2006
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Allen ambushed twice on Friday
On Friday, George Allen got ambushed twice in Staunton, VA, where attention continued to focus on his offensive “macaca” comments. First, a UVA law student asked him some harsh questions during a visit to the Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce: A man who identified himself as a law student confronted U.S. Sen. George Allen
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Timeline of George Allen’s “macaca” excuses
Media Matters provides a damning timeline of George Allen’s various excuses for his “macaca” comments: Allen did not know what “macaca” means, and his use of the term was really intended as a play on the word “'mohawk,' a term that his campaign staff had nicknamed Sidarth because of his haircut,” which Sidarth characterizes as
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Guest-blogging at The Horse’s Mouth
I’m happy to announce that I’ll be guest-blogging at The Horse’s Mouth, the American Prospect media criticism blog run by Greg Sargent, from Monday until Election Day. During that period, my media criticism will appear over there at least twice per day, while the rest of my posts will continue to appear here. I’ll be
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“Macaca” saga continues for George Allen
George Allen’s ugly “macaca” comments were publicized on August 14, and they’re still punishing him both in Virginia and across the country. The main problem is that Allen is trying to have it both ways. As a Roanoke Times editorial points out, he is making repeated, grovelling apologies for his statements (which Dana Milbank mocks
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NYT on new Duke lacrosse evidence
The New York Times has written a 5,000+ word article reviewing the facts of Duke lacrosse case, including new evidence that has not previously been disclosed in the media. The reporters, Duff Wilson and Jonathan D. Glater, conclude that the prosecution’s case is not as weak as defense leaks have suggested. However, this conclusion depends
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Tucker Carlson is a dancing star
Yes, this man blurbed our book (via Wonkette). What’s next — Jon Chait on Survivor? In all seriousness, Tucker is a really nice guy and was a great friend to Spinsanity, but there must be a better way to get viewers on MSNBC…
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Correcting the wrong Bush misstatements
Today’s New York Times does a wonderful job of summing up the priorities of our nation’s press corps. We get a 500-word article correcting a trivial misstatement by President Bush that he “may be” the first president to fail to carry the state in which he was born (he isn’t). Meanwhile, during the same press
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George Allen suffering “macaca” fallout
A new statewide poll in Virginia suggests that the controversy over George Allen’s “macaca” gaffe has devastated his poll numbers: Senator George Allen leads his opponent Jim Webb by 48% to 45% in a News-7 poll conducted by SurveyUSA. Since an identical SurveyUSA poll released June 28th, Allen has lost eight points and Webb has
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Mike Allen falls for pro-George Allen spin
Does anyone believe that the reason that Mary Matalin joined George Allen’s campaign is his “fluency in foreign affairs”? Time’s Mike Allen apparently does — he cited it as a fact in the Washington Post: Allen embarrassed himself in January by replying “For what?” when a New York Times reporter asked his opinion of the
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Dateline Hollywood on “Snakes on a Plane”
This has nothing to do with politics, but Dateline Hollywood, the satirical entertainment news website co-edited by my friend Ben Fritz, has put up a very funny video of their fake film critic, Woody Wittman, interviewing the stars of “Snakes on a Plane” at its premiere: