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Monday, October 16, 2006
Rich Galen :: Townhall.com Columnist
Fair and.....What?
by Rich Galen
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What was the biggest suprise of Election Day?



  • Some of the biggest names in the Popular Press - Time & Newsweek, and the Washington Post are all but swooning with the sure knowledge that their universe will soon return to its proper alignment - at least one chamber of Congress in Democratic hands; maybe both.

  • I have spent most of the past three decades in Washington, DC dealing with some formation of the national press corps. For the most part, I like them. In fact I can't think of a single senior reporter with whom I have had one-on-one dealings over time, that I don't like.

  • I suspect they are mostly Liberal in their outlook and I believe they have different rules, not for covering Republicans, but for assigning motives to what Republicans do as opposed to what Democrats do.

  • There was breathless coverage last week about Senator George Allen (R-VA) had not having reported certain stock options which he had been granted when he was out of public office.

  • The Washington Post, if I am reading their search page correctly, ran six different stories in a two-day period on various aspects of Option-Gate. You would have thought he was about one guilty plea from sharing a cell with Bernie Ebbers.

  • Turned out it was a technical violation. Options allow you to buy a stock at a set price. If you have options to buy stock in Mullings.com at $10 per share and Mullings is selling for $15 per share, those options are worth five bucks each.

  • In the Allen case the company's stock is, in effect, selling for $3 per share. Executing an option and paying $10 for a stock anyone else can buy for $3 is not a fast path to personal wealth creation.

  • At about the same time, it seems that Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) did a land deal flip with a friend which earned him about $1.1 million. He neglected to list portions of the transaction on his financial disclosure forms back in 2001. The Post apparently felt that a single story about the financial dealings of the man who might be the Majority Leader of the US Senate was more than sufficient.

  • Last week Time Magazine's cover was of an elephant's tush - even someone with my limited sense of humor got that joke; and Newsweek had a close up of Mark Foley with an inset of George W. Bush - the implication being that Foley is somehow Bush's responsibility.

  • On Saturday, our friends at the Washington Post did their level best to provide balanced political coverage on its front page.

  • The Republican story was about Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) pleading guilty to charges of influence-peddling:

    • Ney Pleads Guilty to Corruption Charges

    Lawmaker's Conviction Is 8th in Abramoff Probe

  • Legit news, to be sure, so you can't complain.

  • But, here was the headline of the front page story about Democrats:
    • Continued...
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    About The Author

    Rich Galen has been a press secretary to Dan Quayle and Newt Gingrich. Rich Galen currently works as a journalist and writes at Mullings.com

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    (18 comments so Far)
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    Reply # 1
    Date: Oct 17, 2006 - 9:45 PM EST
    Fabulous commentary
    I am hoping that the Democrats (i.e. liberals) are "Counting their chickens," etc.
    The fact that FOX news has such a big following combined with the fact that George W. won by such a large margin after multiple polls predicted disaster—leads me to hope that voters may be smart enough to see the hypocrisy and lies promoted by liberal media and the Republicans will not lose many or (perhaps any) seats.
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    Reply # 2
    Date: Oct 17, 2006 - 3:30 PM EST
    That's a major part of the problem.
    Rich Galen,

    How can you see and experience liberal hypocrisy on such a regular basis and then still like the liar.

    For if they are intentionally misleading the viewers or readers in their reports, then they are liars.

    I guess they are very interesting at all the socials and parties that you attend. Probably pretty nice, when they not withholding the truth.

    I bet the misses, if you lied to her, might throw a vase at you. If it continued, a bobbit stitch my be in the cards.

    p.s. If your auto mechanic or home repairman mislead you with a little white lie. Just how understanding would you be.

    p.s.s. I just wonder if you are just one more elitist twit.
    Flag as Offensive
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