Posted 8:19 AM by Robert

Davis Descending XVI: Claptrap Debunked

It is some measure of how utterly clueless most of the mainstream media are being with respect to the California recall election that the Los Angeles Times this morning runs an interminable, witless article attempting to sustain the notion that Dianne Feinstein might run, the Senator's repeated dismissals of the idea discounted by the Times on the basis of the silly argument: Through three decades in politics, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has retained the right to change her mind.

That Times article is embarrassing enough standing alone. It fails to even mention such "details" as the intense union opposition to Senator Feinstein, her having to withstand Governor Davis' trademarked demonization (Note to media types: the Governor doesn't take orders from Bill Lockyer.), the job being thankless because the recently enacted budget just punts the same problems to next year, and much more.

But it is nothing short of humiliating that the Times also had to run - also this morning - another article (so new it doesn't even appear in the print version of the paper), reporting:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein today ruled out running for governor in the Oct. 7 recall election, giving a boost to Gov. Gray Davis but complicating plans of some California Democrats who wanted a replacement candidate on the ballot. ... "After thinking a great deal about this recall, its implications for the future, and its misguided nature, I have decided that I will not place my name on the ballot." Other papers confirm the report.

That's a surprise big enough to warrant a top-of-the-front-page headline for the Times, where the whole story should be buried on the inside as an obvious confirmation of the Senator's many previous statements that she would not run and common sense (even the Times dryly notes: Her decision came hours after one the nation's most powerful labor groups rallied behind Davis, ... Imagine that.). Does the Times lack a grip on the substance and rhythm of this story?

Does smoking pot every day affect one's memory?