Tuesday - July 22, 2008

New York Times rejects John McCain opinion piece after running Barack Obama editorial

May I assume you folks already knew this?  If not ....

The New York Times has rejected an opinion piece on Iraq by Senator John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, less than a week after publishing a similar article by his Democratic rival Senator Barack Obama.

By Alex Spillius in Washington
Last Updated: 12:26AM BST 22 Jul 2008

David Shipley, the op-ed page editor of America’s most prestigious paper asked Mr McCain to rewrite his piece, a move likely to revive allegations of bias in the media towards the young Democratic contender.

A recent study found that the news television networks had run more than double the number of stories about Mr Obama than Mr McCain since early June.

Mr Shipley told the McCain campaign that he was “very eager” to publish the senator but suggested a new “approach”.

“The article would have to articulate, in concrete terms, how Senator McCain defines victory in Iraq. It would also have to lay out a clear plan for achieving victory - with troops [sic] levels, timetables and measures for compelling the Iraqis to cooperate,” he wrote.

The McCain campaign was stunned by the email, which seemed to be trying to dictate its policy. Not setting a timetable is at the core of the Arizona senator’s views on Iraq.

Taylor Griffin, a spokesman for the campaign, said: “John McCain believes that victory in Iraq must be based on conditions on the ground, not arbitrary timetables. Unlike Barack Obama, that position will not change based on politics or the demands of the New York Times.”

The campaign noted that Mr Shipley was a former speechwriter for former Democrat president Bill Clinton.

The New York Times issued a statement, which pointed out it had published at least seven op-ed pieces by Mr McCain since 1996.

“It is standard procedure on our Op-Ed page, and that of other newspapers, to go back and forth with an author on his or her submission. We look forward to publishing Senator McCain’s views in our paper just as we have in the past.”

Though the New York Times is known for its liberal stance, the “op-ed” or comment page routinely runs articles by Centre-Right columnists, some of whom are supportive of Mr McCain.

The opening of the senator’s submitted article read: “In January 2007, when General David Petraeus took command in Iraq, he called the situation ‘hard’ but not ‘hopeless’.

“Today, 18 months later, violence has fallen by up to 80 per cent to the lowest levels in four years, and Sunni and Shiite terrorists are reeling from a string of defeats. The situation now is full of hope, but considerable hard work remains to consolidate our fragile gains.”

http://tinyurl.com/58ysu2

Posted by Drew458     on 07/22/2008 at 04:18 AM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Media-Bias •  
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