Are the left wing blogrolls "smear sites"
as the Loofah Monster has challenged so many times ? Do they slacken journalistic standards of truth in attack of people they don't like? Are we irrational?
One of the problems with the "blogosphere" is that we don't apply normal or even equal standards. I know this is why it's not mainstream media but there has to be some internal logic hasn't there?
Take Arianna Huffington's post today. I was personally alarmed at what I personally considered to be the smearing of people she obviously does not like.
She titled her post;
'Having Dinner with the Right People': Bill Clinton, Jack Kemp, and How Money Is Clouding the Ports Deal Debate
Notice how Bill Clinton's name comes before Kemp's. But when you move on to the article itself she devotes 80% of it to Jack Kemp and then finishes with a dodgy jab at Clinton;
People like Bill Clinton who, we learned last week, had advised the UAE on the ports deal. I can't help but wonder if that advice was in any way colored by the millions (the exact figures are still not in) Dubai has given to Clinton -- in speaking fees and donations to his presidential library. And then, as Lloyd Grove reports, there is Clinton's lucrative relationship with Ron Burkle's private investment firm, Yucaipa, which has partnered with Dubai in bidding on some major investment deals. Money clouds on both sides of the aisle.
If you're not retching yet, you've got a darn strong stomach.
I just don't see how advising a company to submit itself to the laws of the land in which it wants to operate is wrong. In Arianna's view, Bill Clinton became a bad guy for giving advice. Well mama always told you to keep close counsel, didn't she?
When the blogosphere of the left rose in spontaneous defense of Harry Reid after the AP smear. last month, I couldn't agree more. It is the same spirit that I write in defense of Bill Clinton.
Arianna is setting a new standard. Anytime you talk or write about any topic, you must mention your ALL connections to the topic.
It leads me to ask; what is permitted to post in a political blog?
Also, Should the netroots destroy their own? I mean their not proven errant own.