Call me a heartless bastard (really, I don’t mind), but should a horse’s death lead to more coverage than the death of a soldier or Iraqi citizen? Have we ever received the amount of information about a soldier killed as we have about Barbaro–pages upon pages of the most intimate details of Barbaro’s tragic equine life, from birth until death? Has the death of even one American soldier been compared to a national "horror. . . a vivid streak across our consciousness"? What soldier’s death has been called "stunning," "gut-wrenching" or "life-changing" for an entire nation–the sort of death where "you know exactly where you were and what was happening when [it] occurred"? What soldier’s death will have a "resounding effect that over the years will only grow larger and more phenomenal"? Will any?
But it's not just the media horse-feeding frenzy that's odd tonight.
At abcnews.com, you can see the Bizarro world MSM media in action, where nearly anything trumps the Iraq war. Here’s a little quiz. Based upon these excerpts, which of the following stories was ranked the number one, two, three, four, and five stories featured on ABC tonight?
A. "Prehistoric ‘Hobbit’ Was New Species After All"
"It's quite possible that on an isolated island, the "hobbits" would have been short of the nutrients they would have needed to grow to four or five feet tall."
B. "Bush Warns Iran Against Action in Iraq"
"American troops in Iraq have been authorized to kill or capture Iranian agents deemed to be a threat. Iran's ambassador followed up by telling The New York Times that Tehran plans to greatly expand its economic and military ties with Iraq and open an Iranian national bank branch in Baghdad."
C. "Barbaro’s Battle Ends"
"Given the fragility of the breed and the amount of stress inflicted upon these animals at the young age of 3, we're probably lucky these catastrophic breakdowns don't happen more often."
D. "Miss USA: I’m an Alcoholic"
"Rumors have spread that Penthouse magazine was offering her a contract to do a pictorial. This month, it was widely reported that Trump was entertaining the thought of allowing Conner to pose for Playboy."
E. "Fleischer Contradicts Libby"
"Ari Fleischer, the former White House press secretary, testified this afternoon that his former colleague, White House adviser I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, told him in July 2003 that the wife of former ambassador and war critic Joseph Wilson worked for the CIA."
The answer? A. 3; B. 5; C. 1; D. 4; E. 2
So, to re-cap. According to ABC news, Bush threatening war against Iran is not quite as important as a horse dying, a former alcoholic Miss USA who claims she’s happy after 31 days of rehab, and the possible existence of a rumored-to-be tiny-brained prehistoric Hobbit.
The MSM isn’t biased against conservatives. It’s biased against news.