Howler History of Kit Seelye

Howler History of Kit Seelye

 Did you know/remember that that before Al Gore was labeled "boring", the media was trying to label him NASTY & NEGATIVE?

 sounds familiar! kinda like "ANGRY" & "PESSAMISTIC".

 heres an interesting piece of Kit Seelye history.

SMILE-A-WHILE—KIT’S HOWLER HISTORY: How gong-like was Seelye during Campaign 2000? For just one bit of her clowning clownistry, consider her utterly clowning report on December 17, 1999.

Two nights before, Gore had staged a fund-raiser at Nashville’s Wildhorse saloon. (Bush had been in Nashville at the same time.) At the time, Gore was battling Bill Bradley for the Dem nomination, and the “press corps” had an Official Approved Script: Al Gore is too nasty and negative. Needless to say, Katharine Seelye was hunting for ways to pass on this Official Script. She exploited a spouse’s introduction:

SEELYE: [Bush and Gore] also collected money at the same saloon here, the Wildhorse, with Mr. Gore staging a fund-raiser Wednesday night and Mr. Bush following tonight, in his first fund-raising foray into Tennessee. Mr. Gore’s wife, Tipper, introduced him by saying, “He’s good enough, he’s smart enough,” an allusion to the idea that Mr. Bush lacks the intellectual heft to be president.

Engaging in her standard spin and dissembling, Seelye told readers that Tipper Gore had directed a shot right at Bush. But what had actually happened that evening? When Kriste Goad described the event for the Memphis Commercial-Appeal, she included what Seelye withheld:

GOAD: Tipper Gore has a master’s degree in psychology, so she said she felt qualified to say: “You’re good enough. You’re smart enough. And doggone it, people like you, Al.”

Mrs. Gore was cracking wise with her comedian friend Al Franken but later said the same goes for her Al, the Vice President of the United States and the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The crowd at Wildhorse Saloon roared with laughter Wednesday as Tipper and Al Gore clutched hands with Franken, political-comedy savant and creator of Saturday Night Live’s self-assuring Stuart Smalley.

As emcee of Al Gore’s final major fund-raiser of the primary season, Franken loosened up the audience between more than two hours of musical acts by Kim Richey, Aaron Neville and Donna Summer.

That’s right, gang! Tipper had been joking with Al “Stuart Smalley” Franken, whose presence Seelye knew not to mention. Seelye had a script and, doggone it, she typed it. So too with Clark-on-Iraq.

Bonus: Note the way Seelye pared down what Tipper Gore said. Because she had a spin to sell, the “doggone it” part just had to go. Readers, have we ever told you? “Kit” Seelye is a true world-class crackpot.

•  Why Didn't the NY Times Fire Katherine Seelye?

  Why Didn't the NY Times Fire Katherine Seelye for Lying About Al Gore?

   here is a transaction of letters taking Kit Seelye's editors to task....indulge in the arrogance of this response!!!

  February 22, 2002
  Dear Mr. Comstock:

  I am aware of the details of the error. (We explained it in our correction.) And I don't mean to make light of it. Any error in The Times is very distressing. I also don't pretend we don't make them; the daily corrections page proves our fallibility.

  But if you honestly think Seelye made the mistake on purpose, I don't know what to say. We don't do that. It is simply unthinkable that a Times reporter would intentionally misquote anyone. And even if you thought we were that mendacious, which we are not, who would be dumb enough to purposely misquote a Vice President whose public utterances are all recorded?

  What more can I tell you? I hope the paper can regain your trust.

  Thanks for holding us to a high standard.

  Best,
  Bill Borders

  www.nornsisland.com

  by n69n on Mon Dec 29, 2003 at 10:58:39 AM PDT

  •  Re: Why Didn't the NY Times Fire Katherine Seelye?

    This is hilarious:

    It is simply unthinkable that a Times reporter would intentionally misquote anyone.

    "Unthinkable?" Where has this guy been? At least one Times reporter got caught making shit up out of whole cloth.

    Really, though, it isn't funny at all. It is tragic.

    Last night my wife was flicking through movie channels and hit on "Three Days of the Condor" for a moment. I don't remember much of the movie, but I remember how it ended - with the hero telling the bad guy that his dirty business has been outed to the NYT.

    Back then, we really thought of them as the tribunes of the people. Now they're just one more of the usual suspects.

    -- Rick Robinson

    by al Fubar on Mon Dec 29, 2003 at 11:41:37 AM PDT