Did the New York Times Respond to Moi?

Today Michael Cooper did a great Times piece that, for a very refreshing change, essentially called Rudy a liar.  I humbly wonder if this in some way could have stemmed from my correspondence with Cooper.

On Monday of this week a Times article by Cooper and Michael Luo on Romney and Giuliani had merely repeated the charges and counter-charges of each campaign about whether crime had gone down in Massachusetts while Romney was Governor.  

Paul Waldman wrote a piece in Tapped about this "he said/he said" approach and I emailed Cooper with a link to it::

The link below contains an excellent suggestion with respect to your piece today and Romney and Giuliani's charges on crime in Massachusetts: that is -- find out which one of them is telling the truth and report that. As pointed out in the link, the truth is ascertainable easily on line. Thanks.

Cooper replied to me:

Saw it. Thanks. We will likely be revisiting the issue.

I answered him and sent another link from TPM about Giuliani's lies (about crime during Kerik's 18 months as police chief).

This was summarized in my diary on Tuesday.

Today -- Cooper has an extensive article documenting many of Giuliani's lies that has been widely linked.  

It's nice to have some real reporting, especially after the recent execrable examples from Time/Klein and the WaPo on Obama.

(If he keeps it up, I will forgive Cooper for not giving me (and Waldman) credit)

•  Cooper's piece is good

  but he just had to have a "to be sure" paragraph about "exaggerations" by Obama and Clinton.

  Rudy's lies could be featured in a six part series.

  by Upper West on Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 08:45:28 AM PDT

•  Well, If You Had Any Part in Helping

  to get today's story into print, then take a bow.

  I have to say that it was refreshing to see a major story highlight the fact that almost everything that comes out of Rudy's mouth is just a pack of lies.

  In almost every appearance as he campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination, Rudolph W. Giuliani cites a fusillade of statistics and facts to make his arguments about his successes in running New York City and the merits of his views.

  Discussing his crime-fighting success as mayor, Mr. Giuliani told a television interviewer that New York was "the only city in America that has reduced crime every single year since 1994." In New Hampshire this week, he told a public forum that when he became mayor in 1994, New York "had been averaging like 1,800, 1,900 murders for almost 30 years." When a recent Republican debate turned to the question of fiscal responsibility, he boasted that "under me, spending went down by 7 percent."

  All of these statements are incomplete, exaggerated or just plain wrong. And while, to be sure, all candidates use misleading statistics from time to time, Mr. Giuliani has made statistics a central part of his candidacy as he campaigns on his record.

  It's so rare to see such a blunt statement like that in a straight news story these days, so let's hope that this is a sign that the Times and the rest of the traditional media might be waking up to the American desire to see facts portrayed as, well, facts that are right or wrong, not malleable.

  by The Maven on Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 09:22:21 AM PDT