In what reads more like a celebrity roast than a VP campaign-trail report for the nation's so-called paper of record, Mark Leibovich offers up a steaming pile of put-downs and innuendo that would embarrass any serious journalist. Who is this clown that the New York Times sent out to cover Joe Biden?
Leibovich's absurd report strings together a series of distorted observations and anecdotes in a strained effort to create a contrived narrative. Classic, disgraceful hackery.
Since nearly every paragraph in the piece contains some kind of insult or dig, I can think of no better way to start than to list the creative phrases Leibovich uses to describe Biden:
yelling through his stump speeches
flailing his arms
Ms. Palin has rendered him something of a fourth or fifth fiddle
political celebrities and charismatic newcomers — none named Joe Biden
penchant for verbal rambling
a fascinating Off Broadway spectacle
distinctive blend of pit bull and odd duck
weak filters make him capable of blurting out pretty much anything
"gaffes"
out-of-nowhere comments
goofy asides (tapping a reporter’s chest and telling him, "You need to work on your pecs.")
summons easy rage at ear-splitting volumes
part of the national political furniture for decades
His skin is perma-tanned
conveys the giddy sense of a man who has won a political lottery, or been plucked from an elite purgatory
tends to used [sic] the word "literally" about a dozen times per speech (literally)
Keep in mind this is ostensibly a news report, not an opinion piece or editorial.
But the above list doesn't really convey the lengths to which Leibovich goes to weave the narrative he's after. So let's dig in a little further:
Despite his hard words, there is also a joy to Mr. Biden’s pursuit. On Monday, he walked into a Ford plant in Macomb County, Mich., jumped behind the wheel of a red Mustang convertible and let loose with a few satisfying vroom-vrooms of the engine.
"I know I’m not supposed to like muscle cars, but I like muscle cars," Mr. Biden said as clusters of autoworkers whooped around him. "I tell you man, this is nice," he said, giving a few extra revs of the engine for good measure, and his Senate cuff links clicked on the side of the car as he jumped out to more applause.
You see, Leibovich instructs, Biden is obviously an elitist poser -- his Senate cuff links are a dead giveaway. (But, oops, this hack fumbled the GOP talking points slightly...you're supposed to mention his French cuffs, you lazy hack.)
The elitist-bumbler narrative continues:
Mr. Biden retains his regal senatorial bearing even in gritty settings of the campaign trail. On Wednesday, he wore a pressed blue blazer with a hanky folded smartly into the breast pocket. His skin is perma-tanned, and his smile is shiny white. He has his own big entourage now — own bus, own plane. He conveys the giddy sense of a man who has won a political lottery, or been plucked from an elite purgatory.
This is crap. It's definitely not the work of real journalist. The New York Times should be ashamed.
But what would a hack job like this be without at least one major out-of-context quote?
"John is so out of touch, he just has no idea," charged Mr. Biden, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, who called his "old, dear friend" someone who "just doesn’t think," who is behaving in a repugnant manner and who is peddling "Republican garbage," and malarkey.
"Just doesn't think". Read the complete quote, though, and it's clear that Leibovich distorted the tone and meaning of what Biden was saying. From Politico:
"He just doesn’t think, he doesn’t think that we have any responsibility to help people who are hurting," Biden charged.
This can't continue for the rest of the campaign.
You can email Mark Leibovich here.
Or better yet, send a note to his editors:
executive-editor@nytimes.com
managing-editor@nytimes.com
UPDATE:
Check out this post by Brendan Nyhan on Leibovich's Dowd-esque approach to political journalism.