Greg Sargent compares the media blitz Kerry endured after his "botched joke" to the less-than-a-whimper that Boehner has had to face. Follow the link for the list. It's stark.
So why? Well, it's obviously a case of IOKIYAAR:
The answer is simple: Kerry is a Democrat, and Boehner is a Republican.
I don't mean that to sound cavalier. But if you unpack it, it really is pretty much the case. Judging by the news product we see on a daily basis, the way the press approaches Dems and the military is two-fold. Dems are either presumed to be genuinely anti-military by instinct, or, more likely, they're presumed to be vulnerable to Republican charges that they're anti-military. Sure, this is a generalization, and there are plenty of exceptions. But those are the basics.
Point is, those are the prefabricated storylines that are tacitly -- and often overtly -- used as the guideposts by which decisions are made as to whether things like the Kerry botched joke gaffe or Boehner's remark are news. Kerry screwed up a joke. Why is that a huge story? Because it reinforces perceptions that Dems are anti-military, and gives Republicans an opening to score some points. That's what makes Kerry's thing a "gaffe" -- and, perversely, what turns it into news.
There just isn't any such pre-fabricated storyline on the Republican side. So a line like Boehner's is merely confusing, about as perceptible to the press as radio static. Boehner said that troop deaths are a "small price" to pay for realizing Bush's vision in the Middle East? Why, he couldn't possibly have meant it. Or, alternatively, Republicans aren't vulnerable to charges that they're anti-military. Therefore, this doesn't really qualify as a "gaffe" -- and therefore isn't really news.
Modern political coverage is all about storylines, and once created, the media merely reinforces those storylines. And lo and behold, the vast majority of those storylines just so happen to be set by Republicans thanks to their massive media machine. That's why Kerry -- a war hero -- can suddenly be "anti-troop" when that toady Boehner (who washed out of the navy in eight weeks because of a "bad back") can't possibly be brushing aside the deaths of 4,000 and the injuries of 30,000!
More here.
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