I know, I know, I like to kid. Of course they won’t. Mickey Kaus hit it spot-on while it was occurring:
I don’t think they were happy just because Bush has suffered a blow. I think it’s because the hurricane and its New Orleans aftermath at least seemed to solve a big problem for anti-Bush commentators and politicians. Previously, they couldn’t grouse about the Iraq War without seeming defeatist (and anti-liberationist and maybe even selfishly isolationist). Even the Clintons never figured a way out of that trap. But nature has succeded where they failed; it has opened up a way out, at least temporarily.
The aftermath is obvious, though, as The Only Republican In San Francisco notes (and geez, what a great name for a blog!):
The LA Times now reports that the deaths in NO were not disproportionately among the poor. The storm, and the response, did not discriminate.
Add this to the fact that black folks died in proportionally smaller numbers than whites. Quick stats are that black folks comprised 67% of the population but represented 59% of those who passed. White folks comprised 28% of the population but represented 36% of the deaths.
Everything you read about Katrina was wrong, and was, sorry, racist. An enormous amount of PR damage was done to the US, and race tensions were fanned without any factual basis. Will the MSM address this?
Pajamas has more, and Glenn Reynolds writes:
Hmm. Bogus reporting that inflames racial tensions. This could be as damaging to society as violent videogames. We need Congressional hearings!
What a slam dunk that would be for Republicans. And it’ll never happen: they don’t call ’em the Stupid Party for nothing.
Update: Greg Hanke emailed me a prediction he made on September 10th:
The MSM will never acknowledge that they exploited the situation to bash President Bush. Liberal bias means never having to say you’re sorry.
But of course!
Meanwhile, Keith D. Milby writes:
Hurricane Katrina might have caused more damage than first realized. It appears that extensive damage might just now be coming to the surface that was done by the media coverage and that same coverage now seems to be causing damage to the media.
* * *
After all of this, how can the media ever be trusted with the facts. One can only hope that the media gets whats coming to it. If for no other reason than to rectify it’s shameful reporting in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, so that it never happens again. If one award is given to any reporter for this shameful episode it will truly be a disgrace.
Like the Oscars, which was set up by the film industry in the 1920s to give itself awards for its own product, so many media awards are simply a self-congratulatory circle jerk. So I won’t at all be surprised when the awards for Katrina coverage start rolling out–if indeed, they haven’t started already.
Another Update: Instalanche! Welcome Glenn Reynolds’ readers. For lots more on Katrina and the media, click here and just keep scrolling.
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