...yelped the full and accurate transcript! Or else the mighty Blogosphere will raise a righteous rukus.
Washington Post managing editor Philip Bennett claims his devastatingly clueless anti-Americanism, as reflected in an interview with Chinas' Peoples Daily is an inaccurate, distorted mess. Either way, it's cause for concern. This was the story's headline, attributed to him:
"I don't think US should be the leader of the world"
In response to a query by Hugh Hewitt, he offered only a small sample of what he referred to as "a transcript based on the actual tape recording"
Why not release the whole transcript? I've emailed him twice so far requesting just that. I explained politely that I am a psychologist writing a book about the news. I even offered to pay reasonable fees for transcription costs from the tape.
To date, Phillip Bennett has not responded to my request at all.
Michele Malkin takes it a step further here. She posts an open letter to the Post's ombudsman, Michael Getler, requesting that he join her in requesting the release the entire transcript.
Her letter included this:
"I would like to know if Mr. Bennett really said these things, and I imagine many other Post readers would like to know as well."
I would like to know if he really said those things, too. This brings us to the subject of that great public service that is the Blogosphere. No longer are MSN* biggies' pronouncements assumed to be true just because they say they are true.
For the first time ever, ordinary citizens can not only raise questions of agenda and veracity, but also gather a critical mass of focused public attention. The questions won't just go away anymore. Stonewalling as a strategy now becomes ever more costly. The truth will come out, or consequences will be paid.
As the news folks love to say, sunshine is the best disinfectant. They just never imagined that they'd be in line for some serious disinfecting themselves.
Philip Bennett is managing editor of one of the most influential news sources in the world. Presidents and others in and out of Washington take it very seriously.
If such a person actually thinks that American Influence is the world's major problem, rather than, say, the best hope that stands between us all and global chaos, then...
Just think about it.
Even worse, What if Philip Bennett is more or less representative of the cumulative culture of our nation's most influential news people?
Addendum: Here's a thoughtful commentary linking this to other MSN-related issues. It's by Christopher G. Adamo. A taste:
"[Bennett's] words were particularly vile, in light of the fact that he was offering them to a regime which aspires to eventual supremacy on the world scene, and is relentlessly building towards that goal.
"Though it is by no means certain that Bennett’s anti-American diatribe will cost him his position as chief of one of the nation’s leading newspapers, it certainly should. Yet Bennett is only one of a long line of major players from the “Old Media” who eventually show just how adverse they are to the good fortunes of their homeland, and how detached they have become from Middle America." More.
The Smarter Cop Weighs in:
The managing editor of the Washington Post makes it seem, to an unequivocally biased Chinese reporter, that he too is opposed to the political, economic, and military superpower status of the United States. The only problem is, all things not being equal, there's got to be someone at the top of the heap... who does Mr. Bennett want that top dog to be? More
National Ledger's Scribe Journal asks:
Is Phillip Bennett the next Eason Jordan? More.
Hmm. Time for a sound check?
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Sound check * Sound check * Sound check *
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"Transcript-Gate."
How's that sound?
Over to you, Philip...
* MSN=Main Stream News
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