Press

Reading the pathetic dribble from the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board is a painful exercise even on a good day. But what can you say about a piece that begins with this:

We write human history in red blood and raw courage.

Hi Mark,

Love the mention of me in the Jan/Feb 2009 edition of The American Prospect (p. 4):

"And on tapped, the Prospect's staff blog, commenter Leo wrote, "I didn't even have to know the guy's background to know he was a vegetarian." Sorry to disappoint, but Adler is, in fact, a meat-eater."

So Barack Obama is Time Magazine's 'Person of the Year'. Most people, even his detractors, would probably agree.

What's wrong with this picture?

On Election Day 2008, this was the front page of the Tribune's knockoff tabloid called the 'RedEye'. It sported the none-too-original headline 'It's in Your Hands' with five hands in front of an American flag, each hand showing one of the following issues:

The editorial page of the Chicago Tribune this afternoon endorsed Barack Obama for president, the first time in the newspaper's 161-year history that it has backed the Democratic Party nominee for president. [Christi Parsons, Obama wins Chi. Tribune endorsement, The Swamp, 10/17/2008]

"First Democratic Endorsement in 72 Years!" reads the recommended Diary on Kos. It was about the Stockton Record endorsing a Democrat for President for the first time in 72 years.

The Editorial presents an overview of the two candidates in what has pretty much become public knowledge. On McCain, the paper is pretty damning:

So last week, we were treated to an incessant narrative from the MSM of DNC conflict and disunity. There was Hillary, Bill, the Pumas -- you name it.

None of this turned out to be true. It was a complete distortion of reality.

Nonetheless, by this standard we ought to be seeing an equivalent deluge right now of stories (whether real or not) about how the RNC is about to blow apart.

How is this not happening?

So if you were writing about a program that tried to steer non-emergency cases away from overcrowded Emergency Wards and towards Community Health Centers, would you start your story this way?

U. of C. Shunning Poor Patients?

SJ-R on the opportunities following the election of a new President to the Illinois State Senate:

The Chicago Tribune is channeling the Weekly Standard:

Having made hay of Barack Obama's relative youth and his foreign-sounding name, his opponents are now homing in on his neighborhood.