There's Competence and Then There's "Competence"
I'm coming a bit late to this because of server problems, but it's something that's been bugging me about the whole Reid-Pace "competence" imbroglio.
The question nagging at me is not who called whom incompetent or whether Reid was wrong or right to do so. I mean, Pace had just been fired, so Reid's not that far off calling the former chair of the joint chief's abilities into question.
No, what I wonder is why Reid's comments didn't get picked up by the bloggers in the conference call.
Why did the almost all of the liberal bloggers deny he said that Pace was incompetent when from the transcript posted on Talking Points Memo, he did, and it appears pretty clear he's talking about Pace? Did they screw up or are they trying to cover Reid's ass, since he's "on their team," so to speak?
Now, I say this as a blogger with both indy cred -- you're reading it -- and strong ties to the so-called MSM. But if bloggers are supposed to be an alternative/side dish or even an antidote to the excesses and failings of the mainstream press, why did they miss this? It's a genuinely Big Deal, so was it a miss or a willful omission?
If it was a willful omission, it's a horrible one. And it would prove that most liberal blogs -- or conservative ones -- shouldn't be considered credible alternatives to anything if they can't step up to their responsibility and report on newsworthy items even if it might get "their guy" in hot water. The right-wing blogosphere has had this problem for years now. Has it infected the left side as well?
On the other hand, if it's a mistake, it's a doozy. Any reporter who missed that would be tarred and feathered by editors. (And it's significant that mainstream reporters in were the ones who broke this story, even though bloggers had every opportunity to break it.) So, why are the bloggers given a free pass on this lapse?
Indeed, it was Talking Points Memo itself that in 2002 was instrumental in bringing down another Senate majority leader. The mainstream press was heckled and criticized for missing Lott's noxious comments. (And rightly so, in my opinion.)
But shouldn't bloggers -- in a friggin' conference call with the current Senate majority Leader, for crissakes -- need to be held to the same standards of accountability and, dare I say it, competence, that they hold the MSM to? Why the double standard?
Comments
I think perhaps you are misunderstanding the nature of teh “scandal.” It was not so much what Senator Reid said to the ‘bloggers. But the fact that The Politico just made up a story.
See this from Glen Greenwald: http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/06/15/pace/index.html
Posted by: Michael Allbritton | June 19, 2007 9:55 PM
You have inaccuracies in this ‘story’. General Pace has not been fired. His term is expiring. Further, he has served the statuatory limit on JCS duty of 6 years total. It would, in fact, take a Congressional exemption for him to even serve another 2 year tour. Institutions with integrity, not personalities, are the answer as should be so very clear to you in Lebanon. Statuatory term limits and turnover in senior positions is a good thing, not a scandal.
Posted by: Brad | June 21, 2007 1:02 PM
Grr. TypeKey is acting up so I can’t sign in, but anyway. I’m afraid you’re the one with the inaccuracies, Brad. His term was specifically not renewed when it ends in September. That is indicated here in today’s Washington Post at a press conference given by Pace and SecDef Gates:
Now, that certainly doesn’t sound like business as usual does it? Further damaging your argument, Pace himself said he was fired.
“Peter Pace disclosed that he had turned down an offer to voluntarily retire rather than be forced out,” the AP reported. According to a Pentagon transcript released by his office, he said: “One thing that was discussed was whether or not I should just voluntarily retire and take the issue off the table.” He would not, for reasons outlined in the AP story, so he was told he would not have his term renewed.
He was fired.
Plus, you missed my entire point about this “scandal.” The real scandal is not what Harry Reid said, but what the bloggers didn’t.
Posted by: Christopher Allbritton | June 22, 2007 12:33 PM
I’m not sure I understand why the bloggers would even treat this as a story. Is it strange that someone would criticize a general? The Trent Lott statement was part of a pattern that was obviously racist and for a national figure to have that type of pattern is racist. Harry Reid’s comments seemed to be just criticizing how the general conducted the war and spoke about that.
Posted by: Jonathan | June 24, 2007 2:53 AM
Chris — your post mystifies me. Why should bloggers be bound by MSM’s notion of the news? If I’d heard Reid question Pace’s competence, I wouldn’t consider that newsworthy — I’d consider it a Senator doing his job. If a guy doing his job is news, we’re even more screwed than I think we are.
Posted by: janinsanfran | June 26, 2007 10:48 AM