McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt on the New York Times

22 Sep, 2008 by Cassy Fiano

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Glad to hear them say it. I hope McCain realizes he’s not the media darling anymore, and he never will be again — so he can stop catering to them now.

Transcript:

Let me – let me also add, on the, um, specific question of the New York Times. Um, to speak directly to this point. Um, let me first say, we are first amendment absolutists on this campaign, and that the press, and anybody who wishes to cover this race, from a blogosphere perspective or a media perspective, you know of course is constitutionally protected with regard to writing whatever they wanna, whatever they wanna write. But let’s be clear and be honest with each other about something fundamental to this race, which is this: is that whatever the New York Times once was, it is today not by any standard a, a journalistic organization. It is a pro-Obama advocacy organization that every day, uh, attacks the McCain campaign, attacks Senator McCain, attacks Governor Palin, um, and excuses Senator Obama. There’s no level of public vetting with regard to Senator Obama’s record, his background, his past statements. There’s no level of outrage directed at his, uh, deceitful ads. Uh, this is an organization that is completely, totally, 150% in the tank for the Democratic candidate which is their perogative to be, but, but let’s not be dishonest and, and call it something other than what it is. Um, everything that, that is read in the New York Times, that attacks this campaign, should be evaluated by the American people from that perspective — that, it is an organization that has made a decision, uh, to cast aside its journalistic integrity and tradition to advocate for the defeat of one candidate, in this case John McCain, and to advocate for the election of the other candidate, Barack Obama.

Hit the nail on the head.

The media doesn’t seem to understand, what with their constant shrieks of FREE SPEECH!! that it isn’t anyone’s free speech that we have a problem with. It’s the presentation of fairness and balance that bother us. It’s the lying and hypocrisy. You can’t lie and smear one campaign while continually covering for another, and then turn around and claim you’re an ethical journalist. If Keith Olbermann wants to be a shill for Barack Obama, then that’s fine. But don’t you dare do it in the name of “ethical journalism”.

It’s this situation, right here, which so clearly illustrates why 2008 will be known as the year that journalism died.

Hat Tip: My colleague Lorie Byrd at Wizbang