Spin Me Right Round, Baby
The Wyeth Wire has a funny for the 18th:
Journalists are too cynical for their own good. They cynically dismiss spin and focus on the reality. I think this is a mistake. Sometimes the best way to ridicule spin is to take it seriously.
Consider the spin from the Lieberman campaign after New Hampshire, touting a "three-way tie for third place." Most reporters brushed off this spin as a delusional rant by a dying candidate.
But what if a reporter had taken his premise seriously, and followed it to its logical conclusion?
Senator Lieberman, I agree with you that your third-place showing in New Hampshire promises to propel your campaign the way similar Granite State third place finishes have in the past. How does your third-place finish compare with that of:
Steve Forbes in 2000?
Lamar Alexander in 1996?
Bob Kerrey in 1992?
Jack Kemp in 1988?
John Glenn in 1984?
Howard Baker in 1980?
Journalists are too cynical for their own good. They cynically dismiss spin and focus on the reality. I think this is a mistake. Sometimes the best way to ridicule spin is to take it seriously.
Consider the spin from the Lieberman campaign after New Hampshire, touting a "three-way tie for third place." Most reporters brushed off this spin as a delusional rant by a dying candidate.
But what if a reporter had taken his premise seriously, and followed it to its logical conclusion?
Senator Lieberman, I agree with you that your third-place showing in New Hampshire promises to propel your campaign the way similar Granite State third place finishes have in the past. How does your third-place finish compare with that of:
Steve Forbes in 2000?
Lamar Alexander in 1996?
Bob Kerrey in 1992?
Jack Kemp in 1988?
John Glenn in 1984?
Howard Baker in 1980?
posted by OnBackground | Sunday, February 22, 2004
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