Friday, June 08, 2007
Dept. Of Missing Information
The New York Times' slogan is still "All the News That's Fit To Print."
Consider this nice article on presidential pardons -- particularly whether George W. Bush should pardon former vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Note this passage:
Leave aside the connection between Clinton's "popularity" and the Rich pardon. Shouldn't the writer have mentioned this little point, i.e. that Libby was one of Rich's lawyers who pushed the Clinton White House for a pardon?
No, that information does not have direct bearing on whether Bush should pardon Libby, but it is rather material to the question of how presidents in general are occasionally lobbied in the pardoning of certain individuals. The info would have also put Adelman's "of all things" line in a rather ironic light.
Yet, not one mention of the Rich-Libby relationship. Guess it wasn't "fit to print."
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Consider this nice article on presidential pardons -- particularly whether George W. Bush should pardon former vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Note this passage:
Kenneth L. Adelman, the former director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and one of Mr. Libby’s prominent supporters, said he did not believe a pardon of Mr. Libby would have any bearing on Mr. Bush’s legacy.
“Clinton is very popular in the world, and he pardoned Marc Rich, of all things,” Mr. Adelman said. (Mr. Rich was a fugitive from charges of conspiracy, tax evasion, racketeering and violating United States sanctions by trading oil with Iran when Mr. Clinton pardoned him.)
Mr. Adelman said he was chagrined by what he described as the president’s inconsistent application of loyalty, which he said seems to be cutting against Mr. Libby after having played out in favor of former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, “who were palpably doing a terrible job.”
Leave aside the connection between Clinton's "popularity" and the Rich pardon. Shouldn't the writer have mentioned this little point, i.e. that Libby was one of Rich's lawyers who pushed the Clinton White House for a pardon?
No, that information does not have direct bearing on whether Bush should pardon Libby, but it is rather material to the question of how presidents in general are occasionally lobbied in the pardoning of certain individuals. The info would have also put Adelman's "of all things" line in a rather ironic light.
Yet, not one mention of the Rich-Libby relationship. Guess it wasn't "fit to print."
Labels: journalism, New York Times, pardon, Scooter Libby
