Sunday, October 12, 2008

Propaganda Victory

Estate tax repeal supporter Susan Collins gets the nod from Portland Press Herald, owned by one of the richest families in the country.

Of course, the editorial doesn't mention the estate tax--it doesn't mention taxes at all. It also doesn't mention Collins' vote for the Iraq war. Or her vote for the unconstitutional Military Commissions Act. Or her record on the environment, abortion and judges.

It's designed, in other words, to distract rather than inform.

Because of this, the editorial is a betrayal of the paper's readers. It's a breathtakingly irresponsible piece of misdirection--and a disgrace to the cause of journalism. (Though the folks at Xinhua News Agency, would probably find much to admire.)

Jeannine Guttman should be ashamed and her colleagues at PPH should be embarrassed.

But they've had cause to be embarrassed by the paper's coverage of the Senate race for months now.

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