Friday, October 29, 2010
Timing:
There is a story about Fox News management pressuring reporters to be even more pro-Republican in their work. The Fox management honcho doing this is alleged to be Bill Sammon, who is also described as the author of At Any Cost: How Al Gore Tried to Steal the Election. So why not pop over to Amazon and check out the reviews of the book? The reviews are, as you would expect, bimodal. Many people like the book, a sizable number do not - including a hefty portion of self-described conservatives and Republicans (because they don't think the case was well made, even though they don't like Gore). Here is a peculiar negative review: (emp add) I voted Republican, but this book is GARBAGE! Don't waste $, September 10, 2001
By hris D. "rippy1" (Rhode Island)
I voted Republican, and am ever so happy that Jeb, Katheryn Harris, many Floridians, and even noble members of the supreme court were able to fight to get the most qualified and intelligent man for the job, George W. Bush, into the Presidency. It was very nerve wracking and difficult to watch the post election media circus. Naturally, after the dust settled, I was anxious to read books that really investigated and shed light on what really happened. I was very excited to purchase this book, however, it left me angry and very disappointed! It is hard to believe some of the other reviews people gave this book. Even though I am a loyal Republican, I cannot lie and recomend this book. I believe other loyal Republicans must have simply read the book discription and out of strong emotions, immpulsively left a five star rating. They most certainly did not read the same book I read.
This book simply made Pro-Republican, Anti-Democrat claims, which I would of course love to be true, but find little to no evidence to support such serious accusations. This really disappointed me because I wanted to write a paper for my Poly-Sci class that took a critical look at the actions of the Democratic party during the past election. I found nothing I could use in this book (although I found plenty of unsupported accusations fit for a tabloid). Honestly, if I had used anything from this book I would have been afraid of failing for lack of supportive arguments. I wonder if he felt that way a week later.
posted by Quiddity at 10/29/2010 09:20:00 PM
6 comments
Here's the punch line:
" ... and even noble members of the supreme court were able to fight to get the most qualified and intelligent man for the job, George W. Bush, into the Presidency."
Georgie Boy sure proved his qualifications and intelligence from 1/20/01-1/20/09. (Or was that Dick Cheney moving Georgie Boy's lips?) The only book that may end up in Georgie Boy's Presidential Library may be his upcoming memoires lapse.
Given that Bush's approval ratings were in the high 80s and low 90s because of his superb handling of the 9/11 attacks, I suspect that the author felt just as proud if not prouder of President Bush a week later.
"...because of his superb handling of the 9/11 attacks..."
"All right. You've covered your ass, now."
Could have tried to stop it. Didn't bother. Didn't lift a finger that day, except to bait a hook.
Superb handling, indeed. Heckuva job, Georgie.
jms blithered, ...because of his superb handling of the 9/11 attacks...
LOL.
When I said Georgie didn't lift a finger that day except to bait a hook, I was referring to August 6, 2001, the day the infamous PDB was presented to Bush. He dismissed it out of hand, and then went fishing.
This is my favorite review:
THIS BOOK MADE ME EMBARRASSED TO BE AN AMERICAN, January 29, 2002
Reviewer: A reader from Colorado Spings, CO
Just the sadness of people like Bill Sammon -- from the Moonie-Church-owned Washington Times -- and Barbara Olsen and Peggy Noonan writing books like this, attempting to change our memories of actual events, substituting ones that are more Republican-friendly. It's sad; the GOP talkers have to get their grassroots people riled up and keep them riled up, so they won't notice what their lives actually feel like. That recognition, of course --- that tax cuts favor the richest people, that relaxing pollution laws favor companies who don't much care about the health of local communities, that HMOs want to squat on as much money as they can rather than paying out to patients-- would lead them to vote Democratic. So the idea is to keep readers and listeners in this state of kind of perpetual frenzy. The other "reviews" made me embarrassed too; just the anger level. Is there a way to simply be a calm Republican? Crushing that "this is the one Florida book" to make the Times bestseller list. I guess identifying w/ the rich of politically powerful works as a substitute for people who don't see much chance of becoming so themselves; when these people yell and wave their fists about things like "Gore's lying" or "Bush's integrity," it's a way of feeling less bad about how their own lives are shaping up. You might be sticking it to us, but we're on your side! So we're sticking it to us! So I guess it's OK! I guess it's painful to think: hey, those big corporate guys have a lot of money and I'm here grinding it out day by day, and maybe that's not the best situation; by defending them -- supporting their tax cuts, etc. -- they must feel they have a little piece of that lifestyle. Good luck, guys.
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