25.1.05

Cognitive Dissidents

The following sentence is such an unbelievable combination of words and meanings, that I am having real trouble believing I am actually about to type it, but here goes: There's a very perceptive column in today's Washington Times by Douglas MacKinnon, former press secretary to Sen. Bob Dole. The conceit is so simple, the logic so clear, and yet - if I were to write the same thing I would be dismissed as the crank loon that I am. [Ed. note - for the duration of this post, I will refrain from making the obvious comments about the Washington Times or the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, or cognitive dissonance/brain explosion of any sort, as they be necessary as a clause after pretty much every word].

So, here goes - keep in mind that this is Douglas MacKinnon, former press secretary to Sen. Bob Dole, and not me:
While all political eyes have recently and rightfully focused on CBS News and its blatantly biased reporting against George W. Bush, the media itself has been running from a potentially more damaging story to its reputation — a story that clearly shows that, instead of covering the Democratic primaries last year, the media altered their very outcome, and in the process, made John Kerry the Democratic nominee.
How? By systematically destroying the Dean campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire.
That was - just to be clear - Douglas MacKinnon, former press secretary to Sen. Bob Dole. Who then goes on to make the same point even more clearly, with a very ambiguous clause tacked on the end.
The media, not the voters, chose the winner of the 2004 Democratic primaries. Not only was this action unprofessional and completely unethical, but it had a direct impact on the general election.
What, exactly, are we to make of the phrase "direct impact on the general election"? Clearly, I've got some - well, one - idea(s), but I'll leave it to you, dear readers, to ponder what implications this might have.

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