Matt Drudge: Liar

I’ve been extra-super-special repulsed by Drudge’s coverage this week (with apologies, I just can’t stand to throw a link to this guy). There’s been a different piece of tear-them-down news for every cycle, all timed so evenly you have to figure it was all drawn out well ahead of the convention in color-coded crayon — a conscious, straight-ahead tactic to distract the media, to distract the public. And that bugs me. A lot. But I can live with it. What’s really been getting under my skin — and I know, it’s kind of naive of me to still be bothered by this but… — are all those Drudge headlines that flat-out lie. The latest example: a new book has come out, timed with the convention, called “Unfit for Combat.” The lead on Drudge right now is basically a big ad for this book. And that’s gross, but fine, whatever. The part that really kills me is the headline: “KERRY WAR COMRADES PREPARE BATTLE — AGAINST KERRY.” Which gives the sort of shocking misimpression that folks who actually served side-by-side with Kerry have written this book and are out to get him. A fact that runs counter to what we’ve heard from the Kerry campaign for the last six months or so. I mean, that would be a big scoop, right? Only it’s not true. The book isn’t by one of the soldiers who actually served with Kerry. By one of his “comrades.” It’s by John E. O’Neill, the same guy who Nixon and friends put forward as Kerry’s nemesis thirty odd years ago. A fella who’s devoted a decent chunk of his life, heart, and soul to convincing America that John Kerry is a scoundrel.
Implying that a book written by John O’Neil represents Kerry’s war “comrades” isn’t just writing a catchy headline to drive traffic. It’s an attempt to intentionally mislead folks who don’t know the full story. It’s lying to his audience. And it’s despicable.
All that said, here’s my attempt at a positive, uplifting spin: what with the steady flow of exceptionally misleading Drudge, it’s starting to look like the media has finally figured out they can just ignore 99% of his “scoops.” The breaking point for all this may have been the non-story he was pushing months back about Kerry’s supposed mistress — most major media bit and, when no story surfaced, they got burned. Very few of the Drudge scoops this week have scored more than an inch or two of traction. So perhaps the man has overused his machine and snapped a rudder in the process, and I’m wasting my time and energy getting all worked up.
How ’bout that?