lying in ponds
The absurdity of partisanship
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Pundit Boxscore for Thursday 26 February 2004

CORRECTION CONSENSUS: First Don Luskin noted that:

LIBERALS DEMAND NEW YORK TIMES CORRECTS COLUMNISTS ...conservative ones, that is. Suddenly Salon is on the case, with William Safire's pro-war columns in the cross-hairs. Funny, but the names Krugman and Dowd don't seem to be mentioned.

Now Robert Cox calls attention to another example of the same thing:

Looks like David Corn is joining the fray over The Times columnist correction policy...coming at it in The Nation from Barry Lando's Safire/Salon angle. Left, right, middle does not matter when the issue at hand is truth and accuracy in the media. Opinion columns are not a license to publish "material mistatements of fact."

I couldn't agree more; the ball is in Daniel Okrent's court. David Corn's indictment of William Safire makes the point admirably -- Times pundits should not be exempt from the necessity to correct their errors:

If a newspaper columnist writes articles that defy the reality reported by the paper's own correspondents, how should the paper's editors and publisher respond? Should they question the columnist's judgment and powers of evaluation? Should they print corrections? Columnists are certainly entitled to their views. They are free to speculate and suppose. They can draw--or suggest--connections that go beyond just-the-facts reporting. But Safire's recent work--unburdened by factchecking, unchallenged by editors--shows he is more intent on manipulating than interpreting the available information. His February 11 masterpiece is evidence his commitment to scoring political points exceeds his commitment to the truth. Under the cover of opinion journalism, he is dishing out disinformation. How is that of service to the readers of The New York Times?



Lines in yellow indicate a substantive crossover column, meaning that the column is of opposite sign to the pundit's Normalized Total PI for the season, and contains at least five non-neutral partisan references.
Lines in gray indicate that the pundit has been classified as inactive, meaning that their columns are not currently being evaluated for partisanship.
Democratic references in blue, Republican in red, positive references in bold, negative in italics.
Author/
Affiliation
Title/
Date
words PI Partisan References
Maureen Dowd
New York Times
Stations of the Crass
26 February 2004
840 85 1R+,12R-
Mel Gibson: George W. Bush
The moviemaker: the president
Opening on: W.
Like Mr.: Bush
If the: the president
And our: president
When reporters: White House, Scott McClellan
When Bushes: Bushes, Lee Atwater, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney
When it: the Bushes
Harold Meyerson
Washington Post
Another Bush Culture War
26 February 2004
1029 80 2D+,1D=,18R-,4R=
Another Bush: Bush
This is: Bushes
It was: Poppy Bush, Michael Dukakis, George W., John McCain
And now: the president, John Kerry, Kerry, Atwater, Rove, the Bushes
But the: Bush
That's a: Bush, Bush
Now the: Bush
But if: Bush
Bush needs: Bush, the president, Republicans, Pete Wilson, Wilson, Bush
In which: Republicans, Bush
Ann Coulter
Universal Press Syndicate
AFL-CIO motto: Kick me again!
26 February 2004
1145 75 23D-,6D=,11R+,1R-,3R=
Sweeney's curious: Democratic, Dick Gephardt, Dennis Kucinich, Gephardt, Kucinich, Dennis Kucinich
There is: George Bush, Al Gore, Dick Gephardt, Bush, Barbra Streisand, Bush
Sweeney has: Bush, Bush
Strictly following: John Kerry
Kerry denounces: Kerry, Arnold, Kerry, Kerry
Sen. John: John Edwards, Kerry, Edwards, Edwards
Except –: Kerry, Edwards, Edwards, Edwards, Edwards, Edwards, Barbra Streisand
Edwards' only: Edwards
That's an: Edwards
In his: Edwards, Jesse Helms, Jesse Helms, Helms
Helms voted: Helms, Helms, Edwards, Lauch Faircloth, Faircloth, Edwards, Faircloth, Helms
Molly Ivins
Creators Syndicate
Taxpayers' Fannies on the line
26 February 2004
937 75 1D-,7R-
The fiscal: administration
You know,: Republican, George W. Bush
Congress has: Republican, Democratic
The Bushies: Bushies, Republican
This is: Gingrich
OJ On the Editorial Page
WSJ OpinionJournal
Is Free Trade Immoral?
26 February 2004
995 65 3D+,20D-,1D=,1R+,1R-
Let's dissect: Kerry, Edwards
Trade is: John Edwards, Democratic, Bill Clinton
It should: John Kerry, Kerry, Howard Dean, Edwards
So the: Democrats, Democrat, Walter Mondale, Republican
This year: Democrats, Edwards, Kerry
We called: Clinton
When politicians: Democrats
One might: Democrats, John F. Kennedy
It is: Edwards
We doubt: Democrat, Bush, Clinton
If the: Democrats
The costs: Democrats
NYT Lead Editorial
New York Times
A Primary Endorsement
26 February 2004
948 41 10D+,2D-,11D=,3R-,1R=
The search: Democratic, Bush, John Kerry
Senator John: John Edwards, Kerry, Edwards
It's true: Edwards, George Bush, Bush
Mr. Kerry,: Kerry
If Mr.: Kerry, Bush administration, Kerry, Kerry
While Mr.: Kerry, Edwards, Kerry
The primary: Kerry, Edwards, Edwards, Kerry
Almost everyone: Democratic, Kerry, Edwards, Kerry, Edwards, Kerry
Bill O'Reilly
BillOReilly.com
Law, Order and the Left
26 February 2004
732 33 4D-,2R-
The Orlando: George Wallace, Wallace
If Gavin: Bill Lockyer, Arnold
What kind: Arnold, Lockyer
Peggy Noonan
WSJ OpinionJournal
The State of the Race
26 February 2004
1435 27 3D+,13D-,16D=,4R+,1R-,12R=
It's Edwards's: Edwards, White House, Kerry
On Tuesday: John Kerry, John Edwards
We know: Dean, Edwards, Kerry, Democrats, George W. Bush, Howard Dean, John Edwards, Democrats, Democrat
When putative: Kerry, Kerry
I continue: Kerry, Edwards, Edwards, Democratic, Edwards, Dean, Wesley Clark, Edwards, Democratic
Super Tuesday: John Edwards
He has: Edwards
As for: Republicans, the president
Television treated: Bush, Bush, Republican
Mr. Bush's: Bush, The president, Bush, Kerry, Edwards
It would: the president
It has: the president, Republican, John Kerry, White House, Democratic, the president, Kerry, Al Gore
But they: Lee Atwater, Democrat, Republican
Thomas Sowell
Creators Syndicate
Parents with backbone
26 February 2004
775 20 3D-,2R-
The teachers: Democratic Party, Republicans
These ads: Ted Kennedy, George Wallace
It would: Republicans
David S. Broder
Washington Post
How Nader Could Help Bush
26 February 2004
1029 20 1D+,2D-,12D=,10R+,3R-,13R=
How Nader: Bush
The dinner: John Kerry, Republican, William Weld
After a: Kerry, Weld
The answer,: Weld, Kerry, Republican, Weld, Democrats
The recent: Democratic, Republican
Nader, Patrick: Patrick Buchanan, Al Gore, George Bush
That much: Bush, Democratic, Kerry
The answer,: Bush, Kerry, Bush
Nader has: Bush, Republicans, Republican, Bill McInturff, Democrats, Democratic, Republican, Bush
If you: Republicans, Democrats, Bush, Bush, Bush
And if: Democrats, Republicans, Kerry, Bush administration
I have: Kerry, Weld
Thomas L. Friedman
Inactive
What Goes Around . . .
26 February 2004
848
WP Lead Editorial
Washington Post
Who Will Flip for Slots?
26 February 2004
624 0 2D-,2R-
State Sen.: Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., Democrat
Sen. Leonard: Democrat
Sen. Gloria: Republicans
Jim Hoagland
Inactive
In Europe, The Enemy Within
26 February 2004
845