SO CLOSE: Columnist Collin Levey came perilously close to making her first positive Democratic reference of the year in today's column on Harry Belafonte's recent criticsim of Colin Powell:
Mr. Belafonte may have built a second career in political activism, receiving honors from groups like Unicef for his work for children around the world. But somehow, this has become in his own mind an excuse for treating other blacks as traitors if they succeed in careers in mainstream politics and government. Back in 1998 he was just as contemptuous of the idea of Jesse Jackson taking a job in the Clinton administration.
It's a close call, but I graded the mention of Jesse Jackson as a negative Democratic reference. When a pundit cites someone else's criticism of a political figure, it is usually evaluated to be a negative reference to them, even if the writer obviously disagrees with the criticism (respect is accorded to the criticism). If the columnist then goes on to defend the criticized politician and ridicule the source of criticism, they will rack up offsetting positive references. In Ms. Levey's column, she quotes Belafonte's criticism of Powell, which gets two negative Republican references in the second paragraph. But she then defends Powell at length, praising him and explaining why she thinks Belafonte's criticism is unfair. Ms. Levey did not similarly defend Jesse Jackson, leaving her in second place in the rankings -- one of only three columnists with no positive Democratic references (the others are Dorothy Rabinowitz and Jackson Diehl).
| Author/ Affiliation |
Title/ Date |
words | PI | Partisan References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Safire New York Times |
Splitsville, U.S.A. 17 October 2002 |
857 | 100 | 1D-: Hahn |
| Richard Cohen Washington Post |
A Few Good Fingerprints 17 October 2002 |
930 | 75 | 1R+: Ari Fleischer 10R-: Bush administration, George Bush, Attorney General John Ashcroft, Fleischer, Fleischer, Bush administration, Fleischer, White House, Fleischer, Bush 1R= |
| Collin Levey Wall Street Journal |
Slipping Appeal 17 October 2002 |
1065 | 50 | 2D-: Barbra Streisand, Jesse Jackson 9R+: Colin Powell, Bush administration, Colin Powell, Powell, Powell, Republican Party, Powell, Powell, Powell 2R-: Colin Powell, Colin Powell 1D=, 4R= |
| Mary McGrory Washington Post |
Mistaken Patriots 17 October 2002 |
1045 | 27 | 4D+: Teddy Kennedy, Robert C. Byrd, Clinton, Nancy Pelosi 17D-: Democrats, Democrats, Democrats, Senate Democrats, House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt, Gephardt, Gephardt, Democratic, Tom Harkin, Chris Dodd, Tom Daschle, Hillary Clinton, Patrick Kennedy, Democrats, Democrats, Democrats, Democrats 1R+: Lincoln Chafee 6R-: Republicans, President Bush, Republicans, Bush, Republicans, Bush 2D= |
| George F. Will Washington Post |
Close in California 17 October 2002 |
1091 | 20 | 2D+: Gray Davis, Democrats 13D-: Davis, Davis, Davis, Davis, Davis, Davis, Davis, Davis, Davis, Davis, Davis, Davis, Davis 15R+: Bill Simon, Republican, Simon, Simon, Simon, Riordan, Simon, Simon, Ronald Reagan, Republicans, Simon, Simon, Giuliani, Simon, Simon 15R-: Republican, Republican, Simon, Richard Riordan, Simon, Simon, Simon, Simon, Simon, Republicans, George W. Bush, Bob Dole, Simon, Simon, Simon 5D=, 4R= |
| Jim Hoagland Washington Post |
War's Global Casualties 17 October 2002 |
878 | 14 | 2R+: Bush administration, President Bush 3R-: administration, Bush, White House 2R= |
| John Fund Wall Street Journal |
Trouble in Paradise 17 October 2002 |
1536 | 11 | 7D+: Democrats, Daniel Inouye, Ben Cayetano, Cayetano, Hirono, Al Gore, Inouye 12D-: Democrats, Democratic Party, Democratic, Cayetano, Cayetano, Democrat, Mazie Hirono, Democratic, Democrats, Democratic Party, Democratic, Democratic 8R+: Republican, Linda Lingle, Lingle, Republicans, Lingle, Bush, President Bush, Republicans 8R-: Republican, William Quinn, Republican, Republicans, Lingle, Bush, Republicans, GOP 8D=, 2R= |