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Pundit Boxscore for Monday 31 January 2005

DOWD-JACOBY ON TORTURE: It's not very common for Maureen Dowd and Jeff Jacoby to write similar columns, but that's what happened yesterday. Both columnists responded to shocking new allegations of mistreatment of prisoners at Guantanamo. Here's Ms. Dowd:

Who are these women? Who allows this to happen? Why don't the officers who allow it get into trouble? Why do Rummy and Paul Wolfowitz still have their jobs?

The military did not deny the specifics, but said the prisoners were treated "humanely" and in a way consistent "with legal obligations prohibiting torture." However the Bush White House is redefining torture these days, the point is this: Such behavior degrades the women who are doing it, the men they are doing it to, and the country they are doing it for.

And here's Mr. Jacoby:

If this were happening on a Democratic president's watch, the criticism from Republicans and conservatives would be deafening. Why the near-silence now? Who has better reason to be outraged by this scandal than those of us who support the war? More than anyone, it is the war hawks who should be infuriated by it. It shouldn't have taken me this long to say so.



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
Cal Thomas
Tribune Media Services
Iraq election offers hope for freedom
31 January 2005
844 50 5D+,1D-,14R+
Whatever the: Bush Administration
While rejoicing: Condoleezza Rice
"The hard: Rice, President Bush
There was: Republicans, Democrats, Republicans
The collapse: Truman, Democratic, Henry "Scoop" Jackson, President John F. Kennedy, Republicans, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan
Some Democrats: Democrats
In an: Bush, Bush
What might: President Bush
Count on: President Bush
Sebastian Mallaby
Washington Post
Marketing Darfur
31 January 2005
966 50 1D+,5D-,2R+,1R-,1R=
I once: Madeleine Albright, Albright
Reeves had: Albright
It's worth: Albright, President Bush
Reeves's campaign: Albright, Bush administration
But Reeves: Albright
Again, Reeves: Bush administration
The question: Bush administration
William Raspberry
Washington Post
Cutting Out the Poor
31 January 2005
869 44 1D-,1R+,6R-,1R=
I've been: President Bush
"There've been: Reagan, David Stockman, Newt Gingrich
Before you: Richard Nixon
"The federal: president
It is: Clinton administration, Grover Norquist
The lovely: Norquist
Robert Novak
Creators Syndicate
Gambling with Dean
31 January 2005
911 11 5D+,10D-,29D=,1R=
Gambling with: Dean
WASHINGTON --: Democratic, Democrat, Howard Dean, Democratic National Committee, DNC
 This is: DNC, Dean, DNC, Dean, Democrats, Deaniacs
 This looks: Dean, Democratic, Democrats
 The big: Democrats, Democrats, Dean, Dean
 "Financier George": Republicans
 One well-known: Democratic, Dean, John Kerry, Democrats
 Financier George: Dean, Dean, Democrats
 That job: Martin Frost, House Democratic, DNC, Frost, Dean, Frost, Dean
 As unlikely: Dean, Democratic, Dean, Dean
 Stop-Dean Democrats: Dean, Democrats, Tom Vilsack, Jim Blanchard, Democratic, Democratic, Dean
Jackson Diehl
Inactive
How Bush Could Fight Tyranny
31 January 2005
1043
Bob Herbert
Inactive
Acts of Bravery
31 January 2005
855
John Fund
Inactive
Rush for the Border
31 January 2005
1882