Excellent UPI op-ed on Kerry's ability to take the fight to Bush

[krkaufman]

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040217-061854-2353r

Analysis: Kerry attack machine bashes Bush
By Martin Sieff
Published 2/17/2004 6:30 PM

This is not the campaign Bush and Rove planned for and expected. They were openly relishing the prospect of tearing former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean to bits in the fall. And against Dean, or Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., for that matter, the concept of presenting Bush as a "war president" made perfect sense.

[enough]

1. Sieff refers to the Bush "residency"

First paragraph:

Something has happened the likes of which have never before been seen during this residency: George W. Bush and Karl Rove are on the defensive against the lean and hungry new John Kerry attack machine, and they do not know what to do about it.

snip>

I've never seen that before in mainstream writing.

[DaisyUCSB]

2. UPI is a right-wing newswire

You should edit that into you're post, just as I believe that the rules state you should

Same as fox/NY Post etc

[seaglass]

3. It says UPI right in the thread title n/t

[krkaufman]

4. Not aware that UPI is right-wing

I wasn't aware of UPI's right-wing status; I thought they were simply a dwindling newswire empire in relation to AP.

The "right-wing" claim doesn't seem to hold for this author, especially in light of the his use of "residency" to describe Bush's tenure and the overall critical nature of the piece.

[DaisyUCSB]

5. It's owned by the Moonies like the Washington Times

.

[krkaufman]

6. That certainly makes this op-ed more interesting and surprising, then.

Well, that certainly makes this editorial -- so critical of Rove, Bush and their practices -- a curiosity, then. Haven't seen anything quite so honest and refreshing coming from many mainstream or even left-wing sources.

[quispquake]

7. Doesn't Helen Thomas work for UPI???

If so, they may be 'right wing' but they have at least one honest person on their staff...

[Neecy]

8. no

Thomas left UPI after the moonies bought it.

[quispquake]

9. Ahh...that explains it...

Didn't hear about that, but it makes perfect sense that she's leave an environment like that...

Thanks!
pp23

[aldian159]

18. They are.

Dead last in regards to the "Big Four," those syndicated agencies that are responsible for over 80% of reported news in the Third World.

AP
Reuters
AFP (Agence France Press)
UPI.

[WiseMen]

11. Do you have evidence of that. UPI is a standard international wire like AP

in the U.S.

In fact, UPI used to be view as much less subject to U.S. biased than AP.

Just curious.

[NNN0LHI]

13. After watching the UPI wire I would say that their news reporting...

...difinately normally does have a very conservative slant. I don't post too much from there here at DU. They get a scoop occasionally and I do because they check their source's before going to print. Unlike some other on line rumor mills. Still have to watch them close though and always consider the source when assessing credibility.

Don

[underpants]

14. Washington Times owner buys UPI

http://www.rickross.com/reference/unif/unif74.html

Washington Post, May 16, 2000
By Yuki Noguchi

Nearly bankrupt and with only a skeletal staff, once-venerated United Press International found a financial savior yesterday in News World Communications Inc., owner of the Washington Times, which purchased the wire service's assets for an undisclosed amount.

UPI was a formidable competitor to the Associated Press until the 1980s, when it had 1,500 reporters and 200 bureaus around the globe. Since 1992, it has been owned by six Saudi Arabian families and now has 157 employees in Washington, London, Latin America and Asia--and few clients.

The wire service's new owner is controlled by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church and the conservative voice behind the Times's editorials.

Check out UPI's history page, no mention of Moon. I dropped this bomb on my Repub boss a few weeks ago.

http://www.upi.com/history.htm

[WiseMen]

17. Thanks. Wonder what implications re the op-ed piece.

[seaglass]

10. I'm really liking having Bush on the defensive.

While I don't agree with all the points in this editorial, if Clark and Kerry were not in this race this particular weakness would not have been pushed to the extent that it has been.

And yes, I noticed right away that the author referred to Bush's term as "this residency."

[WiseMen]

12. I had heard similar stuff which raised suspicion re why Drudge smeared

when he did.

[ModerateMiddle]

15. another snippet

None of this means the president must lose in November. But for the first time since they emerged on the national scene four years ago, Bush and Rove are truly on the political defensive, forced to respond to an aggressive, efficient, fast-moving enemy team that is suddenly calling the shots.

Many people have confused volume with tonal quality. Some attacks against the pResident have been of sledgehammer quality. Kerry's attacks are like a stiletto.

[ModerateMiddle]

16. kick

:kick:

[AP]

19. Oops. That's not the sort of endorsement a Democrat wants.

Count this one as Point-Edwards.