Why they are smearing Berger .....

[annxburns]

I think it is pretty clear what Rove's strategy is and why they have targeted Berger. I would even think that perhaps Berger was set up by someone at the National Archives.

Reading the 9/11 report - it is clear that Clinton, while not realizing the full magnitude of the threat from Al Queda, was more interested, active and engaged than Bush was.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/23/politics/23findings.html

In 1998, Clinton receives a memo about Bin Laden takes action and linton and Berger thwart the millenium attacks ...

What does Rove do? Start the blame game. They need a fall guy and it is Berger. Expect the RW echo machine including Drudge, Murdoch Machine (Fox, NY Post, Boston Herald etc) , National Review and the war bloggers to all harp on this - trying to get it into the mainstream. We have to fight back and call it for what it is. We also have to start holding Bush responsible for his failings - he was asleep at the switch in the summer of 2001 - and we should not let America forget it. He ALSO LIED ABOUT IRAQ-AL QUEDA and where is the media on that? Do republicans really want to start blaming Clinton when six out of the ten chances were missed on Bush's watch?

Republicans have something to fear, don't let them divert the corporate media again. Write, protest. They are already gearing up - it is time to do the same ....

[BlueScreen]

1. Here is a fantastic exposé of the Berger smear campaign--

Anatomy of a smear: Sandy Berger "socks" shocker

Lies, blind quotes, and innuendo rampant in Berger coverage

On July 19, the Associated Press was the first to report that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating former Clinton national security adviser Sandy Berger for allegedly illegally removing classified documents and personal notes from the National Archives last fall during preparations for his appearance before the 9-11 Commission.

This much is known: Berger and his lawyer, Lanny Breuer, have said for the record that: 1) Berger inadvertently put several copies of classified documents into a leather portfolio he was carrying; and 2) that Berger put handwritten notes, which he had made while reviewing the documents, in his jacket and in his pants pockets.

But rumors and confusion abound in media coverage:

Media confuses originals and copies. As the story unfolded between July 20 and July 22, conservative pundits have run with speculation that Berger removed original classified documents, rather than copies, from the archive and then destroyed them as part of a cover-up. But there is no evidence to support this accusation; in fact, according to The Washington Post, "The documents removed were copies; the National Archives retained the originals."

Media propounds rumor that Berger placed documents in his socks and pants. It was reported -- notably by CNN -- that Berger put the classified documents into his pants and/or his socks -- allegations that Breuer has said are "false" and "ridiculous" and for which there is no on-the-record substantiation. This reportage was then amplified by MSNBC hosts Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough, and Pat Buchanan; by the New York Daily News and the New York Post; by Ann Coulter and Kellyanne Conway; by a slew of right-wing columnists like Linda Chavez and Cal Thomas; and by right-wing radio show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Michael Savage. Worse still, some of these same media outlets and media personalities falsely attributed to Berger and his lawyer the claim that Berger had put the classified documents into his pants and/or socks -- even after Berger and his lawyer said Berger had not done so.

(full story at: http://mediamatters.org/items/printable/200407230001)


The full article is worth reading. I think it provides an instructive glimpse into how we can expect the Republican party to amp-up the smear campaign against Kerry/Edwards in the weeks remaining between now and November. So far, their attacks have been fairly tepid, in my opinion.

[annxburns]

2. I love mediamatters.org

and I also love www.newshounds.us. I check them several times a day.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

3. It won't work.

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.

[BlueScreen]

4. Great quote by Benjamin Franklin that I sincerely hope proves to be true

"When Truth and Error have fair play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

Cheers,
Sagar

[kodi]

5. next expect the right wing radicals to call Berger Papillion

.