NYT: Nancy Pelosi shells nuts with her teeth, can't identify curly fries.

[DeepModem Mom]

Would ANY Republican get the treatment the NYT gives Pelosi in this piece? The article is not all negative about Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic leader, but I'm pulling out some details that exemplify the up-close-and-personal destructiveness the media consistently gives Democrats, but never gives Republicans. She's being Gored and Kerry-d.

NYT: Talk of Pelosi as Speaker Delights Both Parties
By MARK LEIBOVICH
Published: May 30, 2006

....Ms. Pelosi can struggle at times to give the air of the gravitas that powerful women like Hillary Rodham Clinton and Condoleezza Rice do, both friends and adversaries say. She can appear tentative and overscripted in interviews, with a tight smile and large, expressive eyes than can leave an impression of nervousness....

***

The view of Ms. Pelosi as a deficient spokeswoman for her party was buttressed during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" earlier this month, which centered largely on what Democrats would do if they won the House. Political insiders of both parties judged her performance as shaky, uncommanding and defensive....

***

"I hear them say on TV that I've had face-lifts," said Ms. Pelosi, 66, who added that she had never had one. "I heard one woman say I've had a face-lift, but it looks terrible."...

***

Ms. Pelosi said she slept little, stole exercise by dashing through airports and subsisted many days on Ghirardelli chocolates ("less than 10" a day) and pistachio nuts (which she shells with her teeth).

"I had a hamburger last night and it was my breakfast, lunch and dinner," she said last week. "And I had these strange things. I realized they were French fries." She made quick spiraling gestures with her fingers to show what they looked like.

It was apparent that she was not familiar with curly fries.

In the course of two interviews, Ms. Pelosi repeated herself frequently, even by the hyper-repetitious standards of politicians....She repeated Jesse Jackson-like alliterative sound bites in halting un-Jackson-like cadences. Republicans, she said, "are engaging in deluge and desperation," while her Democratic caucus "is a great collection of idealism, intellect and" — she paused while trying to summon the third "i" — "integrity."...

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/30/washington/30pelosi.html?hp&ex=1148961600&en=a99943eca9e14b6b&ei=5094&partner=homepage

And what a photo they run with the article!


(Matthew Cavanaugh/European Pressphoto Agency)

They looked for the most unflattering photo they could find -- and found one at a European press agency?

[AX10]

1. That's because the NY Times is corporate media....

that cowtows to the desires of the right wing.

[patrice]

2. interesting.

[TomInTib]

3. Target Identification nt

[BrklynLiberal]

4. I cancelled my subscription to that rag, and told them why.

What a horrible disappointment the NYTimes is!!!!

[JDPriestly]

5. Stop reading the NYT

All news media need readers to draw advertisers and make money. If enough of us stop buying and reading their biased products, they will change them to attract us. Yes. It will take a huge number of people to move that mountain. But we might as well start today with ourselves. In particular, you are not serving a good purpose by repeating on DU the trash they wrote about Nancy Pelosi.

[juajen]

6. I think she does a good job, is attractive and well spoken.

N/T

[Up2Late]

7. That is pretty lame.

"...In the course of two interviews, Ms. Pelosi repeated herself frequently..."?!?! :wtf:

The ReThugs wish they could only repeat themselves twice in the course of an interview junket.

[Boo Boo]

8. IMO, that's a pretty good photo.

The one they did of Warner for the Sunday Magazine a while back made him look like some kind of psychotic circus clown from a 'B' list Hollywood axe murder movie. I didn't even recognize the guy.

I like this picture. She looks concerned, thoughtful... the picture has emotional depth. It grabs the viewer's eye. There's none of the deer-in-headlights look that they talked about in the article.

[DeepModem Mom]

9. You might be right, on second look. nt

[AX10]

14. I agree.

[TreasonousBastard]

10. What's the problem? Seems like a fairly...

typical personal background story of a very public person, nothing that isn't done to everyone. And since when is anyone supposed to run puff pieces on our people?

BTW, remember the NYT Magazinbe piece on Santorum? Didn't savage him, but very evenhandedly mentioned both his good and bad points. Most of which just happend to be bad.

If you're gonna bash the media, bash them for something real, not just kneejerk when they don't push our agenda.

[keopeli]

11. I belive that reacting to this type of writing is very legitimate...

...especially given the NYT (and most others) recent record of manipulating stories and public figures (i.e. WMD and Gore).

The very fact that they report on her lack of familiarity with Curly Fries is an aberation, no matter which party she represents.

Given this recent history of bad and partisan journalism, as well as the revelation that the Administration is planting news propaganda in our media, it is reasonable, in my opinion, for Democrats to have a heightened concern about false and misleading characterizations of their candidates.

Peace.

[SoCalDem]

12. People being interviewed need to be more careful of what they say

to newspaper/magazine people.. Once back at their desks, they pick and parse things, and often what the subject told them, "as a little joke" or to show "a personal side" can be tweaked into something entirely different. Pelosi has been around long enough to know that..What she ate for dinner was not "necessary" to the interview and could have been skipped.. She could have said that she hardly had time for meals, and left it at that.. and when asked about the facelift, she could have/should have asked the interviewer about Tom Delay's facelift.. he's looking pretty "taut" these days..

and she should have also asked the interviewer why women's interviews revolve around their looks and food choices..

[keopeli]

13. You're correct, assuming Pelosi actually said what she claims. nt