Reid/Lieberman deal report: A lie? Or a trial balloon that popped?

[mcablue]

Trial balloons exists. These are reports leaked by administration officials in order to gauge public opinion on a certain controversial issue. If the report is welcome, it is confirmed; if outrage ensues, denials are issued.

Then again, perhaps journalists made the whole thing up and invented "sources" that did not exist.

One such report is the alleged deal cut between the White House/Reid/Lieberman today, that was later denied.

What is your opinion? A fabrication? Or a trial balloon?

[Ken Burch]

1. Is there any deal you could make with NoDoctorJoe that wouldn't make the bill meaningless?

How much more can be stripped away? There's already less than nothing.

[Aramchek]

2. It was BS. Reconciliation is on the way.

[MNDemNY]

4. .

:+

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DURHAM D]

3. Or perhaps a change in strategy.

I think most DUers don't realize that the White House uses Politico for the specific purpose of changing policy direction.

Every time I see a DUer getting irate at certain Politico writers I just think "Can you be that naive?"

[Cha]

5. You'd love to push the trail balloon theory "that the

White HOuse wants to make joe lieberman happy" but it ain't gonna happen, buster.

[mcablue]

7. There's no way for us to know

Unless either of us can claim to be in possession of a crystal ball that goes back in time and sneaks into rooms and phone conversations between politicians and journalists.

If I had wanted to push one side over the other, I would have used a headline like, "The report was a trial balloon."

[Cha]

8. Yes, there is..I believe the White House and not

the propaganda pushing politico.

I know you push failure so don't even bother to tell what you think.

[mcablue]

9. But didn't Talkingpointsmemo confirm through an aide that the report was true?

Not me saying it, but the great TPM website that we progressives respect and rely on often.

Add Talkingpointsmemo and the aide to the conspiracy.

TPM's headline is clear: "White House Pressures Reid To Cut A Deal With Lieberman," and it is not based on the Politico story but on confirmation they obtained through an aide.

Questions.

1) Do you believe in the existence of trial balloons?
2) Do you think TPM should be ashamed of itself?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/white-house-pressures-reid-to-cut-a-deal-with-lieberman.php?ref=fpa

[janx]

12. People should be more skeptical of what they read on the intertubes,

especially regarding sources. A lot of what passes for news is just rehashed rumor. And it's getting worse.

[damntexdem]

10. It doesn't matter so long as there is outrage that forces the Dem's to back off any dealmaking ...

with LIEberman. That outrage needs to force them to use reconciliation, and to strip LIEberman of anything of which he can be stripped.

[backscatter712]

11. The trial balloon thing seems to be a popular game.

That's probably what this was.

[PopSixSquish]

13. How About a Combination of Both?

DC is full of folks who like seem more important than they are and will leak what they percieve to be the "truth" and reporters will run with it...