Pot (Shear), Kettle (Bloggers)

Mike Shear and The Washington Post have a story today about whether Jim Webb ever used the “N-word.” Why? Just read Marc Fisher’s column nearby.

"I'd just ask people to look at the facts," said Allen's campaign manager, Dick Wadhams. "We've had one person go on the record, and not one of [Shelton's] teammates has come forward to back him up. It's an interesting new standard in journalism: If somebody called you and said, 'I want to make a charge against Jim Webb,' should that person automatically be afforded the assumption of truth?"

Mike Shear answers, “yes” And for those who charge that The Post is part of the liberal media cabal, the story proves otherwise. To prove they are not liberal, The Post felt compelled to run a story because the Allen campaigned demanded it, after Webb was asked by the Richmond Times Dispatch if he ever used the word.

Webb's comments to the Times-Dispatch prompted Allen campaign officials to direct a reporter [Ed. Note -- meaning Shear] to Dan Cragg, a former acquaintance of Webb's, who said Webb used the word while describing his own behavior as a member of ROTC during his freshman year at the University of Southern California in the early 1960s.

Cragg says that Webb admitted using the word when interviewed by Cragg for a 1983 article in a Vietnam veterans magazine. Yet, Cragg’s account is not supported by his own documentation.

Cragg, who described himself as a Republican who would vote for Allen, did not include the story in his article. He provided a transcript of the interview, but the transcript does not contain the ROTC story.

This is more evidence of the MSM’s caving in to the pressure from the right about their supposed liberal biases. To prove otherwise, they run a story like this. Mike Shear, who lectured bloggers at a conference earlier this year about posting unsubstantiated stories, runs a story based on an admitted partisan’s charge when his own documentation can’t support it.

Let’s make clear the differences: Against Webb, we have one man making this charge. His own notes for his interview belie his accusations.

Against Allen, we have his own admission of fascination with the Confederacy, though he was a privileged son raised in California. He hung a Confederate flag in his home and a noose in his office. And several people have confirmed his use of the racial epithet and now another who has come forward confirming hearing the deer head in the mailbox story years ago from one of the participants in the prank. And oh yeah, Allen called a dark skinned kid a “macaca.”

Liberal media! More apt, Wimpish Media, Hypocritical Reporter

Comments

[Bob]

Brian, I am the world's worst typist and that is a mistake I often make, so my apologies in advance -- and in mulitples.

Re the deer head, there is a corroborating witness who said he heard about the story soon after from the dead guy who was on the trip.

[Brian]

So far as I know, we have only one accuser in the deer head/mailbox incident. And don't call me Brain. I don't even have a sidekick named Pinky.

[Brian]

So far as I know, we have only one accuser in the deer head/mailbox incident. And don't call me Brain.

[Bob]

Yes, Brain, but it was from the same guy, with no corroboration. Journalism 101 would tell you not to go with that.

Jane, how about pushing for a Confederacy month, as governor, I believe, and his opposition to MLK day? That doesn't make him a racist, but when combined with a plethora of questionable actions, it makes you wonder how much of his past affiliations color his public decisions.

[Jane Oldham]

Has Allen shown a 'racist pattern' since he's been in public office?

The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Where is Allen's racist behavior in nearly 30 years in public office?

[Brian]

As long as we're on the subject have you seen this allegation against Webb?

This one seems even harder to believe than Allen's deer head in the mailbox. It's not as though any real issues should be discussed anyway. Sheesh.

[Bob]

I've thought about and may still post about the point you make. Most people my age (58) have used the word, at the very least while telling a racist joke. The point with Allen is that it seems part of a racist pattern.

[Brian]

Webb has admitted that he used the word as well. I think that what he said about guys who are his (and Allen's) age rings true. Many of them (especially in the South) used the word nigger in some form in the past. I don't think that that is terribly important. The main thing I notice here is that Webb's explanation was better (and likely more honest) than Allen's was.