Fred Hiatt And Liz Cheney -- Part III!
April 13, 2007 -- 3:06 PM EST // //
Indulge me one more time on this: Here's something that puts this whole Fred Hiatt-Liz Cheney thing in perspective. It pretty neatly reveals the true absurdity of the decision by Fred Hiatt and The Washington Post to publish an Op-ed by Ms. Cheney attacking Nancy Pelosi without disclosing that Ms. Cheney is the daughter of Veep Cheney.
A source sent me today's White House press pool report that I think reveals this ridiculousness as clearly as you could hope for. It turns out that Veep Cheney and daughter Liz are spending the day together today, and the pool report describes some of their activities:
A couple little newslets: Vice President Cheney's plane hit a bird as it was landing here in Chicago this morning, but Air Force Two touched down safely and no one aboard even noticed, according to Lea Ann McBride. "The landing was safe," McBride said. "The VP was notified immediately after his speech." Mechanics are now checking the plane to make sure it will be safe to fly back. No word on the condition of the bird.After the speech, VPOTUS, accompanied by Liz Cheney, made an unannounced stop at the American Girl Place across from the Park Hyatt so that they could buy a birthday gift for one of his granddaughters. It caused a bit of a mad scene in a store that's usually a madhouse to begin with as VPOTUS provided cover for Liz by posing for pictures with little girls while his daughter secured the Nikki doll (the doll of the year for 2007, complete with Western cowboy hat and get-up).
Look: If you are going to publish a piece attacking Veep Cheney's key political antagonist right now -- Pelosi -- your readers deserve to know it if the author is so close to the Veep that she might be spending the very next day after publication frolicking around with him on Air Force Two and doing a spot of shopping for the grandkids. Right?
Relatedly, guess who agrees with us that WaPo should I.D. Ms. Cheney as the Veep's daughter when she writes for the paper: One of the Post's own columnists, Eugene Robinson. The last time WaPo published an attack by Ms. Cheney on one of the Veep's political opponents without disclosing the familial link, Robinson was asked a question by a reader who opined that the link should be mentioned. His answer:
Eugene Robinson: I think everybody knows who Liz Cheney is. But, on balance, I agree with you. Better to err on the side of too much identification.
Not everybody knows who she is, but still: This is basically it. If we're going to err, it's better to err on the side of full disclosure. Better to err on the side of more information, not less. And with that, you've heard this blog's last words on the topic. Barring another development, of course.
Update: More here on another interesting dimension to all this.
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