Some Amusing Mendacity From Some Self-Described Conservative Media Watchdogs
November 13, 2007 -- 5:07 PM EST // //

If you're going to present yourself as a conservative media watchdog who claims to be policing accuracy in the media, it's probably not a good idea to blatantly and dishonestly chop quotes from articles that are still readily available in Nexis and online.

Brent Bozell and Tim Graham are both top officials with a conservative media watchdog group called the "Media Research Center," an outfit that's devoted to ferreting out the fifth column liberal bias that has infected our media and is busily working to destroy our country from within.

Bozell and Graham have now co-authored an article for National Review calling on the media to stop lauding Hillary. One thing they hold up as proof of the media's liberal conspiracy to promote Hillary is this:

When it comes to Hillary Clinton, the national media have flagrantly abandoned their duty as a supposedly independent, dispassionate press. They have shamelessly served as cheerleaders for Mrs. Clinton from the moment she emerged on the national scene in 1992, with Time’s Margaret Carlson describing her as “an amalgam of Betty Crocker, Mother Teresa, and Oliver Wendell Holmes.”

Wow -- did Margaret Carlson really describe Hillary in such gushing and cringe-worthy terms?

Well, no, as it turns out. No, she didn't.

The original article Carlson wrote is still online. Here's what she actually said:

Friends of Hillary Clinton would have you believe she is an amalgam of Betty Crocker, Mother Teresa and Oliver Wendell Holmes. She gets up before dawn, even on weekends, and before her first cup of coffee discusses educational reform. She then hops into her fuel-efficient car with her perfectly behaved daughter for a day of good works.

Fortunately, Hillary Clinton, the latest wife to be challenged to fit perfectly into the ill-defined role of political spouse, is more interesting than that.

As you can see, Carlson was actually mocking Hillary supporters for presenting her in such glowing terms. But Bozell and Graham cheerfully told National Review's readers that Carlson herself had presented her in these terms. Even more amusingly, they held this up as proof of the media's liberal bias.

I know, I know, this is just garden variety wingnut mendacity. Standard fare. Low-hanging fruit. Still, it was definitely worth a quick laugh.

Special thanks to TPM Reader VG for sending this one in.

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