The New York Times has a handy rule-of-thumb — anything awful that happens while a Republican is president is primarily his fault. When a Democrat is in the White House, national misfortunes are acts of God.
Witness the witless 5,000-word story in Sunday’s Times insisting that President Bush was largely responsible for the mortgage meltdown. According to the paper, to “spread the dream of home ownership,” Bush ignored the warning signs regarding mortgage re-lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The White House responded that The Times is guilty of “gross negligence.” The administration further charged that, “The Times’ ‘reporting’ in this story amounted to finding selected quotes to support a story the reporters fully intended to write from the onset, while disregarding anything that didn’t fit their point of view.”
And this differs from the typical New York Times news story, how?
The mortgage crisis has its roots in the Clinton years, when HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo pressured the lending giants to make it easier for minorities to get mortgages — including borrowers who otherwise wouldn’t qualify.
To prove their compassion, Congressional Democrats blocked reform and encouraged a further loosening of lending standards. That the Democrats were in bed with Fannie and Freddie is demonstrated by the fact that the vast majority of campaign contributions from their PACs went to Democratic office-holders. Barack Obama received the second highest total in campaign contributions from duo between 1989 and 2008 ($116,900) — and he held federal office for fewer than 4 of those years!
The way The Times shaped this story to fit its political agenda is standard operating procedure. The Times is notorious for running interference for Democrats and tackling Republicans before the ball is even in play.
The New York Times’ “reporting” may be compared to the way a totalitarian state dispenses “justice” — verdict first, then the evidence.
@nytimes.com
