Phony "objectivity"

No, I'm not talking about Fox News, whose "fair and balanced" slogan is just a bad joke.  They've ruined the phrase for who know how many years.  Now, when you say something is "fair and balanced," people assume you mean that it's entirely partisan.

I'm referring to this story: Swift Boat Accounts Incomplete: Critics Fail to Disprove Kerry's Version of Vietnam War Episode Washington Post 08/22/04.  Josh Marshall notes that the headline earlier read, "Both Sides Flawed on Swift Boat Accounts: Kerry's critics and supporters offer incomplete version of war episode."

It wouldn't surprise me at all if they changed it after someone at the paper read Marshall's comments.

But beyond the headline, he uses it as a prime example of the kind of problem maintaining a phony "balance" between contending parties or campaigns can have, when one of the parties is just making stuff up, and the other one is telling the truth:

Kerry says one thing, he's critics say another. But are Kerry and O'Neil really equal in this?

The military records all back up Kerry. Back in the old days -- i.e., last month --official military records use to be considered at least presumptively accurate. Now, everyone knows or should know that every after-action report or medal citation isn't necessarily the product of an exhaustive investigation. Yet, they're not meaningless. At a minimum one would assume that the burden of proof would lie with those who dispute their veracity.

So, as I say, all the Navy records support Kerry's account. On top of that, all the people who were in Kerry's boat support his version of events.

Think about that for a minute. All the people in Kerry's boat means all the people closest to the action in question support Kerry's account. Others who were tens or hundreds of yards away, or not even present, contradict his account. Is it really so hard to distinguish between the quality of evidence and testimony that both sides are bringing to the table?

Apparently for our"press corps," it is.

Atrios gives his take on a related item:  Things the Media Needs to Explain 08/22/04.

Why are the Swift Boat Liars and Move On "two sides of the same coin." Move On is an established organization which has been around for years and which has a very large small donor base (and, a few large donors as well). Swift Boat Liars came into being just recently to lie about John Kerry's record.