Mullings A Political Cyber Column By Rich Galen

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A Vast Write Wing Conspiracy

Saturday November 4, 2000

Special Saturday
Pre-Election-Spin-Control-Get-Out-The-Vote
Edition

Regular readers of Mullings know that I do not - not-subscribe to the theory that the national press corps awakens every morning to a national conference call to discuss how best to put the screws to the Republican Party generally, and to its candidates specifically.

Regular readers also know that I DO subscribe to the theory that reporters are like basketball referees - they aren't lying and they aren't cheating, but the home team almost always gets the close call under the basket.

Regular readers, finally, know that I believe that when it comes to political coverage, Republicans are always the visiting team.

I do not believe that there is a media conspiracy, in the current DUI flap, among the national press corps to steal this election from George W. Bush. But I do believe many hundreds of thousands of the Republican faithful WILL see this as a Vast Write Wing Conspiracy.

To be fair, the Gore campaign was absolutely floored by the attention the press gave to the Texas Mystery Trip after the first debate. The difference, of course, is no one in the hall said "Plunk Your Magic Twanger, Froggie" and put those words into Al Gore's mouth.

The first glimmer of polling from the national tracking polls have shown this whole thing is having no effect on the horse race numbers. It is not clear what the effect on intensity will be.

In a conversation with a reporter on Friday night I suggested that by Monday the GOP base would be in a frenzy about this thing and, because of it, Republican turnout would soar on Tuesday.

Al Gore can send Bill Clinton into Black areas to whip up his base. The same effect on the Republican base is generated by seeing national reporters on television speaking ill of Governor Bush.

IF, by the way, there IS a conspiracy, it exists between a law firm in Maine and a political headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. Someone in the press corps should demand that both parties - the law firm and the Gore campaign - should make their long-distance phone call logs available to see who talked to whom and when.

To (mis)quote a great Tennessean, "What did they know and when did they know it?"

As long as we're now in the quote business, here are a few which might be helpful. On the effect of the whole DUI thing:
"It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
-- Macbeth

On who is behind the release of this report, long-time friend Tim Byrne wrote in to remind us of a quote by Bill Clinton when the Gennifer Flowers story suddenly burst on the scene. The Clinton campaign was certain the rival campaign of Jerry Brown was responsible even though the Brown campaign denied it. Of those denials, Clinton was reported to have said,
"Down where I'm from, if you see a turtle sitting on a fence post, you
kind of figure someone put it there."

In retrospect, that sounds more like The James than Clinton, but there it is.

On whether this will have any effect on the tide continuing to build toward Bush (the Friday Zogby tracking poll in California has Gore's lead down to only two points):
"Damn. My feet are getting wet."
-- King Canute.

And, finally (print this out and tape it to the top of your computer screen), the following:
"I believe in grace, because I have seen it;
in peace, because I have felt it;
in forgiveness, because I have needed it."
-- George W. Bush in his acceptance speech in Philadelphia.

-- END --

Copyright © 2000 Richard A. Galen

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