Bogus negative stories that could have been killed with a single phone call to a relevant party are ok again because, like, it’s the Clintons. Just like old times.
As for why NPR feels like it needs to make shit up in order to effect the appearance of balance, you’ve got me. Even if none of the Democrats have had their lifelong #2 man indicted lately, there has to be something that holds up under scrutiny. A typo in Hillary’s health plan? Better reporting please.
Michael D.
Hey Tim. Two things.
1. I still don’t thing they straightened out the whole tip business. I listened to the report on NPR this morning.
2. Isn’t this just the saddest thing that it was the best the right could come up with yesterday?
GAHHH!!! Sometimes, I just hate politics.
Jeff
I love the waitress’ reaction.
Says it all about modern political reporting.
Zifnab
The whole story was very confusing. The Clinton campaign claims it paid the tip on the credit receipt. The waitress claims they don’t know how to process those tips. The Clinton campaign claims that, no wait!, they paid the tip in cash. Then they repay a $20 tip to her again.
I think someone on the staff done fucked up. And now everyone in blogstan is having a mini-keniption fit over another John Edwards Haircut story. *Yawn* What the hell does this have to do with domestic or foreign policy again?
Yesterday? Really? This is the best hit they’ve had all year. OMG! Edwards Haircut! OMG! Hillary Laugh! OMG! Obama sounds like Osama!
People in this country actually care about tipping.
Dreggas
Clinton had hits put out on Cats DAMMIT!
Davebo
Look on the bright side, we no longer have an independent counsel statute.
Michael D.
Don’t forget, Obama didn’t put his hand over his heart. Totally disqualifies him to be president.
demimondian
It’s worse than it even appears. It turns out that the same bogus story may have been used in 2000 against her. *The same story* — down to the lack of a tip, and the falsehood of the claim — was published in the Washington Times on February 11, 2000, or so says The Drudge Report. (h/t to MyOwnClone)
Pb
Federal funding and conservative appointments, duh.
In charge of NPR, Kevin Klose:
In charge of the CPB, Cheryl Halpern:
Yep; if it’s federal, you can bet they’ll politicize it.
Darkrose
Anita Esterday for President!
Zifnab
Alright, this is getting retarded. It was one sentence at the end of a morning NPR broadcast and you’re turning it into a radio-wide conspiracy to bring down the attempted Presidency. The guy fucked up. He admitted he fucked up. He apologized. They spent a full five minutes on air setting the story back to something resembling straight. NO ONE FUCKING CARES! And people are still talking like Hillary just got accused of eating a baby.
The Other Steve
Mega dittos!
Billy K
How can Hillary be for a Minimum Wage increase, yet against tipping?
28 Percent
You do not get it it all goes to the question of her CHARACTER that is important. This shows that Hillary is not the bleeding heart giver that she pretends to be by being a Democrat. She is not even a good Democrat how can she be a good Democrat president? you can not answer that. Besides by being a Democrat when she does not give money away to people willy nilly clearly makes her a liar and a hypocrite. The problem goes even deeper too she is supposed to be the candidate to “clean things up” well how can she be expected to clean things up when one of her aids at that Maid-Rite sprinkled when he tinkled and was not neat and wipe the seat.
TR
I love that the reporter included the “you people are really nuts” quote from the waitress. She was directing her bewilderment at him, but it seems like he was trying to pass it up the food chain to his editors who assigned him the “story.” Well played.
demimondian
Zif, go read MyOwnClone’s diary that I linked to above. This is that kind of issue, believe it or not.
bago
I blame old people and their concept of memory. Don’t they know that everything is recorded now? If not by the NSA than google, credit companies, anyone who cares about money or anyone who wants to talk to more people than they can shout at on a street corner.
Even if the memory in your brain is not perfect, the memory in our computers is. Every search result or ad you have ever clicked is tracked by that org, and factors like the time of day and ip region you came from are used to hone demographic market segments. Everything any pundit says is searchable with a few clicks of the google. If data ever leaks even for a second it is backed up across the whole world, as in that recent attempt at post judgement redaction.
We are slowly moving towards an omniopticon, where anyone can see anything you don’t conspicuously try to hide.
A lot of old people and republicans (strange confluence) don’t seem to understand this. It’s why rush will blatently manipulate his own audio logs to prove he didn’t say the things he said. It’s also a tribute to our basic education proficiency that almost 1 in 4 of us don’t realize this and are fooled by charlatans such as rush. The crazification factor if you will.
I think you might even be able to tie this trite level of journalism to the factor. People won’t remember most of this crap so I as a journalist can be lazy and talk about a fucking haircut instead of running a predictive analysis from multiple data sources on policy impacts.
I think someone needs to set up a data mining op monitoring journalists and the subjects that they cover. If you spend more than 50% of your time covering fucking bullshit like haircuts and tips you get labeled a fashion journalist, and removed from the realm of people talking about decisions that thousands of people live or die by. If you keep talking about what it means to be many or womanly you get shuffled off into the gender identity column, and away from serious analyst. If you work 1938 and hitler into every third column we just move you into the creepy doth protest to much fascist admiration society.
tBone
I bet you moonbats would keep defending Hillary even if turned out that she didn’t tip the waitress who served her the baby. You’re shameless.
Jake
OMG, it’s TIPGATE!
But wait, the waitress didn’t direct any Outrage(TM) towards SINator Hitlery Clintoon!
OMG, it’s WAITRESSGATE!
Check her counters!
Cindrella Ferret
Alleged Hillary Uproars:
1. She’s making out with a chick.
2. She didn’t leave a tip for a waitress.
Current Cheerleader Uproar:
1. Politicized the entire DOJ
2. Rendition
3. Torture
4. Illegal Wiretaps
5. Disaster management of an unnecessary War
6. Runaway spending
7. Piss poor handling of benefits for those returning from War
8. and on, and on, and on, and on …
Yep. Now I see why the Hillary thing is such a big deal. Jesus! If my guy had fucked up the country this bad I’d be looking for a little relief from the onslaught of facts. I have plenty of dislike for Hillary, I just don’t think worrying about her tipping habits are on my radar when I want to argue why I think she shouldn’t be out President.
Bruce Moomaw
Yes — that waitress needs to be hired immediately as a political reporter. We might actually get some coverage of relevant issues. (Maybe McClatchey would be willing to do it?)
Dennis-SGMM
Next will come long pieces extolling Giuliani and Huckabee as heavy tippers. Fred Thompson will explain that he never carries cash and John McCain will reveal that he doesn’t have any.
Cindrella Ferret
Look if the waitress forgot the Bearnaise Sauce and the Chianti, why should she get a tip? Since when should poor service be rewarded?
Michael van der Galiën
Truly sad that this was ‘reported.’ Firstly it’s not news. Secondly it’s not accurate.
Ahwell, the MSM, what are you going to do?
Pb
Push Congress for reform and vote the hacks out of office?
S.W. Anderson
What is it with the Forces of Darkness trying to generate negative publicity out of Democrats eating lunch out — and getting facts wrong or making things up to do it?
In the summer of 04, just after the Dems’ convention, the Kerry campaign bus with the Edwardses onboard stopped at a Wendy’s in Newburgh, N.Y. The candidates and their wives, plus others, piled out and ate there. The candidates didn’t realize it, but a campaign worker had called ahead to a local place in Newburgh that served “fancier” food — costing a big $8 apiece — to order a bunch of takeout lunches.
Next thing, Limbaugh is dumping on the Kerrys and Edwardses for stopping at Wendy’s to appear like regular folks when they really dined on haut cuisine on the bus. Effete snobs — and sneaky, too — so he said. Wingnuts then blogged it as if it was true and a major scandal.
This is from a Powerline post:
Here’s the real story.
As for the story about the Clinton crew not leaving a tip, if Drudge “reported” it, you know it’s made-up crap.
Tom Hilton
Check out Dan Collins:
Yes, it’s Clintonesque to get smeared with a completely made-up trivial bullshit. Who else would have her lunch turned into such a grotesquerie by the press?
Xanthippas
Uh yeah, that’s how we feel.
Fwiffo
I really don’t understand why people concerned about whether news stories are actually true or not. The truth Nazis are whining that people just make shit up and report it, but they clearly have no understanding of why politicians invented radio and newspapers in the first place. They’re meant for gaining political advantage and lining bird cages. Period. They don’t serve any other function.
Dreggas
Ya know I detest Hillary. I just do not like her, never have but christ even I am feeling sorry for her…
Chris Johnson
I too am loving the waitress’s reaction…
That’s the thing, many humans are not batshit insane, just trying to get along, and when the institutions that serve us are batshit insane one always assumes ‘the people’ will mindlessly accept whatever’s being put forth, that the treatment ‘makes’ them brainless, ill-informed fools.
Wrong.
I can tell you as a little liberal/socialist small business entrepreneur guy who deals with customers without any intermediaries, that when you’ve reached the point where the ‘regular person’ OUTRIGHT SAYS “What is wrong with you people?”, you’re in bad trouble. There’s a whole huge area where they think it, they’re not buying what you’re selling, but they’re nice and they’re not going to get in your face about it. If they’re saying that, oh Lord are you in trouble.
capelza
Stories like this feed into the pre-concieved notions people have about her..and where did those notions come from in the first place.
I have seen it not only on rightie blogs but at Kos (especially at Kos). The “scandal” that the Clintons “abandoned” Socks when they left the White House.
Yeah, right, under the cover of darkness they dumped the poor cat in the woods.
No, Betty Currie took the cat and cared for it till it died years later. The thing that got me about that story was it implied that Betty Currie was not a good or fond keeper.
I have concerns about Hillary policy wise, but the irrational desire to see her as an “ice-bith” always astounds me. She and Bill raised a lovely daughter…they stayed married. But of course Hillary, evil incarnate only did that for poltical reasons…there isn’t a possibility that she nad Bill actually care for each other, love each other…not possible. or that Hillary found a way to work past the betrayal…just like many other marriages have.
It really is nuts.
capelza
Dammit..that should be “ice-bitch”….
Bubblegum Tate
They’ve already checked the counters at the Maid-Rite–nary a tip to be found!
Zifnab
I felt sorry for her when she was first lady, and right up until she won the Senate seat in NY. Then I decided she’s a tough old girl and can probably kick the living shit out of any Republican who’d be ballsy enough to step up to the plate.
Now, I’m not a Hillary supporter, but I sure do love to see wingnuts go spinning off the screw. So I’m waiting for someone to crank this up a notch and suggest Mrs Clinton be tried for treason over this or something.
Chad N. Freude
OK, let’s take a poll. Which is more depressing:
A. This story was reported by NPR as if it were news.
B. NPR had to report the story because if they didn’t it would leak that Ms. Esterday had told the story to the reporter and the MSM (Moronic stupid Media) would have attacked NPR for their liberal bias.
C. The MSM thinks this is news or that the voters care about it.
D. The MSM gives more coverage to junk like this than to the candidates’ positions on wars, criminal behavior of the government, international relations, the economy, or the TV writers’ strike. (Wait, strike that last one.)
E. The public (Ms. Esterday excepted) thinks this is news.
Vote early and often.
Chad N. Freude
Impeach her!
The Other Steve
I remember once a few years ago Bill Gates met Tom Brokaw in a coffee shop in South Dakota and neither one of them remembered to bring their wallets.
That one hit the major news… wealthiest man in US doesn’t have $2.50 to buy coffee.
But again, the coffee shop owner didn’t care. He was happy to have them both in the shop. And Gates sent the guy $20 by mail when he got back to the office.
S.W. Anderson
Following on The Other Steve’s anecdote.
Using common sense, which leaves an awful lot of media by the wayside, suppose the Clinton bunch really had failed to leave a tip. What’s the implication? That they were distracted, forgot, one person thought another was leaving a tip?
Given the potential for negative publicity, no way would they deliberately stiff a waitress; it’s not credible.
You can bet if the diner manager had called the campaign to ask, “Did you folks really mean to leave without tipping the waitress,” a tip would have been forthcoming as fast as the campaign could get it there.
Zifnab
EXACTLY! They are distracted, forgetful, and inept in their leadership duties. What happens when they’re not tipping waitresses but fighting Al Qaeda? How will the Senator from New York handle a thousand angry brown skinned heathens covered from ankles to earlobes with plastic explosives, flinging themselves at the gentle folk of Iowa, if she can’t even remember to properly leave a tip?
A vote for the Democrats is surely a vote for incompetence and foolishness in our hour of greatest peril. And besides, a stunt like this proves that Hillary Clinton hates white people.
Delia
If Hillary truly identified with ordinary working people she wouldn’t even eat at the diner. She and her staff would just eat peanut butter sandwiches on the bus.
jcricket
Don’t forget about the fava beans (to go with the Chianti, because she’s a cannibal, like Hannibal… oh forget it).
The reason this shit needs more than the usual “mea culpa” from a reporter is these kind of zombie lies are what the right-wing feeds on for years. If we are ever to hope that political reporters go back to a semblance of real reporting- they need to be embarrassed, shamed and smacked upside the head (virtually) whenever they parrot Drudge-sourced bullshit.
demimondian
Actually, jcricket, there’s good psychological reason to respond the way most commentators have been. A recent study presents evidence that lies, when refuted, tend to remain accepted as truth longer than the refutation is remembered. That is, saying “that’s BS” doesn’t work.
However, substitution of a high valance memory which reinforces the refutation tends to minimize that effect. In particular, presentation of the refutation in a risibile, easily repeated, and clearly mocking, manner strengthens the effect of the refutation.
In English…spoofery works when nothing else does.
HyperIon
now THAT’s BS.
jcricket
Higher valances? That sounds gay, like curtains or window treatments. I don’t like it. Plus it reeks of science. Can’t be right. Turtles all the way down man.
No, seriously, I don’t think refuting straight on works for that particular lie, but the big mistake (IMHO) Kerry made with the Swift Boaters was basically not walking up to them and kicking them in the fucking nuts, then kneeing them in the face and then pushing them down and stomping on their face some more.
Doesn’t always fix the current situation, but the only thing that seems to work these days is making someone feel a whole lot of pain for the lies they’re telling.
demimondian
Thank you. I work at it.
ConservativelyLiberal
The only one in this with a lick of sense is the waitress. I would ask if the right are out of their f-ing minds, but I came to that conclusion long ago. I can’t stand Hillary! as a politician. I have no problem respecting her as a person though. She has been unfairly dumped on, over and over again, yet I have to admire the way she fights back no matter what.
I still would not vote for her though. If she gets the nod, I may end up voting for Snoopy like I did in ’96.
Johnny Pez
Fixed.
Remember the Pelosi jet plane nonstory? This has been going on for the last year, ever since election day 2006. They are, as Digby points out, the Clinton Rules, but they apply to all Democrats.
jcricket
Check out Snopes for just how far back (and to how many people) urban legends about the bad, bad Democrats go. There’s the false one about soldiers not saluting Bill the right way (or whatever), etc.
The right won’t let it die because it’s what they have. They have nothing to offer America except bread and circuses (tax cuts for the rich, too).
Anyone who really plans to vote for Snoopy because he believes some of the BS about Hillary or she’s not sufficiently whatever on the war needs to grow up. Fine, the dynasty thing sucks, I agree. But what’s important is that my fucking grade-school left-handed scissors are sharper than GW Bush and would do a better job as president. There are substantive differences between the parties, and there’s not a chance in the world that were someone like Hillary or Gore president we’d have 1/10th the crap going on now that we do (torture, illegal wiretapping, drumbeat about Iran, the war in Iraq wouldn’t have started, staffing all the government agencies with hacks, over-reaching of executive privilege, etc). This shit matters, so stop your hissy fits (after the primaries. For right now, support whomever you want).
Just grow up, hold your nose if you have to, and vote for whomever the Dems nominate. Otherwise our long national nightmare will continue.
ConservativelyLiberal
Under Hillary!, you bet it just may continue. And 1/10th of the crap right now is still too much.
I do not vote the lesser of two evils, I vote for someone I can stand behind or nobody gets my vote. I am not going to let the candidate of the ‘party who sucks less’ take my vote for granted. I don’t expect a candidate and I to see eye to eye, I am not that stupid. But I have a limit to the crap I can accept from a candidate, and the current crop (on both sides) are just too full of crap for me, at least right now.
No growing up needed, thank you. If anything, I sure would like to shed a few years. I have seen enough in my lifetime that I have had my fill of it, and that is it. I am disgusted with both parties, and if the candidates suck so bad that I want to toss my vote away then so be it.
You can vote for the ‘I suck less’ candidate. Leave me out of it.
ConservativelyLiberal
Corrected. I do like Dodd.
jcricket
Seriously, go away. The whole “waaah, I don’t like either side so I’m taking my vote and going home” is so 2000. 1/10th as bad as Bush (and that’s being generous to Hillary haters) is fucking important.
Not being able to get that is what gets people like Bush elected (I’m being totally serious). The whole “Democrats aren’t better enough so I’m voting for Nader, or no one” – how did that work out? Did the country get better? Will we not have to dig ourselves out of the hole that kind of thinking put us in for the next 20 years?
I don’t care how old you are, you can still need to grow up.