Mittiliani

By anamariecox | January 8, 2007 | +

It’s a political truism that if you turn up the volume loud enough, the extremes of the left and right sound almost exactly alike. I am reminded of this weekly, when I get updates from both the conservative media watchers at the Media Research Center and the liberal watchdogs at Media Matters. This past week, Media Matters exercised the prerogative of conspiracy theorists everywhere: There is no such thing as an accident. Discovering two (two!) MSM outlets that had “mistakenly” ID’d Barack Obama as Osama bin Laden or vice-versa, Media Matters pointed out:

That’s not a mistake that results from the physical proximity of two keys on a keyboard. That’s a mistake that arises because people have come to associate “Obama” and “Osama.” And if professional staffers of news organizations have come to do so, isn’t it obvious that the link has been made in the subconscious of some voters as well?

Isn’t it obvious, indeed.

I look forward to the MRC’s parallel explication of what intrigue explains this “typo” I grabbed off of Yahoo News this afternoon:

As they’ve taught me to say in Mainstream Media re-education camp: Mwhaaahaaaaa! Mwuhaaahaaaa! — Ana Marie Cox

Related Topics: Uncategorized

@TIMEPolitics

Latest on Swampland

Mitt Romney February 9, 2012

Mitt Romney’s Sweet Spot: Just Conservative Enough

Why is Mitt Romney having trouble winning over the conservative Republican base? One reason is his lack of political finesse, an air of dorky rich-guy aloofness that reminds some people of John Kerry. More important, however, is his ideological profile. In almost every important way, Romney’s policy platform is more moderate than those of Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. Gingrich offers a much more conservative tax plan, along with crowd-pleasing ideas like his plan to sic federal marshals on “radical” liberal judges. Santorum carries a blazing social-conservative torch, championing ideas like a constitutional ban on abortion. Both Gingrich and Santorum talk quite openly about the virtues of bombing Iran. Romney’s temperature runs cooler in all these areas. Not to mention his past record of pro-choice, pro-gay rights positions. As Jon Chait notes today, the GOP establishment is defending Romney but also working hard to push him to the right.
From our Partners
Romney: 'I Misspoke'HuffPost Politics

Did Obama Just Declare Victory in Afghanistan?Slate
Santorum Gives Health Update On DaughterHuffPost Politics
Controversies February 9, 2012

Conflict Over Obama’s Contraception Rule Intensifies

The Administration’s decision to require Catholic charities and universities to provide free birth control through employee health coverage is several weeks old, but the maelstrom of dissent it’s created is widening. Republicans, who charge that the measure violates such organizations’ religious freedoms, have allied with Catholic groups in opposition, and in recent days a handful of high-profile Democrats have joined their ranks in calling on the Administration to broaden exemptions from the rule.