Think about he way the mainstream media (MSM) went after Howard Dean when he got overenthusiastic, or how they went after Kerry, when he blew a joke, leaving out a key word or two. The MSM went into ultra high rotation, showing the gaffes over and over again.
Now, we have Newt Gingrich telling a group of Republican leaders, according the the Union Leader, "the country will be forced to reexamine freedom of speech to meet the threat of terrorism." The paper cited Gingrich as saying,
"different set of rules" may be needed to reduce terrorists' ability to use the Internet and free speech to recruit and get out their message. "We need to get ahead of the curve before we actually lose a city, which I think could happen in the next decade,"Yet, the only place Newt Gingrich's incredibly offensive remarks have been shown, to my knowledge, are the Daily show and Keith Olbermann. This despicable way of thinking is so much more onerous than the silly gaffes of Dean or Kerry. If the media, justifiably, covered Gingrich's statements, the way they did the Demcrats', Gingrich, currently considered a potential presidential primary candidate, would be toast. He would be put out of the running, just as Dean and Kerry were put out of the running in their races. Not only would the comparable level of media coverage end Gingrich's hopes for the 2008 presidential race, it would also hurt the Republican cause, since, even if Gingrich is not a top level candidate, he is seen as one of the prime Republican thinkers or philosophers. Bottom line, if a Dem said what Gingrich said, they'd be tearing him or her a new piece of anatomy. But a repug said it, so he gets a pass. The media are broken and in need of repair.
