Media Not Liberal; Just Cowardly

Once upon a time, the Inky was one of the best papers in the country. Under legendary editor Gene Roberts in the 1970s and '80s, the Philadelphia Inquirer could stand without shame against the LA Times, Washington Post and New York Times.

It's a shame Roberts lived to see this.

YOO CAN'T BE SERIOUS.... The Philadelphia Inquirer's defense for hiring John Yoo as a columnist was even worse yesterday than it was the day before.

SNIP

"There was a conscious effort on our part to counter some of the criticism of The Inquirer as being a knee-jerk liberal publication," (editorial page editor Harold) Jackson said. "We made a conscious effort to add some conservative voices to our mix."

... hiring the author of torture memos to prove the paper isn't liberal is just crazy. The Inquirer, which publishes in one of the nation's most Democratic cities, is already paying Rick Santorum, for crying out loud. What some in the media fail to realize is that reflexive conservatives, who expect all news outlets to follow the standards of Fox News and the Wall Street Journal editorial page, won't be impressed. Republicans who think the paper is a "knee-jerk liberal publication" will continue to think that whether or not it pays John Yoo for poorly written columns.

Hiring Yoo is bad enough, but caving to accusations of liberalism?

There are three possible answers to accusations of liberalism, whether you're a politician, a pundit or a paper:

"You bet your ass."

"Tell all your friends."

"Fuck off and die."

Cross-posted at They Gave Us A Republic ....