A blogger is the author of a blog. This seems to be a difficult concept for many on the right to understand. Johnson at the odious LGF selectively gets it. Those who make outrageous, hateful comments on his site are to be distinguished from the site itself. But the same rule does not apply to bloggers from the left - today he blames "leftist" blogs for some of the more paranoid comments made about the fire in Cheney's office, but quotes only commenters, not bloggers.
More important is when someone with big "Think Tank" credentials distorts what blogs are and how they function. David Frum is despicably deceptive in his analysis of the blogosphere today
It's no surprise that Frum, from the American Enterprise Institute Tink Thank, would throw a defensive hizzy-fit on behalf of neo-conservatism - A.E.I. is neo-con-central, and the organization that enables Frum to pay his mortgage, for now. But it is surprising how sleazily and sloppily he does it.
Like Charles Johnson, above, and before, him, Frum cannot seem to distinguish bloggers from commenters. He refers to an argument between Glenn Greenwald and Michael O'Hanlon, and quotes O'Hanlon being rude and dismissive towards Greenwald in order to show how nasty bloggers can be. It's not O'Hanlon's rudeness that is being criticized by Frum, but the nastiness of commenters who supported Greenwald.
"The put-down [by O'Hanlon] was featured on the left leaning website Crooks and Liars and provoked 71 responses, including this one.....
and this one....
and this one....
Frum dishonestly confuses the blogger with the commenter as if he did not understand that many bloggers allow anyone to comment. At one point in his post he wrote of his work on the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal. Does he believe that the Journal is responsible for every letter to the editor it receives?
While condemning the harsh smear of the left wing blogosphere, Frum does not hesitate to smear others, stating that
the high-toned Professors Stephen M. Walt and John J. Mearsheimer [are] reinterpreting the role formerly played by William Knowland and Senator McCarthy.
What evidence does he offer to compare Mearsheimer to McCarthy? None; not one word.
He implies that blogs approve of "self-promotion", relish "discourtesy", and dislike a "modulated tone." He demonstrates his superior values by mocking the age of Hillary Clinton's advisors, including Albright (born 1937) and contrasts her with the youthfulness of Obama's team which includes Zbigniew Brezinski (born 1928).
Compared to Obama’s, Hillary Clinton’s foreign-policy team looks a little like a gala performance in Branson, Missouri: all the names you remember from decades ago. (“Madeleine Albright is still fabulous!”)
[emphasis is Frum's]
Frum's piece is an object lesson in hypocrisy in action. Read it if you need reminding of what intellectual dishonesty is all about. Or if you want to learn how to smear others, while acting Saintly.
Thanks for sharing
Posted by: Doodee | February 01, 2008 at 12:55 AM