Anybody else in the NYC area catch the report last night on CBS-2 purporting to be a 'behind the scenes' expose of 'dirty tricks' and the 'anatomy of a smear' by one Senate candidate? I was intrigued, and more so when I found out it involved the NJ race.
The teases and the build up througout the newscast all revolved around the last debate between Menendez and Kean Jr. over the weekend, and I was surprised not at the activity reported, but at the wholly uncritical presentation of what happened, labelling it as a 'smear.' The crux of the issue seems to be the release of the
video of a concerned mother, demanding to get specific information from Kean, Jr. on his Iraq position.
I would post video of the piece, but I don't have it myself, and cannot immediately locate it. In short, the spot was about a minute and a half long, detailing the travails of Tom Kean Jr. during the debate.
The highlights? Pity the poor candidate as he needed to 'run the gauntlet' of Menendez supporters outside the studio before the telecast. Weep for the ex-governor's son, being forced to answer difficult questions during the debate. Boo the bad democrats, who (and this was completely unsubstantiated) managed to sneak in the angry mother sometime after the debate specifically so that a confrontation could be sparked between her and the Republican candidate. Decry their bad manners in releasing a statement to the press about that confrontation, and the release of that video on You Tube, further making Menendez look poorly.
In the end, I came away with the notion that rather than watching the anatomy of a smear, I had just finished watching the smear itself, against Menendez: at no point were any allegations that the affair was set up by Democrats ever proven, indeed no proof was ever offered. Further, even allowing that the whole incident was a set-up, nothing was given to show that Tom Kean, Jr. had addressed this mother's questions to her satisfaction other than his staffer's say-so, nor had any excuse been given that he should not be responsible, as a candidate, for doing so. The plain assertion was that Tom Kean, Jr. shouldn't need to answer any questions that he didn't want to, nor indeed face anyone with an opposing viewpoint, and if ever he was forced to do so it could only be the result of a dirty trick.
Is this the new standard? If so, I point roundly at our president for the precedent.
If anyone has the video, I would thank them for referring it to the likes of Media Matters.
UPDATE: I find now that Ellinton already did the hard work in locating the video for us. Please visit/comment there, and look for the video link to judge for yourself.
UPDATE II: I guess I'm really late to this party - even more available from the good people at BlueJersey.