Oops, or Poops? HuffingtonPost Headline Embarrassing Mistake, or Outright Lie?

Hollywood leftist news and gossip site The Huffington Post included this headline today:

Legal Experts Predict War Crimes Prosecutions Over Torture Meetings

The problem? The article excerpted and linked to at HuffPo says exactly the opposite. Published in the Center for Independent Media’s Washington Independent, the story begins,

With nine months remaining in President George W. Bush’s term, virtually no legal analyst expects that anyone in his administration will face indictment and prosecution in connection with the torture of terrorism detainees.

The same story ends,

…the likelihood of retributive measures against the Bush administration for torture remains remote.

And in between? More of the same.

Is HuffPo really that incompetent? Or did the editors choose to utterly mischaracterize the article in their headline for partisan political purposes?

Newsprism’s guess: both.

Newsprism

Stephen Colbert—the Man, the Myth, the Math

Stephen Colbert, named as one of TV News’ Ten Most Powerful people (actually, 13 were listed) last week, has long claimed that guest appearances on his Colbert Report get a “bump” in popularity. Now UC San Diego political science professor James Fowler (read his study) has apparently documented the bump as Democrats who appear on the show raise on average 44% more money after appearing than before. Republicans who appear see no change, however.

The late-night satirist made the so-called “Colbert Bump” famous when Republican Mike Hucakabee’s poll numbers jumped from 1% to 3% after an appearance, a “300%” bump according to Colbert (actually, that’s 200%.)

With a loyal audience of 1.3 million viewers called the “Colbert Nation,” Mr. Colbert exerts an even greater influence via the Internet. His ColberNation.com web site is wildly popular, and fans have put up a number of tribute sites including a ColbertBump.com web site, a wikipedia.com satire site called wikiality.com (here’s wikiality’s take on the Colbert bump), and a Bill O’Reilly spoof called the NoFact Zone. A Google search on his name now produces over 2.5 million results (actually, it’s 2,510,000+, and with the publication of this post, one more.)

Last night, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards (video)—that’s three presidential contenders (actually, 2.5)—all appeared on the Report, which has been broadcasting live from Philadelphia all week, demonstrating that Colbert’s influence goes well beyond the size of his TV audience.

Why? There are at least two reasons. First, media research long ago documented the crucial effect of “opinion leaders,” people with expertise or stature who pass on media messages to others in a “two-step flow” of information. With its superior writing, timing, and satirical edge, The Colbert Report includes in its audience the cream of the crop of politicos and political junkies across the country. Second, Colbert is a master at using and manipulating the Internet, where many of the aforementioned opinion leaders surf and troll, routing his gospel to the wired masses.

Is there really a Colbert bump? Newsprism has investigated and found that concerning the performance of politicians in polls, the “bump” is probably a myth, but among authors who are interviewed on the show, it’s as real as it gets. Not surprisingly, liberal authors get the largest bump in book sales, while conservative authors actually seem to lose sales after appearances.

The bottom line: the funniest man in American politics should be taken very, very seriously.

Newsprism

The Perfect Vice President for Either Party: Sam Nunn of Georgia

Former Senator and conservative Democrat Sam Nunn today endorsed Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, eliciting speculation that he could be on Obama’s short list of potential runningmates.

Newsprism has long considered Nunn, a four-term Senator and former Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and an expert on weapons of mass destruction, among the most credible candidates for the presidency—an office he’s shown little if any interest in.

As Obama’s runningmate, Nunn would shore up the Democrats’ foreign policy credentials substantially and move the ticket towards the center, possibly even putting some states in the otherwise solidly red South in play.

Mr. Nunn would make an equally strong runningmate for John McCain. McCain’s main weakness is the perception that he would continue the utterly failed foreign policy of George Bush, a foreign policy Nunn has challenged with great depth and perspective. Nunn would also pull the Republican ticket towards the center, putting any number of blue states in play.

Nunn  hopes for a sea change in US foreign policy and for political reconciliation domestically. Accepting a spot on either ticket would go a long way towards accomplishing both objectives.

Update: Nunn just told MSNBC that he’s happy in the private sector and not considering a return to public office.

Update: Along with Nunn, former Senator David Boren and former Clinton cabinet member Robert Reich have also endorsed Barack Obama today.

Newsprism

Hillary Clinton Uses Wrong ‘Kitchen’ Metaphor

At a campaign rally in Pennsylvania today, Hillary Clinton responded to Barack Obama’s criticism of the ABC News debate Wednesday night, saying, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen (video).” She added, “I’m very comfortable in the kitchen.”

This seems an odd metaphor for a woman who once belittled housewives for “bak(ing) cookies and hav(ing) teas (transcript).“

The apt metaphor for the lingering Mrs. Clinton: too many cooks spoil the broth.

More to the point, Obama’s crticism wasn’t about the “heat” of the questions  the moderators, Charles Gibson and George Stephanopolous, asked him—it was about their shallowness, a criticism Newsprism agrees with 100%.

Newsprism