Thursday, September 16, 2004
Fake but Accurate
If we stoop to generalize U.S. politics in terms of a simple left-right spectrum, it appears that many on the left honestly see themselves as on the side of the angels (e.g., Dan Rather, et al.) while many on the right garner a sense of self-righteousness in reaction (e.g., "can you believe these guys?").
The current flap over the 60-Minutes Memogate slip-up corroborates the point. While Fox-TV News flaunts their "fair and balanced" mantra and everyone knows that it's a Rupert Murdoch joke, the much more serious left now defends the Dan Rather evidence embarrassment as simply being about some memos that are "fake but accurate."
Unintended self-parody.
"Fake but accurate" just might make it into the folklore of our time -- along with, "if the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit ...", "it depends on the definition of 'is', ..." and, of course, "fair and balanced."
It's just that the latter was fully intended self-parody.
