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More Shear Nonsense In The New York Times

In a New York Times ?Political Memo? published yesterday, Obama, ?Hitting the Trail, Still Looks for Ways to Make His Message Stick,? reporter Michael D. Shear reports argues that Obama?s problem is the framing rather than the content of his message. (I?ve criticized the liberals urge to frame a number of times, such as here, here, here, here, and here.)

WASHINGTON ? President Obama is preparing to wage the final weeks of the midterm campaign with a theme he has been hammering for months ? a plea that voters not embrace the Republican policies of the past. But the specifics of his closing argument remain in flux as the White House searches for a way to frame the message that connects with voters.

?It?s a complicated task,? Shear quotes Rep. Gerald Connolly (D, Va.); ?they have been trying to refine their message.? And more shear nonsense from Shear himself: ?The challenge for the president,? Shear writes, ?has been to find a way to tailor [his] argument so that it resonates with a public that is deeply skeptical of both parties....?

Shear, as I say and repeat, nonsense. The problem is not the frame, it?s the picture. It?s not how the Emperor?s suit is tailored, it?s the suit itself.

If Shear were a conservative reporting in a conservative newspaper and had written, ?the challenge for the president has been to find a way to frame a silk purse campaign argument out of the sow?s ear of his policies,? most would regard such a claim as blatant, biased editorializing and not really ?reporting? at all.

Full post as published by Discriminations on October 16, 2010 (boomark / email).