More Stellar Inky "Journalism"

Did you know that Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said that U.S. troops can leave his country "anytime they want"?

Considering that these characters in the Iraqi parliament are going to take the whole month of August off while our troops continue to fight, suffer, struggle and die in what could be 130-degree heat, I'd say that we'll never have a better time than now to take al-Maliki up on his offer.

Update: And aren't the Saudis such good friends, after all?

And by the way, I would consider this to be front-page news. It was definitely given the appropriate treatment from the Bucks County Courier Times today under the headline "Iraqi PM: Troops Can Leave" in big, bold type (simple and to the point - nice job).

But where or where would you find this story in the Inquirer today?

The predictable news that Russia is pulling out of an arms treaty in response to our nutsy plan to try and build a missile shield in Europe appeared on page 1, which is certainly appropriate in my opinion. Also appearing on the front page is news of a controversy to build a museum complex at Valley Forge Park and a change in the designation of part of New Jersey as "an area of national interest" by the Department of Energy for purposes of allocating power from our regional grid. And oh yes, Bill Lyon emerged from mothballs once more to wax philosophic about the Phillies' impending 10,000th loss (God, just please blow it today so these stories can be put to their merciful end, OK guys?).

I'll be kind and cut to the chase a bit here; the Inky carried the story on page 4 under the headline "Maliki says Iraq forces could secure country alone," though a sidebar piece appears with the headline of, "Bush: Positive Signs in Report" in which Bush "took his critics to task yesterday."

Other highlights (?) in today's Inquirer include Smerky's observation that we have the best health care in the world because the eight boys and three girls raised by his grandparents are still alive (here), as well as his observation that "fixing...our standing in the world should be a never-ending goal," which is ludicrous coming from Smerky since he was and remains one of the biggest cheerleaders for the Iraq war, the single catastrophe that has ruined that standing.

And by the way, speaking of Iraq, I have a message for Trudy Rubin and the editorial board (Rubin is a pro, so I'll try to be kind).

Dubya and his criminal cabal aren't going to leave Iraq. Yes, we must fight them, but they're not going to do it. The sooner you use your print space to start calling for Bush and Cheney's impeachment instead of imploring them to do something that they will never do willingly, the better served your readership will be.

I should point out, by the way, that I've been conducting my own little newspaper survey of sorts in the Bucks County, PA area for a little while now, and here are the results. Whenever I go to buy a Sunday newspaper from a convenience store, I'm lucky if I can get one of the few remaining issues of the New York Times (I'll try in a little while), but there are always stacks of Inquirers laying around that don't seem to be moving (the Courier Times seems to move slowly also, but I hold that paper to a different standard, though they look positively progressive when compared to the Inquirer any more). Also, when take the young one to area public pools on the weekend and notice people reading newspapers, overwhelmingly it is the Times that they are reading - I don't think I've seen an Inquirer once this summer.

If the Inquirer's strategy is to lose the circulation battle on Sundays in Bucks County, I should point out that they have been very successful. At the risk of sounding like a snob, I think that's a reason why the paper should show better editorial judgment. You're competing against Frank Rich, Maureen Dowd and Tom Friedman; that's a pretty diverse set of viewpoints I know, but if you think Smerky, Last, and warmed-over Trudy Rubin columns on Iraq are going to draw readership away from your chief competitor, you couldn't be more wrong.