The Inky Does What It Does Best, Again

In today’s AP’s story by Becky Bohrer carried in the Philadelphia Inquirer today with the dubious headline of “Gustav Gives Nagin Second Chance To Do It Right” (and yes, I’ll admit he was partially to blame for Katrina too), we learn the following…

As Gustav gained strength from warm Gulf of Mexico waters and headed toward the Louisiana coast, Nagin's tone wasn't the only thing different from three years ago.

The White House is "showering us with resources," Nagin told a local TV station, and President Bush called him yesterday "to check in."

A third public official who was stained by Katrina, former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, is long gone. Her replacement, rising GOP star Bobby Jindal, has been as visible as Nagin as the storm approaches.

Now, you may be wondering “hmmm, a third public official? Why, I’ve only heard about references both to Nagin and former governor Kathleen Blanco” (Dubya only rated a mention for the call), and you would be right (and further discussion of their roles versus that of Bushco in the Katrina debacle is the subject of a whole other post, I realize).

Fortunately, though, my question about this was answered because I also read virtually the same account in the Bucks County Courier Times. However, they chose to run the AP story intact (here), providing the missing information…

As the storm gained strength from warm Gulf of Mexico waters and headed toward the Louisiana coast, Nagin's tone wasn't the only thing different from three years ago.

The White House is "showering us with resources," Nagin told a local TV station, and President Bush called him Sunday "to check in."

Bush bore even more criticism than Nagin for the federal government's slow and inadequate response to Katrina. This time, the president canceled his planned Monday appearance at the Republican National Convention and instead will travel to Texas, where emergency personnel were staging ahead of the storm.

He opted to stay away from Louisiana "because I do not want my visit to impede in any way the response of emergency personnel."

A third public official who was stained by Katrina, former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, is long gone. Her replacement, rising GOP star Bobby Jindal, has been as visible as Nagin as the storm approaches.

So the two paragraphs that put Dubya in an unflattering light were omitted by the Inquirer, whereas other more professional news organizations ran the story intact.

Which begs the question, “Are you going to believe what you read in the Inquirer, or are you going to believe your own lying eyes?”