People with no Shame

By: Gustavus
Published On: 6/15/2007 12:29:32 PM

By now almost everyone knows that last Sunday the Washington Post published one of the most dishonest pieces ever written about Al Gore?and given the number of lies the MSM repeats about Gore, that is saying a lot.  In short, a right wing hack from The Weekly Standard, Andrew Ferguson, wrote a piece filled with factual mistakes and underhanded innuendoes about Gore?s new book, The Assault on Reason. (Here on Raising Kaine  this was documented by A Siegel; see here and here.)  The most egregious error in the Post?s piece was Ferguson?s claim that Gore gave a quotation by Lincoln without any reference?and in fact that Gore had no references at all in the book.  As Siegel and others have pointed out, Gore has over 20 pages of endnotes in the book, and a specific reference for the Lincoln quote. 

Not content to slander Gore in the Post, Ferguson appeared yesterday on that paradigm of fair and accurate journalism, the Tucker show on MSNBC.  Four days after Ferguson?s original article, and after dozens of notes pointing out the inaccuracy in the Post piece, one would think that Ferguson wouldn?t want the topic brought up.  But if one thought that one would be underestimating the mendacity of the right-wing smear machine.  Late in the show Tucker said, ?You know what, Andy, I was reading Al Gore?s book the other day.  I know that you just wrote a book on Abe Lincoln.  And I was amazed to see Al Gore quote Abe Lincoln.? Oh yes, I?m sure Tucker was reading the book, and just by coincidence noticed the same passage that Ferguson had quoted in the Post.  Tucker then has the quote flashed on the screen, and this exchange follows:

FERGUSON:  It is amazing how far seeing?he has a lot about Iraq, I guess, Abe Lincoln, even though it hadn?t been invented yet, Iraq.  No, this is a bogus quote that has gone around for almost?well over 100 years, about 130 years.  Thought up by the people who were the Al Gores of their days, the people who hated the capitalists. 
CARLSON:  You mean to tell me that Abe Lincoln never uttered those words. 
FERGUSON:  It?s very hard to believe, but no, he didn?t.  He is not the trembling kind.

Not a word about the fact that Ferguson had made false statements about this quote earlier in the Post; in fact, not a word about the fact that Ferguson had even written about the book in the Post. 

This should be exhibit #1 to anyone who thinks only Fox news is in the pocket of the right wing smear machine.  MSNBC also has no sense of shame.

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