Drudge Report Up to Its Old Tricks with Condi

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright July 13, 2012
All Rights Reserved.                                         

                Publishing its July 12 headline, “Condi Emerges as Frontrunner,” the Drudge Report showed why it’s the Web’s most popular right wing propaganda site.  Forget the Republican-friendly FoxNews that promises to be “Fair-and-Balanced,” the Drudge Report makes no such guarantees, serving as a major propaganda wing of the Republican Party.  With the Drudge Report claiming over 32 million daily visitors, the site reaches the biggest audience share on or off the Internet.  Watched intently by conservatives and liberals, the so-called “news aggregator” often sets the news cycle, famous for leaking the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal Jan. 17, 1998.  With Democrats honing in on GOP presidential nominee former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s finances, it’s now believed that the Drudge Report diverted public attention away from potentially politically damaging headlines and news stories.

            When Ann Romney said July 5 Mitt was considering a woman for VP, speculation swirled around 57-year-old former Bush-administration National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, now a political science professor and research fellow at Stanford University.  Rice received standing ovations June 27 at Romney’s Park City, Utah retreat, fueling VP speculation.  Rice told CBS News June 26, “There is no way I would do this,” dispelling reports about her availability on Romney’s ticket.  “The upcoming elections loom as one of the most important in my lifetime,” Rice told a cheering Park City audience.  “I am very often asked to speak about our current foreign policy and the challenges that lie before us.  However, we, as a country, are not going to be able to address any of these international challenges unless we first get our domestic house in order,” said Rice.

            Rice was one of former President George W. Bush’s leading advocates for the Iraq War, frequently telling audiences before Cruise missiles lit up Baghdad March 20, 2003 that the country couldn’t wait for Saddam Hussein to produce an A-bomb.  On many occasions, Condi told the media that Saddam’s arsenal of weapons of mass destruction represented, as National Security Advisor, a clear and present danger to the United States.  Whatever old debates remain about her role in the Iraq War, her current criticism of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy point toward a more interventionist foreign policy.  She criticizes Barack for his reluctance to use military force in Syria at a time when the U.S. is trying to get out of Afghanistan.  Condi talks about getting the U.S. house in order but she doesn’t recall how the Bush White House left the country in economic ruins.

            Drudge’s blockbuster headline appears to be a diversionary tactic to redirect the media away from Romney’s financial deals.  Former President Bill Clinton added to Romney’s problems, questioning why the 65-year-old former venture capitalist refuses to release multiple years of tax returns.  Romney officials have practically said its un-American to question Romney’s past financial dealings, despite the tradition of vetting presidential nominees.  Whatever buzz surrounds Condi, she’s got ideological problems with the GOP base, supporting Roe v. Wade, despite opposing late-term abortions.  She favored Bush’s past immigration reform bill, granting amnesty and a path to citizenship to some 15-20 million illegal immigrants.  “When did immigrants become the enemy?” Condi used to ask.  Condi’s chief-of-staff Georgia Godfrey said, in reaction to Drudge’s headline, she has not changed her mind.

            Print and broadcast journalists don’t get that news sites like the Drudge Report don’t operate under the same journalistic standards as conventional news sites.  They’re under no obligation to disseminate the truth, only push and sell the agenda of the site’s clients.  Speculation now centers on the Romney campaign using the Drudge Report to redirect the news cycle away from Romney’s financial dealings.  Condi’s spokeswoman said the former Secretary of State has no plans of even considering a VP offer.  Drudge can always say that any talk of Condi on Romney’s VP short-list was internal to the Romney campaign, whether Condi considered it or not.  More astute observers of “news aggregators” like Drudge should note the site’s egregious right wing bias, twisting, contorting and cherry picking news specifically to advance the right wing agendas of paid political groups.

            Drudge’s Thursday headline about Condi on Mitt’s short-list turned heads and changed Washington’s conversation.  When the dust settles, Romney will still have to answer or not to media inquiries about his financial dealings.  It’s not a cheap political shot to ask presidential nominees to release multiple years of tax returns.  Judging by her spokeswoman’s statements, Rice doesn’t consider herself on anyone’s short-list, having no intention of accepting a VP offer.  Whether Romney knows it or not, Condi has many skeletons left in her closet from the Bush administration.   “I think when people talk about leading from behind which is a kind of oxymoron, you’re seeing some of that,” Condi told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren, criticizing Obama’s non-interventionist foreign policy.  When you consider the damage done to the U.S. economy and foreign policy from the Iraq War, Condi’s in no position to point fingers.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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