about L’affaire de Dilulio, but I can’t stop giggling long enough.
First, most academics probably would find it too political. I grant that, but also don’t think we should assume he is necessarily wrong because of that. There is a lot of evidence this administration is one of the most politicized administrations. I don’t find this realization to be News at 11. Changes in media scope and speed mean this is going to be more true as time goes along regardless of party. The problem as I see it is that much of the mainstream press accepts this silly notion that the administration isn’t highly politicized. I don’t blame Rove/Bush for the media’s laziness.
What is interesting about this story is how ham-handed the administration was. What is the worst thing that could happen if the story breaks and Dilulio says virtually nothing? A couple news cycles with some handwringing by pundits. No big deal.
What happens when Dilulio claims the story is groundless and baseless, but there is a letter? A lot of questioning of the administrations’ trustworthiness that last for several news cycles. If the administration had simply let this story die, the information would have been lost on the general public as background noise. Now it gets thrown into the public debate for a longer period. The adults are back in charge.
But what does the denial do? It keeps the story alive in the news cycle.