John Edwards, Entrapped

1. Tabloid prints trash story about presidential candidate, deep inside, not even teased off the cover

2. Elite media pretends to ignore trash story but secretly makes inquiries

3. Local TV news station asks candidate about trash story

4. Later, Elite media's editors tell field reporters it's ok to ask candidate about trash story because he's already been asked about it.

5. Elite media asks about trash story

6. Candidate answers

7. Elite media runs the story on the pretext that the denial has made the story legitimate.

8. Elite media looks for different angles to justify running the story.

Comments

Dirty, foul, filthy, disgusting. I knew the media wanted a two person race, but I underestimated the lengths they'd go to get one.

Posted by Will | October 12, 2007 9:40 AM

Don't just go all meta on us Marc. I'm not sure what you're alluding to, but I don't appreciate your lack of details. Now I'm off to Google news.

Posted by willie | October 12, 2007 10:27 AM

He's talking about a National Enquirer allegation that Edwards has had an extramarital affair:

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&ncl=1122026163

Posted by Chris S. | October 12, 2007 10:39 AM

Same thing happened to all candidates, Will. (See Hillary Clinton is a lesbian storyline.) The media loves a scandal. It's not some massive conspiracy to rig the race.

Posted by Zach | October 12, 2007 10:42 AM

Ignore it and you make it irrelevant!

http://www.newyorkforhucabee.blogspot.com

Posted by Peter | October 12, 2007 10:55 AM

Avoid the passive voice.

"John Edwards, Entrapped" ... by whom? Why, the elite media?

Do you guys talk about how insane this all is when you're at happy hour?

Posted by Nicholas Beaudrot | October 12, 2007 11:27 AM

Can't Edwards just say, in response to the question, "that's f*cking stupid and you should be embarrassed for taking your cues from the tabloids. Want to ask me if about my endorsement by Elvis?" I guess that would be uncivil, and it would add to the reasons the elite media, as Marc noted, don't care for Edwards.

Posted by SDM | October 12, 2007 11:29 AM

Since the same company that owns the National Enquirer also owns the Weekly World News, John Edwards should respond: "Have any of you found batboy yet?"

http://www.weeklyworldnews.com/imgs/wwn/wallpapers/news_batboy_1.jpg

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E6D7153BF931A35752C1A96F958260&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/C/Clinton,%20Hillary%20Rodham

Posted by framecop | October 12, 2007 12:46 PM

Weekly World News no longer has a print edition.

And the Enquirer broke the Gary Hart story; Jesse Jackson's love child; OJ's Bruno Magli shoes and found the knife, and so on.

Places like the NY Times have acknowledged that the Enquirer does get scoops from time to time.

Posted by Alison | October 12, 2007 2:05 PM

Actually, Allison, it was the Miami Herald that broke the Gary Hart story--the Enquirer's contribution to the unfolding saga was snagging the first pictures of Hart aboard the good ship Monkey Business with his lady Donna on his lap. Also, one scoop you could have attributed to the Enquirer but didn't mention was Bill Clinton's thing with Gennifer Flowers.

Posted by Max Gold | October 12, 2007 3:26 PM

BREAKING: Edwards caught in alien affair, denies existance of interplanetary love child.

Oh...and the global ice caps are melting, Iraq is still a quagmire and yes, none of this is making the value of your home rise.

Posted by Jen Q | October 12, 2007 4:49 PM

the real story isn't the story by Natl Enquirer, but who put them up to it. who benefits the most? It wasn't the Elite media that started this. So who did? if there's a story at all in this nonsense, that's what it is.

Posted by edgery | October 12, 2007 5:50 PM

Two steps left off the narrative above --

AP runs a 200-word story consisting largely of Edwards denial under headline "Edwards Denies Tabloid Allegations." That alone wouldn't have been worth giving a second thought to.

Then, LA Times decides to run the story by a reporter who worked previously as a press aid for the Bush campaign in 2000, under the headline "Edwards Denies Affair with Campaign Staffer". On LA Times site, reporter defends it with "he answered it making it legitimate." Thereby avoiding the obvious next step:

Edwards refuses to answer AP question on grounds its a ridiculous story. LA Times runs story by former Bush press aide under headline "Edwards refuses to deny affair with campaign staffer."

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Marc

Your wrong. The Enquirer did NOT break the Gary
Hart story - it was reporters from the Miami Herald. My sister's husband was the editor of that paper then, I remember.

Yours, JL

Posted by J Lambert | December 19, 2007 1:28 AM

John Edwards is pro-abortion....so what's the problem?

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Posted by xyupoj | January 27, 2008 6:12 AM

9. Trash story is determined to be accurate.

False pretenses of offense deemed to be nothing but blogging hypocrisy.

Posted by The Truth | July 23, 2008 2:07 AM