Patrick Kennedy is in the news

May 5, 2006

I don’t have anything terribly insightful to add to the [tag]Patrick Kennedy[/tag] story, though I think this summary sentence from The Note sounds about right: “If Congressman Kennedy’s unambiguously described [tag]version[/tag] of events is accurate, he will be fine. If his version is not the whole truth in some meaningful way, he will be significantly less than fine.”

It is interesting, however, to see how quickly the story has become a media favorite. You don’t suppose this has anything to do with the fact that it involves a [tag]Kennedy[/tag], a [tag]car[/tag] [tag]accident[/tag], and possible [tag]alcohol[/tag] use, do you?

Josh Marshall captured the broader dynamic quite nicely:

But here’s what does get my attention. There’s another pretty tawdry story that’s out there — one about members of Congress getting sauced up at rollicking parties and set up with hookers by crooked defense contractors in exchange for help bagging pricey defense contracts.

That’s pretty salacious too. You’d expect the press to be all over it. As Justin reported yesterday, the legendary Watergate Hotel has already received multiple subpoenas from federal investigators investigating the hotel’s role in ‘Hookergate’. So this thing’s for real.

Yet, I’m not seeing any morning show’s running with it.

And, while the Kennedy story is ‘newsy’ it doesn’t really have any greater policy implications. And the public trust implications are minor. Wilkes-Watergate-Hooker story, on the other hand, is both. It’s salacious, which the press loves. And it’s also directly tied to crooks ripping off taxpayers, probably allowing our service members abroad to have shoddy equipment or defense dollars going to worthless projects.

I have to admit, I’m a little surprised the prostitutes story isn’t getting bigger play, at least as much as the Kennedy story. The WaPo ran one big item on Wilkes/Cunningham/prostitutes last weekend, and the WSJ and the San Diego Union Tribune helped break the story, but considering we’re talking about a story that includes sex, corruption, and possibly several member of Congress, Kennedy’s car accident pales in comparison. For now, it’s getting a lot more ink.

Just to clarify, I don’t know about Kennedy’s innocence or guilt. He says he was on some medication that made him drowsy, which led to a car accident in which no one was hurt. If that’s true, it’s a non-story. If it’s not, Kennedy has a real problem on his hands.

But if his last name wasn’t Kennedy, would this be the lead story at CNN.com right now? Among others?

May 5, 2006 at 1:07 pm

If his last name wasn’t Kennedy no one would pay attention.

As far as Hookergate is concerned, what’s going on is the Real Washington Prostitutes need to demonstrate to Dear Leader that – despite 67% of America thinking Colbert was funny and 69% thinking what he did was appropriate – they are still willing to buy passenger tickets on the Hindenburg. Soo…..

Hey, it’s Republicans, and it’s hookers and it’s congressional corruption, but everybody does that, so it’s really not a story, is it???

@#$%$#@!! typists.

I’ve seen a lot of wingnut blogs say Kennedy may have gotten special treatment from the police. What about Cheney avoiding the cops until the day after he shot an old man in the face?

I think their are problems with the MSM, however, I also think the greater attention paid to the Kennedy story over the prostitution story is explicable. The basic facts of the Kennedy story are not in question. The prostitution is somewhat more complicated with the story now hinging on the testimony ofMitchell Wade. His motives may be called into question since he is cooperating with prosecutors. I not saying there isn’t something to the story, but let’s just bide our time and wait for journalists, mainstream and others, to do their work of digging more deeply into this.

We shouldn’t go off half-cocked-okay that’s a bad pun-on this. If the evidence is not available to make the case we harm our credibility latter down the road should the evidence be found.

The previous post was loaded with typos.

I think theirThe prostitution is somewhat=The prostitution story is somewhat
I not saying =I am not saying

I give up.

A personal story. I know someone who was having trouble sleeping so he took Ambien to help him sleep. About two weeks ago he committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. He left a wife and two young children. I don’t know if Ambien affected his judgment, but Ambien has made it onto the lists of the Top 10 drugs found in impaired motorists.

That being said, I am keeping an open mind about Kennedy.

I agree that we don’t know enough of the facts with regard to the Kennedy situation. At the same time, if he was drinking, it would be both refreshing and helpful for him to step forward and admit it. In the interest of honesty and in order to actually demonstrate a distinction between the way Democrats and Republicans handle problems, I hope he will do the right thing.

I think such an admission, (assuming it is true) while difficult to make, might in the long run do more for the Democratic Party than some might imagine. During this time of voter angst, some honest and forthright behavior might be an additional asset as the midterm election approaches.

This might be one of those opportunities to turn a negative into a positive. The best way to kill a news story is to put an end to speculation. I do understand the frustration that this story is getting more play than the “hookergate” issue but in the end we have to play the hand we are dealt.