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BulgeGate is Back: Did the Papers Kill the Story

By Jeralyn, Section Elections
Posted on Fri Feb 04, 2005 at 11:05:21 PM EST
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Via Buzzflash: Reporter Dave Lindorff, writing in FAIR, says that the New York Times killed a story in the days before the election that could have changed the outcome of the election. The issue: Did President Bush cheat during the debate by wearing an electronic cueing device.

Could the last-minute decision by the New York Times not to run the Nelson photos story, or the decision by the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times not even to pursue it, have affected the outcome of the recent presidential race? There is no question that if such a story had run in any one of those major venues, instead of just in two online publications, Bulgegate would have been a major issue in the waning days of the campaign.

Given that exit polls show many who voted for Bush around the country listed "moral values" as a big factor in their decision, it seems reasonable to assume that at least some would have changed their minds had evidence been presented in the nation’s biggest and most influential newspapers that Bush had been dishonest. "Cheating on a debate should affect an election," says Bagdikian. "The decision not to let people know this story could affect the history of the United States."

New York Times public editor Daniel Okrant confirms Lindhorff's allegations about the Times killing the story:

As Extra! went to press, New York Times public editor Daniel Okrent posted a message on his website (12/21/04) confirming that his paper had, in fact, killed a story about the device under George W. Bush’s suit. Here is the text of Okrent’s message:

President Bush and the Jacket Bulge

Online discussion of the famous bulge on President Bush’s back at the first presidential debate hasn’t stopped. One reporter (Dave Lindorff of Salon.com) asserted that the Times had a story in the works about a NASA scientist who had done a careful study of the graphic evidence, but it was spiked by the paper’s top editors sometime during the week before the election. Many readers have asked me for an explanation.

I checked into Lindorff’s assertion, and he’s right. The story’s life at the Times began with a tip from the NASA scientist, Robert Nelson, to reporter Bill Broad. Soon his colleagues on the science desk, John Schwartz and Andrew Revkin, took on the bulk of the reporting. Science editor Laura Chang presented the story at the daily news meeting but, like many other stories, it did not make the cut. According to executive editor Bill Keller, "In the end, nobody, including the scientist who brought it up, could take the story beyond speculation. In the crush of election-finale stories, it died a quiet, unlamented death."

Lindorff also is critical of the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times for not pursuing the story.

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    BulgeGate is Back: Did the Papers Kill the Story | 23 comments (23 topical)
    Re: BulgeGate is Back: Did the Papers Kill the Sto (none / 0) (#1)
    by chupetin on Fri Feb 04, 2005 at 10:11:56 PM EST
    After all the other crap Bush got away with, cheating in a debate that he lost anyway is nothing in comparison. But if it's true it should go on public record. As far as moral values lets talk about pedophile priests and the churches that shelter them.

    Re: BulgeGate is Back: Did the Papers Kill the Sto (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Feb 05, 2005 at 01:47:09 AM EST
    Seems strange that those monitoring the debate didn't come out with what it was, though I recall reading somewhere that it was a medical device monitoring his heart or? He didn't want to appear in ill health before the election....who knows?

    Re: BulgeGate is Back: Did the Papers Kill the Sto (none / 0) (#3)
    by bad Jim on Sat Feb 05, 2005 at 03:08:34 AM EST
    Need any lumber? At least he didn't forget Poland.

    Re: BulgeGate is Back: Did the Papers Kill the Sto (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Feb 05, 2005 at 04:45:16 AM EST
    Lindorff also is critical of the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times for not pursuing the story. Damn that liberal media!

    Re: BulgeGate is Back: Did the Papers Kill the Sto (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Feb 05, 2005 at 07:41:45 AM EST
    The bulge it must be where he is keeping the voter turnout stats for Iraq

    Re: BulgeGate is Back: Did the Papers Kill the Sto (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Feb 05, 2005 at 07:42:53 AM EST
    Remember the stolen Carter briefing papers that Reagan used to wipe the floor with Carter? I think George Will was involved in that somehow, wasn't he? The repubs have a history of looking for an edge without any regard to the ethics involved. They are, after all, the party of values.

    Re: BulgeGate is Back: Did the Papers Kill the Sto (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Feb 05, 2005 at 07:45:41 AM EST
    But this is water under the bridge. The real unraveling of the republic is taking place at Gitmo, Bagdad, and elsewhere. The question in my mind is whether the electorate at large is going to be able to read the writing on the wall by the midterm elections. We can count on Fox and it's msm friends to report there is no wall or handwriting. At some point, it may become apparent that the emperor has no clothes even if the sychophants keep oohing and aahing.

    Re: BulgeGate is Back: Did the Papers Kill the Sto (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Feb 05, 2005 at 07:51:23 AM EST
    Sadly, it probably wouldn't have made any difference, even if Bush himself admitted cheating (which of course wouldn't ever happen unless Gonzales started cutting off his fingers). Bush supporters are in total denial of reality, which is the most frightening phenomenon in modern American history.

    Re: BulgeGate is Back: Did the Papers Kill the Sto (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Feb 05, 2005 at 08:43:23 AM EST
    You have to live the Times' excuse: OK, we spiked it, but many stories never make it to