11 December 2008

Revising e-History as it Happens

Obama: I never met Blago; hell, I don't even know him. By the way-what's a web cache?
KHQA TV wishes to offer clarification regarding a story that appeared last month on our website ConnectTristates.com. The story, which discussed the appointment of a replacement for President Elect Obama in the U.S. Senate, became the subject of much discussion on talk radio and on blog sites Wednesday. The story housed in our website archive was on the morning of November 5, 2008. It suggested that a meeting was scheduled later that day between President Elect Obama and Illinois Governor Blagojevich. KHQA has no knowledge that any meeting ever took place. Governor Blagojevich did appear at a news conference in Chicago on that date.

Why this "clarification" has been issued is not cleared up by the item. The original item does not, as you can see, "suggest" that the meeting might/maybe happen. It says that "He's meeting" (He is meeting).... The only question that the clarification raises is about Ms. Sowers' professional ethics: Was she making it up then or is she making it up now?

I've written to both Sower and Hunt asking for comment. I'll report on any response. I doubt any response has been forthcoming. Both "reporters" have doubtless already gotten the word to be quiet "if you know what's good for you."
UPDATE: You know David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel don't have to get their hands dirty; the Devout and Faithful are already doing that for them:
In fact, if you mention ROD BLAGOJEVICH in your question, at all, even totally politely in a relevant way, your question will not only be voted down but "removed" (says the site) as "inappropriate," visible only through a specific search for ROD BLAGOJEVICH.

Change.gov looked like it was going to be a nice, civil exception to the usual mob rule in Web comment sections. And maybe it would have been, with some conscientious Change.govers letting in some Blago questions. But now Drudge has linked the site, via this story, so a bunched of pissed off Obama conspiracists will jump into the game, resulting in an epic mod war and soon the whole thing will look like a YouTube screaming match.

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