The Cynics of the Times

Yesterday Howell Raines, disgraced former NYT editor, summarized the story of Katrina's aftermath by posing two alternative narratives. The Bush administration, he said, is trying to spin it as a "law and order" story, but the American people aren't buying that. They see it as a story about suffering. [I'm paraphrasing here, ABC charges for transcripts].

Apparently the former Timesman's mind is too simple, or too clouded by Bush hatred, to understand that both story lines are true and that the situation is far more complex than any "story line" can comprehend. But then, he is a Timesman and they are in the business of telling stories, not informing people.

That certainly is the case with Scott Shane, another Timesman, who frames his whole front-page story on Katrina in terms of the blame game. He accuses the administration of trying to shift blame to state and local officials, who in his account are reacting "angrily." [here]

Old habits of thought die hard. To the Times everything is spin and all that matters is how things are framed. The narrative is what is important. Innocent people are suffering, the federal response was an unmitigated failure, and it's Bush's fault. Anything that deviates from that narrative is simply a nefarious Rovian attempt to obscure the Times' simplistic version of the "truth." [See Adam Nagourney and Anne Kornblut's piece here which specifically identifies Rove as the chief truth-twister].

But the attack isn't working. The "American People" invoked by Raines aren't buying the Times' story. There is broad awareness that people are suffering, but most aren't blaming Bush. ABC reports:

Americans are broadly critical of government preparedness in the Hurricane Katrina disaster -- but far fewer take George W. Bush personally to task for the problems, and public anger about the response is less widespread than some critics would suggest.

Not surprisingly views break down along party lines. Democrats blame Bush. Republicans don't. Independents are split.

Read it here.

The Times blames the administration for "orchestrating" a response to critics. For an orchestrated effort check out the NYT opinion pieces, where they can really let it rip:

Bob Herbert: "A Failure of Leadership"
Paul Krugman: "Killed By Contempt"
Maureen Dowd: "The United States of Shame"
Frank Rich: "Fallujah Floods the Superdome"

Oh, this is precious. Bret Hume points out on FOXNews that the NYT has consistently editorialized against wasting money on flood control projects in Louisiana on the grounds that they would damage the environment.