The Pilot was completely off today.  I'd bet that they fell for Harris Miller's soundbite-style interview with the Editorial Staff, and the Staff made a mistake in not doing any research.

This Time Magazine article is great.  They barely mention Miller.  Webb is clearly our guy here.

We need to be responding to and refuting stories like the one in the Virginia Pilot with letters to the editor ("LTE").

when they write garbage like this.  We should also be writing in praise of articles like the Time Magazine one.

The Pilot Staff apparently did NO research on this campaign, and let Miller write his own editorial.  That's the only way I can see this getting in print.

http://home.hamptonroads.com/feedback/submit.cfm?id=1

Write a LTE and let them know how wrong they were.  How incredibly, horribly, off they are on Harris Miller.

How about the part about Jim ducking debates with Miller? Miller gave them the editorial board the false impression that Jim wouldn't debate him.  Did Miller mention the truth that there are two debates scheduled or did he flat out lie and say that Jim was refusing?

I'd like to find out.

See here.  How on earth did the Virginian-Pilot miss this? 

They listened to whatever Miller told them.  That's the only solution I see.  They took what he said for gospel.  These idiots apparently didn't realize that Harris Miller is a shifty guy, and will say whatever he has to say to get elected. 

Compared to what, the corporate media?  Yeah, right.

I thought the media was supposed to protect people from political BS by telling them the truth?  These days, the news just repeats what politicians tell them.  The only question is whether they listen to politicians on the right or left. 

The paper is getting worse every day. And it is unfortunate that it is the only game in town.

Dan,
For the last 6 years the media has failed to do its job.  With the major media comglomerates, they are not independent anymore.  It is amazing to listen to or read a report that you know for a fact is distorted, midleading and just factually wrong.  This has been the means by which media outlets to dupe our citizens (who pay no attention except to headlines and soundbites).

Debby

between coffee-breaks and games of grab-ass at the paper. What other excuse do they have for such shoddy 'journalism'?

I could have done a better balanced article than that, and I never graduated college, and I cannot stand Harris Miller. Hell, my 4 year old niece is capable of better 'journalism' than this.

I wonder if there are any openings there, or did they just get the interns in for the summer?

I will never feel sorry for a man who lies to suit the agenda he's trying to push. 

Once again, Miller reminds me of W.  And they both have the arrogance to think that we "common people" are too stupid to figure out their lies.

Sabato's other quote in the article: "Jim Webb is George Allen's worst nightmare: a war hero and a Reagan appointee who holds moderate positions,"....

Warner committed to do a fundraising appearance with Harris Miller before Webb entered the picture; when Webb announced his candidacy, Warner went ahead with the fundraiser even though some people thought he should back out because the race was now contested.  Warner did not back out.  I look on his appearance with Webb as a balancing act rather than an implicit endorsement.  Obviously, Warner would not appear at a fundraising event with Lyndon LaRouche, so his willingness to appear with Webb represents a statement that Warner finds Webb to be an acceptable candidate.  But it should NOT be viewed as an implicit endorsement.

But many others may read it the same way that Time has. 

I think you're right, Warner is "Neutral."  He has even said so, but he is no fool. 

Do you think it an accident that the event has been organized so close to the election?  Warner's fundraiser will appear as an endorsement even though no openly says that.

Do you think that was by accident?  Hmmm, I wonder.

Or do think Gov. Warner (& Sen. Reid & others)keeps his head in a hole and bungle his way through this whole election thing? 
No. Warner is a smart guy.  He sees reality. The fairest winds and favorable seas are behind Webb.... & those winds and seas....that is us.  The people.  Warner knows who will provide 100,000's of votes for him in 2008. (Hint: It is not Miller.)

Miller really should drop out now. 
********************************************
To:
Gov. Warner,
Gov. Kaine,
Senator Reid,
Anyone with influence
Any others who endorsed Miller (before they became wise to the people's wishes)

  It is time to let Miller know this is not his time....unless he wants to be seen as Virginia's "Ralph Nader."

and there's on board behind the scenes.  Warner may not endorse publicly, but that doesn't mean he's not working to help Jim win the primary.  And Jim's going to win the primary whether Miller withdraws or not. Still, I think he'd make more political points by withdrawing at some point.  I know I'd like him better.

I think you are right.  To stay in the race at this point shows him as a bit clueless, self-centered and not for "the common good."
To bow out gracefully would gain him points by showing us the opposite. 

cvllelaw,

Warner's appearance may not be an explicit endorsement of Webb but can be read as an implicit endorsement.  You have to feel sorry for Warner because he is in a bind.  His friend, Don Beyer, is finance Chair for Miller yet he knows that Webb is a better candidate and realizes that his chances for getting the nomination for President in '08 go practically to zero if Miller wins the nomination.

Warner does not have to do a fund raiser for Webb to recognize how bad he wants him to run.  Why did Warner meet with Webb last year to encourage him to run if he favors Miller?

And a great photo after a rainy day today.

I want to write a new comment so it will be wide instead of too narrow.

Vivian, as for the paper if it's any consolation the RTD will give you psychic whiplash.  Having said that, I think the article takes propoganda to new extremes.

To thegools: he would not be seen as Ralph Nader.

Alicia, I agree with what you say about the arrogant attitude about the common people. 

There's a difference between Bush and Miller though.  Miller acts like a cat walking on wet grass when he's out among ordinary people. It's snotty and very insulting. I don't know about Bush, but even George Allen cares enough to put on some version of a free carnival show from time to time.

The article also says this.

Or, as he put it in an editorial board interview, “Part of my challenge is to convince voters that we’re not running for student body president.”

Damn, that's insulting.  It reeks of someone who considers ordinary people "the great unwashed."

There's another colloquialism.  When we were kids, pointing out that someone was common meant that they had stabbed someone in the back or screwed them over.  It took the class aspect completely out of it entirely. 

Yeah Ralf Nader is actually a decent guy with integrity.  What I meant Miller could be a "spoiler."  I didn't mean to degrade the good done by Nader.

I guess I wasn't very clear on that.  What I was thinking is that people are so fed up that the very idea of a spoiler is unacceptable.  It just won't do.

He is not a decent guy, and he has no integrity.

There's a great TNR piece on him called "Make You Ralph". He's been an enemy of liberal policies for a long time (since the 1970s).

http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040308&s=chait030804

overstated Warner's putative endorsement of Jim Webb.  Guess they didn't do background work any better than the Pilot.
I sure hope some of you VA beach folks nail the Pilot with a good LTE.  I'm going to work on one for the Daily Press.

I would like to see Miller drop out as well.  But at some level Miller's cadnidacy is helping Webb by keeping the race in the news and allowing Webb to sharpen his skills for what is sure to be a very negative campaign from Allen.

Now at some point Miller going too neagtive doesn't help.

... and we need to clean his clock at the polls. It will sharpen our ground game for the general, keep the race in the news (as noted above), and provide some good mo.

The only caveat I have is if Miller goes negative against Webb. That is unacceptable. If he is going to run that way (and to be fair, indications are that he is not after the Schumer call) he needs to drop out.

He's an embarrassment to Democrats. Every day that he's in this race is a slap in the face to working Americans and principled Democrats. He should slither off and enjoy the 50 million dollar fortune he has amassed from betraying American workers to the outsourcing lobby.

Frankly, Miller was lucky that he wasn't spat on at the COPE dinner last Friday. Union people are not at all impressed by Harris Miller and they understand exactly what he has been doing in Washington for more than a decade -- undermining middle class Americans and fighting the American labor movement. Miller will be lucky if labor doesn't announce opposition to him.

Democrats who support Miller should look around at the FACTS so readily available on the Internet. JC Wilmore suggests an effective Google search at the Richmond Democrat today: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Harris+Miller%22+ITAA&btnG=Google+Search

He's going to keep the fight looking as clean as possible, but he's going to manage the press by using them to get his message out.  He's going to get the RTD to attack Webb from the left like they did with their confederate article this weekend.  He's going to get VA Pilot to spread misinformation about debates, AA, DADT and Women in the Military. 

Miller is going to fight as dirty as he possibly can, while trying to appear squeaky clean.  These aren't dirty tactics, they're just tactics. 

As the core Webb activist messaging base, it's up to us to fight, rebut, and keep fighting Miller every step of the way.  This isn't just the right thing to do, it's good practice:  Miller's got Mo, Allen's Got Matlin, Wadhams, and Scott Howell.

Buck up, soldiers, this is going to get much much tougher before it gets easier.