With a little help from his Republican rival, the Times broke the story of Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal falsely suggesting over the years to have served in Vietnam. He'd actually racked up several deferments and had only finagled a stateside slot in the Marine Reserve when his last deferment came into jeopardy.
The paper can't be accused of underplaying the story, with a front-page splash Tuesday, although the print headline over Raymond Hernandez's expose was deadening: "Candidate's Words Differ From His History [1]." The photo caption didn't identify Blumenthal as a Democrat either, merely as "Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut."
Compare the Blumenthal case to another politician's personal scandal, one involving a Republican: Indiana Rep. Mark Souder confession of an affair with a staffer and subsequent resignation from office.
While Hernandez bided his time until paragraph three to reveal Blumenthal was a Democrat, congressional reporter Carl Hulse immediately informed readers of Souder's "conservative Republican" affiliation. The headline also outed Souder as GOP: "Citing Affair, Republican Gives Up House Seat [2]."
Hulse's lead sentence:
Representative Mark Souder, a conservative Republican from Indiana, on Tuesday acknowledged carrying on an affair with a staff member and said he would resign his seat in Congress as of Friday.
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