January 7, 2005
The "Heroic History" of Terrorist
Leader Arafat
"[Palestinian candidate Mahmoud] Abbas, with no heroic history like that of his
predecessor as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Yasir Arafat,
has been campaigning in Mr. Arafat's footsteps if not in his clothes."
- Steven Erlanger reporting from the Gaza Strip, January 6.
"Bare-Knuckled" Allawi "Rattled"
by Terrorists, um, "Insurgents"
"But the stepped-up campaign by the insurgents, largely dominated by the
country's Sunni-Arab minority, has clearly rattled Dr. [Ayad] Allawi, a former
C.I.A. confidant known for his bare-knuckle manner, and raised the prospect of
an election whose results are diminished by the chaos."
- Dexter Filkins and David Sanger, January 6.
Spending Cuts? What Spending
Cuts?
"Conservative
lawmakers, vowing to make bigger spending cuts this year than they ever did in
President Bush's first term, are already eyeing some top priorities of local and
state politicians, including federal money for hospitals, nursing homes, mass
transportation projects and homeland security initiatives."
- Metro reporter Raymond Hernandez, January 3.
How Will Bush Do in 2005? Let's
Ask James Carville
"With the combat toll in Iraq
surpassing 1,400 and the Iraqi elections scheduled for Jan. 30, under threat of
being bombed and boycotted into irrelevance, the United States is looking a
little less mighty. And a needy world beckons elsewhere. At least one person
paid to keep his ear to the ground - James Carville, the Democratic consultant
- sees something looming."
- Media reporter David Carr, January 2.
They Never Miss a Chance
"Many Indonesians compare the earthquake disaster to the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks in the United States, but note that the death toll here is far greater.
Other nations, including Singapore and Australia to the south, got helicopters
and medical assistance into Indonesia earlier than the United States."
- Reporter Jane Perlez, January 2.
Bush Should Just Give Up Now
"Senator Max Baucus of Montana, a Democrat whose support was essential to the
enactment of President Bush's tax cuts in 2001 and his Medicare legislation in
2003, said on Thursday that he would oppose the president's Social Security plan
this year. Mr. Baucus's position will make it difficult for the White House to
obtain the Democratic votes necessary for the measure to get through the
Senate."
- Opening lines to David Rosenbaum's January 7 story.
Alberto Gonzales, American
Torquemada
"Mr. Gonzales
said the Abu Ghraib photos 'sickened and outraged' him. But he would not
acknowledge that he or any other senior administration official was to blame,
even though he was a central figure in the policy decisions that laid the
groundwork for the abuse at Abu Ghraib and other American military prisons."
- Editorial on Bush's attorney general nominee Alberto Gonzales, January 7.
No Refuge From Times' Bias on TV
"It's the Same Old Song - A Texan In the White House, A Divisive WarIt's Back
to the Present On 'American Dreams.'"
- Coverline and subhead of the Jan 2.- Jan.8 TV listings section.
