Arrogant America

Documenting and Exposing the Liberal Political Agenda of the New York Times.



January 21, 2005

Arrogant America

"The first-term view of America as an unrivalled power with a single focus, uninterested in consultation, its perceived arrogance captured by the photographs at Abu Ghraib, will be hard to shake." - Foreign policy reporter Roger Cohen on how the world sees Bush, January 16 Week in Review.



Thank God

"Many Europeans who deplore Washington's blunt methods and go-it-alone tendencies still say the United States can recapture its moral leadership." - Mark Landler, January 16 Week in Review.



Sen. Robert Who?

"Essie Mae Washington-Williams spent 78 years as the unacknowledged mixed-race daughter of the Senate's most notorious white supremacist." - Book reviewer Janet Maslin writing about a book by one of Strom Thurmond's daughters, January 17. Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd was a member of the Ku Klux Klan before joining the Senate.



Relaying Reckless Leftist Charges On Pro-U.S. Bloggers in Iraq

"When I telephoned a man named Ali Fadhil in Baghdad last week, I wondered who might answer. A C.I.A. operative? An American posing as an Iraqi? Someone paid by the Defense Department to support the war? Or simply an Iraqi with some mixed feelings about the American presence in Iraq? Until he picked up the phone, he was just a ghost on the Internet. The mystery began last month when I went online to see what Iraqis think about the war and the Jan. 30 national election. I stumbled into an ideological snake pit." - The opening to Sarah Boxer's story in the January 18 Arts section on a pro-U.S. blog run by brothers in Iraq, based on speculations on the far-left blog Martini Republic.



How Ever Did Bush Win?

"On the eve of President Bush's second inauguration, most Americans say they do not expect the economy to improve or American troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by the time Mr. Bush leaves the White House, and many have reservations about his signature plan to overhaul Social Security, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll. Seventy percent, however, said they thought Mr. Bush would succeed in changing the Social Security system. The poll found that 43 percent of respondents expect most forms of abortion to be illegal by the time Mr. Bush leaves the White House, given Mr. Bush's expected appointments to the Supreme Court. The Times/CBS News Poll offered the kind of conflicting portrait of the nation's view of Mr. Bush that was evident throughout last year's presidential campaign. Nearly 60 percent of respondents said they were generally optimistic on the eve of Mr. Bush's swearing-in about the next four years, but clear majorities disapproved of Mr. Bush's management of the economy and the war in Iraq." - The opening to Adam Nagourney and Robin Toner's Inauguration Day story on the latest CBS/NYT poll, January 20.



Celebrating Military "In Response to Critics"

"In response to critics who have questioned the propriety of a lavish inaugural celebration in a time of war, Mr. Bush has made the military a central focus of the week's events, and sponsors of other gatherings this week have followed his lead." - Scott Shane, January 19.

"The tribute, 'Saluting Those Who Serve,' was created by inaugural organizers to set a solemn tone for the festivities surrounding Mr. Bush's swearing-in on Thursday and comes amid criticism of a three-day celebration with a price tag of $40 million. In addition to the military, 7,000 civilians also attended the invitation-only event." - White House reporter Elisabeth Bumiller, January 19.