1115.org

Here’s ABC News — in the person of Russell Goldman — showing us how they too are committed to fair and balanced news. The subject is Hillary Clinton’s Michigan-Florida shenanigans:

Hillary Clinton has vowed to stay in the game, but some critics contend she is looking to change the rules.

Some critics contend? So it’s not true, huh? Just gratuitous vilification by her critics? Correction: by some of her critics. That clinches it; it couldn’t possibly be true if not even all of her critics are making the charge.

That was the opening sentence of Goldman’s story, by the way. In the fourth paragraph, Goldman does get around to telling his readers:

Back in January, when Michigan and Florida held their primaries, it seemed the party’s decision to strip the states of their delegates would serve as a symbolic punishment with little actual influence on the race. At that time, both Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, D- Ill., agreed to play by the party’s rules…

But Goldman is much too proud to concede that this does, in fact, mean she is, in fact, looking to change the rules that she herself had agreed to abide by. In fact, just three paragraphs later, he is back to repeating the “critics contend” canard:

Critics contend that Clinton’s push to get the committee to overturn its decision is an attempt to change the rules mid-game and a last ditch effort to save her campaign in the face of mounting support for Obama.

Perhaps Goldman suffers from some kind of multiple personality disorder? Or maybe Russell Goldman is not a person but the pseudonym of a group of journalists who don’t always agree but contribute paragraphs at random anyway to the stories published under this name? Because one paragraph later, we read:

“We cannot move forward as a united party if some members are left out. I want to be sure all 50 states are counted and your delegates are seated at our convention.” she said. “Join me in making sure your voices are raised and heard.”

Clinton did not always feel so strongly. In the early days of the campaign she said Michigan would not count.

Maybe he just forgot to include the “critics contend”? Or maybe someone edited it out just to spite him? (Or punish him for his journalistic sins?)

ABC News, by the way, seems to be taking another leaf from Fox News‘ book and citing Clinton’s contentious critics as objective observers. We caught them red-handed:

The Democratic Party would not be convening a meeting to resolve the issue if not for Clinton, said ABC News consultant Matthew Dowd.

“The DNC is considering changing the rules, and they wouldn’t be changing the rules unless she wanted them to meet and discuss it. She obviously wants to see the rules changed. Her staff should have set up a campaign that worked within the confines of the current rules,” he said. “It is as if Barack Obama is on the 99-yard line and in the final moments of the game Clinton wants the football field extended from 100 to 120 yards.”

Dowd is obviously contending that Clinton wants the rules changed. And as Goldman’s readers have fully internalized by this point, only Clinton’s critics contend she is looking to change the rules. (And only some of her critics, remember, not even all.) And here’s ABC News palming off this critic of Clinton as an objective consultant with no axe to grind. Shame on you, ABC News!