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Boy, this is great. On the same day Bill Kristol says this:

"NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reported on “Meet the Press” that “the Obama people must feel that he didn’t do quite as well as they might have wanted to in that context. [...] 'What they’re putting out privately is that McCain may not have been in the cone of silence and may have had some ability to overhear what the questions were to Obama.'

"That’s pretty astonishing, since there seems to be absolutely no basis for the charge."

The newspaper in which he said it says this:

"Senator John McCain was not in a “cone of silence” on Saturday night while his rival, Senator Barack Obama, was being interviewed at the Saddleback Church in California. "

What's even worse is that his editors were forced to change the online version of the article and make a note at the bottom that a different version was published in the print version. How many more times does Bill Kristol have to be proven completely and utterly wrong before the Times fires him?

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79 Comments
Nikola's picture

It's becoming increasingly hard to even imagine a more disgusting person than Kristol...

AllanTBGG's picture

Bill Kristol, Mr. O-fer, look stupider than usual? I look overhead and see porcine aviation!

krisken's picture

Couldn't happen to a more deserving guy. Maybe there is Karma.

DMS's picture

Yep, wrong again. It's Kristol clear.

me's picture

Sleazeballs like Kristol, Glenn Beck, et al. keep getting hired by major "news" organizations. What a crying shame.

Beef Jerky's picture

PNAC Billy looks like he is sitting on Gannon's "cone of silence" in that picture.

woody, tokin librul's picture

As a "pundit," he cannot be fired because he's slipshod with facts.

He's not bound by 'facts.' His gig is "opinion." he won't be fired for his 'opinions, I guaran-damn-TEE you, with his 'pedigree' and his 'constituency.'

Isn't the cream supposed to rise to the top? Why are so many of our elites completely inept and totally worthless? Congressmen, Journalists, Presidents, and any number of individuals supposedly at the top of the socio-economic ladder who supposedly graduated from Ivy league schools... And yet they are dumber than a ton of bricks by and large and get things wrong time after time.

I realize that our educational system is going down compared to foreign nations, but I figure that was just at the public school level, not at the private Ivy league schools. Besides having famous and/or rich mommies and daddies, do these people really have any justification for their high positions, status, and salaries?

How soon are we going to revolt and just take on these inept bums and forcibly throw them out of office and their jobs? Why do we continue to elect/support these idiots?

bubba's picture

Missed it by that much!

Joe Schmo's picture

Only in Bush's America would such an obvious GOP shill like Kristol be given airtime on TV or column inches in the press. Anywhere else (with the exception of a few totalitarian regimes), he'd have been sacked and publicly humiliated long ago.

WTF happened to your journalistic standards of truth and integrity in the media news? Ed Murrow must be spinning in his grave. This low life BushCo propagandist shames you all.

For fuck's sake... DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

Southern Yankee's picture

Well if everyone did what I did they would fire him sooner or later. I cancelled the mag. I also cancelled Newsweek because they hired Rove. I don't want my money going toward their paychecks. I told them both why I cancelled their mag's.

Tarro's picture

This 1/2 witt Kristol is an expert on baseless claims.

False Dmitriy's picture

If only this army of fact-proof pundits would be placed into a cone of silence.

GSD's picture

James in Colorado @ 8:

Isn't the cream supposed to rise to the top? Why are so many of our elites completely inept and totally worthless? Congressmen, Journalists, Presidents, and any number of individuals supposedly at the top of the socio-economic ladder who supposedly graduated from Ivy league schools... And yet they are dumber than a ton of bricks by and large and get things wrong time after time.

I realize that our educational system is going down compared to foreign nations, but I figure that was just at the public school level, not at the private Ivy league schools. Besides having famous and/or rich mommies and daddies, do these people really have any justification for their high positions, status, and salaries?

How soon are we going to revolt and just take on these inept bums and forcibly throw them out of office and their jobs? Why do we continue to elect/support these idiots?

Kristol is a piece of corn floating to the top of a plugged toilet bowl.

Flush twice.

-GSD

Geraldo's picture

Eleventy how many ever angels can dance on a pinhead.

GSD's picture

Bill Kristol resides in a cone of stupidity.

-GSD

David's picture

what a human waste!

miller, brooks, kristol are all proof that the times needs to change it's slogan to:

All the shit we find, we print

jwf's picture

Why are Obama and McBush wasting their time at this snake-oil salesman's "church"? Are the candidates required to be vetted by another Diet Falwell or Robertson Lite? He's just another televangelist hawking books and claiming to channel "god". Why not just send them on American Idol or the new Gong Show? The credibility is about the same.

Ichi's picture

I'm sorry, but why would you want the Times to fire him? As look as he keeps looking that stupid he makes a fine representative for the right....

karen marie's picture

yeah, i saw a comment in an earlier thread and i must say, i have to agree -- i think this has been covered past ad nauseam. happy as i am to heap abuse upon kick nristol, in this particular instance his statement is barely different than what it is being used to demonstrate that he is wrong, certainly not enough to justify the bandwidth expended on it.

i think the retort to the mccain people, and ranger rick, or whatever his name is, should be that THEY were the ones all making a big stinking deal out of the "cone of silence" in the first place but now that it's been exposed as a fraud they're trying to pretend they hadn't made hay with it.

but come on, there's people dying, for crying out loud.

how about a discussion as to why nationally the flag is not at half mast every day of the week for the past five plus years in honor of the continuing stream of war dead and why none of our fabulous leaders have seen fit to propose such a thing.

Beef Jerky's picture

You can't expect much from the New York Times. What do you think it is, The National Enquirer?

ferrofluid's picture

I wonder how rejected and betrayed the PNAC neocons feel over Cheney's stabbing them in the back over the Iraq oil.
Cheney &co used and abused them, they threw them under the bus after they had served their purpose, ie the Iraq invasion and occupation.

In late 2003 they were nobodies, ignored, their usefulness over and done with.

displaced's picture

[blockquote]How many more times does Bill Kristol...[/blockquote]
Make lots of money for the Times? Why, every day! They'll keep signing his pay check so long as he keeps bringing in the ratings from a nation full of idiots.

Neo-classical secular humanist's picture

Kristol is the archetypal dim-witted, mean-spirited, memory deficient punk who should be shouted down by anyone with a modicum of critical thinking faculties and with a smidgeon of history/politics. On the other hand, he is a perfect reflection of the intellectually lazy and propoganda munching Faux viewer. They deserve each other.

displaced's picture

AHHH! Wrong blog commenting style! I lose!

Joseph's picture

Sometimes I seriously think that the New York Times hired Kristol so that they could fire him in a blaze of glory. He's been wrong for years about everthing. Why on earth would they have hired him to begin with?

ferrofluid's picture

Joseph @ 28:

Sometimes I seriously think that the New York Times hired Kristol so that they could fire him in a blaze of glory. He's been wrong for years about everthing. Why on earth would they have hired him to begin with?

Who owns the NYT ? follow the money and the family connections.

julia's picture

It's kind of perfect. Kristol's dad used to drink with the fathers of the publisher and the guy who runs the editorial page, so when he blotted his copybook with another major media outlet, they gave him a job.

Of course it doesn't matter that he's incompetent. He's family.

Beef Jerky's picture

Joseph @ 28:

Why on earth would they have hired him to begin with?

At the time, Judy Miller was in jail and the aspens were turning.

odanny's picture

I remember letting my subscription expire to TIME when he started there, if someone needs proof of the government propagandists who are being rewarded with promotions for lying on their behalf, its this man. They continue to lower the level of discourse by deliberately publishing false, misleading commentary.

Send that little twit to Vietraq with a full compliment of body armor. Make him embed there for a year.

If they made him look more stupid than usual, it wasn't that difficult.

JasonS's picture

Since when do we need a basis for anything? We can't wait for the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud!

Udon Nomee's picture

“That’s pretty astonishing, since there seems to be absolutely no basis for the charge.”

Right. Just like there was "...absolutely no basis..." for the belief that Sunni and Shia Muslims would be unwilling to set aside past hostilities, and religious and ideological differences, and instead, cooperate in order to establish a new government in Iraq...

Will, if nothing else, he's consistent.

Che's Lounge's picture

He's what we call an asshalf.

It would take two of him to make an asshole.

Rube Goldberg's picture

Kristol is apparently too lazy to (a) call his editor and ask whether the "cone of silence" was a lie, or (b) conduct what many persons call an "internet search. I know, we're looking at about 30 seconds in realtime either way, and Kristoltime IS money. So his failure to do either (a) or (b): can you thumb your nose at The Times any more than that?

moniker's picture

He's worthy of a new nickname, like Kurveball.

Rube Goldberg's picture

Was fiiddling around the NYT online edition. It was reported earlier that the Times changed the language in Kristol's paragraph on the cone of silence. But--it now looks like the paper has now deleted any reference to the "cone of silence" in the on-line version of Kristol's column. Is this correct?

smchris's picture

I'd say Kristol is the tail that wags the dog, but I think he's a little lower than that.

enough's picture

We know that the Republicans are actively trying to destroy the US Constitution, but as far as we know, it is still the law of the land. Can no one on TV or in the Senate or the House ever stand up and quote it?

Article VI, Clause III: "The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this constitution; but no religious test shall be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

This event should never have happened.

Mike V.'s picture

The once good Times will probably have to fire his butt one of these days soon, though when they do, I's sure he'll pocket a nice fat check to go away.
Sickening.

Mike V.'s picture

jwf @ 20:

Why are Obama and McBush wasting their time at this snake-oil salesman's "church"? Are the candidates required to be vetted by another Diet Falwell or Robertson Lite? He's just another televangelist hawking books and claiming to channel "god". Why not just send them on American Idol or the new Gong Show? The credibility is about the same.

Exactly.
Why on earth does anyone have to go and genuflect in front of some modern day Elmer Gantry??
These assholes have had enough impact on public policy.
Idiots sitting there listening to some fool up on his "pulpit".
The moronic religious reich need to be marginalized in a way to bring back some credibly to our nation.

rdr212's picture

The Times did NOT "make a note" at the bottom of the online article noting the mistake. That statement is at the bottom of all op-ed pieces, if I am not mistaken.

fastfeat's picture

DMS @ 4:

Yep, wrong again. It's Kristol clear.

Yep.

SassySandy's picture

The right wing loves Bill Kristol. I guess to them Love is never having to be factual and never having to say you're sorry.

BC's picture

It is a false assumption the man does or is supposed to produce factual statements. Kristolnacht's job is to tell neocons what their opinion is supposed to be.

Carol's picture

What a human waste Krystol is.
I wouldn't hire him to clean my bathroom.

Frybread's picture

Doesn't the NY Times have standards? How can a pundit who is wrong so many times have a column in an international newspaper?

Mike V.'s picture

Carol @ 48:

What a human waste Krystol is.
I wouldn't hire him to clean my bathroom.

I would. I'd shove his head into the toilet until he got it right.
Hint: he'd never get it right.

NoGWBpolicyleftinplace's picture

me @ 5:

Sleazeballs like Kristol, Glenn Beck, et al. keep getting hired by major "news" organizations. What a crying shame.

There was a time in this country, when morons like Kristol and Beck would have been fired very quickly for being inept and just plain stupid - if they were lucky enough to get hired in the first place.

jwf's picture

Mike V. @ 43:

jwf @ 20:

Why are Obama and McBush wasting their time at this snake-oil salesman's "church"? Are the candidates required to be vetted by another Diet Falwell or Robertson Lite? He's just another televangelist hawking books and claiming to channel "god". Why not just send them on American Idol or the new Gong Show? The credibility is about the same.

Exactly.
Why on earth does anyone have to go and genuflect in front of some modern day Elmer Gantry??
These assholes have had enough impact on public policy.
Idiots sitting there listening to some fool up on his "pulpit".
The moronic religious reich need to be marginalized in a way to bring back some credibly to our nation.

"God is all knowing, all caring, all loving, all powerful, all seeing, almighty, all things to all people, but he can't handle money-he's always broke."-The late, great, George Carlin.

Lyon's picture

"Stupider"... is not... a word...

lwps's picture

No, not stupid. A sociopathic, deranged liar, who finds it impossible to tell the truth for one second.

Dire Lobo's picture

How many more times does Bill Kristol have to be proven completely and utterly wrong before the Times fires him?

Infinity?

Peter G's picture

Now here's a guy who could really use a cone of silence.

Kreskin's picture

Seems the age when truth , integrity and courage were virtues in America , especially in journalism , has passed . Now we have unprincipled liars , patisans and hacks , spineless whores that would make the editors of the Soviet Union's Pravda proud . This country is in a slide right down the shitter . I am about ready to ditto the Rev Wright .

understudy's picture

Sadly, The New York Times did not hire Bill Kristol to be correct.

_

ya know's picture

I wonder what kind of favor does the NYT owe the Kristol family?

Shan's picture

Has anyone yet mentioned that "the Cone of Silence" as popularised by Get Smart *did* *not* *work* (and if anything, the name was effectively ironic).

MTM's picture

Cone of dishonesty

I mean, does it matter?'s picture

I think it's important to point out that the phrasing Andrea Mitchell uses (another completely useless establishmentarian) basically implies that this is just sour grapes by the Obama campaign.

She's a dishonest coward who, like most establishment enablers, is only interested in keeping her invite to the Worshington insider cocktail parties.

This was her broken clock moment for the month.

Litabell's picture

lwps @ 54:

No, not stupid. A sociopathic, deranged liar, who finds it impossible to tell the truth for one second.

Kristol feeds the "base". Which, of course, are a bunch of illiterate morons. That and the bible thumpers. The republican party and neocons would be toast if it weren't for the intellectually challenged, bible thumpers, and racists. It's just sad that there seem to be so many of them. Sigh.

I mean, does it matter?'s picture

The real question is, why does ANYONE still think the NY Times is any more important than any other news source?

Hello, people. Don't fight what they are telling you. The NY Times doesn't care what you think, as long as you buy their newspapers. Like everything else, if you continue buying the NY Times, you enable the behavior.

You have NO CONTROL OVER ANY NEWS MEDIA OUTLET other than your choice of whether or not to support them. They are private businesses and can run their businesses they way they want. Support the media that you believe provides a good service (e.g. NewsHour quite often) and ignore the ones that you know are a joke.

Course it's always fun to rag on Kristol, but I just don't get why people continue to whine about hiring decisions at private companies. Stop expecting these newspapers to be anything more than they are - for-profit businesses.

Harry met Sally's picture

I liked Billy Kristol better when he was doing impressions of Howard Cosell and Mohamed Ali.

I AM THE GREATEST!

FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY

STING LIKE A BEE

Harry met Sally's picture

Cone of Silence?

Somebody has been watching too much Get Smart. Right agent 99?

Drianna's picture

He's safe. This is the way USA culture works today. You can have a scientist explain how biology works, but if someone else wants to explain how Jesus rode dinosaurs around, you have to promote both views to show you're not biased. Right or wrong have nothing to do with anything any more.

ysbaddaden's picture

Harry met Sally @ 66:

Cone of Silence?

Somebody has been watching too much Get Smart. Right agent 99?

No, actually I was watching agent 99.

I always thought she should've been called 69.

thenervousrex's picture

The ruling class has learned that if you own the only microphone in the house and keep shouting the same lie over and over, eventually the truth will be forgotten.

Howard's picture

[Thanks for playing, but no McPoints for you. Deleted. Flame bait-Sitemonitor]

Sheri in IL's picture

Peter G @ 56:

Now here's a guy who could really use a cone of silence.

Yeah, where's a damn cone of silence when you need one?

Pam's picture

How many more times does Bill Kristol have to lie the NYT readers before liberals face the fact that the NYT is INTENTIONALLY LYING TO THEIR READERS.

Doe anyone really think the NYT does not know who Kristol is and what he does?

The Crapture's picture

I always figured that Kristol was the Absolute Zero of stupidity in that he represents a level of dumb below which one cannot get any dumber

E. Skyhawk's picture

Joe Schmo @ 10:

Only in Bush's America would such an obvious GOP shill like Kristol be given airtime on TV or column inches in the press. Anywhere else (with the exception of a few totalitarian regimes), he'd have been sacked and publicly humiliated long ago.

WTF happened to your journalistic standards of truth and integrity in the media news? Ed Murrow must be spinning in his grave. This low life BushCo propagandist shames you all.

For fuck's sake... DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

THere is not point in complaining as if these people are valid reporters... they are PAID Propagandists!!

James M. Martin's picture

I think I just figured out why the NYT hired this twit in the first place. Although some Times columnists are middle of the road, and although a couple others are downright conservative, they really didn't have a neocon. And since no self-respecting neocon would take a job with an organization that the right has maligned for decades, they HAD to ask Bludy Bill. In effect, they scraped the bottom of the barrel.

rainman's picture

If his lips are moving hes lying, He is always wrong about everything show me one time when he was right about anything, If he says its gonna be cloudy and rain tomorrow better ware your sun Screen, If he says it will be warm and sunny the next day better find your skis and snow boots, Again he has never ever been right on anything so why does anyone pay him any attention

Kreskin's picture

This must be the end times that the Bible talks about .

Bonkers's picture

Stupid is a stupid does?

Maybe his position with the Times is part some of community outreach program to help reform the bedwettingly insane.

judie b.e.'s picture

Concerning reply #8 Yes, cream does rise to the top but so does SCUM! That's what we have in our government and media: SCUM, as in what floats on top of dirty pond water.

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