Zero Credibility Vs. Mr. Credibility

Updates below!

The New York Times hitjob article on John McCain might be helping the GOP frontrunner. From Politico:

Few commentators on the right — including some who regularly
denounce ethical lapses or weaknesses of the flesh among Democrats — paused to
assess seriously whether the Times’ suggestions of conflict of interest were
well-founded.
Instead, many swallowed past misgivings about McCain to rally
to his defense, on the apparent theory that anyone under assault by the most
powerful institution in the mainstream media could not be all bad...

It
was a vivid illustration of the power of the longstanding anti-media grievance
among conservatives. In the past, McCain’s cozy relationships with establishment
journalists (“My base,” as he sometimes jokes) has been a major reason the
Arizona senator is viewed with such jaundiced eyes by many on the right. McCain
was able to leverage these feelings to turn a potentially devastating story into
something that arguably lifts his political standing.

Even Rush Limbaugh jumped in the fray to defend the Maverick:

At noon, the McCain campaign got perhaps its most important break.
Rush Limbaugh, who has been the senator’s worst tormentor since he effectively
seized the GOP nomination, came on the air and immediately denounced the Times.
Limbaugh warned McCain, who has close relations with the press, that such a
story was typical of what he calls the “drive-by media.” But he mostly shredded
the paper and the story, calling it “Page Six-type gossip.”

Looks like the Times article might have helped more than it hurt. A Republican being slammed by a liberal rag like the Grey Lady is a badge of honor. She'd have done better to endorse McCain a second time! The Old media continues its long, slow death spiral.

Update-Interesting headline from the NY Times "McCain Gathers Support and Donations in Aftermath of Article in The Times" Any regrets, editors? Maybe like Rush Limbaugh they were just trying to help the Senator by criticizing him! Riiiight....

More contrition from the Times, and editor Bill Keller-"I was surprised by how lopsided the opinion was against our decision, with readers who described themselves as independents and Democrats joining Republicans in defending Mr. McCain from what they saw as a cheap shot."