Stanley Doctors Romney Reality

Anyone reading the version of reality fed them by the right-leaning part of the Fourth Estate that did not know which side they should support in the upcoming Presidential contest in the USA can be in no doubt after viewing the reportage from the Maily Telegraph’s less than stellar bevy of bloggers, and especially that from Tim Stanley, who you can tell as he’s a doctor.

Stanley yesterday posted a steamer rank even by the standards of Telegraph blogs, where he proclaimed “Mitt Romney’s ‘take a look’ challenge to the NAACP was his first real moment of campaign magic”. This was accompanied by a photo of the Republican hopeful, but for reasons best known to Stanley and his editors, not one from the event being discussed.

Romney had addressed the annual convention of long established civil rights group The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). That much is not in dispute. The reaction to his speech most certainly is. Stanley skates over the booing that resulted when Mitt told his audience of his pledge to abolish Barack Obama’s healthcare reform and instead talks up the standing ovation.

But that ovation was merely a mark of respect, the kind of thing that many on the same side as the Prez have not been getting when any discussion of that reform has occurred (the prime example being Rep. Barney Frank, who is Jewish, being asked at a “Town Hall” meeting why he was supporting “this Nazi policy”). Moreover, Stanley’s suggestion that reforming healthcare will drive up costs is fatuous.

The USA already spends almost twice the percentage of GDP than the UK on healthcare, and for less good outcomes. Tens of millions of citizens have no cover at all. Many of them are African-Americans. Small wonder they booed a pledge to overturn a move in their direction, and one from an African-American President. And the media across the States appears to disagree with Stanley’s analysis.

CNN’s Jim Acosta put it bluntly: “I've been covering the Romney campaign for a good portion of the year now ... I have not heard that kind of sustained booing for Mitt Romney during the course of this campaign up until what happened today at the NAACP. I don't think it really is sort of overstating it. This was perhaps one of the most negative reactions Mitt Romney has had in the course of his presidential campaign”. His was not the only voice expressing that view.

Even Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse) said Romney “at times drew polite applause ... but also ... a robust round of boos”. The Washington Post called it “the most hostile reaction from any campaign audience this year”. Think Progress noted that Romney “failed to address voting rights”.

But in the Stanley doctoring, this was a great triumph, so that’s all right, then.