Washington Post columnist Dan Balz has a big scoop from an anonymous source in today’s paper (8/14/12):
The choice, like most vice presidential selections, also was a way for Romney to say something bigger about the kind of campaign he hopes to run. In that sense, advisers say, Ryan was “Mitt’s pick, completely.”
“Stories talk about it being a bold choice,” said one senior Romney adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk about the decision. “To me, it was a confident choice. He was very confident in himself, in Paul Ryan, in the campaign and in the direction of the campaign he wanted to take.”
You could see how someone speaking so openly and candidly would need to have their identity protected. What if the boss found out you were the one who blabbed to a reporter about how wise and confident the boss is?!
Balz, for his part, doesn’t even pretend there’s a reason to grant this source anonymity: “This person’s identity must be kept secret in order for them to say nothing particularly newsworthy” does not seem to live up to the Post’s stated policy on granting anonymity.
You could see how someone speaking so openly and candidly would need to have their identity protected. What if the boss found out you were the one who blabbed to a reporter about how wise and confident the boss is?!
That lapse of judgement might be fatal to a career beyond the Romney campaign.
Once it becomes well known that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats deal in “wise”, how could the anonymous source rehabilitate himself after publicizing that misjudgement in his own name?
( Only joking. The big money in journalism comes from being wrong with a convincing demonstration of great confidence that the facts don’t matter. It’s facticity that kills careers in this upside down world.)
As we all know, using unnamed sources is McCarthyism if Harry Reid does it, but if it’s the Washington Post, it’s journalism.
I was going to write a comment on this story, but I would prefer not to reveal my sources.
Ok some underling is not sure that is the template, so he says don’t print my name.It’s just my opinion.Nothing to see here folks.More interesting is the boob who told Harry Reed that Mitt did not pay taxes at Bain for a number of years.His name was kept secret(if there really was anyone who said that to Reed)That I can understand.It called spreading lies.What I can’t understand is a state Senator being a part of it.
You know, it doesn’t matter really who said what or why. What matters is that the Post published it, in all it’s glory, thus continuing the long, not-so-slow death of journalism.
Not it’s, autocorrect, its.