Comments on: WaPo Finally Begins to Admit Pay2Play Details

By: Mommybrain

Mommybrain — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:24:51 +0000

This whole thing stinks. Weymouth’s butt should be on the line. They were selling influence – I’m sure they thought it was a great business model in this era of less everything – and they got caught, plain and simple. All this trashing around is just muddying the waters.

By: Mauimom

Mauimom — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:32:10 +0000

As someone who lived in DC off and on from 1969 to last year, I seem to recall that Weymouth’s grandmother, Katherine Graham, used to hold such “soirees” or “salons” at her house. I don’t recall there being the participation of lobbyists, or the “corporate sponsorship,” but there was definitely the “mix of politicians and the news [sic] folks.”

This picture, of everyone sitting around Katie’s dinner table trading bon mots, is the perfect portrait of “the Village.” The press doesn’t then criticize the politicians, because gee, you just had dinner with them, or might be invited next week. The politicians don’t have any fear of the press, because they can take the columnist aside at Katie’s next week and explain away their latest.

The “intelligencia” running the country, talking and plotting among themselves, because inviting the Great Unwashed to such get-togethers would be so . . . discomforting? unattractive?? just not done.

Resident Post Idiot Howie Kurtz had a completely unaware article this past April about Rahm attending just such a “salon” sponsored by the Atlantic. So the fabulous tradition lives on!

By: SocraticGadfly

SocraticGadfly — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:24:56 +0000

You will note that Weymouth didn’t exactly fall on her sword.

As for the $155 bil deal with hospitals, only 25 percent of that will possibly be money to help the uninsured.

And, as for Obama’s tough talk to MoveOn, even some bloggers haven’t stressed enough Obama’s “muscle” threat. (Ironic at least, hypocritical at most from someone not showing a lot of legislative muscle.) And, one should take note that Ms. Health Insurance, Ceci Connolly, wrote that article too. Did Team Obama tap her?

By: ChePasa

ChePasa — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:15:59 +0000

RickinSF has got it right. These “salons” have been going on for quite some time, only the “price” was never so expicit.

How far the Mighty have fallen.

By: brendanx

brendanx — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:13:50 +0000

Clubby Brauchli does have a decent quote here, to his credit: “We should be shining a light in dark corners, not creating the dark corners”.

By: brendanx

brendanx — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:08:38 +0000

You’re just being your grubbily cynical self again. Maybe dinner off fine china, nice wine and the effervescence of proximity to power might clear your mind and spirit after all those dusty old documents. Why traipse around in the weeds when you can spend time in the hanging gardens of Babylon?

By: Winski

Winski — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:03:37 +0000

Katharine Weymouth is a stooge. The two words that applied to her last week still apply. After this ‘I told you so’ realization, they apply even more !!

RESIGN - TODAY.

By: freepatriot

freepatriot — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:57:56 +0000

the really good bloggers would hold out for monogrammed pajamas

By: RickinSF

RickinSF — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:20:27 +0000

Catherine Graham would have disapproved of putting a price on the WP’s credibility…in her day the folks who mattered around DC didn’t need to be told how much was expected for this kind of service.

By: ghostof911

ghostof911 — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:15:35 +0000

Nothing has changed since Colby’s time, except for the financing of the enterprise. The marching orders still come from the same source.

“The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media.” –William Colby, former CIA Director