So I am reading my digital copy of the News Journal this morning, and I happen onto this AP article by Mr. Calvin Woodward. As an aside, it must suck to have the last name “Woodward” as a journalist. I mean, whether this Calvin Woodward is related to Bob Woodward or not, the legacy of that name must be hard to live up to. And we shall see, this Calvin does not.
So let’s wade into the story is brings us today.
One of President Barack Obama’s campaign pledges on taxes went up in puffs of smoke Wednesday.
Oooo…clever imagery.
The largest increase in tobacco taxes took effect despite Obama’s promise not to raise taxes of any kind on families earning under $250,000 or individuals under $200,000.
Uh…wait a minute. He was talking about income taxes, not sin or sales taxes.
This is one tax that disproportionately affects the poor, who are more likely to smoke than the rich.
At this point I check to see if I have stumbled onto the opinion section. For that sentence was not a quote. Yes, a reporter just reported that the rich are less likely to smoke than the poor, without support from a study or a scientist saying that is true. You would think he would provide support for his statement in the very next sentence, but no….
To be sure, Obama’s tax promises in last year’s campaign were most often made in the context of income taxes. Not always.
“I can make a firm pledge,” he said in Dover, N.H., on Sept. 12. “Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.”
Mr. Woodward is probably a smoker. And he is probably pissed off that he has to pay more today for a pack of Luckys than he paid yesterday. So he is pissed. “That damn Obama, he broke his promise not to raise taxes!” Inner monologue and reality: “He was talking about income taxes, payroll taxes, and the like.” Woodward: “Too bad! I want to rant. And I will find one quote out there that justifies my rant!”
And he did. Mr. Woodward found this one quote, well actually one phrase in one sentence in that quote to justify saying that President Obama broke his promise not to raise taxes on the poor and middle class. It is a logical leap, and stretch. Muscles are being pulled. Reality is wearing thin.
Read the entire article. Mr. Woodward is taking on the role of advocate, making the case that Obama is breaking his promise. Now, investigative journalism, the kind BOB Woodward practiced in the 1970s, does take on a hint of advocacy. But here, CALVIN Woodward literally has to create a problem, and then rail against it.
If Mr. Woodward wants to become a columnist, then he should do it. If he wants to remain a reporter, then hell, go to a Republican Congressman, feed him your line about breaking his promise, and then make your story about the Republican. While it is still ethically problematic, at least then you would be reporting the news, Mr. Woodward, rather than creating it.