Tuesday, May 18, 2004

SARIN RE-CLASSIFIED AS NON-WMD DURING ELECTION YEAR?
Politically, the discovery of sarin, and, separately, of mustard gas, would seem to bolster the President, though our esteemed press corps has already begun its spinning.

An MSNBC report yesterday, noted by Glenn Reynolds, implied that the discovery does not vindicate the Bush administration because it doesn't prove "that Saddam was secretly producing weapons of mass destruction after the Gulf War." The Washington Post embeds the news of the sarin discovery in the subtitle of a front-page story today, headlined "Iraqi Council's Leader Is Slain." The New York Times also notes the sarin discovery within a report on this piece of bad news, and does the Post one better with the note that "Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld reacted cautiously to the discovery, saying more extensive tests were necessary" and directions to find more details on page A11.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter to the press how dangerous Iraq was until Kerry wins the election.

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