The New York Times Doesn't Matter

The most interesting thing about this smear piece on Ron Paul isn't the sophomoric piece itself, by one Virginia Heffernan. It's that none of the hundreds of comments submitted have been published (or, those that have have been removed). No comments. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with online news pieces about Paul is aware of the hundreds upon hundreds of mostly cogent comments they usher forth.

If The New York Times doesn't want to submit its content to the off-cuff analysis and judgment of its readership, that's its business, of course, and it can thrive or die on that choice. But to provide an avenue for comments and then not publish them only serves to diminish any doubt as to their devastating nature, for those paying any attention.

(via Rockwell)

Update: As commenter Elliot has graciously taken the time to post, comments are now published on that entry, 236 of them currently. The ones I've read are all excellent. Comment #6 is an extensive takedown of Heffernan that clearly employs orders of magnitude more research and thought than Heffernan bothered herself with.

Update 2: Hah. Well, though you can still get to the article via the direct link, above, the entry now appearing on the top of the front page is actually Heffernan's entry prior to the Paul smear piece. Even more dishonest and despicable, the link to her most recent articles doesn't list that post at all, even though at this point it is still her most recent post.

Update 3: Smackdown! The NYT retracts.

Comments

[Elliot]

They how have comments shown.

[Elliot]

They how now have comments shown.