(Sept. 16) -- Complaints from the right that most news organizations are ignoring ACORN's latest troubles appear to be having an effect.
Fox News has run reports accusing its competitors of largely ignoring the scandal over videos that show workers in several ACORN offices giving undercover filmmakers advice on running a brothel. And here's a taste of the reader comments we've seen on virtually every AOL News article -- whether or not the story has anything to do with politics:
From: wwago67944
Where is your coverage of the Acorn scandal?
Where is your coverage of the Acorn scandal?
From: rcwcoinc
Once again you forget to report the "important" news what about the "ACORN" story that's just coming out into the light in the past few days.
Once again you forget to report the "important" news what about the "ACORN" story that's just coming out into the light in the past few days.
From: unknown
Nothing on ACORN-could it be becuaes ACORN IS IN OBAMA'S POCKET.
Nothing on ACORN-could it be becuaes ACORN IS IN OBAMA'S POCKET.
That last comment is a reminder of why there's so much heat around this story. It's not just about a controversial community organizing group. As True/Slant's Bill Dupray illustrates, Barack Obama is ACORN to many conservatives.
The New York Times -- one of those accused of giving the story short shrift -- is now weighing in with a summary of the video sting and its fallout. It calls this "the latest scalp" claimed by conservatives who "hope to weaken the Obama administration by attacking allies." Not surprisingly, Michelle Malkin -- who's among those pushing the ACORN story the hardest -- has some problems with the Times article.
Following a Senate vote Monday to halt direct grants to the group, House Minority Leader John Boehner introduced a bill Tuesday to cut off all federal funding of ACORN. Another top House Republican is calling for an FBI investigation.
An ACORN office in San Bernardino, Calif., is the scene of the latest video made by James O'Keefe posing as a pimp with Hannah Giles as his hooker sidekick. In it, a worker says she used to be a prostitute and claims to have influence with politicians. ACORN's chief organizer in California says the employee was just joking and dismisses the video as fake news.
"O'Keefe's hidden-camera methods are distasteful," says the Los Angeles Times, but the content of the videos "is nonetheless devastating to ACORN." The editorial urges the group to "stop deflecting blame and clean house."
When the first videos hit the Web last week, O'Keefe was compared to "Borat." Now Conor Friedersdorf wonders on The Daily Beast whether the young guy in the over-the-top pimp costume might just be "the right's Bob Woodward."
Whether he's a video prankster, an investigative reporter or both, Politico says, O'Keefe's ACORN story underscores the difference between traditional news organizations and bloggers or talk show hosts "aggressively pursuing an ideological agenda."
The Afghanistan Puzzle
The debate over whether to send more American troops to Afghanistan is ramping up at the same time polls are showing support for the war at a record low.
TIME has a report on why the Taliban is making gains in Afghanistan. Slate's Fred Kaplan says good old-fashioned bribery might be the key to reversing those gains.
Politics Daily's David Wood -- just back from six weeks of reporting in Afghanistan -- says he saw progress in at least some parts of the war-torn country. While he says more Afghans have "a glimpse of a better, non-Taliban life," they are fearful about what might happen if Americans leave. Read his full report: "My Friend, Do Not Go."
