Zachary Roth: "Double Standards R' Us" (Of course, if it were not for double standards, the MFM would have no standards)

From the Political Stooges in the WSJ:

Senators and Double Standards

Former senator Ted Stevens of Alaska died in a plane crash yesterday, and one Zachary Roth, writing for the Columbia Journalism Review ("Strong Press, Strong Democracy"), hastens to speak ill of him--and to demand that the press do the same:

You can expect to see a gaggle of Washington figures competing over the coming days to outdo one another in praising the eighty-six-year old ex-legislator--and whitewashing his record in the process. And since you can also expect the Beltway press to play right along, it's worth getting out ahead of this impending train wreck.

"Train wreck" is an odd metaphor to use after a literal plane crash, but whatever. Stevens narrowly lost his seat in 2008 after being convicted on corruption charges. But the conviction was overturned after the election after the revelation of what Roth acknowledges was "serious misconduct by federal prosecutors."

Nonetheless, Roth describes the "raging Beltway pity party" that followed as "to use a technical term--crap." Even though Stevens was wrongly convicted, and might have been acquitted in a fair trial, it was still "conclusively established that Stevens acted unethically by using his position for major personal gain," Roth argues:

No one wants to speak ill of the dead, and there's nothing whatsoever wrong with news outlets treating Stevens respectfully. But that's different from aiding in the willful distortion of a major coda to the late senator's career in public life. And yet, when lawmakers on both sides of the aisle line up to beatify their old friend in the coming days, here's betting that much of the press will play along.

Then again, as we noted in the preceding item, Ted Kennedy, who died a year ago this month, was widely lionized despite his foul behavior. An example is this story from TalkingPointsMemo.com, published the day after his death:

Ted Kennedy's greatest legacy was as a legislator in the U.S. Senate. Over 300 bills bearing his name became law, most dealing with the day-to-day social and economic needs of children, families, or the elderly. What made him such an effective legislator?

The author, who does not even mention that Mary Jo Kopechne could not be reached for comment, is one Zachary Roth.