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That’s a reasonable question today, seeing how many times their front page repudiates the decision of the people in the election. Quotes from front page stories in today’s edition:
In a popular revolt unmatched in the 92 years that Californians have held the power to recall elected officials, voters chose a Republican film star with no government experience to replace a Democrat steeped for three decades in state politics.
That’s the second paragraph of the lead story today. The disdain for the will of the people is right there. Later in the same story:
The national implications of Schwarzenegger’s victory were quickly apparent. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, a presidential candidate who hopes to tap into the same popular anger that propelled the recall, said Californians had vented “their frustration with the country’s direction.”“Come next November, that anger might be directed at a different incumbent … in the White House,” he said in a statement.
It doesn’t say that that’s just the opinion of Dean – the TIMES says these are “the national implications”.
And then there’s this slam, also on the front page:
THE NEW GOVERNOR
So Familiar Yet So Unknown
Californians have never known more about a new governor. We’ve seen him naked on screen. We know about the Nazi father, the celebrity journalist wife, the bodybuilding titles and the crude behavior toward women. We have seen him in theaters, fallen asleep to his voice on television and imitated his accent.
Californians have never known less about a new governor. We’ve never seen him hold office. We don’t know what programs he’ll cut, how he’ll balance the budget, how he’ll negotiate with recalcitrant legislators or how he’ll manage the state’s bureaucracy.
Lawyers, business people, doctors, even actors leave behind their professions for politics. Arnold Schwarzenegger at various times the most physically developed man in the world, Hollywood’s most famous actor and soon the 38th governor of California has made the switch too, with one critical difference. He is bringing his lifetime of personas, real and fictional, with him to office.
Schwarzenegger, who built his career on changing shape, could claim during his campaign to be just about anything.
Three slams against the people’s choice, on the front page of the paper, the day after the election.
Bias before the election is one thing. These stories imply a rejection of the people’s will, and of American democracy itself.
Is the TIMES no longer a team player?
