Problem Into Opportunity

And he did a really good job, I think.  Judy Woodruff whored away, asking "how do you know?  Do you have any proof," but Hinchey used the controversy as an opportunity.  "We have to get to the bottom of this.  We need an investigation.  I'm suprised this has gotten all this attention, but I'm happy that it has."

In case you don't know what I'm talking about, this refers to the diary I wrote yesterday, about the fact that Representative Maurice Hinchey of New York suggested in a public town hall meeting that Karl Rove was the source of the disputed TANG documents used by CBS in the now-infamous "RatherGate" story.

"Some have said that it's irresponsible," said Judy, borrowing a line from Fox News.

"It is responsible to speculate and to look for answers to this," Hinchey answered, "and Congress is not doing its job.  They should be investigating this."

Now that's how you turn a potentially negative story right on its head.  Nobody can definitively say where the TANG documents came from, and Hinchey essentially said the same thing, and that it's important to get to the bottom of it.

Furthermore, Hinchey got to tie the Rove/TANG story into the Armstrong Williams/Gannon-Guckert/payola and propaganda issue. The overriding issue of Administration meddling with the media to portray his policies positively is the real problem. The possibility that Rove planted the TANG documents (and Hinchey did mention his past history of dirty tricks, which I've never heard on cable news before) is simply an extension of the issue.

LGF just gave this Congressman a national forum to spread his thoughts on the subject.  Congratulations, guys.  Unfortunately (for them), not everyone will back down when challenged or bullied.