The Headline Game: Iowa Edition

One of those classic games played by rightwingers to identify a supposedly "liberal" media has been to show two contrasting headlines ... one that downplays their side despite what should be some dose of warranted praise, and then another glowing headline trumping the supposedly liberal side despite the lack of substance to warrant such praise. With that, here's today's Boston Globe:

» With Huckabee's win, Republican contest is transformed

» Win may give Obama burst of momentum

Those are the headlines on the front of the site. The Huck story has a different headline inside - but no less exalting: "Upheavals leave Huckabee exultant, competitors scrambling."

But Obama may have some momentum.

Once more, the absolute fallacy of the tricks of the rightwing trade crumble all too easily when exposed to even the slightest ounce of sunlight.

ADD-ON: Hat tip to Sully for adding this grist for my mill. From a Huckabee staffer:

Many bloggers (including me) have a knee-jerk reaction to the mainstream media. We "just know" they have a liberal bias and that they can't be trusted to report accurately on Republicans and conservatives. If my experience is any indication, then most of what we know is "just wrong."

My job wasn't to spin the press but to present the facts for the Huckabee campaign's side of the story. I expected that I'd have the toughest time with the professional journalists but most of the reporters that I dealt with (especially Michael Luo of the New York Times and Jonathan Martin of Politico) were quite fair and always professional. Even when their coverage was cringe-inducing I rarely could fault them for being inaccurate or putting their own biases ahead of the facts.

Unfortunately, the same can not be said of the conservative media.

My rapid response list included a broad range of journalists, pundits, and bloggers and variety of outlets--everything from The New York Times to HotAir. Often they would ask me to clarify statements made by the Governor, defend claims made by the campaign, or offer evidence on a point of contention. Almost always the mainstream media from the "liberal" outlets were more fair and balanced than were the ones from the "conservative" side of the media.

The whole post capture his sentiments on the aftermath of Huck's impressive win. A recommended read on for a variety of purposes.