The Defensive Index
: I was listening to NPR news last night as I drove home and heard their report on Bush’ speech in Ohio. “Bush defended his…” they said. And I realized I hear that constantly. The lead wasn’t “Bush proposed….” or “Bush declared….” Support him or now, I want to hear what he has to say, what he’s going to do. But by putting him on the defensive, it’s a negative spin, of course.
So I went to GoogleNews and did a search:
> Bush defended – 5560 stories
> Kerry defended – 2800 stories
The same ratio applies at Newsbot. Of course, as a sitting President, Bush has to “defend” a whole government; Kerry has less to “defend.” But still, it’s a tiresome spin.
