Biz Media Bias 101: Reuters on the Treasury Announcement
From Reuters’ announcement of the Hank Paulson selection as Treasury Director:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush on Tuesday named Henry “Hank” Paulson as his new Treasury Secretary, enlisting a powerful Wall Street player to lead his economic team as he seeks to lift his sagging poll ratings.
The assumption is that Bush cares about his “sagging poll ratings,” which by the way are actually slightly rebounding. Given his conduct for 5-1/2 years, I doubt that he really cares. If he cares at all, he won’t start worrying about it until Labor Day.
….. Paulson, 60, is a former Nixon administration official and a heavy contributor to Republican candidates. He is poised to take the reins of an economy that grew at its fastest rate in 2-1/2 years during the first quarter but shows signs of slowing.
As if what Paulson was doing IN HIS MID-20s is terribly relevant.
As for the “but shows signs of slowing,” this is rich. If it “slows,” it might be to 4% or so, which is twice the rate of the established EU countries and Japan. “Growing less briskly” would be accurate, if that’s what Reuters was interested in being (but it’s not).
Finally:
The Treasury shake-up was the latest in a series of staff changes Bush has made to try to shore up his popularity, starting with the move of Bolten, the former budget director, to the job of chief of staff.
Again, presupposes that personnel moves are all about popularity and not about getting a job done. Totally, absurd. Reuters should simply report the news (but it won’t).
