Katie Couric Slyly Slams Joe Lieberman as Unethical

December 17th, 2009 9:47 AM

One of the pet peeves of your humble correspondent is reporters who slam people or policies via the device of "some say" or "critics say" when in fact it is really their own position. However, they can't say what they really think in order to put up the false front of "neutrality." Such was the case of Katie Couric on the CBC Evening News last night in which she used her Notebook commentary to slam Senator Joe Lieberman for having unethical motives in opposing health care public option and an expansion of Medicare:

There's a new movie coming out next week called "It's Complicated," about a divorced couple with that age old relationship issue can't live with you, can't live without you.

I think that's how Democrats are feeling about their ex, Senator Joe Lieberman. 

And now the slamming commences:

They need him to reach the magic number of 60 votes on health care reform...but he's made it clear...he'll only vote for the bill on his terms. He opposes lowering the Medicare eligibility age to 55....and he's against the public option...despite polls that show at least 56 percent of his own constituents support it.

You just know that Couric is enraged at Joe Lieberman for not marching in lockstep with his former party. Now comes the grand slam charge of being unethical via the "critics say" device:

Critics say the ex-Democrat is really in bed with insurance companies. He took more than one million dollars in contributions from them since 1998, according to the New York Times. 

"Critics say" but you know that Katie herself is basically accusing Lieberman of being bought off by the insurance companies. But in order to maintain a false front of neutrality, she has to use the "critics says" routine.

To get an idea of what Katie Couric is probably thinking sans the "critics say" device, one need only look at one of the comments on the YouTube video of this Notebook:

Yes, Lieberman is in bed with the Insurance Companies.

He's been their stinking WHORE for sometime now.

He'll only support a bill which gets more billions to the Insurance Companies & allows them to keep screwing many Americans.

He's not working for the American Public but special interests.

May the disgusting, vile, evil scumball ROT IN THE DEEPEST DEPTHS OF HELL! 

Let us give this loon credit for saying out loud what Katie Couric can only think while hiding behind the "critics say" gimmick.