Trump's claim of a partisan press was strengthened when The New Yorker published an accusation of first-degree penis exposure that no one else cited in the article could directly confirm. And I believe he has the patriotism and character to act upon it. And I think the weight of that commentary made it seem like there was a big chunk of the media out to get him, out to take down his nomination. Kavanaugh is the best of his judicial peers; he is better than his senatorial accusers; and, if there is any justice, he is headed for confirmation. Michael Gerson: Kavanaugh nomination now hangs by thinnest of strings . Gerson: Kavanaugh is better than his senatorial accusers . A surefire ideological Kool-Aid test? Opinion journalism is not a license for calumny. The New York Times, to its credit, had initially held off on publishing this unsupported allegation. The result of these conflicting interpretations was a complete breakdown in process, civility and decorum. Michael Gerson: We have an American president who doesn’t understand America Michael Gerson: The impeachment process is inevitable Trump’s presidency not unfolding, it’s unraveling Michael Gerson's email address is michaelgerson@washpost.com . Walgreens in Virginia will start getting vaccines next week, Virginia Beach Oceanfront hair salon will close after nearly 60 years, Virginia Beach woman who disappeared died from accidental overdose, autopsy report says, Refined Indian dining, and saucy Nepali dumplings, at two new spots in Williamsburg and Chesapeake, Hampton University adds to recruiting class with high-profile wide receiver and former Old Dominion lineman, Portsmouth casino project names general contractor. It was newspaper journalism at its best — a serious investment of talent and resources to expand the sum of public knowledge. Kavanaugh was credible and compelling, precisely because he was genuinely, completely, almost uncontrollably outraged. Walgreens in Virginia will start getting vaccines next week, Virginia Beach Oceanfront hair salon will close after nearly 60 years, Virginia Beach woman who disappeared died from accidental overdose, autopsy report says, Refined Indian dining, and saucy Nepali dumplings, at two new spots in Williamsburg and Chesapeake, Hampton University adds to recruiting class with high-profile wide receiver and former Old Dominion lineman, Portsmouth casino project names general contractor. Hampton Roads Top 15: Who’s No. But I think some editors and bosses in newsrooms did not do enough to prevent the lowering of journalistic standards in service to what many journalists clearly regarded as a good cause. Democratic senators on the Judiciary Committee set out to prove that Kavanaugh is a mendacious political hack with the strategy of acting like mendacious political hacks. Michael John Gerson (born May 15, 1964) is an op-ed columnist for The Washington Post, a Policy Fellow with One Campaign,[1][2] a visiting fellow with the Center for Public Justice,[3] and a former senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. The Kavanaugh nomination now hangs by the thinnest of strings. There were emotional points. An accusation of sexual assault is not like a political disagreement. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was credible and compelling, precisely because she did not play the role of a cause-oriented crusader. Brett M. Kavanaugh must have been smiling as the returns came in on Election Day, because it is now clear that the Democrats’ campaign to destroy him will go down as a massive blunder. Then came Kavanaugh. Family wants military to help a Marine cope with a sex assault. Instead, she’s in a Chesapeake brig. Sunday Sep 22, 2019 at 2:01 AM. It is another to cease grasping for them. Instead, she’s in a Chesapeake brig. And we saw the political equivalent of the collapse of Lehman Bros. Kavanaugh is more than an obviously qualified judicial nominee. Read more from Michael Gerson’s archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. Published: Tue, September 18, 2018 12:00 AM. COMMENT: The media mishandled Kavanaugh — and made Trump a winner. ... Michael Gerson is a nationally syndicated columnist who appears twice weekly in The Washington Post. But the main lines of argument against his confirmation to the Supreme Court have pretty much crumbled. WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the recent Supreme Court nomination showdown, American institutions underwent a stress test. 1 as teams kick off this week? Let me state this as clearly as I can. The Trump administration is not known for its consistency, but some contradictions are too revealing to ignore. The Senate Judiciary Committee — which must work properly for the legal system to work properly — quickly became a writhing heap of serpentine partisanship. Email: michaelgerson@washpost.com. They cheered and tweeted South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham's accusation that the process was an "unethical sham." It is not, of course, that this process has never been political before. In the case of Brett Kavanaugh vs. Christine Blasey Ford, the moral issues are not fuzzy or unclear. It was offensive for CNN political contributor Joan Walsh to tweet of Kavanaugh that "he is a pig and he has to go," just as it was offensive for Fox News contributor Kevin Jackson to call Kavanaugh's accusers "lying skanks." Chesapeake has handed out grants to nearly 300 small businesses. This was an angry Brett Kavanaugh, Michael Gerson. But I doubt it will clarify much. The reputation of journalism was weakened when MSNBC interviewed one woman about her unsupported claims of routine gang rapes in high school attended by Kavanaugh, only to have the accuser walk back many of her accusations. He acted like an unjustly accused man, facing the loss not just of a job, but of the reputation and life he had built over three decades. 1 as teams kick off this week? WASHINGTON — The decision by The New York Times to remove a key exculpatory fact from its recent article on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh is such an incredible editing And the experience is impossible to make sense of. Michael Gerson: "In a time of national stress and crisis -- when executive authority naturally expands -- the restraints on lawlessness and bullying would need to be external. Kavanaugh is a mainstream conservative jurist with an ideal judicial temperament. The charge against Kavanaugh needs to be fully examined by members of the Judiciary Committee, ... Michael Gerson: Kavanaugh nomination comes down to credibility The Washington Post 4 minutes to read . Michael Gerson's email address is michaelgerson@washpost.com. I was told by people involved in preparations for his initial hearing in early September that the process had been thorough and orderly, with questions and proposed answers in thick briefing books. Compare this with the Times’ expose on a bar fight 33 years ago in which Brett Kavanaugh allegedly threw ice at another patron. Michael Gerson: The Kavanaugh nomination is Trump's best decision as president . Kavanaugh was credible and compelling, precisely because he was genuinely, completely, almost uncontrollably outraged. Those who think Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was wounded during his hearings have heavily imbibed. Kavanaugh is smart enough to know this. Progressives saw the #MeToo movement come to dramatic life: a highly credible woman calling a powerful man to account for sexual abuse, and that man responding (as one New Yorker headline put it) with "a grotesque display of patriarchal resentment." The uncomfortable reality for Democrats? Kavanaugh has argued that Congress should pass a law that would defer civil and criminal cases against a president until ... Michael Gerson's email address is … This, however, is not what made the hearing memorable. Of one thing we can be certain: The outcome will run down political, not ethical, lines. Read more: Jennifer Rubin: Muscling through Kavanaugh’s confirmation isn’t … By Michael Gerson WASHINGTON -- Passions on the left against Brett Kavanaugh are running high. IN THE RECENT Supreme Court nomination showdown, American institutions underwent a stress test. Michael Gerson: Kavanaugh is better than his senatorial accusers | … The Kavanaugh I worked with in the Bush White House was known for his calm, careful demeanor in the midst of West Wing chaos. The "previously unreported story" of exposure in the Times article is based on the accusations of one witness whom the authors did not interview and is disputed by the supposed victim herself. In his latest testimony, Kavanaugh was clearly pushed past patience and restraint. Meanwhile, The New Yorker's Ronan Farrow concluded of the accuser, "This is not the behavior of someone who is fabricating something." Man spent 2 nights at Newport News jail after police arrest wrong ‘Maurice Williams’, Man dies in Newport News after allegedly shooting himself, police say, The Virginian-Pilot’s mobile app features, Hampton Roads’ golf courses see increase in business and interest during pandemic, High school football starts Monday, but the coaches have mixed feelings about it. Hampton Roads Top 15: Who’s No. WASHINGTON — The decision by The New York Times to remove a key exculpatory fact from its recent article on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh … Kavanaugh is the best of his judicial peers; he is better than his senatorial accusers; and, if there is any justice, he is headed for confirmation. Trump does not only want to argue for his version of the truth; he wants to undermine alternative sources of truth. If Ford’s accusation is supported by other credible witnesses who were at the party, or if additional, credible accusations emerge from later in Kavanaugh’s life, he should withdraw. There were emotional points. I was disturbed by the allegations, and said so as a commentator. Kavanaugh is a mainstream conservative jurist with an ideal judicial temperament. Email: michaelgerson@washpost.com. Some argue that all journalism involves bias, either hidden or revealed. In the case of Brett Kavanaugh vs. Christine Blasey Ford, ... Michael Gerson is a columnist for the Washington Post. She explained the experience of sexual abuse with more emotional clarity than I have ever heard — the helplessness, panic and fear. Michael John Gerson (born May 15, 1964) is an op-ed columnist for The Washington Post, a Policy Fellow with One Campaign, a visiting fellow with the Center for Public Justice, and a former senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Try harder." But the deeper problem lies in the answer to a deeper question: Is journalism a profession that serves the public by maintaining high standards, or is it a social construct that should be redesigned to directly serve certain social goods? I support further investigation. It’s working on more. To those on the left, Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a living symbol of violent aggression toward all women by his (presumed) opposition to Roe v. Wade. It is Donald Trump's fondest goal to make his supporters conflate the first sort of story with the second sort of story. ... Michael Gerson: Journalism's reputation a loser in Kavanaugh furore . By MICHAEL GERSON Sunday Sep 16, 2018 at 12:01 AM. Thu., Oct. 11, 2018. COMMENT: The media mishandled Kavanaugh — and made Trump a winner. And I don't think that even commentators should be exempt from standards of basic fairness and civility. But it is one thing to say that objectivity and fairness are ultimately unreachable. Speaking of the Kavanaugh nomination, Brian Stelter of CNN observed: "Some individual journalists were, and there were many, many commentators that were lining up against him. This time, there was little help from others, on the assumption that these were questions that only Kavanaugh could answer. He is the best decision of the Trump presidency so far. 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