The Appearance of Propriety

The Destiny USA entertainment and shopping complex in Syracuse, New York, was given a tremendous boost by strong political support from Senator Hillary Clinton. She pushed legislation for tax-exempt bonds to finance the project and enabled a provision in a highway bill for Destiny USA roadway construction. According to a spokesman, Sen. Clinton's efforts just showed her "unwavering commitment" to improving the struggling economy. Not everyone, however, agrees.

It's more than curious, according to today's New York Times, that the developer of Destiny USA donated $100,000 to Bill Clinton's foundation at the same time that Sen. Hillary Clinton showed unwavering support for the project. In other words, the timing of the donation with respect to Sen. Clinton's support sure hints of a payoff.

Nevertheless, there are no allegations of wrongdoing thus far, rather only a whiff of suspicious circumstances. In essence, the Times is merely atomizing a bit of stink in the vicinity of the Clintons.

Now, any regular consumer of the news must conclude that the Times' putting stink on the Clintons is out of character, a dramatic departure from its normally protective and apologetic coverage of the famous family. Could it be that the Times is finally trying to winch its journalistic credibility out of the utopian tank?

Frankly, I don't think so and the fact that the Times is reporting about some possible Clintonian political favoritism is secondary in newsworthiness to the fact that the Times is reporting anything unfavorable about the Clintons.

Furthermore, the Times reports negatively about the Clintons not because of credible allegations or sound evidence or the results of a year-long investigation but because of "oh-lookee-here" suspicious circumstances. For front page prominence on the Times, it's weak, it's vague, it's thin and it's out of place. Surely, there are other news stories more worthy.

Consequently, one might suspect that the stink on Clinton story is a feint, an attempt to distract public dialog away from something more substantive. Of course, I won't deny the possibility that the Times is simply sending a message to the Clintons -- informing them that the old Gray Lady is getting her marching orders from a new set of leftist mouths. Yes, perhaps Bill and Hillary have been bumped to the B-List.

In conclusion, despite the Times' attempt to put stink on the Clintons, a fishier smell appears to waft from the fact that the Times published the story in the first place.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.