-By Warner Todd Huston
Back on August 28th we posted the sad story of the death of a motorcycle policeman who was killed while in service as a motorcade escort for president George W. Bush. What brought the story to our attention was the shocking way that Time Magazine reported the story. With a headline that blared “Bush Motorcade Kills Cop,” Time made it appear that the officer died as a result of… well, president Bush.
Well, today, we have a similar story to report. A motorcycle policeman was killed today while in service as a motorcade escort for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. And, sadly, Time Magazine is at their spin machine again. The previous incident was headlined as if Bush was responsible for the unfortunate death, but today’s Time headline was not so harsh in its tone when a Clinton was involved. “Officer Killed Escorting Clinton,” is how Time Magazine reported this incident.
The August report on the Bush motorcade accident is no longer on the Time website, but it contained the actual account proving that the police officer died when he lost control of his cycle. Obviously Bush’s motorcade didn’t “kill” a “cop.” It was just that the man lost control and died from the accident. Regrettable, yes. Negligence on the part of George W. Bush? No. Still, the tenor of the Bush report clearly carried a harsh tone against president Bush.
Just look at those two headlines side-by-side.
Bush Motorcade Kills Cop
Officer Killed Escorting Clinton
Quite a difference in tone there, eh?
This new report, however, is far less harsh on Senator Hillary Clinton.
(DALLAS) — A police motorcycle officer died after a crash while escorting Hillary Rodham Clinton’s motorcade to a campaign rally.
“I have just learned of the death of a Dallas police officer in a devastating accident that occurred as the motorcycle officers were leading our cars to this site,” Clinton told reporters at a Dallas rally. “We are just heartsick over this loss of life in the line of duty.”
Clinton said she planned to call the officer’s family to express condolences, as well as the police chief.
“This reminds us once again what the men and women in law enforcement do every single day,” Clinton said. “It is important that we respect and appreciate their service. I certainly am grateful for all they do for me and, more importantly, they do for the citizens of cities like Dallas and across the country. I just want to express my deepest condolences to the family and the Dallas police department for this tragic, tragic accident.”
Isn’t it so wonderful of Hillary to be so caring and heartfelt? Aren’t we glad Time Magazine reported Hillary’s compassion?
Of course it is good that Hillary felt so bad about this accident. There is nothing wrong with her sentiment. It is rightly expressed. But, here is the thing… Time Magazine offered none of President Bush’s sorrow for the officer that died in his service. Time Magazine gave us a headline that seemed to say that Bush actually killed his unfortunate officer, and then went on to discuss other deaths purportedly attributed to Bush. Bush was treated coldly during his incident while they lend Hillary all the humanity they can muster.
No, there’s no bias in Time’s treatment of the two situations… is there?
For a screen shot of the two headlines side by side, visit Verum Serum.
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Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, townhall.com, New Media Journal, Men’s News Daily and the New Media Alliance among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston