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A quick glance at this morning’s news coverage makes clear that the media is more than a little eager to let Secretary of State John Kerry off the hook for accusing Israel of devolving into an “apartheid state” if it doesn’t make peace with the Palestinians. The media is also going to let Kerry get away with claiming that those who criticized his reprehensible remark are motivated only by “partisan politics.”
“I will not allow my commitment to Israel to be questioned by anyone, particularly for partisan, political purposes,” Kerry said after the “apartheid” remark he expressed in private was reported by the Daily Beast.
This is a classic trick in the White House playbook: pretend that the criticism is based only on partisan politics. Kerry of course is being dishonest. Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer was quick to condemn Kerry’s remarks as “nonsensical and ridiculous.” Another Democrat Senator, Mark Begich of Alaska, added, “Last time I checked, the U.S. didn’t negotiate with terrorist organizations and we shouldn’t expect the Israeli government to either.”
A number of Jewish groups also criticized Kerry.
Because Kerry is a Democrat, the mainstream media has already decided to put this story to bed before it can do any damage to the Secretary of State or the Obama administration. Even though there is audio of Kerry’s remarks, thus far I have not heard a single media outlet other than Fox News air it.
People mistakenly assume that this kind of audio recording is automatic catnip for the media. But this is only true if the subject caught on tape is not a left-wing Democrat. The media will broadcast Romney’s “47 percent” remark until he is no longer a threat to Barack Obama. The media will not play the audio of John Kerry, though, because I doing so risks damaging a Democrat.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC