Fox News: All Apologies...

Ceci n'est pas vraiment un article puisqu'il a été réalisé dans le cadre du cours d'anglais du sieur Josph Haldane, charmant sujet de sa très gracieuse majesté qui fait une thèse sur Stendhal et qui s'est marrié en avril à Tokyo avec sa fiancée japonaise... Avec lui, nous n'en fichions pas une rame mais on s'amusait énormément!

Je mepermets d'archiver ici ce premier "essay" car cet article illustre un abérrant canular visant Kerry fabriqué par Fox News, la chaîne très pro-Bush de Rupert Murdoch. Même si c'est en anglais, je vous recommande la lecture! E-D-I-F-I-A-N-T!!

As the campaign race for the White House comes to an end, the heat is rising. The Bush opponents struck first. Late September, it was revealed that the documents produced by the CBS News program "60 Minutes," casting doubt on President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard, might have been forged. Now it is Kerrys’s disparagers’ turn to open fire.

The TV channel Fox News owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch is at the heart of the current controversy. An article using fabricated quotes attributed to John Kerry and published on the channel’s website has raised quite a stir. In the article appeared under the byline of Carl Cameron, the Democratic candidate proudly pictured himself as a "metrosexual" who enjoys getting manicures. During this alleged debriefing of the first presidential debate, Kerry was reported saying "Didn't my nails and cutties look great" and referring to his rival "I'm a metrosexual, he's a cowboy”. It is not only the boldness of the treachery that has raised indignation but the identity of the culprit. Carl Cameron is not a nobody. He is Fox’ chief political correspondent and thus in charge of covering Kerry’s campaign.

In a rare gesture of repentance, the channel, well known for its rightwing and pro-Bush stances issued an apology. Its spokesman declared “Carl Cameron made a stupid mistake and he has been reprimanded for its lapse in judgement. It was a poor attempt at humour and he regrets it". He also attributed the accident to "fatigue and bad judgement rather than malice".

This amusing anecdote is not innocent. Virility has been a persistent theme underlying the election race and has been linked to the ability of both politicians to rule the country. Since Georges W. Bush, often dressed in the past in an aviator jacket, has undoubtedly the upper hand in this war of images, Republicans have been keen on developing and promoting the candidates perceived masculinity as a campaign issue. For example, during the Party convention, the newly-elected California’s governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, called Mr Kerry's advisors "economic girlie-men”.

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