The special clairvoyance of mainstream media reporters that allows them to file stories about events before they happen has been dubbed the Lapham effect. An alert reader notified Michelle Malkin of this story on the AP newswire this afternoon:
FORT BRAGG, N.C. - President Bush on Tuesday appealed for the nation's patience for "difficult and dangerous" work ahead in Iraq, hoping a backdrop of U.S. troops and a reminder of Iraq's revived sovereignty would help him reclaim control of an issue that has eroded his popularity.
In an evening address at an Army base that has 9,300 troops in Iraq, Bush was acknowledging the toll of the 27-month-old war. At the same time, he aimed to persuade skeptical Americans that his strategy for victory needed only time — not any changes — to be successful.
"Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed. Every picture is horrifying and the suffering is real," Bush said, according to excerpts released ahead of time by the White House. "It is worth it."
It was a tricky balancing act, believed necessary by White House advisers who have seen persistent insurgent attacks eat into Americans' support for the war — and for the president — and increase discomfort among even Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Of course media clairvoyance is nothing new, really. Last fall, the New York Times published a story containing incendiary quotes by President Bush that were made at a private luncheon. Interestingly, the story was written by a reporter who did not attend the luncheon, and to further complicate things, no transcript of the President's remarks was ever released.
Read Nick Schulz's great Tech Central Station article for more background on this phenomenon and why it happens so often. And in all honesty, the Lapham effect seems equally potent against liberals as well as conservatives.
Comments