04 July 2006

My Anger Simmers After Reading This Reuters Piece

I'm at a loss for a simile that can properly describe how deeply in love with leftist loser Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador this Reuters article is, but assume that the references that I eventually come up with would be less than flattering for Reuters and their reporter Alistair Bell.

To guide you through this ridiculously biased piece, let's start where they start, at the beginning
Mexico's left, still smarting from a 1988 presidential vote it says was stolen from it, simmered with anger on Monday as its dreams of power were frustrated by another contested election.

Let me translate, (please excuse the ALL CAPS, but I'm sure that's the tone of Mr. Bell's interior monologue while composing this bit of agitprop) 'THOSE EVIL CONSERVATIVES, THEY'VE STOLEN THIS ELECTION JUST LIKE THEY STOLE OHIO, I BET KARL ROVE WAS BEHIND ALL OF THIS'

The next sentence continues with much the same tone
Conservative candidate Felipe Calderon claimed victory in Sunday's hard-fought presidential election and official returns appeared to show anti-poverty campaigner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador would be unable to catch him.

Calderon "claims" victory, not 'Calderon wins', or 'Calderon captures plurality in very close vote', nope instead he 'claims' victory. Also notice the bit where, "official returns appeared to show", you can almost see the sneer, and hear the snide under the breath comment that comes next, '...but we know those 'official' results are about as real as Tom Cruise's engagement'. And don't think Mr. Bell can get away with calling Obrador an "anti-poverty campaigner". Obrador's promises of more trade protection, hand outs to mothers and the elderly, and re-nationalizing some industries would be disastrous, and rather than being 'anti-poverty' would be 'anti-prosperity', but don't expect that sort of honesty from a Reuter's report when commenting on a beloved lefty populist type.

That's only the first two sentences, well, the third sentence doesn't get any better
Harvard-educated Calderon held a one-point lead over former Indian welfare officer Lopez Obrador on Monday with returns in from almost 98 percent of polling stations. A top electoral official said a recount this week was unlikely to change that.

Let's see what we have here, Calderon was "Harvard-educated" and we all know who else was "Harvard-educated", that's right Boooosh bought his MBA from them, so clearly a Harvard education in Economics/Business is something to deride. Compare that to his opponent the "former Indian welfare officer", clearly Lopez Obrador is a man of the people, and the people united will be invincible!

We haven't gotten to the Hugo Chavez love yet, surely this article must try and remind us that he bathes in glory and shoots rays of kindness out of his ass?
Lopez Obrador, 52, a frugal widower, has led in opinion polls for most of the last three years.

He slipped briefly into second place in April and May when Calderon's team launched TV ads dubbing him a danger to Mexico and a populist like Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Not quite what I was hoping for, Mr. Bell is slipping, however, I like the bit about the poor humble Lopez Obrador being just a simple "frugal widower", nice touch, that.

And where have I heard of a left leaning candidate who lead in the polls throughout most of the campaign season against a conservative, only to find themselves bewildered that the actual votes failed to match their consistently rosy poling data? Nope, guess that's never happened before.

The article finishes with a promise/threat/warning that things might get ugly in Mexico because of this close election.

Foreign investors fear Lopez Obrador will launch street protests to try to push his election claim, triggering political gridlock and maybe even violence.

Mexico City was quiet on Monday, except for a small student protest outside the electoral authority's office.

Emilio Serrano, a PRD federal deputy, warned that things could still turn nasty depending on the vote recount.

"The majority of poor and simple people who are sick of all this are capable of anything," he said, "including violence."

The words from PRD federal deputy Emilio Serrano aren't very comforting, and Lopez Obrador's actions since the election haven't been particularly responsible. Trouble might be brewing, or maybe not, I'm leaning to think not, but of course I've already outlined a pretty modest proposal on how to handle any trouble that may arise south of our border.

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