As Twitchy reported, the New York Times thought former President George H.W. Bush’s obituary would be a good place to revive the myth that the out-of-touch candidate had never seen a supermarket scanner before and was amazed by it.
The Associated Press declared Tuesday that Bush received a “bum rap” from the media:
Amazing how the story of Bush and the supermarket scanner got twisted and stuck to him for years https://t.co/cunqunqmZe
— Julie Pace (@jpaceDC) December 5, 2018
One last time, for the record: It was not an ordinary supermarket scanner.
A February 1992 newspaper story reporting that President George H.W. Bush was baffled by a supermarket barcode scanner when he visited a grocers’ convention in Florida fed into impressions that the president was out of touch, just as he was dealing with a reeling economy and fending off a primary election challenge at the outset of his re-election campaign.
The New York Times’ front-page account carried the headline: “Bush Encounters the Supermarket, Amazed.”
…
Reporters later learned that it was a special scanner with advanced features, including a scale to weigh produce — uncommon then — and the ability to read barcodes even if they were torn up and jumbled.
The AP also maintained its innocence, reprinting a February 1992 story that called out the New York Times for its headline and noting that “cartoonists, broadcasters and columnists lampooned the president as a political Rip Van Winkle.”
But Julie Pace is correct: It’s amazing how a story can get twisted and stick with a person for years.
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The widely-repeatedly story that George HW Bush was amazed by an ordinary supermarket scanner was bona fide, legitimate fake news. https://t.co/e7Tq3RKPeD
— Byron Tau (@ByronTau) December 6, 2018
And The NY Times ran with it anyway 2 days ago. https://t.co/pa3xtwSruB
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) December 6, 2018
But yes it’s great mystery how we ended up at this tipping point and crisis of confidence in our media.
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) December 6, 2018
The media. Need I say more?
— Tommy Bartley (@tommybartley) December 5, 2018
Funny how that worked huh?
— Brad (@EastAug) December 5, 2018
So the press really is biased at times then? Amazing!
— David Stewart (@resonablexaminr) December 5, 2018
No it’s not. It’s the same shit the liberal media has been doing for decades.
You think Trump started the mistrust in media!?!? Hahahaha
— Yaboyyy (@Come_On_Sonn) December 5, 2018
It’s not amazing. It was a coordinated attack on the mans character from the press. https://t.co/eXU6mqNED4
— EducatédHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) December 6, 2018
Yeah it’s so amazing that stuck to a REPUBLICAN! Unlike 57 states and trading a deserter for 5 of the worst known terrorists. Shocking!
— WFB (@Wellwhaddayano) December 5, 2018
Amazing how the story of @realDonaldTrump and the #MLKBust got twisted and stuck to him.
cc "Journalist" .@ZekeJMiller— IndependentJim (@JamesLepley) December 6, 2018
The liberal media HATED Bush 41. Now he’s great. What a joke.
— MissionPassionFruit (@JohnnyRondo311) December 5, 2018
Amazing how the left and media only love Republicans when they die
— Shane Flannagan (@shaneflannagan) December 6, 2018
A member of the media commenting on the bum rap a politician got because of the way the media reported on something and repeated it over and over. Ah, the irony!
— Bob Kumins (@BobKumins) December 5, 2018
Here’s a thought:
It’s not too late for the NYT to run a correction. https://t.co/UDN87ojD3b
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) December 6, 2018
Related:
‘No shame’: The NY Times thought THIS was worth re-visiting in George H.W. Bush’s obituary? (Hint: Retro ‘fake news’) https://t.co/QrRloylIvT
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) December 1, 2018
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