Analysis: James Bennet may be the only actor in the Sarah Palin libel suit drama whose presence is on the level. The other parties are freighted with multiple layers of artifice and hypocrisy, writes harrispolitico.
In this courtroom sketch, James Bennet, former New York Times editorial page editor, holds up a copy of paper as he testifies in former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday. | Elizabeth Williams/AP PhotoIn an age when every arena of politics and media is infused with remorseless combat, James Bennet has a rare distinction: The formereditorial page editor has been circled by ideological packs on left and right with equal ferocity.
Palin’s motives are not genuinely about seeking redress for a factual error that was quickly corrected. She knows the whole episode has enhanced, not damaged, her reputation with the partisans on whom her political and financial fortunes depend. Her target is less Bennet than the news organization her confederates on the right have seethed over since the Nixon era. Others cheering her case hope to weaken the legal protections benefiting all journalists.
Thus, another distinction Bennet wasn’t seeking: He’s the only one whose words at the trial can be taken at face value, his pain obviously sincere. “Terrible what happened — but what was he thinking walking alone in that neighborhood at that hour?” “So sad, but you know she is a smoker.”
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