Shocked, Shocked at the Very Idea!

A Globe editorial from Friday entitled “Much ado about drapes” tut-tuts over the media frenzy about Deval Patrick’s lavish spending on his office amenities, saying:

The criticisms this past week of Patrick as a big spender on personal luxuries have ballooned beyond all rationality

Yet the Globe itself finds some of Patrick’s spending decisions indefensible:

…the argument for a $1,166-per-month Cadillac over a Ford Crown Victoria costing just over half as much is hard to fathom. Similarly…there is no need to establish a full-time chief of staff for [scheduling appearances by Patrick’s wife].

Then after this non-defensive defense, the logicians at the Globe editorial desk criticize Patrick’s unapologetic apology:

“I think it's very important to me,” [Patrick] said, “that you in the media help me get the message out about what it is we are concentrating on.” This reflects a faulty view of the role. It is the press's job to report developments, including significant policy initiatives, whether from the governor or elsewhere. It is not the press's job to “help” any official.

Why ever would Deval Patrick expect the media to help him? Perhaps (just perhaps!) his expectation results from his experience with the Boston media over the last 16 months.

Patrick’s expectation reminds me of an incident just before the 2004 Democratic Convention that was reported at the time only by Globe columnist Joan Vennochi:

At a media walk-through at the Fleet Center on Tuesday, Alice Huffman, co-chair of the Democratic National Committee, bluntly told the gathered press they have “as much to do with the success of this convention as anyone else. Your role is so critical” Huffman went on to link “objectivity,” “what is best for America” and the Democratic Party agenda.

Hmmm. Why do these Democrats keep expecting the media to help them? Wherever could they have gotten such a preposterous notion?

The Globe’s editors are shocked, shocked at the very idea!