Rep. Mark Foley messed up bigtime. The Republican leadership messed up bigtime. And it’s hitting the news just in time for the midterm elections. So when the New York Times’ top front page Sunday headline is “Top G.O.P. aides knew in late ‘05 of e-mail to page,” what does the San Francisco Chronicle print? “Red West shifting to Blue.” Granted, it’s an interesting election year story, and California is a Western state, but it is of dubious importance when something as big as the Foley scandal is happening, or the torture bill is still in the picture. Perhaps I ought to concede finally that the Chronicle really is out of touch with the rest of the media. Sure, it’s a quirky hometown paper, and I can always have a special place in my heart for the clapping man. But putting only a small mention to Foley on the front page, rather than a story? Maybe the Chron is only playing to the hometown constituency, knowing that most Bay Areans already think most Republicans are slimy and don’t need another reason to think so. But this is national headline-making news. And the story is on page A15. Get with it Chronicle. Make yourself relevant. Publish some news.
