Calhouns Can(n)ons

Put Down That Gun And Step Away From Your Foot

Oh, Dear, the poor Tribune. Cain’t git no respeck! On Oct 20th, they ran yet another huge editorial page Election 2006 Candidate Endorsements, this time for the candidates for the San Luis Coastal Unified School District Board of Trustees.

Now, newspapers have been endorsing or NOT endorsing candidates for ages and they’re free to pick their favorites for any reason they want, and free to dis their unfavorites for any reason as well – don’t like the color of their hair, think they’re total incompetents, are taking bribes, whatever. And that’s all fine. But here’s where it gets fun.

The Trib did NOT endorse Caroline Botwin and did NOT endorse her for one specific reason: “With her experience as a board members, it’s disappointing that Botwin isn’t more current on some district issues. For example, she was unaware that the board in closed session had recently given Jeff Edwards a one-year extension on a 14-unit development planned for a district-owned parcel in Avila Beach.”

What’s the problem, you say? Simple. The Tribune was wrong. The Board did not give Edwards that one-year extension, which means that Botwin was indeed CURRENT and CORRECT, so the Tribune didn’t have any reason to be “disappointed.”

Ah, it’s one thing to not endorse someone for a variety of reasons, but to not endorse someone for one specific reason and then get that one specific reason WRONG . . . Eeeeuuuuuuu. Quel Embarassings!

So, did the folks who made this blunder rush in a correction on the editorial page, where readers would be sure to see it, and those who were thinking about voting based on this false information would have a chance to maybe change their vote? Not a bit of it! The correction was run in eeeeennneeessy-teeeensy print on the inside front page in the teeeeeny-weenie “corrections” box where NOBODY would ever see it.

Ah, my friends, that’s how elections are won and lost . . . with NO fingerprints left on the corpses . That’s the Tribune way!