videogamer
Banned
In August of 1999, Monica Crowley wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal commemorating the 25th anniversary of Nixon's resignation. Four days after the article ran, the paper published the following:
"There are striking similarities in phraseology between "The Day Richard Nixon Said Goodbye," an editorial feature Monday by Monica Crowley, and a 1988 article by Paul Johnson in Commentary magazine ... Had we known of the parallels, we would not have published the article."
The similarities are indeed striking:
From Johnson's "In Praise of Richard Nixon," Commentary, October 1988:
"There was none of the personal corruption which had marked the rule of Lyndon Johnson, let alone the gross immoralities and security risks of John F. Kennedy's White House."
From Crowley's "The Day Nixon Said Goodbye," Wall Street Journal, August 9, 1999:
"There was none of the personal corruption that had marked the rule of Lyndon Johnson or the base immoralities and outrageous security risks of the Kennedy and Clinton White Houses."
Johnson:
"Nixon ... consistently underestimated the unscrupulousness of his media enemies and their willingness to sacrifice the national interest in the pursuit of their institutional vendetta."
Crowley:
"Nixon, though always suspicious of his political enemies, consistently underestimated their ruthlessness and willingness to sacrifice the national interest in the pursuit of their institutional vendetta."
Johnson:
"So great was the inequity of Nixon's downfall that future historians may well conclude he would have been justified in allowing events to take their course and in subjecting the nation to the prolonged paralysis of a public impeachment, which at least would have given him the opportunity to defend himself by due process of law. But once again his patriotism took precedence over his self-interest ..."
Crowley:
"Given the inequity of Nixon's downfall, historians may yet determine that he would have been justified in allowing events to take their course and subjecting the country to a prolonged process of impeachment, which would have given him the chance to defend himself by due process of law. His allegiance to the country, however, overrode his political self-interest."
Johnson:
Characterizes the 1960 election as "one of the most corrupt elections of modern times."
Crowley:
Characterizes the 1960 election as "one of the most corrupt elections of modern times."
[This assertion, unlike the others, has some merit, and it's possible the two arrived at the phrase independent of one another; but given the other examples cited here, that likelihood is not great.]
Johnson:
"By a curious paradox Richard Nixon was one of the very few people who emerged from the Watergate affair with credit."
Crowley:
"Ironically, Nixon was one of the few people who emerged from Watergate with credit ..."
[Johnson is British, Crowley American; why would she, on her own, use a Britishism like "with credit"?]
MSGOP is preparing a show with her :rolleyes
http://slate.msn.com/id/1003470
http://dailykos.com/story/2004/12/20/224445/24