The Philadelphia Inquirer, Now An Official Whore For The DNC

The Inquirer has had quite a week in the partisanship department. First they started off with the 21-day endorsement of Kerry, then they made sure they prominently displayed this headline: Kerry sees Bush draft risk, albeit below the fold but on the front page. Even though the Inquirer knows Bush has disavowed any talk of a draft (twice), they have to go with the DNC sponsored scare line of the week. Then today they run these two articles, which it seems they used their entire cadre of reporters to write and investigate:

The first:

WASHINGTON - In March 2003, days before the start of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, American war planners and intelligence officials met at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina to review the Bush administration's plans to oust Saddam Hussein and implant democracy in Iraq.
Near the end of his presentation, an Army lieutenant colonel who was giving a briefing showed a slide describing the Pentagon's plans for rebuilding Iraq after the war, known in the planners' parlance as Phase 4-C. He was uncomfortable with his material - and for good reason. The slide said: "To Be Provided."
An Inquirer Washington Bureau review of the Iraq policy and decisions of the administration has found that it invaded Iraq without a comprehensive plan in place to secure and rebuild the country. The administration also failed to provide about 100,000 additional U.S. troops that American military commanders originally wanted to help restore order and reconstruct a country shattered by war, a brutal dictatorship, and economic sanctions.
In fact, some senior Pentagon officials had thought they could bring most American soldiers home from Iraq by September 2003. Instead, more than a year later, 138,000 U.S. troops are still fighting insurgents who slip easily across Iraq's long borders, diehards from the old regime, and Iraqis angered by their country's widespread crime and unemployment and the United States' sometimes heavy boots.
"We didn't go in with a plan. We went in with a theory," said a veteran State Department officer who was directly involved in Iraq policy.

This is typical old-school reporting, sources that aren't revealed and no proof that they even exist. The Sunday Inquirer is the most read of the week and this is displayed prominently on page 1.

Then there's this:
The national Democrats have found God.
For decades, the party most closely identified with secular values had generally avoided talking about religion, except while stumping for African American votes on Sunday. But now, as evidenced by John Kerry's newfound willingness to air his Catholicism, national party leaders have determined that he can't win the 2004 presidential race unless he convinces uncommitted voters that faith informs his politics.
So there he was, in the third debate last Wednesday, quoting from the New Testament Book of James ("What does it mean, my brother, to say you have faith if there are no deeds?"), sharing the childhood lessons he learned in a church school ("Love the Lord, your God, with all your mind, body and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself"), and declaring that "my faith affects everything that I do and choose."
He has quoted the Bible on the road, invoked God at the national convention ("Faith has given me values and hope to live by... from Sunday to Sunday"). His surrogates have weighed in, notably Barack Obama, the Senate candidate from Illinois, who declares, "We worship an awesome God in the blue [Democratic] states!"
This rite of religious passage hasn't been easy for Kerry; as a reticent New Englander, he wasn't raised to parade his faith. Nor has it been easy for the national party, which, until it recently hired a "religion outreach" strategist, seemed intent on maintaining total separation of church and state, to the point where all talk of God was deemed out of bounds.

Praise the Lord and pass the ammo, the Donkeys got religion. This may not be a good thing however, one complaint I've heard from people about Bush is that he wears his religion on his sleeve and that bothers them. How far do you think the Kerry/Religion line will go if he gets elected, I doubt we'll never hear of it again.

I concluse that the Inquirer has puuled out all stops to put Kerry over the top in eastern Pennsylvania, which should give him the state. There is hope though:

A FEW GUYS are trying to launch a new paper in town. They're calling it the Evening Bulletin.
That name worked for a century and a half for a Philly broadsheet published from 1847 to 1982.
Kevin Williamson, who recently stepped down as editor of the Main Line Times, appeared on Michael Smerconish's Big Talker 1210-AM show yesterday morning to announce he would be the editor of the Evening Bulletin, which he said would be on the streets before Thanksgiving.
Williamson declined comment yesterday, but e-mailed us a statement:
"The Evening Bulletin, a general interest daily newspaper serving Philadelphia and its suburbs, will begin publishing in November.
"The Evening Bulletin will be published afternoons, Monday through Friday.
"The Bulletin's mission is to present timely local news, commentary, cultural reporting and advertising in an accurate and comprehensive fashion."
On Smerconish's show, Williamson likened the paper to the Fox News Channel, which he called an alternative to mainstream media.
Williamson, 32, is a motorcycle-riding former Texan described by a former colleague as "scary"-looking, and also "Catholic, very conservative, very bright, very hard-hitting, with a shaved head, and leather pants."
On Smerconish's show, Williamson said Narberth-based investment banker Tom Rice would be the publisher and financier.
Rice is also said to be conservative. He could not be reached yesterday for comment.
Williamson hopes to put honor boxes on the street and use newsboys to hawk the paper, which for now has only a Center City office and a barebones Web site, theeven ing bulletin.com.

A conservative newspaper in Philly again? Yes.