We’ve railed on Esquire for being a mouthpiece for the left before – when the supposed magazine went full eunuch and criticized Colorado for not wanting Gitmo detainees. But this sloppy kiss to the left from the emasculated Esquire is even better. We’re going to go out on a limb here and guess that you did not read the as-told-to that Esquire did on Hickenlooper this week. Go ahead, take a peek.
Check out that byline, PeakNation™. Yep. Max Potter. That may be because the Esquire article is a series of excerpts from the book, but you wouldn’t know that by reading the piece. In case you’ve forgotten, Potter wrote Hick’s state-of-the-state speeches. Can a communications director be trusted to deliver unvarnished and reliable information about his boss?
So the guy writes the governor’s tweets, has written the governor’s speeches, writes his memoir, and writes the as-told-to for a major American magazine (as if Potter were an unbiased journalist). Is anything the governor says really him anymore? Is Esquire pulling the wool over our eyes? Is Potter? Is Hickenlooper? Perhaps you’ve heard of Stalin?
And, to top it off, there’s nothing in this as-told-to that indicates Potter is on Hickenlooper’s payroll? There’s no endline, no editor’s note. Nothing. That brings up a slew of additional questions.
Would Tony Snow have been allowed to do an as-told-to about George W. Bush and then not mention he was the president’s mouthpiece? Would Esquire have run it? Did Esquire pay Potter for this? Did he do it for free? Is it the fact that no one outside small journalism circles knows Potter’s name or his role with Hickenlooper, so no one would notice or care?
This is a serious journalism-ethics lapse.