A. Sullivan says "2000" at protest?!

[butchcjg]

From Andrew Sullivan's blog, is he crazy!?:

I'm beginning to wonder whether the MSM writes up rallies by extremist anti-war groups from some kind of Politburo template devised by Michael Moore. What's up with this:

Vast numbers of protesters from around the country poured onto the lawns behind the White House on Saturday to demonstrate their opposition to the war in Iraq ... A sea of anti-administration signs and banners flashed back at a long succession of speakers blah blah blah

How many people were in DC? The reporter, Michael Janofsky, is, apparently, blind:

Organizers of the rally and march had a permit for 100,000 people, but the National Park Service no longer provides official estimates for large gatherings in Washington.

Memo to Janofsky: how many did you figure were there? I've seen no accounts that come even close to 100,000 and several that put the number at 2,000 or so. The NYT had two reporters there - Holli Chmela and Lakiesha Carr. Were they blind too? The piece was laughable, boilerplate propaganda, pure and simple.

[brettdale]

1. Does he have an email address?

Does he have an email address?

[butchcjg]

2. [e-mail]

[Obamarama]

5. [e-mail]

[gratuitous]

3. Maybe he meant the Pentagon's Freeper Walk?

Oops, I mean the we-have-your-names-so-don't-try-anything Freedumb Walk.

The media have been systematically undercounting the numbers at rallies against the war since there have been rallies against the war. The Oregonian went so far as to contract for aerial photography for the big march in Portland in February 2003, so they could isolate grids of marchers and using dishonest sampling try to say that there were nowhere near the numbers claimed by organizers.

The Oregonian has since seemed to sour on Little George's Excellent Iraqi Adventure, but they've never retracted or apologized for calling protesters "naive" for saying that the war was all about oil. With gas prices pushing $3 a gallon and two Texas oilmen running the White House, it makes me wonder who's being naive?

[WatchWhatISay]

4. Too many pictures out there

Plus cspan coverage
People will know better

[Puregonzo1188]

6. Does his blog have a section where

readers can post comments and if so do you have a link? If he does than I might go post the arial picture of the 500,000 at the protest and ask him "Are you blind?"

[Oeditpus Rex]

7. He's apologizing for it now

THE D.C. CROWD: From several sources, it seems a fair estimate that tens of thousands of anti-war protestors were in Washington this weekend. The D.C. police chief estimated a probable 100,000 in all. Reports of as few as 2,000 may have been from one of the minor rallies, and I misread them. I still don't see why the NYT could not make a reasonable guess. The AP managed it, in what was, to my mind, still a somewhat breathless puff piece on the event. Anyway, apologies on the numbers.