Poltifacts and the Washington Post: Who Gets More Pinocchios?

      Politico plays the game of selective outrage over the last week about Harry Reid:

     " Reid — who introduced Clinton’s keynote speech at the summit — has played quite a different part this week: the familiar role of political provocateur".

      "The Obama campaign has tried and failed for months to force Romney to release his tax records, even as some of the former governor’s fellow Republicans have called on him to come clean. Reid says the tax returns would reveal that Romney didn’t pay federal taxes for 10 years — a claim he said he bases on a conversation with an unnamed source affiliated with Romney’s old company, Bain Capital."

      "Because Reid offered no evidence, his assertion was rated “Pants on Fire” by the fact-checking group PolitiFact and received “Four Pinocchios” from The Washington Post."

     “It’s just the worst kind of smear you can do. But he’s doing it for pretty obvious political reasons and for him it’s risk free," Nevada political columnist Jon Ralston told POLITICO. “He’s always been a guy who will do whatever it takes to win a political fight, and that's what he’s doing.”

     "Ryan Erwin, Romney's top strategist in Nevada, called Reid’s attacks “irresponsible” and “the height of hypocrisy,” especially in light of the majority leader’s refusal to release his own income tax returns."


     Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/79466.html#ixzz22yPvIL6Q

     How are Reid's "attacks" irresponsible? How is it hypocritical. Note how Politico lets Erwin's silly claims stand without allowing a Democrat answer it. Nor do they note that there's nothing hypocritical about Reid demanding that Romney release his returns without releasing his as Reid is not running for President.

   If Reid were demanding that Mitch McConnell release his returns, that might be hypocritical. Really the hypocrite is Romney and the media who reports his spin without qualification. There is no tradition of Senators releasing their tax returns in the middle of a Presidential campaign. So how if Reid hypocritical in asking that Romney honor what is a tradition of Presidential candidates releasing their taxes in the middle of a campaign.

   What silly outfits like WP and Polifacts don't seem to get is that while it's true that Reid's claims aren't substantiated, neither are Romney's denials, or the claims of RNC Chairman Priebus. How exactly does Polifacts know that Romney has payed his taxes? Have they seen them?

   If so why don't they stop demanding Reid give his source-and break his confidence-and instead tell us how they know Romney paid his taxes.