DC Plagiarism "Scandal" Part III : The Conclusion (I Hope)

On the third day, the Post proved that the editorial / news firewall is alive and well, running a lead editorial condemning recently-elected Maryland Senator Ben Cardin for putting a "hold" on the "all-important restructuring of the District's public schools" because of an unrelated dispute with the District. They concluded:

The House, recognizing the true state of emergency at the District's schools, quickly approved the bill transferring authority to the mayor. But until the law is enacted, the schools are in a kind of limbo. Mr. Fenty is constrained in what he can do. Each day of delay forestalls the start of any improvement. Mr. Cardin says he doesn't intend to imperil congressional approval of the schools takeover. Actions, though, speak louder than words.

So true! The only way Senator Cardin could have done more damage to the school takeover plan yesterday is if he'd run a headline in a major American newspaper criticizing the mayor and the plan for an essentially bogus reason, something like, let's see, "Fenty Regrets Copied Proposal: School Takeover May Be In Doubt."

Unfortunately, this will all fit neatly into the pre-written Fenty meta-narrative. Plagiarism is generally a youthful offense, after all, the refuge of striving students in over their heads. I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that in another month or so, as the "first six months of the Fenty administration" retrospectives start to roll in, you'll read something like this:

"After a landslide victory where he won every precinct in the city, Mayor Fenty remains popular with District residents, who praise his energy and can-do spirit. But observers are increasingly questioning whether the youthful mayor, in his rush to implement a broad-reaching agenda, has overextended himself. In May, the mayor was embarrassed by revelations that many parts of his much-touted school reform plan were copied wholesale from a similar plan in Charlotte, North Carolina. Said one long-time District activist, who asked to remain anonymous, 'This scandal is a sign of things to come.'"

This is complete nonsense, but that won't stop it from becoming conventional wisdom. That's why politicians pay consultants huge amounts of money to build the frame of reference through which they're seen--one it's established, there's not a lot you can do to change it, and it affects the way people see not just the politicians themselves, but everything around them.