Chris Doss wrote:
>
> >
> > On Dec 4, 2006, at 3:19 PM, Steven L. Robinson
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Elite opposition? You wouldn't have known it from
> > reading the
> > > voices of elite opinion, especially the New York
> > Times - among
> > > others.
>
> The NYT isn't elite opinion. It's a step down from
> that. I can't believe the elites are so stupid as to
> base their opinions on the NYT.
That's not the point. The elites don't learn from the Times; they dictate to the Times what to tell the "public" (the circle of opinion makers outside the circles of the elite). Or, alternatively, the Times and the Elite are one. Perhaps the most dramatic illustration of that was the overthrow of Allende, in which the Times from the beginning did PR work for the coup-in-waiting. Chavez may survive, but quite often severe criticism of a 'third-world' leader in the Times is very close to a death-sentence.
Carrol