Unoriginal. Always.

One of the advantages to the career of an editorialist is that there are no bylines. So, for the keyboard-tickler who is not merely unoriginal but also inclined to draw turns of phrase from other editorialists, anonymity does much to protect name and reputation — if not that of his or her newspaper.

On January 6, the New York Times published a splenetic screed about the absolute loathsomeness of Donald Trump. Some 48 hours later, the Sydney Morning Herald published a froth-flecked screed about the absolute loathsomeness of Donald Trump, “Trump’s second shot at president (sic) a danger to the US and the world (non-subscribers may have trouble getting past the paywall, but be assured everything pasted below is verbatim).

NYT: Re-electing Mr. Trump would present serious dangers to our Republic and to the world

SMH: Trump’s second shot at president a danger to the US and the world (headline)

_______________

NYT: …as a real estate developer and a television personality, then as president and as a dominant figure in the Republican Party, Mr. Trump demonstrated a character and temperament that render him utterly unfit for high office.

SMH: The temperament and character he displayed as developer, reality TV performer, president, political refusenik and denier make him utterly unfit to return to office.

_______________

NYT: There is no mystery, either, about the consequences for the world if America re-elects a leader who openly displays his contempt for its allies.

SMH: …his oxymoronic predilection for displaying contempt for allies

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NYT: …encouraging violence and lawlessness, exploiting fear and hate

SMH: … campaign advocates violence and lawlessness and stirs fear and hate.

_______________

In total, the above is probably not enough to secure a position as the President of Harvard. But where the unknown SMH scribbler strikes original ground, that might just do the trick.

How many Americans did Covid kill? Well, the unknown editorialist explains it was 400,000 deaths … or maybe 1.2 million. Did each death in the first-mentioned tranche of casualties die three times, or was it that Donald Trump dug up the dead and killed them again and again?

400,000 died from COVID-19 during his presidency; his refusal to counter the virus with little other than bleach saw the richest nation record nearly 1.2 million deaths in total from COVID-19

“Little other than bleach” indeed! Where Trump can indeed be faulted for his handling of Covid it would be for adhering to the advice and policies advocated by Anthony Fauci.

But why let mere facts spoil an editorial?

— rf