Letters to Sebastian and Fred

Why is Mallaby calling Kerry a traitor?
To: mallabys@washpost.com, "Washpost Letters" , ombudsman@washpost.com

To the best of my knowledge, Washington Post columnist Sebastian Mallaby has never served his country, either in time of war or in time of peace. Mallaby has earned no decorations for valor, no purple hearts, no any other military decoration. Furthermore, Mr. Mallaby has never held elected office.

So why, without any backing evidence, and completely unrelated to his topic, does Mallaby gratuitously call Senator John Kerry, a decorated veteran, long-time public servant, and presidential candidate, a "Benedict Arnold"?

Sebastion "Loiters in the Men's Room" Mallaby (funny how gratuitous name-calling works) should either provide the evidence that Mr. Kerry is a traitor to our nation or issue a retraction. If I were Mr. Kerry, I would sue for libel.
Brendan Skwire
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Re: mallaby
To: bskwire
CC: "Deborah C Howell"
From: "Fred Hiatt"
Dear Mr. Skwire,

Thanks for your note, which the ombudsman forwarded to me. The reference to
Benedict Arnold was not to suggest that John Kerry is a traitor. It was a reference to his frequent application of that term, during his presidential campaign, to CEOs who move jobs abroad. It was meant to underline the surprisingness of a Kerry adviser now finding virtue in one of the leading globalizers of our time.

Best,
Fred Hiatt
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Re: Mallaby

Dear Mr. Hiatt,

If that was Mr. Mallaby's intention, he certainly didn't make that clear. "As Jason Furman of New York University puts it, Wal-Mart is "a progressive success story." Furman advised John "Benedict Arnold" Kerry in the 2004 campaign and has never received any payment from Wal-Mart; he is no corporate apologist" is what
Mallaby wrote.

If, as you claim, the reference was "to his frequent application of that term, during his presidential campaign, to CEOs who move jobs abroad", Mallaby should have written "...Furman advised John Kerry, who famously referred to CEOs who outsource American jobs abroad as 'Benedict Arnolds' in the 2004 campaign..." or something similar. Intentional or not, Mallaby smears Mr. Kerry's reputation. I do not know if I
believe your defense of Mr. Mallaby, and I don't know if YOU believe it either. At best, Mallaby is still guilty of lazy, incoherent writing.

However, I have come to see the Washington Post, and especially the editorial page, as little more than apologists for corporatism, and thus your remarks are taken with a ladle of salt. After all, you're the guys who claim to have known all along that the WMD stories were poppycock, and went along with it anyway.

Have your kids enlisted yet, Mr. Hiatt? Or are we still fighting your war with other people's kids?

Brendan Skwire
PS: could you PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE retire Richard
Cohen already? the guy makes no sense at all anymore.
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I never heard back from Fred. Go figure. is hould have also pointed out that "surprisingness" is not a word, and it's embarrassing that that Hiatt, who manages the op-ed page, would employ it.