A top adviser for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign on Thursday contended that David Corn of Mother Jones is unworthy of a prestigious journalism award for breaking the “47 percent” story, suggesting that surfacing the footage of the GOP nominee at a high-dollar fundraiser was more politcking than reporting.
Corn was recently named a recipient of the George Polk Award for reporting on the “47 percent” video, but former Romney aide Stuart Stevens said he questions the wisdom of that decision.
“Is this journalism or oppo research?” Stevens told the Washington Post. “There’s not really any reporting involved in this. It’s a long way from ‘All the President’s Men.’… Had there been a like moment in a campaign that uncovered a tape by the president, would they be giving an award to that person? Hard to imagine.”
The footage was indeed brought to the attention of Corn by a Democratic opposition researcher — the grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, James Carter — but the progressive reporter told the Post that Stevens is likely bitter after overseeing what he describes as such an abysmal campaign operation.
“I almost have empathy for Stuart Stevens. It must be very frustrating to have so poorly managed the response to the 47 percent video while poorly managing an entire presidential campaign,” Corn said.
