NYT Front|Back: Recovering Horse vs. Dead and Wounded Iraqis

FRONT:

With Costly Care, Barbaro’s Long Odds Improve
Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby champion horse, is still on the road to recovery. After shattering his hind leg during a race in May and then developing a painful and often fatal joint condition, Barbaro might soon be walking without his cast. Yet, though he has received better medical care than have most two-legged Americans, Barbaro's ability to compete again is still questionable.

Regardless of his star status, The New York Times has, in fact, placed an inspirational horse story on its cover. Outdoing local and national network news stations that tend to end their shows on such sugary high notes (a little sorbet to sweeten the reality of the preceding day's events), The Times positions this heartwarming tale front and center. Even the lamest local station has the good sense not to lead with those tales of Slappy the One-Eyed Racoon or Buster the Tap-Dancing Cat.

Intro:

Barbaro was reclined on his side in a stall. His left hind foot curled out beneath him, revealing a fitting that his surgeon called a foam-lined rubber sneaker. His right hind leg, the one that has been in a cast for 90 days, was hidden beneath a carpet of knee-deep straw.

BACK (bottom of Page A9):

Insurgents Kill 20 in Shiite Pilgrimage Amid Heavy Security
The Decider defended his dead-end Iraq position today, still refusing to consider a withdrawal until the job is done, whatever that job might be. Ensuring an Islamist state, one further entrenched and empowered by an all-consuming hatred of U.S. occupiers?

Meanwhile, as Bush continues to lie, more (as the saying goes) continue to die.

During a holy annual pilgrimage in Iraq on Sunday (the same one that last year killed 950 civilians when a terrorist bomb scare triggered a stampede), 20 were killed and 300 wounded in ongoing sectarian violence. Oh well, just another day of bloodshed in Iraq. So much for "if it bleeds, it leads."

With Bush on the ropes again on his Iraq stance, approval ratings returning to record lows and more Americans than ever certain we should bring our troops home now, leave it to The Times to give our dear leader some breathing room. 

Excerpt:

Witness accounts and street-level images broadcast on Iraqi television described how gunmen on rooftops rained sniper fire onto pilgrims in one predominantly Sunni Arab district here. Security officials fired back, officials said.

The American military released a statement late Sunday that seemed to play down the deaths. “Iraqi military and civil leaders provided a comprehensive security plan to ensure there would be no recurrence of violence that marred last year’s event,” the American statement said. “As a result, there were no major attacks.”