Times to Goldberg: Stuff it

Ben Rhodes induced an apoplectic fit by the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg courtesy of David Samuels’s New York Times Magazine profile of Rhodes. Goldberg enlisted the assistance of his friend Rhodes to deny that he had been handpicked to retail the Obama administration’s line on the deal with Iran. Say it ain’t so, Ben!

As one can observe in a careful reading of Goldberg’s response to the profile, Rhodes didn’t quite come through. Rhodes wrote Goldberg: “I told [Samuels] that our goal was to try to convince you and a handful of other columnists that the Iran deal wasn’t a total catastrophe. I told him I don’t think I ever convinced you that it was a good deal.”

Goldberg demanded a correction from the Times Magazine. Times Magazine editor Jake Silverstein has now announced in a string of tweets that the Times “stands behind the piece 100%.” David Samuels himself returns to the Times today to reiterate his identification of Goldberg. To adapt the infamous New York Daily News headline to this part of the saga:Times to Goldberg: Stuff it.

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