You would think, by now, that people who work in the media for a living would know that the Internet is forever. But, as Matthew 12:34 puts it, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” The 21st century version would be “out of the abundance of the heart the fingers Tweet.”

Behold the latest example, New York Times writer Philip B. Richardson.

Bush spoke at a New Hampshire town hall where a young African-American man asked the candidate about his tax policies, racial disparities and the existence of the “culture of poverty.”
Bush gave a rather long and rather complex answer (emphasis mine) that included one prescription for ending poverty: “stronger families. Stronger families matter,” he said.

Seems as if Richardson skipped over the “long and rather complex answer” and picked out something that he disagreed with. And then his mouth – or rather, his fingers – revealed what kind of person he is.

Richardson, whose personal Twitter bio identifies him as “Visual and Social Media. Writer/Blogger/Producer. Works @NYTimes,” soon deleted his tweet, but not before Bush’s staff caught it. Bush’s spokesman, Tim Miller, quickly took to Twitter to highlight Richardson’s message and his employer: “NY Times reporter drops an FU Jeb.”

For someone who is supposed to be working in “visual and social media,” he really doesn’t get how this whole Twitter thing works.