1. Not as Eager About Kerry's "Crooked" Charge as Bush's "Asshole" When microphones in 2000 picked up Republican candidate George W. Bush telling running mate Dick Cheney that he thought New York Times reporter Adam Clymer was "a major league asshole," the personal remark led that night's newscasts on ABC, CBS and NBC with all three condemning Bush's tone. Dan Rather blasted Bush for his "meanness and nastiness." But on Wednesday night of this week, after Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry was caught charging that, of those in the Bush administration, "these guys are the most crooked, you know, lying... continue reading
1. CBS Touts Anti-Bush Anger in Florida, But It's Greater Elsewhere CBS's Byron Pitts on Tuesday night trumpeted how exit polls showed that "Democratic voters are angry at the Bush administration, particularly in one state." That would be Florida where "Democrats want revenge" for the 2000 election, but while 49 percent of Florida Democratic primary voters on Tuesday, when asked their view of Bush, indeed said they are "angry," that's a lower percentage than primary voters this year in Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut and Delaware. Nonetheless, Pitts touted how the anger and quest for revenge "comes up at all... continue reading
1. WashPost Reporter Advises Dems "Connect the Dots" Against Bush Martha Stewart's wrongdoing: Bush's fault. Less tan four hours after a federal jury in Manhattan convicted Martha Stewart, Washington Post reporter Ceci Connolly, appearing on FNC, advised Democrats that, "if they're smart," they will "connect the dots" amongst people "losing jobs," "high-rollers" and CEOs "getting off easy" as they "give campaign contributions to President Bush," not to mention "Cheney with Halliburton." 2. CBS Hypes How "Buffett Says the Bush Tax Cuts Favor the Wealthy" "Warren Buffett says the Bush tax cuts favor the wealthy," exclaimed CBS News reporter Mika Brzezinski... continue reading
1. Bush Has $100M, But Kerry Has Media to Discredit Bush TV Ads The Bush campaign may have $100 million to spend, but the Kerry team has the news media as part of its base, a reality demonstrated on Thursday, a day John Kerry took off and didn't even campaign. Based on a single news story in the New York Daily News quoting a single firefighter and a few members of families with 9-11 victims, the morning and evening shows on ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC, as well as CNBC and MSNBC in prime time, picked up the charge that... continue reading
1. CBS: Angry Democrats and "Polarized" Voters Are Bush's Fault Angry Democrats are Bush's fault. On Wednesday's CBS Evening News, John Roberts maintained that the "deeply polarized" electorate and "a Democratic Party invigorated as rarely before" are problems Bush "created himself." And CNN's Bill Schneider, admiring the "remarkable unity among Democrats," credited President Bush for it. Schneider pointed out how "President Bush is facing criticism from his fellow Republicans over deficit spending, and immigration reform," as well as "criticism from moderate Republicans" on gay marriage. So Schneider trumpeted the "spectacular irony" in how "President Bush has done a better job... continue reading
1. Interviewing Cheney, Blitzer Distorts Greenspan on Tax Cuts Interviewing Vice President Dick Cheney on Tuesday, CNN's Wolf Blitzer distorted Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's testimony from last week as he told Cheney that Greenspan warned that "if you want to keep those tax cuts that you pushed through Congress, you're going to have to start thinking of reducing Social Security benefits for the baby boomers." In fact, Greenspan told a House committee that he favored making the tax cuts permanent and that Social Security pay outs must be adjusted since the system is structurally unsustainable due to the soaring... continue reading
1. CBS: Bush Team Failed Democracy in Haiti, Just as in Iraq The Bush administration stepped in to resolve the turmoil in Haiti by getting strongman Jean-Bertrand Aristede to leave, prompting celebrations by Haitians on Monday, but to CBS News the Bush team is still a failure. John Roberts on Monday night relayed how Aristede's ouster "has left the White House open to charges that it failed democracy and has left yet another country with no clear political direction," an obvious allusion to Iraq. Roberts passed along how "critics say" that the "White House has a sent a message that... continue reading
1. Dan Rather: Does "Kerry Have Enough Elvis to Beat George Bush?" Howard Dean's "scream" delivered the strangest candidate moment of the campaign so far and on Sunday Dan Rather may have provided the oddest media moment when he employed "a Texas expression" as he asked during the late morning CBS News/New York Times debate he moderated: "Does Senator Kerry have enough Elvis to beat George Bush?" Rather explained that "Elvis" means like-ability and that's important "because when he gets down to November, a lot of people are going to vote on who they like the best, whether we want... continue reading
1. NBC Features Workers Demanding Social Security Not Be Touched Simplistic Stories on Social Security, first of two items. The night after the NBC Nightly News distorted Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's remarks on how Social Security cost of living hikes and the retirement age must be adjusted in order to shore up the program, by targeting Bush's tax cuts as the problem when Greenspan specifically said he favored making them permanent, the future anchor of the show, Brian Williams, delivered a story which assumed the Social Security program was threatened, when Greenspan merely suggested slight decreases in the rate... continue reading
1. Greenspan Urges Budget Cuts, But NBC Distorts & Blames Tax Cuts Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told a House committee on Wednesday that the soon-to-be soaring number of retiring baby boomers will require that Social Security costs be reduced by slowing cost of living hikes and/or by raising the retirement age, but though Greenspan specifically said he favors making the Bush tax cuts permanent and strongly urged budget cuts over tax hikes to reduce the deficit, the NBC Nightly News distorted Greenspan's testimony and targeted the Bush tax cuts, which they bizarrely labeled "Bush's spending," for blame. Without mentioning... continue reading