1. Conservatives "Browbeat" Bush on Marriage, GOP May Be "Split" Without citing liberal influences on the other side, the networks on Tuesday night credited President Bush's decision to support a constitutional amendment to bar same-sex marriage as prompted by his desire to please conservatives. CBS's John Roberts pejoratively referred to how conservatives had "browbeat" Bush. And despite polls showing overwhelming opposition to same-sex marriage and lesser majorities favoring the constitutional amendment, CBS warned that it is Bush and Republicans who are more vulnerable on the topic than Democrats while ABC painted both as equally at risk. Both networks also stressed... continue reading
1. ABC Touts Sierra Club's Scalia Recusal Demand Based on Jokes Doing a liberal group's bidding. Monday's World News Tonight featured a friendly story about a "recusal motion" filed by the Sierra Club, described by Peter Jennings simply as an "environmental group," over how Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia went duck hunting with Vice President Dick Cheney and thus should recuse himself from a case over access to records of the Energy Task Force headed by Cheney. ABC's story, however, failed to convey how the Sierra Club's own press release, which wasn't even dated until the next day, touted its... continue reading
1. Russert Relentlessly Pushes Schwarzenegger to Raise Taxes Two weeks after Tim Russert pushed President Bush to raise taxes, on Sunday's Meet the Press, he did the same with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In his second question, Russert asked Schwarzenegger if his proposed bond measures don't pass, "will you have to raise taxes?" Russert cited as an authoritative source a liberal politician quoted by a far-left columnist as he lectured about cancelling the car tax hike: "Wouldn't it be better to maintain programs for the poor and for the disabled, and for the blind, and for students, than refund $135... continue reading
1. CBS News Producer Prompts Kerry to Refine Attack on Bush on Jobs CBS News helped John Kerry refine his attack on President George Bush -- and then the CBS Evening News featured a soundbite of that re-hashed and now succinct blast. In Thursday's Boston Globe, Patrick Healy reported that in Ohio on Wednesday Kerry had delivered a meandering three-minute attack on the Bush economic team for backing off an earlier jobs creation forecast number, "yet it left TV reporters without a soundbite until one CBS News producer asked the Massachusetts Senator to try again." He did, coming up with:... continue reading
1. ABC's Moran Condemns Mrs. Bush's "Harsh Words" About McAuliffe Back on February 10, ABC's Terry Moran promised that on President Bush's service in the Air National Guard, "the issue is not going to go away." And more than a week later, despite ABC finding in its own poll that by two-to-one most do not care about it, ABC News is making sure it isn't going away -- even after the other networks have finally moved on. On Tuesday, John Cochran used Bush's trip to a military base as a cue to remind viewers how "the President did not mention... continue reading
1. Roger Simon of U.S. News: "Nobody Died When Bill Clinton Lied" On Sunday's Face the Nation, at the start of a segment on President Bush's National Guard duty, CBS's Bob Schieffer said he was "surprised, frankly," that the Guard story "has gone on as long as it has." As if he had no control over the subject matters addressed on his own show. But neither Schieffer, nor his guests on the topic, Time's Karen Tumulty and Boston Globe reporter Walter Robinson, went so far as Meet the Press panelist Roger Simon of U.S. News who remarked that, as opposed... continue reading
1. ABC Poll Finds Most Say National Guard "Not a Legitimate Issue" President Bush has had a pretty bad few weeks, as reflected in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll cited by Peter Jennings on Thursday's World News Tonight, including a new low approval rating and view of his honesty, how most don't think Iraq worth it, most believe the Bush team exaggerated WMD evidence and that John Kerry would beat Bush. But, Jennings didn't tell viewers how, as recounted on the ABC News.com Web site, "most also continue to say the war has contributed to the long-term security of... continue reading
1. CBS: Jane Fonda/John Kerry Photo the GOP's "New Willie Horton" A week after CBS reporter David Axelrod asked, "Remember Willie Horton?" as he went on to bemoan how Republicans will use the gay marriage issue to unfairly tar John Kerry as a liberal, the same broadcast on Wednesday night, after noting the existence of a photo showing Kerry and Jane Fonda at a 1970 anti-Vietnam war protest, showcased an expert who declared in a soundbite: "Remember Willie Horton? Well Willie Horton has been retired. Jane is taking his place." In the same story, CBS's Byron Pitts gave equal credence... continue reading
1. Nets Dissatisfied with Bush National Guard Records, Won't Let Go The White House on Tuesday released pay records which disproved the unsubstantiated allegation of DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe that President George W. Bush was AWOL from his Air National Guard duties for a year in 1972-73. But instead of rebuking McAuliffe and other liberals for such scurrilous tactics, on Tuesday night the networks avoided castigating McAuliffe and moved the goal posts on the subject as they assumed Bush is guilty until the White House proves him innocent by accounting for his activities for every week 30-plus years ago. ABC,... continue reading
1. Nets Not Fazed by Gore Tirade that Bush "Betrayed the Country!" In a moment reminiscent of Howard Dean, on Sunday night Al Gore launched into guttural screaming in which he charged that President Bush "betrayed the country!" and "played on our fears!" But Gore's irrational and over the top tirade didn't faze CNN and CBS, which on Monday afternoon and night highlighted Gore's rant. CNN's Wolf Blitzer played a clip of it for Bush aide Dan Bartlett, but when Bartlett started laughing Blitzer scolded him for not taking Gore seriously: "Why are you laughing? He's making a very serious... continue reading