1. Russert Grumbles Tax Cuts Are "Draining Money from the Treasury" Tim Russert told President Bush, on Sunday's Meet the Press, how conservatives are "saying you are the biggest spender in American history." But even after Bush brought up Medicare prescription coverage, instead of pouncing on that huge program, Russert, true to his record of being much more concerned with undoing tax cuts than in cutting spending, saved his scoldings for the tax cuts. Russert lectured Bush: "Every President since the Civil War who has gone to war has raised taxes, not cut them.... Why not say, I will not... continue reading
1. CBS Paints Tenet as Anti-Bush, Nets Insist Bush Said "Imminent" Thursday's CBS Evening News described CIA Director George Tenet's speech as an indictment of the Bush administration. "Tonight, the CIA chief raises serious new questions about the case President Bush made for taking the country to war," Dan Rather asserted before he stressed how Tenet "did not defend the way the intelligence was used" by President Bush's team. The story by CBS's David Martin ignored how Tenet specifically denied that intelligence assessments were improperly influenced by Bush officials, a fact included in the ABC, NBC and FNC stories. Obfuscating... continue reading
1. CBS Frets GOP May Make Gay Marriage Kerry's "Willie Horton" Might gay marriage become John Kerry's "Willie Horton?" CBS worries it could. In a Wednesday night CBS Evening News story, Jim Axelrod regurgitated the media's favorite target as he asked: "Remember Willie Horton?" Axelrod then fretted about how Kerry must be concerned that just as nefarious Republican operatives "made 'Michael Dukakis,' 'Massachusetts liberal' and 'out of touch' synonymous" with the ads about furloughs for murderers, they could do the same with Kerry on gay marriage though, in fact, Kerry's opposition to gay marriage and support of civil unions is,... continue reading
1. "Amazing" How Democratic Primary Voters Dislike President Bush Looking at exit polls from the Democratic primaries on Tuesday night, CBS's Bob Schieffer and NBC's Tim Russert contended the anti-Bush views of the voters, though they were of those motivated enough to vote in a Democratic primary, represented the wider electorate. After showing how most feel worse off financially, Schieffer argued that "when it is this lopsided it gives you some insight into why John Kerry is actually leading President Bush now in some of these national polls." Russert pronounced as "amazing" the uniformity of Democratic hostility to Bush, as... continue reading
1. Moore Blasts Jennings On "Deserter" Bush, Nets Undermine Charge George W. Bush "AWOL" or a "deserter"? Michael Moore put the subject into play when, at a Wesley Clark rally, he previewed a Clark versus Bush race as pitting "the General versus the Deserter." At the January 22 presidential debate Peter Jennings raised the incident with Clark, describing it as "a reckless charge." On Friday night's Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, Moore lashed back: "For Peter Jennings to say that it was 'a reckless charge,' it's reckless for Peter Jennings and ABC not to investigate this." Moore's wish... continue reading
1. Schieffer Prompts Edwards to Agree Tax Cuts Must Be Stopped Late last week the White House conceded its prescription drug entitlement plan would cost 33 percent more than promised, but on Sunday CBS's Bob Schieffer didn't see that permanent program as an impediment to deficit reduction. Instead, he cued up guest John Edwards to agree that the tax cuts, which will be phased out over the next six years, must be stopped. Schieffer prompted Edwards: "Aren't you going to at least have to stop some of these tax cuts or in effect raise taxes?" 2. ABC on Kerry: "Long... continue reading
1. Prescription Plan Too Small Last Year, Now Blame It for Deficit The bill for the media's spending push comes due. Last year, the spending and deficit implications of massive new spending on a proposed prescription drug benefit in Medicare did not concern network reporters who argued the plan was too stingy, as they rolled out anecdotal elderly victims, and were much more worried about how much the tax cut would increase the deficit. But on Thursday night, CBS and NBC acknowledged how, as conservatives had warned to an oblivious media, that the prescription entitlement would cost much more than... continue reading
1. Olbermann Rues Wasteful "Destruction" of Soldiers, Wilson's Wife MSNBC's Keith Olbermann on Wednesday night delivered a snotty take on CIA weapons inspector David Kay's conclusion that there are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, as if the war could not be justified on any other grounds. On his Countdown show, Olbermann rued how "no WMD does not mean no destruction. Ask the 500 American service personnel dead in Iraq or the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson." 2. CBS Cuts "Another McGovern...Ted Kennedy Disciple" Kerry Label Describing John Kerry as "another McGovern, he's a Ted Kennedy disciple," is... continue reading
1. In NH Exit Polls, Networks See "Bad News for the White House" Citing exit poll numbers, some network reporters and analysts on Tuesday night sought to portray the anti-Bush attitude of voters in New Hampshire's Democratic primary as indicative of widespread anger at Bush from the electorate in general. CBS's Bob Schieffer intoned: "These numbers are bad news for the White House...because four out of ten voters who cast ballots today were registered independents, which means dissatisfaction with Iraq and the economy is not just confined to Democrats." Newsweek's Howard Fineman argued: "If I was sitting in Karl Rove's... continue reading
1. CBS Distorts Halliburton Case Into Cheney-Led "War Profiteering" Halliburton, a front page story in Friday's Wall Street Journal reported, admitted that two of its staffers took kick-backs from Kuwaiti firm for deals involving reconstructing Iraq, and the company repaid the money to the Army Material Command, but the CBS Evening News on Friday night, after having ignored just two weeks ago another front page Wall Street Journal story about how Halliburton was cleared of any wrongdoing in charges CBS had earlier touted as its lead story, distorted this latest development in order to turn it into some sort of... continue reading