Gore A Bush Victim; Exploiting Tragedy for Gun Control; Sarandon's Pick 1) Dan Rather warned that Gore will soon be the victim of Bush's "negative attack ads and phone banks," but setting up a piece on Gore's day, Rather stressed how Gore was "reaching out" and saying that the Bush agenda "is outside the American mainstream." 2) The three morning shows on Wednesday all raised Gore's 1996 fundraising practices but none mentioned Maria Hsia's conviction. 3) Today demanded that Gore and Bush react to the claim that Bush is a "Pat Robertson Republican." NBC's David Bloom castigated Bush for his... continue reading
McCain Lashed Out Live; Brokaw Named Hsia; Gore "Mainstream" & Bush "Extreme" 1) Live on MSNBC an angry John McCain, on the way to deliver his concession speech, lashed out at Maria Shriver, responding to a shouted question by demanding: "Please get out of here." 2) Interviewing Al Gore CBS's Dan Rather refused to say the name "Maria Hsia," but NBC's Tom Brokaw focused on her after hitting Laura Bush from the left on abortion, questioning if Bush "can continue to win the support of women." Brokaw contended that soft money TV ads for Bush negate attacks on Gore's temple... continue reading
Bush's "Hard Right Edge"; Temple Event Attack Skipped; Lifetime's Gift to Hillary 1) CBS's Bill Whitaker on Bush's strategy: "Soften the hard right edge he sharpened in South Carolina." Jimmy Breslin on ABC: "We don't come from a low IQ state." NBC's Tom Brokaw compared the campaign to TV wrestling: "Let's get ready to rumble." 2) George Bush attacked Al Gore for the Buddhist temple event, but ABC and NBC ignored him. CBS picked up on it, but didn't mention Maria Hsia's name, the woman convicted for it last week. 3) The RNC urged its supporters to call and e-mail... continue reading
The Man Inside Anne; Hsia Shunned More; Today's Expensive McCain Gimmick 1) Quotes of the Weekend: Larry King boasted of kissing a man on the lips and Anne Heche claimed she's as much male as female. 2) Maria Hsia shunned some more Friday: All three morning shows ignored the conviction of the woman behind the Buddhist temple event, as did two of the Big Three Sunday interview shows. On Inside Washington two media stars minimized Gore's culpability. 3) Anything for a gimmick promoting McCain. For the second time, on Friday NBC's Today went to great expense and logistical effort in... continue reading
Hsia Shunned; "Gun Control Roaring Back"; Jay Nicer Than Dave? 1) Democratic fundraiser and Al Gore friend Maria Hsia was found guilty of funneling money through straw donors, but NBC and MSNBC ignored the verdict; ABC and CBS gave it only a few seconds. 2) Fresh shootings are bringing "gun control roaring back as a big issue in this country," insisted NBC anchor Brian Williams. Andrea Mitchell pointed out: "Among the states with the most lenient gun laws...George Bush's Texas and John McCain's Arizona." CBS's Dan Rather held the "gun lobby" accountable for the latest deaths. 3) Good Morning America... continue reading
Tears for McCain; CBS's Crusade for More Medicare; Bush Flopped on Letterman 1) Gary Bauer criticized John McCain's attacks, but ABC's Linda Douglass gushed about how "some people fought back tears when they saw" McCain. Only NBC's Lisa Myers portrayed McCain as retreating and noted how Bill Bennett conceded McCain "went too far." 2) At CNN's Wednesday night Democratic debate Jeff Greenfield pressed Gore and Bradley about condemning Al Sharpton. 3) Dan Rather gladly relayed how Clinton "said it's high time for the Congress to do more to keep guns away from criminals and children." A sarcastic Geraldo Rivera recommended... continue reading
McCain Voters Prefer Gore: Bush's Fault; Granny D, NBC Hero; Gentle Bus 1) Bush won, but CBS still focused on his "difficult day on the stump" denying he's anti-Catholic. The exit poll found 42 percent of McCain voters plan to vote for Gore this fall, a finding CBS and NBC portrayed as a sign of Bush's weakness. 2) Today devoted an entire interview to quizzing Jeb Bush about his brother's visit to Bob Jones University and to McCain's charge that "he is being lured too far to the right to win." 3) "I love Granny D!" exclaimed Today's Matt Lauer... continue reading
Nets Pushed McCain "Holy War"; "Nothing Liberal" About McCain 1) GOP "holy war" led ABC, CBS and NBC Monday night as all showed McCain equating Pat Robertson with Farrakhan. Dan Rather eagerly passed along how "McCain said George Bush is now aligned with, in McCain's view, peddlers of intolerance, division and smears." 2) ABC relayed how a father credited Al Gore with "saving" his baby's life, but ABC's Terry Moran soon noted: "Gore's critics say he goes too far in exploiting personal tragedies." 3) "There is absolutely nothing liberal or moderate about John McCain," ABC's Ted Koppel declared in marveling... continue reading
McCain Aide Boasted of Media "Base"; Day Trading Will Kill You 1) CBS marveled at how Bush "is the first Republican candidate who's being held to account for the intolerance and bigotry" of the Christian Right. ABC actually focused on McCain's dissembling over calls linking Bush to anti-Catholicism. 2) The McCain campaign used their "base," the news media, to tar Bush in Michigan by linking him to Bob Jones and Pat Robertson, a top McCain aide boasted to the Wall Street Journal. CBS claimed Bush's rhetoric was so "tough it made one McCain supporter cry." 3) The New Republic endorsed... continue reading
"Far Right Organizations"; Campaign Ad "Poison"; Why Media Like McCain 1) Dan Rather warned that McCain is "going to the right" as CBS's Eric Engberg blamed Bush's Michigan loss on a backlash against "far right organizations." Tom Brokaw led with how Bob Dole "has stepped in now to say, 'enough.'" 2) ABC on Bush: "Last year Governor Bush opposed a bill that would have banned the death penalty for the mentally handicapped and he vetoed a measure to improve the quality of public defenders." 3) Last Friday ABC's John Stossel argued "the media like [campaign finance] reform so much" because... continue reading