USA Today column cited Rep. Carney warning against Iraq intel probe, but not his former job
In a January 16 USA Today column, Rutgers University political science professor Ross K. Baker quoted Rep. Chris Carney (D-PA) as "warning about a congressional probe of pre-Iraq war intelligence failures" without noting Carney's prior employment in a Pentagon intelligence unit that played a key role in creating that intelligence. Baker, in his column, argued that congressional Democrats should conduct vigilant oversight but warned them to guard against "excess zeal" that could turn oversight into an inquisition. He wrote that "legitimate questions can be raised about overdoing oversight" and noted that Carney had "raised the warning about a congressional probe of pre-Iraq war intelligence failures, saying that such an investigation would burden the CIA and other agencies at the very time that their vigilance is crucial." Baker then cited a quote from Carney in a November 28, 2006, New York Times article, and, pointing to the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings, wrote that "Carney is correct in urging caution, especially in avoiding the peril of using oversight to settle political scores." But while Baker identified Carney as a "a former active-duty military intelligence officer," he did not mention, as the Times article he cited did, that Carney was "assigned to" an intelligence unit in 2002 that occupies a key role in the prewar Iraq intelligence narrative: the Pentagon's Policy Counterterrorism Evaluation Group (PCTEG), part of then-Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas J. Feith's office. Read more
Russert called Lieberman a "Democrat ... who agree[s] with the president"
On the January 14 edition of NBC's Meet the Press, host and NBC News Washington bureau chief Tim Russert referred to Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (CT) as a "Democrat ... who agree[s] with the president," despite Lieberman's reported statement just two days earlier that he would prefer to be called an "Independent Democrat," or, failing that, an "Independent." Russert also called Lieberman a "fellow Democrat" of Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT). Read more
ABC reported McCain supports "surge," despite his call for "sustained" increase
During a report on the January 14 edition of ABC World News Sunday about the potential 2008 presidential candidates' positions on Iraq, ABC News correspondent Laura Marquez joined other media in characterizing President Bush's call for more troops a "surge" when she reported that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is "an outspoken supporter of the troop surge" in Iraq. As Media Matters for America has noted, the administration has given no indication that the troop increase will be temporary, as is suggested by the term "surge" -- and indeed, earlier that morning, Fox News Sunday aired an interview with Vice President Dick Cheney, who said that the troop increase would be "for the foreseeable future." Moreover, as Media Matters for America has noted, McCain himself has suggested that the troop increase in Iraq should be "sustained" and not temporary. Read more
Fox News Sunday's Wallace: Are opponents of troop increase "undercutting the troops"?
On the January 14 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace queried Vice President Dick Cheney about "members of Congress who may try to block your efforts, your policy in Iraq," by asking: "Would they be, in effect, undercutting the troops?" Read more
Media perpetuate myth that Gore claimed to have "invented" Internet
In recent days, major newspapers and media personalities have revived the myth that, during his presidential run, former Vice President Al Gore claimed he "invented" the Internet. Although these media outlets persist in repeating or alluding to it, this falsehood has long since been debunked. Gore did not say he "invented" the Internet. In the March 9, 1999, interview on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer that gave rise to the myth, Gore actually said: "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." Read more
Hannity's "Enemy of the State" now "Enemy of the Week"
This past week, a number of media outlets -- including Media Matters for America and MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann -- took note of the inaugural edition of Fox News' Hannity's America and, in particular, its "Enemy of the State" segment. On the January 7 edition of the show, host Sean Hannity named actor Sean Penn his first "Enemy of the State" because, "besides calling little old me a 'whore' at a recent speech, Penn has called for the impeachment of just about everybody in the Bush administration and called them 'bastards.' " On the January 14 edition of the show, Hannity changed the name of the segment from "Enemy of the State" to "Enemy of the Week" and defined this "enemy" as "a person whose behavior threatens the very fabric of this country." Hannity offered no explanation of why he changed the name of the segment, nor even note that he did so. Read more
ABC program chief falsely claimed network "didn't backpedal" on Path to 9/11
In a January 15 post on his weblog, Changing Channels, Miami Herald television critic Glenn Garvin wrote that, when "[a]sked during his appearance on the TV critics' tour if he was embarrassed that the network had to 'backpedal' on its Clinton-unfriendly movie The Path To 9/11," ABC Primetime Entertainment President Stephen McPherson rejected the notion, replying: "We didn't backpedal. We aired the movie. We didn't change anything for those guys. We aired it as planned on the dates that were planned." In fact, in the face of widespread criticism regarding the film's factual accuracy, ABC retreated from its original claim that the film was a "dramatization of the events detailed in The 9/11 Commission Report" that "get[s] it right" and ultimately conceded that the miniseries "contains fictionalized scenes." Further, while McPherson reportedly claimed that ABC "didn't change anything for those guys," the producers did reportedly edit scenes following criticism from the Clinton administration officials depicted in the film. According to Hollywood Reporter columnist Ray Richmond, McPherson also claimed at the event that "[e]verything in that movie is backed up tenfold." But as Media Matters for America documented, ABC retained several fabricated scenes. Read more
On 60 Minutes, Pelley used GOP-favored "Democrat leadership"
During his interview with President George W. Bush on the January 14 edition of CBS' 60 Minutes, CBS correspondent Scott Pelley twice used the word "Democrat" as an adjective -- "Democrat Party" and "Democrat plan" -- a usage that, as Media Matters for America has noted repeatedly, is one that originated with Republican operatives. Republicans consistently refer to the "Democrat Party," even though that is not what members of the Democratic Party call themselves, and use the noun "Democrat" as an adjective, which New Yorker magazine senior editor Hendrik Hertzberg identified as an attempt to deny the opposing party the claim to being "democratic," or as Hertzberg wrote, "to deny the enemy the positive connotations of its chosen appellation." Read more
Despite reports to the contrary, MSNBC persisted in linking Clinton postponement to Obama
On the January 16 edition of MSNBC Live, hosts and on-screen graphics repeatedly suggested that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) had cancelled her January 16 press conference about her recent trip to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan because of Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) January 16 announcement that he was forming a presidential exploratory committee. Even after reports that Clinton postponed the scheduled press conference the day before Obama's announcement, MSNBC persisted in asserting that she postponed her conference after the announcement. In fact, according to the New York Times weblog the Caucus, posting at 12:37 p.m. ET on January 16, Clinton's office "disclosed at 3 p.m. Monday that the news conference would be postponed" because "one of Mrs. Clinton's companions on the trip, Representative John McHugh [R-NY], took ill during a stop in Germany and stayed behind to recover," adding that Clinton advisers said "there was no way the Iraq presser would've gone ahead without Mr. McHugh." Moreover, the National Journal's Hotline On Call weblog reported on January 16 at 11:19 a.m. ET, "the presser was cancelled late last night because Rep. John McHugh remained in Germany and won't return until today." Read more
Matthews on Sen. Clinton: "Is she Dukakis in a dress?"
On the January 15 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews compared Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) to former Massachusetts governor and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis when he asked former White House adviser and frequent Hardball contributor Ron Christie: "Is she Dukakis in a dress?" Matthews, who has made this comparison before, has a history of leveling baseless smears against Clinton, as Media Matters for America has noted. Read more
Blitzer claimed McCain "likes straight talk"
On the January 15 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, host Wolf Blitzer teased a report on Focus on the Family chairman James Dobson's statement that he "would not vote for [Sen.] John McCain [R-AZ] under any circumstances" by claiming that "Senator John McCain likes straight talk" -- a reference to McCain's self-styled reputation as a "straight-talker," the theme of McCain's failed 2000 presidential bid. Read more
Olbermann bestows "Worst Person" honors on Kristol, Limbaugh
On the January 12 edition of MSNBC's Countdown, host Keith Olbermann named Weekly Standard editor and part-time columnist for Time magazine Bill Kristol the winner of that day's "Worst Person in the World" award for saying that President Bush's prime-time address on Iraq should have contained "a little more about winning the war and a little less about helping the Iraqis," as Media Matters for America noted. Also, on the January 15 edition of Countdown, Olbermann awarded syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh "[t]he silver" in his "Worst Person" segment for, as Media Matters documented, "accus[ing] Senator Barbara Boxer [D-CA] of hitting below the ovaries and trying to, quote, lynch Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice because Boxer mentioned, since her own children were too old, her grandchildren too young, and that Rice had no children, neither of them would ever pay a personal price for Iraq." Olbermann then said: "I am assuming comedian [Limbaugh] was equally outraged when first lady Laura Bush said Secretary Rice would never be elected president because she was not married. He wasn't? Shocked. I'm shocked." Olbermann appears to be referring to a reported People magazine interview with first lady Laura Bush to which Nitya Venkataraman referred on Jake Tapper's ABC News blog Political Punch. Read more
CNN reportedly considering talk show for Michael "Nation of Sissies" Smerconish
On January 14, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Philadelphia-based radio personality Michael Smerconish "is putting together a talk-show pilot for CNN." The Inquirer noted that Smerconish "is a frequent guest on CNN, as well as NBC" and that "[a] CNN rep says the network asks for many pilots and generally does not comment on them." In addition to hosting his own radio talk show, Smerconish has been a guest host for MSNBC's Scarborough Country and Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly, during which he has made several inflammatory comments about Muslims, immigrants, and women: Read more
On MLK Day, Savage called civil rights a "racket" designed to steal "white males' birthright"
On the January 15 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, in a monologue about Martin Luther King Day, Michael Savage called "civil rights" a "con" and asserted: "It's a racket that is used to exploit primarily heterosexual, Christian, white males' birthright and steal from them what is their birthright and give it to people who didn't qualify for it." Savage then said, "Take a guess out of whose hide all of these rights are coming. ... [T]here is only one group that is targeted, and that group are white, heterosexual males." He added: "They are the new witches being hunted by the illiberal left using the guise of civil rights and fairness to women and whatnot." Read more
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