USA Today hailed Giuliani as "hero of 9/11," omitted Kerik controversy
A USA Today article referred to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani as a "hero of 9/11." But, while mentioning a leaked memo in which Giuliani's campaign staff set out potential areas of vulnerability, the USA Today article did not note the memo's reference to a particular scandal relating to terrorism preparedness. Read more
CNN's McIntyre the latest to call McCain a "maverick"
On the February 1 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre joined the ranks of MSNBC's Chris Matthews, National Journal's The Hotline editor in chief Chuck Todd, Washington Post staff writer Anne E. Kornblut, and Wall Street Journal national political editor John Harwood in baselessly calling Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) a "maverick." McIntyre was reporting on the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the nomination of Gen. George W. Casey, the outgoing top U.S. commander in Iraq, to be Army chief of staff. McIntyre said: "The case against Casey was laid out in prosecutorial style by maverick Republican John McCain, who slammed the outgoing Iraq commander's past rosy predictions and his reluctance to call for reinforcements while Iraq descended into chaos." However, as Media Matters for America has documented, McCain has himself issued rosy predictions and praised the administration's Iraq war strategy since Casey assumed his post in July 2004. Read more
Blankley criticized too little, then too much media scrutiny of Biden's Obama remark
A Washington Times editorial criticized the media's coverage of recent remarks by Sen. Joe Biden, saying they were "the focus of the media's racial-insensitivity microscope." But less than two days earlier, Times editorial page editor Tony Blankley had asserted that Biden was "getting, more or less, a pass from the mainstream media" on his comments. Read more
Insight claimed "[l]ast word" on madrassa smear
In a February 1 article, InsightMag.com presented its "[l]ast word" on the controversy surrounding its January 17 article reporting that "researchers connected to" Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) claimed that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) "spent at least four years in a so-called Madrassa, or Muslim seminary, in Indonesia." In its most recent article, InsightMag.com appeared to back away from a January 23 posting in which it defended its much-maligned story. On January 23, InsightMag.com dismissed a CNN report that Obama did not attend a madrassa, stating that "CNN's claim ... needs verification by other news outlets -- such as FOX News." However, in its February 1 posting, InsightMag.com appeared to accept the veracity of that CNN report without any reference to Fox. Read more
Imus producer referred to Obama's "Jew-hating name"
On the February 2 edition of MSNBC's Imus in the Morning, the show's executive producer, Bernard McGuirk, claimed that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has "a Jew-hating name." The remark followed a flurry of other negative comments from host Don Imus, McGuirk, and co-host Charles McCord about the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, calling Obama a "creep," "a wind-watching wimp," and "a flip-flopping weasel." Read more
Limbaugh compared American troop deaths in Iraq to Philly murder rate
Rush Limbaugh compared the number of murders in Philadelphia to American military deaths in Iraq; in fact, the rate of military deaths in Iraq is far higher than the murder rate in Philadelphia. Read more
Blitzer asked if Levin was "giving aid and comfort to the enemy"
During a February 1 interview with Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) about a Senate resolution co-authored by Levin that opposes President Bush's plan to increase the level of troops in Iraq, CNN Situation Room host Wolf Blitzer said to Levin: "On the right, though, a lot of your critics are saying, 'You know what you're doing, Senator? You're giving aid and comfort to the enemy, and you're undermining the U.S. military in Iraq, who are serving there right now.' " Blitzer then aired comments by White House press secretary Tony Snow, who, while critical of the Senate resolution, did not say it was "giving aid and comfort to the enemy." Blitzer did not name any "critics" who actually said that Levin was "giving aid and comfort to the enemy." Read more
Wash. Post headline, lede on Libby's alleged falsehoods: "Libby Left Out Some Facts"
A February 2 Washington Post article on the trial of former vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby bore the headline, "Libby Left Out Some Facts In Interviews, FBI Agent Says," referring to FBI agent Deborah S. Bond's testimony the previous day. According to the Post's lead paragraph, Bond testified that Libby "did not acknowledge disclosing the identity of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame to reporters" during interviews with Bond in 2003. However, it was not until much later in the article that the Post noted that Bond testified that Libby actually denied having leaked Plame's identity or having had any knowledge of Plame -- not that he simply "left out" or "did not acknowledge" that fact. Read more
Conservatives continue to use Fox's 24 to support hawkish policies
Cal Thomas is the latest conservative figure to use the TV show 24 to forecast a nuclear attack on the United States. Conservatives have also looked to the TV series for justification of aggressive interrogation procedures. Read more
Hume used baseless claim to attack straw-man version of Wash. Post article on Libby trial
Brit Hume mischaracterized a Washington Post report as asserting that former Ambassador Joseph Wilson's 2002 report had debunked allegations that Iraq had tried to buy uranium from Niger. Hume then attempted to refute the Post's purported assertion -- which the article did not make. Hume baselessly claimed, contrary to the CIA's report on Wilson's findings, that Wilson told the CIA he interpreted talk of a meeting about "commercial relations" between the then-Nigerien prime minister and Iraqis as being about uranium. Read more
Time.com's Cox: It's "strange" that Dems "represent[] the mainstream American values"
On the February 2 edition of MSNBC News Live, during a conversation with host Joe Scarborough about congressional opposition to an Iraq troop increase, Time.com Washington editor Ana Marie Cox asserted that it is "strange" that "[i]t's Democrats that are really representing the mainstream American values right now, which is a strong disapproval for the surge." Cox also observed that "Americans largely disapprove of this surge." Read more
Will Wash. Times correct its reporting on the Capitol Police and Pelosi?
The Washington Times propagated claims that the Capitol Police were ordered not to arrest anti-Iraq war protesters who reportedly spray-painted graffiti on the Capitol steps, and that the order came from the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but it has yet to report the Capitol Police chief's statement flatly refuting the allegations against the Capitol Police and Pelosi. Read more
Insight glossed over Beck's smears in report on "Muslim lobby" letter to ABC
In a January 29 article (subscription required), InsightMag.com reported that "Arab and Muslim groups have launched a campaign to block the hiring of [CNN Headline News host] Glenn Beck as a commentator on ABC's 'Good Morning America,' " because, in the words of InsightMag.com, the groups said "Mr. Beck engages in anti-Arab and anti-Muslim rhetoric and his hiring would incite hatred." However, the website glossed over the groups' first and second complaint and completely ignored the third. For example, InsightMag.com asserted that Beck "challenged" Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim elected to Congress. In fact, during an interview with Ellison on his CNN Headline News show, Beck said to Ellison: "[W]hat I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.' " Read more
NY Times reported only CBO's low-end estimates for troop increase cost, manpower needs
In a report released February 1, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that President Bush's plan to send 21,500 additional combat forces to Iraq would also require sending 15,000 to 28,000 support troops. The CBO put the cost of the total increase between $9 billion and $13 billion over four months, and between $20 billion and $27 billion over the course of a year. But in a February 2 article on a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the nomination of Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the outgoing top U.S. commander in Iraq, to be Army chief of staff, The New York Times informed readers of only the low end of each of CBO's estimates. Read more
O'Reilly on Fox News vice president Neil Cavuto: "I think he is a demented guy"
On the February 1 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly brushed aside criticism of Fox News' propensity to air images of scantily clad women, saying of fellow Fox News anchor and vice president of business Neil Cavuto's frequent airing of racy images: "I don't have anything to do with Cavuto. I think he is a demented guy." Read more
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