Following Drudge, media outlets seize on Obama decision -- years ago -- to stop wearing flag pin
Several media outlets -- following the lead of Internet gossip Matt Drudge -- have presented Obama's comments on not wearing an American flag pin as a recent decision made by the candidate, and not an explanation of something he chose to do several years ago. CNN, ABC, and Fox News have reported on the "controversy," providing a platform for several conservatives to attack Obama's patriotism. As NBC News' Chuck Todd put it, "this was the media getting a classic case of the Drudges." Read more
Limbaugh broadcast "spoof ad" that included allegation of rape against Bill Clinton
During the October 5 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh broadcast what he called "a spoof ad from DNC Pharma. ... A new ad for a drug that they have recently introduced to the market: Tryphorgetin." The "spoof ad" declared: "If you are a supporter of Hillary Clinton and you have a nagging fear that her shameful past will come back to ruin her election chances, this message of hope is for you." In a mock testimonial, a woman asserted that
after taking "Tryphorgetin," "I even forgot that Hillary stood by her husband even when she learned that he'd raped Juanita Broaddrick. Thank you, Tryphorgetin. Thank you, DNC Pharmaceuticals." Read more
Mark Williams says on Fox News: After 9-11, Obama came "out of the closet as the domestic insurgent that he is"
On the October 5 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom, former radio host Mark Williams claimed that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), "took his flag pin off after 9-11, and he felt, apparently, some sort of an affinity or some sort of a connection, because at that point he felt it OK to come out of the closet as the domestic insurgent he is." Read more
Williams claimed Media Matters "attack[ed]" him by quoting his "accurate description" of "domestic insurgent" Obama
Mark Williams claimed that Media Matters "attack[ed]" him by highlighting his statement that Sen. Barack Obama came "out of the closet as the domestic insurgent that he is," referring to Obama's comments explaining why he longer wears an American flag lapel pin. Williams offered no explanation of how Media Matters' highlighting of his comments constituted an "attack" on him. Read more
MSNBC's Witt referred to "pro-abortion" candidate Giuliani
On MSNBC Live, Alex Witt referred to Rudy Giuliani as "a pro-abortion candidate."In fact, one can support legal access to abortion procedures and support trying to decrease the number of abortions. Moreover, Giuliani has wavered on the desirability of the Supreme Court's overturning Roe v. Wade. Read more
So where is Sean Hannity's flag lapel pin?
Discussing an interview in which Sen. Barack Obama said he had stopped wearing a flag pin on his lapel during the lead-up to the Iraq war, Sean Hannity said on his radio show: "[W]hy do we wear pins? Because our country was under attack." He continued: "And to politicize once again the war to this extent. Well, who cares about the war? Are you proud of your country?" Yet while criticizing Obama for not wearing a flag pin, Hannity himself has not worn an American flag lapel pin on a number of recent occasions. Read more
Matthews referred to Romney as "the well-sculpted Mitt"
On the October 4 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews described Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as "well-sculpted," asserting, "Newsweek put the well-sculpted Mitt on its cover this week, with a look at his candidacy and his faith." Read more
York falsely claimed that Limbaugh discussed MacBeth "in the same exchange" in which he first used "phony soldiers"
In his October 5 column in The Hill, discussing Rush Limbaugh's September 26 comments in which he characterizedservice members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq as "phony soldiers," Byron York asserted that "Limbaugh discussed [Jesse] Macbeth, unbidden, in the same exchange with a listener in which he used the 'phony soldier' phrase." York continued: "A fair-minded reviewer would likely conclude that yes, Limbaugh was referring to Macbeth. After all, he said it at the time." In fact, as Media Matters for America has noted, Limbaugh did not discuss MacBeth "in the same exchange" with the caller.
After Limbaugh first used the phrase "phony soldiers," the caller went on to discuss the purported presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, with Limbaugh responding. Limbaugh then thanked the caller for calling, and the caller is not heard again on the broadcast. Only after this did Limbaugh bring up MacBeth on his September 26 radio show, 1 minute and 50 seconds after making his "phony soldiers" comment. MacBeth pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for pretending to be an injured Iraq war veteran. Read more
Purporting to describe "how this thing started," North mischaracterized Limbaugh's "phony soldiers" conversation
On the October 5 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, during a discussion of Rush Limbaugh's September 26 "phony soldiers" comment, Fox News military analyst Oliver North asserted: "What's important ... is people remember how all this started. Back on September 16th [sic], a caller describing himself as Mike, who said he was a soldier, was complaining about, quote, 'soldiers who come up out of the blue and talk to the media like this.' And Rush says, 'Phony soldiers,' and Mike says, 'Right, the phony soldiers.'
And then they go on to talk about phony soldiers like those who were prosecuted out there in Washington state for falsifying their military records, claiming to be things that they weren't." In fact, after Limbaugh made his "phony soldiers" remark, he and the caller did not "go on to talkabout" soldiers who were prosecuted in the state of Washington. The caller went on to discuss the purported presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, with Limbaugh responding.
Limbaugh then thanked the caller for calling, and the caller is not heard again on the broadcast. Only after this did Limbaugh bring up Jesse MacBeth, 1 minute and 50 seconds after making his "phony soldiers" comment. MacBeth pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for pretending to be an injured Iraq war veteran. Read more
Bernard Goldberg: "[W]omen and minorities" have "pushed the newsroom further and further to the left"
On The O'Reilly Factor, discussing what Bill O'Reilly perceived as the waning influence of "major elite media institutions," Bernard Goldberg asserted: "[W]hen women and minorities came into journalism, they pushed the newsroom further and further to the left. Everybody agrees that minorities are overwhelmingly liberal in this country, and so are young women." Goldberg later stated: "[T]he point I was trying to make ... is that this problem didn't start last week or the week before. Journalism has been moving further and further to the left. It's a good thing that we have women and minorities in the newsroom. That's the good part. The bad part is that by moving further and further to the left, they've been eroding trust in journalism for a long, long time." Read more
Olbermann named American Spectator's Tyrrell "Worst Person" runner-up for saying Limbaugh apologized
During the October 4 edition of MSNBC's Countdown, host Keith Olbermann named American Spectator founder and editor-in-chief R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. the "runner-up" in his "Worst Person in the World" segment for, as Media Matters for America documented, asserting that Rush Limbaugh "already apologized" for his September 26 "phony soldiers" comments "in the event that he offended anyone." As Media Matters noted, while Limbaugh apologized "to all of the members of the United States military, both in uniform and out, active duty and retired, for Media Matters for America," he has not apologized for characterizing service members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq as "phony soldiers." Read more
Beck to Muslim-American guest: "How do we know the difference between you and those that are trying to kill us?
On the October 4 edition of his CNN Headline News show, Glenn Beck hosted Sharida McKenzie, a Muslim American who recently organized the Muslim Peace March, to discuss the recent report that a Toronto mosque's website "says that Muslims should stay completely away from Halloween, Christmas, New Year's, anniversaries, birthdays, and Earth Day." During the discussion, McKenzie stated: "Well, I'm not going to stand in judgment on Toronto, but what I would like to do is offer a personal perspective on this, and so -- I'm an American. I grew up celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well. My family -- it's a time for us to get together. We invite Christians. We invite our non-Muslim friends. And it's a time for to us get together, and in that time, we take an opportunity to thank God for all of our blessings." Beck responded: "But how do we know the difference -- I mean, you're reasonable. How do we know the difference between you and those that are trying to kill us?" Read more
On Big Story, Gibson touted 3-year-old Brock book, National Review article as new
On the October 4 edition of Fox News' The Big Story With Gibson and Nauert, co-host John Gibson, during his "My Word" segment, said, "In today's National Review, Byron York has some information on [David] Brock's new book, which has a subtitle that reads: 'How the right-wing media corrupts democracy.' " In fact, the "new book" to which Gibson referred is more than three years old. The Republican Noise Machine: Right-Wing Media and How It Corrupts Democracy, written by Media Matters for America president and CEO David Brock, was published by Crown in 2004. And the York article, while reprinted in the October 4, 2007, edition of the National Review, was originally published in that magazine in 2004. Read more
Fox News' Hill on Obama: " 'I won't wear that [flag] pin' ... reminded me of the 'I didn't have sex with that woman' "
Responding to Barack Obama's explanation for why he stopped wearing an American flag pin on his lapel during the lead-up to the Iraq war, because it had become "a substitute for, I think, true patriotism," Fox News Live co-host E.D. Hill said: "When I heard this, actually, one of the direct quotes [of Obama] that got to me was 'I won't wear that pin.' It reminded me of the 'I didn't have sex with that woman.' " Fox legal analyst Andrew Napolitano then accused Obama of "disrespecting the American flag," while his Fox News Radio co-host, Brian Kilmeade, said that Obama was "anti-Betsy Ross." Read more
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