Media Matters Daily Summary

PolitiFact knows McCain's Iran statement is "[f]alse" -- but doesn't want to "pile on"
In noting Sen. John McCain's false statement that "[i]t's common knowledge and has been reported in the media that Al Qaeda is going back into Iran and is receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran," PolitiFact.com asserted: "We're not trying to pile on to Sen. John McCain over his misstatement on the link between Iran and al-Qaida. Maybe he was confused just for a moment. He did correct himself quickly." PolitiFact did not mention that McCain made the same error twice, and that he had made it the previous day. Read More

Hannity on passport security breach: "Seems to me Barack Obama is looking for anything to distract from the story of Jeremiah Wright"
Discussing the State Department's admission that Sen. Barack Obama's passport records had been repeatedly accessed without authorization by three contract workers, Sean Hannity said, "Seems to me Barack Obama is looking for anything to distract from the story of Jeremiah Wright." Read More

On CNN, following Schiavone's false claims, Dobbs falsely claimed that Obama and Clinton are "not for border security"
On Lou Dobbs Tonight, CNN correspondent Louise Schiavone falsely asserted that in votes cast last week, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton "said no to additional funding for border security, immigration enforcement, and deportation of criminal aliens." Additionally, Lou Dobbs falsely claimed that Obama and Clinton are "not for border security." Read More

Ignoring similar statements in the past, Fox News' Smith asserted McCain's Al Qaeda-Iran gaffe was a "slip-up[]"
Echoing the assertion that Sen. John McCain simply "misspoke" when he falsely claimed during a March 18 press conference that Iran is training Al Qaeda, Fox News' Shepard Smith said, "I mean, as much as these people talk, and ad-lib and live speeches and all the rest, slip-ups like that can happen." In fact, McCain had previously made the same misstatement to radio host Hugh Hewitt and did so more than once during the press conference. Read More

AP, WSJ left out FEC chairman's statement that McCain cannot withdraw from public financing system without FEC consent
The Associated Press reported that Sen. John McCain "has decided not to accept the public matching funds," but that the Federal Election Commission "wants him to assure regulators that he did not use the promise of public money as collateral for [a] loan." The article did not mention that FEC Chairman David Mason has asserted that McCain cannot legally withdraw from the public finance system without FEC approval. Additionally, a Wall Street Journal article did not note that McCain may not be able to opt out of the public financing system. Read More

USA Today's Page on McCain's Iran-Al Qaeda falsehood: "[M]ost Americans can't tell you the difference between Sunnis and Shiites, either"
On Hardball, USA Today Washington bureau chief Susan Page asserted of John McCain's admittedly false claim that "[i]t's common knowledge and has been reported in the media that Al Qaeda is going back into Iran and is receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran": "I think it's a verbal error. And, you know, most Americans can't tell you the difference between Sunnis and Shiites, either." Read More

Chris Wallace criticizes Fox & Friends for "two hours of Obama bashing" in which hosts "distort[] what Obama had to say"
Fox News Sunday's Chris Wallace criticized the hosts of Fox & Friends for engaging in "two hours of Obama bashing" and for "distorting" comments Sen. Barack Obama made about his grandmother in a radio interview on March 20. Read More

On Iraq war fifth anniversary, NBC and ABC failed to point out that administration's original justifications for war have been debunked
In their coverage of the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war, Nightly News and World News did not mention once that the Bush administration's original justifications for going to war -- including its assertions that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq had operational links to Al Qaeda -- have been repeatedly debunked or discredited. Read More

CNN's Situation Room misinformed on McCain's overseas trip
CNN's Dana Bash uncritically reported the assertion by Sen. John McCain's campaign that he simply "misspoke" when he falsely claimed Iranian operatives are training members of Al Qaeda. In fact, McCain has made that error more than once. Also, Wolf Blitzer adopted the McCain campaign talking point that McCain -- in Blitzer's words -- "usually takes pride in" his "straight talk," despite McCain's repeated falsehoods and his stark inconsistencies on numerous issues. Read More

Limbaugh: "Obama has disowned his white half ... he's decided he's got to go all in on the black side"
On his radio show, Rush Limbaugh said of Sen. Barack Obama's handling of the controversy surrounding remarks by Rev. Jeremiah Wright: "It is clear that Senator Obama has disowned his white half, that he's decided he's got to go all in on the black side." Read More

ABC News corrects its false claim that McCain released tax returns
On the March 21 broadcast of ABC's World News, anchor Charles Gibson corrected chief investigative reporter Brian Ross' March 19 assertion -- noted by Media Matters for America -- that Sen. John McCain had released his tax returns. Read More