Monday, April 21, 2008

Media Matters Daily Summary 04-21-08

AP reported McCain's "conce[ssion]" that it probably was a "mistake" to seek Hagee's endorsement, but not his assertion that he's "glad to have" it
The AP reported that Sen. John McCain "conceded it was probably a mistake to seek and accept the endorsement of televangelist John Hagee" but did not report McCain's statement moments later that "I'm glad to have his [Hagee's] endorsement." Hagee has made controversial statements about Hurricane Katrina, women, homosexuality, the Catholic Church, and Islam. Read More

NPR analyst Cokie Roberts apparently unaware that McCain said he is "glad to have" Hagee endorsement
Responding to a question about whether Sen. John McCain was "maintaining the endorsement" of controversial televangelist John Hagee. NPR's Cokie Roberts asserted: "Well, he says that it was a mistake to seek and accept the endorsement. So I -- what does that mean? I don't know if that means that he has -- maintains it or not." In fact, when asked if he "no longer want[ed]" Hagee's endorsement, McCain stated: "I'm glad to have his endorsement." Read More

Dick Morris falsely asserted New World Foundation "gave money to the PLO" while Clinton was on foundation's board
On Fox News, Dick Morris falsely asserted: "Hillary Clinton in the 1980s was on the board of a foundation group called the New World Foundation that gave money to the PLO, which at the time was identified as a terror organization." In fact, the New World Foundation reportedly did not "g[i]ve money to the PLO." Read More

Ignoring McCain's efforts to satisfy conservative base, NBC's Gregory touted McCain's "brand" as "being a maverick and being anti-politics"
On The Tim Russert Show, David Gregory asserted that Sen. John McCain has "got a pretty strong brand identity as being a maverick and being anti-politics and anti-Washington" without noting McCain's efforts to satisfy conservative Republicans during the primary, including his rapprochement with the religious right and his rightward shift on issues such as immigration and taxes. Read More

AP made false comparison between generic Nov. poll and April head-to-head poll to suggest McCain momentum
An Associated Press article reporting that Sen. John McCain "has pulled even with the two Democrats still brawling for their party's nomination" falsely compared a generic AP/Yahoo poll conducted in November with a recent AP/Yahoo poll showing head-to-head matchups to baselessly suggest that McCain has enjoyed a surge of momentum. Read More

Rudov called himself a "feminist" on Your World, ridiculed study on housework as product of a "gyno-versit[y]" on O'Reilly
On Your World, author Marc Rudov described himself as a "feminist" and said, "I look at women as equal peers." But later that day, on The O'Reilly Factor, Rudov mocked a study finding that "[h]aving a husband creates an extra seven hours a week of housework for women" as "a flawed, anti-male, un-academic study that -- the kind you would expect from one of America's leading gyno-versities." He also asserted that if "the woman is complaining that the man doesn't work enough around the house," it may be because "she said 'I do' at the altar and 'I don't' in the bedroom." Read More

Flashback: Media Matters had documented conservative misinformation from military analysts with hidden ties to Pentagon
In an April 20 New York Times article, investigative reporter David Barstow reported that "the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform" media military analysts "into a kind of media Trojan horse -- an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks." He also wrote: "Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration's wartime performance." Prior to the Times' report, Media Matters for America had documented misinformation, falsehoods, and smears of progressives, including Sen. John Kerry in 2004 when he was running against President Bush, by several of the analysts identified in the Times article. Read More

Matthews discussed "grumpy old men" who hang around diners "because they don't want to be at home with their wives"
On Real Time, Bill Maher said to Chris Matthews: "I heard you say on your show, you were talking about Barack Obama and you said -- and I know you like him. But you said when he goes into a diner, he can't ask the average guy, you know, how the Phillies doing and all that stuff. And you said he was -- at one point, he was offered coffee and he turned it down and asked if he could have orange juice instead." After Matthews said, "Yeah," Maher continued: "First of all, Chris, you don't understand black people. They like juice. Preferably gin and juice." In response, Matthews replied: "No, no. Not true. Let me, you know, it's -- you walk into a diner, one of these things where grumpy old men are hanging around because they don't want to be at home with their wives for an hour a morning and they're hanging around there." Read More

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