Media Matters Daily Summary

Sammon falsely attributed the term "nuclear option" to Senate Democrats
On Fox News, The Washington Examiner's Bill Sammon said of House Democrats' move to suspend the 60-day requirement for voting on the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement: "I call it more like the 'nuclear option,' because that's what the Democrats called the Republican threat to change the rules back when they were trying to get judges through." Sammon was referring to a 2005 Republican-proposed Senate rule change that would have effectively eliminated the ability to filibuster judicial nominations. But the term "nuclear option," as it pertains to judicial filibusters, was originally coined by Republican Sen. Trent Lott -- not by Democrats. Read More

Robertson named "Worst Person" for claiming "Islam is not a religion"
MSNBC's Keith Olbermann named Pat Robertson the "winner" of his nightly "Worst Person in the World" segment for stating: "I want to say it again, and again, and again: Islam is not a religion, it's a political system meant on -- bent on world domination, not a religion. It masquerades as a religion, but the religion covers a worldwide attempt to exercise power and to subjugate the world into their way of thinking." Read More

On Hardball, Matthews and Shuster critiqued Obama's "weird" beverage selection at Indiana diner
On Hardball, while remarking on Sen. Barack Obama's reported request for orange juice after being offered coffee at an Indiana diner, David Shuster asserted: "[I]t's just one of those sort of weird things. You know, when the owner of the diner says, 'Here, have some coffee,' you say, 'Yes, thank you,' and, 'Oh, can I also please have some orange juice, in addition to this?' You don't just say, 'No, I'll take orange juice,' and then turn away and start shaking hands." Host Chris Matthews agreed, "You don't ask for a substitute on the menu." Read More

Bloomberg report on public funding in general election ignored McCain's possible campaign finance violation
A Bloomberg article noted that Sen. John McCain "has pledged to take public financing [for the general election presidential campaign] if the Democrat does. His campaign noted that [Sen. Barack] Obama 'promised the American people' he would take public financing," then quoted a McCain adviser as saying, "Senator McCain isn't in the habit of breaking his word, and he hopes Senator Obama doesn't either." The article did not report that McCain could be breaking federal law for failing to abide by restrictions placed on candidates participating in the public financing system during their party's primary season. Read More

On Beck, Mark Steyn described Michelle Obama as "Kim Jong-Il dressed up with a bit of Oprah Winfrey dressing"
On CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck, columnist Mark Steyn said of Michelle Obama: "[T]his is Kim Jong-Il dressed up with a bit of Oprah Winfrey dressing." Steyn also called Obama "a conventional university socialist." Host Glenn Beck said of Obama, "Her language is riddled with socialism," and said of the Obamas, "[T]here's a socialist agenda there for America." Read More

On O'Reilly Factor, Rudov asserted: "Girls just love to expose themselves"
On The O'Reilly Factor, while discussing the "reason that the beauty pageant industry is failing," author Marc Rudov asserted:"[T]here's no shortage of women who want to put themselves on parade and have men throw money at them." He later stated, "Girls just love to expose themselves." Read More

Hannity asked if Carter's planned Hamas meeting was a sign of Obama's "foreign policy strategy" -- but Obama has denounced Hamas
Fox News' Sean Hannity previewed a segment about former President Jimmy Carter's planned meeting with a Hamas leader by asking, "Is this what the Obama foreign policy will look like?" In fact, Sen. Barack Obama has said his willingness to meet with international adversaries "does not include Hamas." Read More

ABC News blog post about McCain touting Obama's "near gaffe" ignored McCain's repeated misstatements related to Al Qaeda
An ABC News Political Radar blog post stated that Sen. Barack Obama made a "near gaffe" in saying, " 'Al Qaeda is not in Ir -- ' ... at which point he caught himself and finished the sentence by saying: 'the key Al Qaeda leadership is not based in Iraq,' " and also noted that the statement was "quickly seized on by aides to presumptive Republican nominee John McCain R-Ariz." But the blog post did not note that McCain himself has repeatedly made actual misstatements regarding Al Qaeda. Read More

On Hardball, Russert claimed McCain has "maverick brand" with public, without noting his colleagues' role in promoting it
On Hardball, Tim Russert said of Sen. John McCain: "[T]he perception right now of McCain is someone who's experienced, someone who they see not of the Republican brand or the Bush brand, but of the maverick brand." Russert did not acknowledge the media's role in promoting that "brand," much less the role of Hardball host Chris Matthews -- who, the next day on Today, called McCain "a maverick. People think of him as a maverick." Read More

Saying he was cited by "Media Morons," Boortz again smears Mexicans: "[A]ny Mexican worth his salt would be able to" operate a floor buffer "without getting hurt"
Talking with the Media Research Center's Brent Bozell, Neal Boortz said: "I'm on 'Media Morons' today ... because I said yesterday on the air that I would make a lousy Mexican because I was trying to use one of those floor buffers and it tossed me around ... when any Mexican worth his salt would be able to do that without getting hurt." Read More