Monday, May 19, 2008

Media Matters Daily Summary 05-19-08

NY Times recounted "How do we beat the bitch?" question to McCain, but left out McCain's response: "[T]hat's an excellent question"
A New York Times article noted that Sen. John McCain was asked by a voter at a South Carolina campaign event, "How do we beat the bitch?" in apparent reference to Sen. Hillary Clinton. But the article did not include McCain's response: "[T]hat's an excellent question." Read More

In one article, Wash. Post contradicts own suggestion that Dems responsible for "torpedoing" three FEC nominations

In reporting on former Justice Department lawyer Hans von Spakovsky's decision to withdraw from consideration as a nominee to the FEC, The Washington Post's Paul Kane wrote that "Senate Democrats had refused for a year to confirm von Spakovsky, torpedoing the nominations of three other nominees." But later in the same article, Kane contradicted his own suggestion that Democrats were responsible for "torpedoing" the other nominations, reporting that Republican Mitch McConnell "had demanded that the entire slate of bipartisan nominees be considered at once or that they be voted on in bipartisan packages of two nominations." Read More

Ignoring flip-flops, NY Times cited McCain's "history" on immigration, relationship with "religious conservatives" as appealing to Oregonians' "libertarian streak"
After citing "Senator John McCain's maverick image," The New York Times' William Yardley wrote that "Republicans in Oregon are less likely to go to church and more likely to have a libertarian streak than those in some other states. Ordinarily, that might benefit Mr. McCain, who has struggled to win support from religious conservatives and has a history of breaking with his party on matters like immigration and campaign finance reform." But in citing McCain's purported "history of breaking with his party on matters like immigration," Yardley did not report that McCain has reversed his position on immigration -- to the point of saying that he no longer supports his own bill on comprehensive immigration reform. Read More

Sun-Sentinel uncritically reported Florida GOP official's comment that "I wish Obama would not pretend to care about the Jewish community"
A South Florida Sun-Sentinel article quoted Sid Dinerstein, chairman of the Palm Beach County Republican Party, saying, "This is a terrible thing," and adding, "I wish Obama would not pretend to care about the Jewish community." At no point did the article quote the Obama campaign or anyone besides Dinerstein on the issue of Obama's commitment to the Jewish community. Read More

CNN's Costello reported that McCain "would" support AZ ban on same-sex marriage, but not that he did in 2006 -- and it lost
CNN's Carol Costello said that Sen. John McCain "told reporters ... he would support a [same-sex marriage] ban in his own state of Arizona in November," without noting that McCain previously supported such a ban in Arizona that was rejected by the state's voters in 2006. Read More

Hill article on differences between Webb, McCain GI bills failed to note more generous benefits in Webb bill
An article in The Hill stated that there are "some marked differences" between bills offered by Sen. Jim Webb and Sen. John McCain addressing benefits for military veterans. But the article cited only one difference and did not mention the ways in which Webb's bill is more generous to veterans than McCain's. Read More

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