Friday, May 30, 2008

Media Matters Daily Summary 05-30-08

Guest host on Beck suggests if Obama elected, political correctness will kill comedy: "[E]veryone will be so scared of saying anything"
On Glenn Beck, guest host Michael Graham discussed political correctness in comedy with comedian Nick DiPaolo. Asking DiPaolo if his "comedian friends" thought that "if we have a President Obama, comedy will be dead," Graham said, "[E]veryone will be so scared of saying anything," and added: "You'll be scared to order blackened red fish, because you're afraid that an African-American or Native American will beat the crap out of you for it." Read More

Boortz: "Muslims, making tortillas? ... [W]ith all of the illegal Mexicans in this country, we can't find some Mexicans to make those tortillas?"
While discussing reports that six Muslim women were fired from a Minnesota tortilla factory because of dress code violations, Neal Boortz asked: "Muslims, making tortillas? You know, this world is really screwed up when Muslims are making our tortillas, folks." He added: "I mean, with all of the illegal Mexicans in this country, we can't find some Mexicans to make those tortillas? Read More

Krauthammer ignored McCain's solicitation of Hagee endorsement, saying, "[C]andidates are endorsed by hundreds of people"
On Special Report, Charles Krauthammer said, "The Obama campaign and the Democrats will say that [Sen. John] McCain has his Reverend [John] Hagee, and Obama has his reverend, and they disavowed them, and they're sort of morally equivalent." Krauthammer continued, "The obvious counterargument, which the Democrats refuse to accept, is that presidential candidates are endorsed by hundreds of people, half of whom they don't know, some of whom are scoundrels and rogues whom they then dissociate themselves from." But McCain, by his own admission, actively sought Hagee's endorsement, despite Hagee's numerous controversial comments. Read More

LA Times ignored McCain's alleged role in Keating Five scandal
In an article about Sen. John McCain's early political career, the Los Angeles Times' Richard A. Serrano described Charles H. Keating Jr. as "[a]nother influential friend" who "raised more than $100,000 for McCain." Serrano noted that Keating eventually went to prison for his role in a savings and loan scandal, but did not mention McCain's own alleged involvement in the scandal, or that Keating's relationship to McCain reportedly extended beyond simply raising money for his congressional campaigns. Read More

Limbaugh called Brazilian indigenous tribe "savages"
On the May 30 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh referred to "[o]ne of ... South America's few remaining uncontacted indigenous tribes" -- recently photographed by the Brazilian government from an airplane -- as "these savages." Recounting the story, Limbaugh said, "[T]hey've spotted an isolated tribe in Brazil. An airplane flew over this hut, this thatch roof hut or something, and these savages are body painted in red and they're trying to shoot the airplane down with bows and arrows." Read More

Cavuto did not challenge Vets for Freedom's false claim that Obama has "never met with General Petraeus"
Fox News' Neil Cavuto left unchallenged a false claim by Vets For Freedom chairman Pete Hegseth that Sen. Barack Obama has "never met with General Petraeus." In fact, as recently as April 8, Obama questioned Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker at a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing on Iraq. Read More

While Mike Allen equated critics of White House press corps' war coverage with "left-wing haters," ex-colleague Dobbs wrote, "We failed you"
On Mike Gallagher's radio show, Mike Allen said of Scott McClellan's new book: "Scott does adopt the vocabulary, rhetoric of the left-wing haters. Can you believe it in here he says that the White House press corps was too deferential to the administration ... in the run-up to the war?" By contrast, two of Allen's former colleagues echoed the media criticism of Allen's so-called "left-wing haters." Michael Dobbs asserted that "on the question of whether the American press did its job properly during the run-up to the Iraq war, it is difficult to argue with his conclusions. We failed you." Similarly, Howard Kurtz stated that print coverage during the run-up to the war was "flawed," adding: "It was only when violence surged in Iraq and public opinion began turning against the war that ABC, CBS, NBC, and the rest of the media turned more skeptical." Read More

Confronted on GMA with "stereotypical bitch" statement about Clinton, Beck said "probably a better word was 'nag' "
On Good Morning America, ABC News' Claire Shipman confronted Glenn Beck with his remark in March 2007 that Sen. Hillary Clinton is "the stereotypical bitch." Beck responded, in part, that "probably a better word was 'nag.' " Read More

AP reported McCain's "ready response" to Obama on health care, but not that it was false
The Associated Press' Liz Sidoti reported without challenge several attacks Sen. John McCain recently made against Sen. Barack Obama, including what Sidoti referred to as his "ready response" that a "significant difference between myself and Senator Obama" is that "I am not going to dictate that the government decide what your health care is going to be." In fact, Obama's plan does not allow for government control of health care; rather, it calls for individuals to choose their own insurance. Read More

Will pundits who blasted Howard Dean in 2003 over troop-numbers response question McCain's fitness following his Iraq troop-level falsehood?
During a May 29 campaign appearance, Sen. John McCain falsely stated that U.S. troops in Iraq "have [been] drawn down to pre-surge levels." As the Associated Press reported, "[T]here are 17 brigades in Iraq" right now, as opposed to the 15 brigades in place before the increase. In 2003, then-Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean was criticized in the media for his response to a question about the number of active-duty soldiers, with Tim Russert and others questioning his fitness to be commander in chief. In light of McCain's troop-surge falsehood and numerous national security gaffes, will the media similarly question his suitability to be commander in chief? Read More

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