Media Matters Daily Summary 08-11-08

Roberts again criticizes Obama for "exotic" trip home to Hawaii
On NPR, Cokie Roberts asserted that Sen. Barack Obama's vacation to Hawaii "makes him seem a little bit more exotic," and characterized Hawaii as "a somewhat odd place to be doing it," despite also asserting, "I know that he is from Hawaii, he grew up there, his grandmother lives there." Roberts previously criticized Obama on ABC's This Week, stating that Obama's vacation in Hawaii "has the look of him going off to some sort of foreign, exotic place." Read More

NY Times editorial cited the paper's misleading report on "bundlers"
In an editorial on of "fixing the campaign finance system" The New York Times cited a previous Times article that, the editorial board wrote, "reported that despite the Obama campaign's assertions that the senator relies largely on modest contributions, many of them raised on the Internet, one-third of the $340 million he has pulled in has come from donations of $1,000 or more." But the Times editorial did not note that a significantly higher percentage of Sen. John McCain's campaign contributions have equaled or exceeded $1,000. Read More

Wash. Post headline highlighted reported effect on deficit of Obama's plan, not McCain's, which would add $1.6 trillion more
The headline of a Washington Post article read: "Obama Tax Plan Would Balloon Deficit, Analysis Finds." But while the headline focused on Sen. Barack Obama, the article itself reported that the Tax Policy Center found that Sen. John McCain's tax plan would add $5 trillion to the national debt while Obama's plan would add $3.4 trillion. Read More

Reuters reports one-sided criticism of war funding votes
A Reuters article included Sen. John McCain's charge that Sen. Barack Obama "tried to prevent funding for troops that carried out the surge." In fact, Obama, who has repeatedly voted for bills that include funds for the Iraq war, voted against a troop funding bill in May 2007, he said, because it did not include a timeline for withdrawal. Reuters reporter Alister Bull did not correct the falsehood, nor did he note that McCain himself has voted against war funding legislation. Read More

Liasson finds "irony" in "a liberal Democrat showcasing his faith"
On NPR's Morning Edition, Mara Liasson asserted there was "irony" in "a liberal Democrat showcasing his faith." Liasson did not explain what she thought was "ironic" about such an action. Read More