Thursday, August 28, 2008

Media Matters Daily Summary 08-28-08

In WND column, Corsi co-author Craig R. Smith called Obama "our first hip-hop president"
In his August 25 WorldNetDaily column, Craig R. Smith, who co-wrote Black Gold Stranglehold: The Myth of Scarcity and the Politics of Oil (WND Books, October 2005) with Obama Nation author and WND staff writer Jerome Corsi, asserted that "the real reason" Sen. Barack Obama's election would be "a moment of historical significance unlike any other" is because Obama "will be our first hip-hop president." Smith continued: "I can only imagine how the world will embrace the leader of the free world when he introduces other foreign leaders with, 'give it up for my man Vladimir.' Giving 'props' for joining us in a treaty. Or the first lady Michelle talking about 'my man' the 'daddy of my babies' when referring to the president. ... The use of ghetto slang during the primaries and even today may be a clear indication just how the Obamas intend to 'roll' if given the privileged seat in the Oval Office." Smith also wrote: "I can see it now. Air Force One decked out with '22s' and spinners. Maybe even a set of hydraulics. Watching the hip-hop president in the Oval Office with his baseball cap on backward coping a gansta lean in the big chair. Should be really pimp, don't you think?" Read More

MSNBC's Buchanan didn't hear any DNC speakers say "the word 'Guantánamo' " -- but Kerry did, just as MSNBC cut to commercial
During MSNBC's coverage of the Democratic convention, Pat Buchanan asked, "Has anybody heard the word 'Guantánamo' mentioned this entire convention?" In fact, in his speech, Sen. John Kerry said, "President [Barack] Obama and Vice President [Joe] Biden will shut down Guantánamo," but MSNBC cut to commercial break a fraction of a second before Kerry said the word "Guantánamo." Read More

Noonan claimed Obama's DNC speech at Invesco Field "has every possibility of looking like a Nuremberg rally"
In her online column, The Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan wrote that Sen. Barack Obama's DNC speech at Denver's Invesco Field "has every possibility of looking like a Nuremberg rally." Other conservative pundits have made references to Nazis when talking about Obama or discussing his speeches, including radio host Tom Sullivan, who once aired what he called a "side-by-side comparison" of an Adolf Hitler speech and an Obama speech. Read More

O'Reilly falsely suggested no abortion laws prohibit abortions in cases of rape and incest
On his radio show, Bill O'Reilly falsely suggested that no state would prohibit abortions in cases of rape and incest if such a prohibition were constitutional. In fact, at least two states, South Dakota and Louisiana, have passed laws to take effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned that prohibit abortions even in cases of rape and incest. Read More

AP misrepresents McCain's positions on same-sex marriage, civil unions, abortion
The AP reported that Sen. John McCain "has expressed limited support for the rights accorded couples in same-sex civil unions" and that he "oppos[es] a constitutional amendment to ban abortion." But the AP's assertions about McCain's views are contradicted by statements McCain himself has made, which the AP did not report. Read More

Liddy, Pruden repeat debunked claim that Obama's birth certificate is fake
G. Gordon Liddy asserted on his nationally syndicated radio show: "[W]e still don't have a birth certificate for [Sen. Barack] Obama. There are claims that he was actually born in Kenya." The Washington Times' Wesley Pruden similarly wrote that a "summer-long controversy continues about when and where the senator was actually born" and falsely asserted that "[t]he Obama campaign has been reluctant to produce a birth certificate." In fact, the Obama campaign has released Obama's birth certificate, and even the right-wing website WorldNetDaily has reported that claims about Obama's birth certificate being fraudulent are false. Read More

On Fox, Huckabee misrepresented Obama plans for health care, taxes
Fox News contributor Mike Huckabee falsely claimed that, under Sen. Barack Obama's health-care plan, "the government will be in control," and that "we're going to be rationing it." In fact, Obama has not proposed government-run health care. Indeed, Obama's website specifically states that, under his proposal, individuals "will not have to change plans." Read More

ABC reports that Republicans are mocking Democrats' columned stage, not that 2004 GOP convention stage also had columns
Good Morning America's Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer echoed Republican talking points mocking the stage at Invesco Field in Denver, where Sen. Barack Obama plans to give his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination for president, for including a structure with columns. But Roberts and Sawyer failed to mention that the stage at the Republican National Convention in 2004 also included columns. Read More

Medved interspersed clips from Kucinich's DNC speech with clips of Adolf Hitler
On his radio show, Michael Medved interspersed clips of Rep. Dennis Kucinich's speech at the Democratic National Convention with clips of Adolf Hitler saying, "Sieg Heil." Afterward, Medved stated of Kucinich's speech that "[e]verything was there except for 'Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer,' " a reference to the Nazi slogan meaning "one people, one empire, one leader." Read More

Cameron called McCain VP stories "erroneous reports" and said Fox News didn't report them -- but it did
During the August 28 edition of Fox News' The Strategy Room, chief political correspondent Carl Cameron said that the Associated Press "is reporting that [Sen.] John McCain has not made up his mind" as to who will be his vice-presidential running mate. Cameron went on to say: "That's the Associated Press dealing with what was a series of erroneous reports last night on a half a dozen different blogs and media outlets -- not Fox News -- that suggested that McCain had made up his mind and had intended to tell his potential pick today" [emphasis added]. However, during the 12 a.m. ET hour of Fox News' August 28 coverage of the Democratic National Convention, host Greta Van Susteren reported: "And speaking of Senator McCain, there's big news in his campaign tonight. Senator McCain has reportedly chosen his vice presidential running mate, and that person will be notified tomorrow. Senator McCain is expected to announce his running mate Friday morning in Dayton, Ohio." Read More

MSNBC airs "pretty smart" McCain ad congratulating Obama without noting attacks on the same day
On MSNBC, Tom Brokaw aired an ad by Sen. John McCain in which McCain congratulates Sen. Barack Obama on the day of his acceptance of the Democratic presidential nomination, calling it a "[p]retty smart ad." Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell added: "Well, people who may have been turned off by the negative ads and the negative conversations of late. He may have won them over with ad like that. It's classy. It is a classy ad." But neither Brokaw nor Mitchell noted that, notwithstanding the ad's suggestion that McCain was taking the day off from attacking Obama, the McCain campaign issued numerous attacks against Obama on August 28. Read More

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