Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Media Matters Daily Summary 09-09-08

NY Post editorial falsely claims Obama "once insisted that U.S. forces invade Pakistan" and "opposes sanctions" against Iran
The New York Post falsely claimed that Sen. Barack Obama "once insisted that US forces invade Pakistan" and that he "opposes sanctions" against Iran (emphasis in the original). In fact, Obama has never said he would "invade Pakistan." Also, he has stated that he favors sanctions on Iran and introduced legislation to enable state and local governments to divest from Iran. Read More

On Fox, MRC's Graham criticized MSNBC for "adding this lesbian Air America radio host, Rachel Maddow" to its lineup
Asked on Fox & Friends about the "damage done" by having Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews anchor MSNBC's election coverage, the Media Research Center's Tim Graham responded, "Not only is the damage already done, the damage continues. I mean, not only are they keeping these people on for an hour a night, they're adding this lesbian Air America radio host, Rachel Maddow, on every night." Read More

Hannity accuses Obama of "outright falsehood" in saying Fox News -- home of the "terrorist fist jab" smear -- has suggested he is Muslim
On Hannity & Colmes, Alan Colmes stated that "there are those who have said" that Sen. Barack Obama is a Muslim, but "it's not a Fox thing." On his radio show, Sean Hannity also said that "[n]o one has ever suggested that" Obama is a Muslim. In fact, Fox News hosts -- one of whom asked if an affectionate gesture by the Obamas was "a terrorist fist jab" -- have repeatedly promoted false reports about Obama's religion, including the false report that Obama was educated in a madrassa. Read More

NPR's Williams ignores falsehood in Palin's claim about "bridge to nowhere"
On NPR, Renee Montagne asked Juan Williams of Gov. Sarah Palin's claims about the "bridge to nowhere": "Is it surprising that she keeps saying that, or repeating that she told Congress, 'No thanks,' on that bridge?" Rather than note that Palin's assertion is false, Williams responded in part by saying: "Well, what they're [the McCain campaign] emphasizing is that she, you know, did eventually turn down the idea without disclosing that early on she was, as you said, campaigning for it back in 2006. ... So, it's a matter of, you know, omission in their view." Read More

Gibson, who is scheduled to interview Palin, let several McCain falsehoods go unchallenged
ABC's Charlie Gibson posed no challenge to several false, contradictory, or dubious assertions made by Sen. John McCain during a September 3 interview. Gibson is scheduled to interview McCain's running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, later this week. Read More

Levin on his "National Organization of Ugly Women" remark: "[F]or now on, it's the National Organization of Really Ugly Women"
Addressing his September 4 comments, in which he called the National Organization for Women, the "National Organization of Ugly Women," Mark Levin said: "I just wanted to underscore that maybe I shouldn't have called them the National Organization of Ugly Women. For now on, it's the National Organization of Really Ugly Women." Read More

Ignoring outright "Bridge to Nowhere" falsehoods, Kurtz pronounces evidence insufficient to say Palin is "lying"
The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz wrote that Gov. Sarah Palin's "description of her role in the infamous bridge [to nowhere] funding is highly selective at best," but falsely suggested that there was insufficient evidence to establish that Palin's claims about her actions on the project are false. Kurtz ignored outright falsehoods in Palin's claims about her opposition to the bridge, including her claim that she "told the Congress, 'Thanks, but no thanks' on that 'bridge to nowhere.'" Read More

WSJ's Chozick misrepresented Obama's "lipstick on a pig" comment
In a blog post, Wall Street Journal reporter Amy Chozick baselessly asserted that Sen. Barack Obama's statement that "[y]ou can put lipstick on a pig; it's still a pig" "played on [Gov. Sarah] Palin's joke during the Republican National Convention that the only difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom was lipstick." Chozick provided no evidence for this assertion, and, in fact, Obama did not mention Palin in at least the 65 words preceding his "lipstick on a pig" comment. Indeed, his preceding comments consisted of what he described as a "list" of Sen. John McCain's policies that Obama said were no different from President Bush's. Read More

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