Media Matters Daily Summary 04-24-09

Kudlow echoes baseless Drudge headline on Obama supporters
Echoing a Drudge Report headline, Larry Kudlow asserted that "Obama supporters [are] saying he's the best president in history." Kudlow cited no examples of Obama supporters who have said this, and the Politico article to which the Drudge headline linked contained no such assertions from Obama supporters. Read More

Wash. Times editorial distorts Rosa Brooks' statement on Al Qaeda
In an editorial discussing newly appointed Defense Department official Rosa Brooks, The Washington Times wrote that Brooks "has called al Qaeda 'little more than an obscure group of extremist thugs.' " In fact, Brooks used that phrase in 2007 to refer to the view of Al Qaeda in 2001 held by "most experts." Read More

CQ, AP ignore Boehner's use of "torture" to describe techniques
Congressional Quarterly and the AP reported that "critics" say interrogation techniques outlined in Justice Department memos amount to torture and quoted Rep. John Boehner's criticism of the memos' release. However, neither outlet noted that Boehner himself characterized the techniques as "torture." Read More

Drudge hypes article claiming Gore "chickened out" from confronting skeptic
Matt Drudge highlighted the claim from global warming skeptic Marc Morano that "House Democrats have refused to allow [a global warming skeptic] to appear alongside former Vice President Al Gore at a high profile global warming hearing on Friday." But Newt Gingrich and others who disagree with Gore on climate change legislation the House is considering are also testifying at the hearing. Read More

LA Times reported McConnell's criticism of reconciliation without noting his past support of process
The Los Angeles Times reported Sen. Mitch McConnell's criticism of Democrats' potential use of the reconciliation process to pass health-care reform without noting that he repeatedly voted in favor of using reconciliation to pass the Bush tax cuts. Read More

FBN's Sullivan falsely claimed DHS report "nam[ed] veterans groups as possible extremist groups"
Fox Business' Brian Sullivan falsely asserted that DHS "nam[ed] veterans groups as possible extremist groups" in a recent report on right-wing extremism. In fact, citing an FBI assessment authored during the Bush administration, the report warned of a possible resurgence among extremist groups that "will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans." Read More

Misoverestimating him: Media graded Bush's first 100 days on a curve
Assessing President Bush's first 100 days, media figures and outlets repeatedly set a low bar -- which in some cases they explicitly acknowledged -- and then judged him as having cleared it. Read More

NRO's Hemingway gets history wrong in accusing Begala of botching facts
Mark Hemingway claimed that Paul Begala's statement that "[o]ur country executed Japanese soldiers who waterboarded American POWs" is false. However, the United States participated in a tribunal that sentenced numerous Japanese soldiers to death for war crimes including "torture" after a trial in which forms of waterboarding were presented as evidence of torture. Read More

100 days of myths and falsehoods
As media figures prepare to recognize President Obama's 100th day in office, Media Matters has reviewed coverage since the inauguration and identified numerous myths and falsehoods about the administration and its policies. Read More