ABC Blames "Determined Group of Well-Financed Conservatives" --8/8/2003

1. ABC Blames "Determined Group of Well-Financed Conservatives"
Sounding eerily like Hillary Clinton's claim of a "vast right-wing conspiracy," ABC anchor Elizabeth Vargas blamed "a determined group of well-financed conservatives ready to exploit" the "weaknesses" of a recall law and unpopular Governor for the circus of California's gubernatorial race featuring "former child actor Gary Coleman" and "Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt," though modern conservatives had nothing to do with the century-old law which made it so easy to get on the ballot.

2. Gergen Mocks Schwarzenegger's Inexperience, But Touts Huffington
Former presidential adviser and current U.S. News Editor-at-Large David Gergen argued on CNBC Thursday night that Leon Panetta would make a good candidate in California, crediting him with balancing the federal budget: "He did run the budget office, after all, for Bill Clinton, turned a deficit into a surplus, and...that's exactly what California needs right now." Gergen also gave credence to a Democratic attack line against Arnold Schwarzenegger over his inexperience, but then he touted a more liberal candidate who has zilch government experience: "There are some good people in this race -- Arianna Huffington is a terrific columnist and a good voice."

3. CNN, MSNBC, Wash Post & NY Times Disguise MoveOn.org's Ideology
MoveOn.org, the group which Al Gore spoke before on Thursday in railing against President Bush, is a far-left organization founded to fight against President Clinton's impeachment which protested against the war with Iraq and opposed removing Saddam Hussein, but is all for "regime change" in the U.S. But if you rely on CNN, MSNBC, the Washington Post or the New York Times, you'd have no idea about MoveOn.org's ideology since those outlets deliberately disguised it with misleadingly incomplete descriptions. CNN's Judy Woodruff called it an "Internet political group" and the Washington Post generously relayed how it "advertises itself as an 'online grassroots democracy group.'" FNC, AP and even Reuters, however, managed to offer accurate ideological descriptions.

4. ABC Catches Up With NBC, Blames London Heat on "Global Warming"
ABC caught up with NBC on blaming "global warming" for hot weather in Europe as a very certain Hilary Brown in London declared on Thursday's Good Morning America: "Climatologists say that all this is the direct result of global warming."

5. "Top Ten Arnold Schwarzenegger Campaign Promises"
Letterman's "Top Ten Arnold Schwarzenegger Campaign Promises."

ABC Blames "Determined Group of Well-Financed
Conservatives"

Sounding eerily like Hillary Clinton's claim of a "vast right-wing conspiracy," ABC anchor Elizabeth Vargas blamed "a determined group of well-financed conservatives ready to exploit" the "weaknesses" of a recall law and an unpopular Governor for the circus of California's gubernatorial race featuring "former child actor Gary Coleman" and "Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt," though modern conservatives had nothing to do with the century-old law which made it so easy to get on the ballot.

Elizabeth Vargas introduced a story on the Thursday, August 7 World News Tonight: "We're going to take 'A Closer Look' tonight at California's recall election. How did it come to this, to the point where the candidates for Governor include not only Arnold Schwarzenegger, but former child actor Gary Coleman, Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt, and more that 300 more? A lot of the nation's Governors have become unpopular because of budget crunches gripping many states. What's different about California is a politically-potent combination of a recall law, a Governor whose personality rubs even his supporters the wrong way, and a determined group of well-financed conservatives ready to exploit all those weaknesses."

But the key: A whole lot of conservative and not so conservative California citizens eager to sign recall petitions.

Gergen Mocks Schwarzenegger's Inexperience,
But Touts Huffington

Former presidential adviser and current U.S. News Editor-at-Large David Gergen argued on CNBC Thursday night that Leon Panetta would make a good candidate in California, crediting him with balancing the federal budget, as if the election of a GOP Congress then interested in restraining spending had nothing to do with it. Gergen argued: "He did run the budget office, after all, for Bill Clinton, turned a deficit into a surplus, and that was a, that's exactly what California needs right now."

Gergen also gave credence to a Democratic attack line against Arnold Schwarzenegger: "The comment, 'This is the most difficult decision of my whole life except for one that I made in 1978 when I decided to get a bikini wax.' Now, that kind of comment gives an opening to Davis to say, 'Look, folks, this is serious business. We've got a $38 billion budget deficit."

But after mocking Schwarzenegger's inexperience he touted a more liberal candidate who has zilch government experience: "There are some good people in this race -- Arianna Huffington is a terrific columnist and a good voice."

MRC analyst Brad Wilmouth caught Gergen's comments on CNBC's The News with Brian Williams, but anchored by Bob Kur.

Gergen contended on the August 7 show: "The other alternative, if they could draft him, would be Leon Panetta. He would be a serious candidate. He did run the Budget Office, after all, for Bill Clinton, turned a deficit into a surplus, and that was a, that's exactly what California needs right now, someone who has that kind of capacity, executive capacity, and he's been a popular congressman from California for a long time..."

Kur asked: "David, you talked about what a rough go this appears to be for Governor Gray Davis. If you were in his corner advising him now, how would you advise him?"
Gergen: "I think I would try to turn this into a Davis versus Schwarzenegger race. Arnold Schwarzenegger is vulnerable. He is not, you know, in the polls that were taken two or three weeks ago, he was running third among preferred alternatives to Gray Davis. Riordan was running ahead of him and, the former mayor of LA, and also the, Dianne Feinstein was running ahead of Schwarzenegger. So he's vulnerable, he's untested, and there are things he's been saying, I mean the comment he made last night when he said he was going to get into the race, the comment, 'This is the most difficult decision of my whole life except for one that I made in 1978 when I decided to get a bikini wax.' Now, that kind of comment gives an opening to Davis to say, 'Look, folks, this is serious business. We've got a $38 billion budget deficit, $38 billion budget deficit here. You need a serious political person to do this....
"And I don't think it's out of the question he [Davis] can pull this off because I think he can go to the voters and say basically, 'This is a freak show, we need something serious.' You know, there are some good people in this race -- Arianna Huffington is a terrific columnist and a good voice -- 'but let's get serious about what we need to do in the next three years, you elected me to get that done.'"

CNN, MSNBC, Wash Post & NY Times Disguise
MoveOn.org's Ideology

MoveOn.org, the group which Al Gore spoke before on Thursday in railing against President Bush, is a far-left organization founded to fight against President Clinton's impeachment which later supported only liberal Democrats for office in 2000, protested against the war with Iraq and opposed removing Saddam Hussein, but is all for "regime change" in the U.S., and held an online primary which the liberal Howard Dean won. But if you rely on CNN, MSNBC, the Washington Post or the New York Times for your news, you'd have no idea about MoveOn.org's ideology since those outlets deliberately disguised it with misleadingly incomplete descriptions of the group.

CNN's Judy Woodruff tagged it simply as an "Internet political group" and the Washington Post generously relayed how it "advertises itself as an 'online grassroots democracy group.'"

FNC, AP and even Reuters, however, on Thursday managed to offer accurate ideological descriptions.

On FNC's Special Report with Brit Hume, Carl Cameron asserted: "Al Gore insists he's not running, but he was ranting to a liberal audience from the left-leaning Internet group MoveOn.org, saying that President Bush has deliberately deceived the American people."

The AP's Richard Pyle wrote: "Gore addressed some 600 members of the liberal activist group MoveOn.org, which earlier this year held an online presidential primary in which Howard Dean, a staunch foe of the war, finished first." See: story.news.yahoo.com

Dane Hamilton of Reuters explained: "Speaking at New York University at an event sponsored by liberal political advocacy group MoveOn.org, Gore said Bush deserved credit for removing Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from power. But he said the war had no effect on the al-Qaeda network, accused of masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks, except to boost the group's "recruiting activities." See: story.news.yahoo.com

The New York Times avoided an ideological description, but at least reporter Randal Archibald, in a story posted Thursday evening, clued in readers on the group's pro-Clinton origins: "Mr. Gore's advisers said he chose to speak out now to fulfill his vow when he bowed out in December to continue expressing concern about the direction of the country. He asked MoveOn.org, an Internet-based policy group born to rebut the Clinton impeachment, to sponsor the speech several weeks ago, his assistants said." See: www.nytimes.com

But not even that made it into Washington Post reporter Edward Walsh's August 8 story in which he relayed a very laudatory description: "Gore spoke to an enthusiastic audience of mostly young people who were invited by MoveOn.org, which advertises itself as an 'online grassroots democracy group.'" See: www.washingtonpost.com

MSNBC's David Shuster, in a piece which aired Thursday night on a bunch of MSNBC shows, didn't even mention the name of the group before whom Gore spoke and the ABC, CBS and NBC evening shows held themselves to brief summaries of Gore's points without going into anything about MoveOn.org.

On CNN's Inside Politics, however, the group was twice described simply as an "Internet political group." Judy Woodruff set up CNN's August 7 story at the very end of a special Schwarzenegger-inspired 90-minute Inside Politics:
"Well, there is one other story we want to share with you, and that is that Al Gore still says he will not seek a rematch against President Bush. But he is sounding more and more like a man who's running for office. He addressed the Internet political group known as MoveOn.org today and he pulled no punches during his speech."

CNN's Maria Hinojosa played a series of Gore soundbites and then observed: "The audience, members of an Internet activist group called MoveOn.org, say they want more Gore."
Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org: "I think it validates the concern that so many Americans are feeling."
Hinojosa: "And there was at least one person still has hopes the former VP will change his mind."
Sherri Rosen, MoveOn.org member: "I mean, Schwarzenegger just did it. He just changed his mind. And so did Jerry Springer. So why can't he change his mind and say he's going to run?"

If you have any doubts about MoveOn.org's liberalness, just check their home page: www.moveon.org

One section highlights their latest crusade:
"The President took the nation to war based on his assertion that Iraq posed an imminent threat to our country. Now central pieces of that evidence have turned out to be false, but many Members of Congress are refusing to seriously investigate.
"Three weeks ago, MoveOn launched a petition asking Congress to create an independent commission to investigate whether the Bush Administration manipulated and distorted evidence to take the country to war in Iraq. Now Congress is literally taking up our call: Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) has written a bill that would create just such a commission, and it's already co-sponsored by a wide array of moderate Democrats -- including many who voted for the war. This commission can really happen -- and the truth about the Bush Administration's manipulation of evidence can really come out -- but we'll need your help..."

For their "Regime Change Begins at Home" poster: www.moveon.org

And for a list of the candidates their PAC supported in 2000, all liberal Democrats: www.moveon.org

ABC Catches Up With NBC, Blames London
Heat on "Global Warming"

ABC caught up with NBC on blaming "global warming" for hot weather in Europe as a very certain Hilary Brown in London declared on Thursday's Good Morning America: "Climatologists say that all this is the direct result of global warming."

The August 7 CyberAlert reported: It was inevitable. Whenever someplace in the world gets hot for a few days, sooner or later a network story will blame it on global warming. NBC's Patricia Sabga won the contest on Wednesday night when she warned that "scientists attribute the extreme temperatures to what's been described as a dome of hot air hovering over Europe, a summer weather pattern that may become the norm." Sean Seabrook, identified on screen as a "meteorologist," then asserted: "Scientists appreciate now that global warming is taking place and I think these occurrences of heat waves will become more frequent, so this may be a sign of things to come."

But that same CyberAlert noted that Thursday's Washington Post carried a front page story about lower than usual water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean off the East Coast and I pointed out it has been cooler than average in the Washington, DC area. But as soon as it gets hot again on the East Coast a TV reporter will inevitably blame global warming.

For the August 7 CyberAlert item: www.mediaresearch.org

In an August 7 GMA story, MRC analyst Jessica Anderson noticed, Hilary Brown asserted from London: "Climatologists say that all this is the direct result of global warming."
An unnamed British climatologist: "The weather we're experiencing this week, of hot summers, are what we expect to become more commonplace in the future."
Brown: "In other words, this will soon be perfectly normal. Here in London's famous Trafalgar Square, the temperature at about high noon, local time, is 91 degrees -- that's off yesterday's record of 95.5 -- but this heat wave will continue through the weekend, and more important, this kind of extreme weather is going to be a fact of life here."

"Top Ten Arnold Schwarzenegger Campaign
Promises"

From the August 7 Late Show with David Letterman, the "Top Ten Arnold Schwarzenegger Campaign Promises." Late Show Web site: www.cbs.com

10. "To do for politics what I did for acting"

9. "Combine the intelligence of George Bush with the sexual appetite of Clinton"

8. "A heaping tablespoon of Joe Weider's 'Dynamic Body Shaper' in every pot"

7. "Every freeway gets a dedicated car chase lane"

6. "Seek advice from elder political statesmen like Jesse Ventura"

5. "Crack down on schools graduating students who can't bench-press 180 pounds"

4. "Solemnly swear to support the Constitution of Gold's Gym"

3. "Goofiest-named governor since Pataki"

2. "Raise the minimum age for dating Demi Moore"

1. "Speak directly to the voters in clear, honest, broken English"

On #1, it worked for George W. Bush!

-- Brent Baker