Decry 'Caustic' Talk Host Who 'Compelled' McCain to 'Undo Damage' --2/27/2008

1. Decry 'Caustic' Talk Host Who 'Compelled' McCain to 'Undo Damage'
With cover from John McCain, NBC and ABC on Tuesday night condemned the "caustic" and "mocking" remarks of Cincinnati radio talk show host Bill Cunningham who, on stage before an Ohio campaign appearance by McCain, dared to utter Barack Obama's middle name and call him "a hack" Chicago politician. Though Hillary Clinton on Sunday, without upsetting journalists, ridiculed Obama with religious overtones ("Let's get unified. The sky will open. The light will come down. Celestial choirs will be singing!"), NBC's Kelly O'Donnell asserted: "Cunningham's nearly ten-minute provocative performance veered into more controversy when he parodied Obama as a religious figure." Cunningham's supposedly offensive line: "When the great prophet from Chicago takes the stand and the world leaders who want to kill us will simply be singing Kumbaya together." O'Donnell maintained that Cunningham's words "compelled John McCain to apologize" and she took for granted that he properly acted "to quickly undo any damage." Damage the media assumed needed undoing. ABC's Ron Claiborne presumed Cunningham had a nefarious motive since he "went on to use Obama's Muslim middle name, Hussein, three times. Obama is actually a Christian."

2. Matthews Slams Conservative Host's 'Rotten' Criticism of Obama
On Tuesday night's Hardball, Chris Matthews took offense to radio talk show host Bill Cunningham's criticism of Barack Obama, during a John McCain rally, as he called the comments "rotten business" and wondered: "Is this now gonna creep into the debate, the discussion? This ethnic stuff and whatever?" Citing Cunningham's reference to Obama's middle name, the Washington Post's Dan Balz fretted: "There's gonna be this all the way through the campaign if he's the nominee. I think it's gonna be incumbent both on Senator McCain and on Senator Obama, if he ends up as the nominee, to try to keep their supporters quieted down but it's gonna be very difficult."

3. Touting Geraldo Rivera, ABC's Cuomo Rips Anti-Illegal 'Fear'
Good Morning America co-host Chris Cuomo used an interview with Geraldo Rivera on Tuesday to once again showcase his liberal views on illegal immigration. Touting the Fox News host's new book, His Panic, Cuomo gushed over the "beautiful" title and immediately accepted the premise of the book by stating: "But it is about why Americans fear Hispanics in the U.S. You believe to be the case." Later in the segment, he again dropped any objectivity and opined: "There is a lot of history, a lot of fact in this book. Interesting in a discussion that's usually fueled by passion." In comparison, the host offered no such accolades to Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo, a foe of illegal immigration. During a June 2007 interview with the then-presidential candidate, Cuomo asked if Tancredo, who fought for tough border security bills, was "driving anti-immigrant sentiment?"

4. Letterman's 'Top Ten Ralph Nader Campaign Promises'
Letterman's "Top Ten Ralph Nader Campaign Promises." Number 5: "Can fill out a pantsuit better than Hillary."

Decry 'Caustic' Talk Host Who 'Compelled'
McCain to 'Undo Damage'

With cover from John McCain, NBC and ABC on Tuesday night condemned the "caustic" and "mocking" remarks of Cincinnati radio talk show host Bill Cunningham who, on stage before an Ohio campaign appearance by McCain, dared to utter Barack Obama's middle name and call him "a hack" Chicago politician.

Though Hillary Clinton on Sunday, without upsetting journalists, ridiculed Obama with religious overtones ("Let's get unified. The sky will open. The light will come down. Celestial choirs will be singing!"), NBC's Kelly O'Donnell asserted: "Cunningham's nearly ten-minute provocative performance veered into more controversy when he parodied Obama as a religious figure." Cunningham's supposedly offensive line: "When the great prophet from Chicago takes the stand and the world leaders who want to kill us will simply be singing Kumbaya together." O'Donnell maintained that Cunningham's words "compelled John McCain to apologize" and she took for granted that he properly acted "to quickly undo any damage." Damage the media assumed needed undoing.

ABC anchor Charles Gibson teased: "Bashing Obama. John McCain apologizes for remarks made about Barack Obama at a McCain rally." Ron Claiborne charged that "local conservative radio personality Bill Cunningham made caustic references to Barack Obama, calling him a hack politician from Chicago" and presumed Cunningham had a nefarious motive since he "went on to use Obama's Muslim middle name, Hussein, three times. Obama is actually a Christian." At least Claiborne however, unlike NBC's O'Donnell, highlighted conservative disgust with McCain's cave-in to media sensibilities: "Rush Limbaugh wasted no time mocking McCain's apology."

The cable news channels covered the incident all day and Cunningham defended himself, and castigated McCain for his rebuke, in appearances Tuesday night on CNN's Election Center and FNC's Hannity & Colmes.

Tuesday's CBS Evening News didn't consider the matter newsworthy.

Cunningham's WLW page with audio and video of his remarks at the campaign rally: www.700wlw.com

[This item, by the MRC's Brent Baker, was posted Wednesday morning on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

At a Providence event on Sunday, Hillary Clinton announced: "Now, I could stand up here and say let's just get everybody together. Let's get unified. The sky will open. The light will come down. Celestial choirs will be singing."

On Sunday's NBC Nightly News, Ron Allen set up that blast without criticism: "Clinton began her day facing more speculation her campaign is on its last leg while she went after Barack Obama with sarcasm." Over on ABC's World News, Jake Tapper was more upbeat in introducing the soundbite: "Clinton took a lighter tone this afternoon in Rhode Island, mocking Obama's oratory."

The MRC's Brad Wilmouth corrected the closed-captioning against the video to provide transcripts of the February 26 NBC and ABC stories:

# NBC Nightly News:

BRIAN WILLIAMS: And on the Republican side, the campaign of John McCain for his party's nomination, well, Senator Obama was an issue there, too, today. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell covering that for us tonight. She is with us tonight from Fairfield, Ohio. Kelly, good evening.

KELLY O'DONNELL: Brian, when campaigns hold events with big backdrops like this, we usually don't show you what happens before the candidate gets there. Typically, there are speeches, some of them partisan. And what one said at an event earlier today compelled John McCain to apologize. Warming up a crowd waiting for John McCain today-
BILL CUNNINGHAM: I tell you, it's a great, great morning to be an American. I guarantee you.
O'DONNELL: -conservative Cincinnati radio host Bill Cunningham, whose shows airs on 300 stations nationwide, repeatedly used Barack Obama's middle name in a mocking tone-
CUNNINGHAM: -peel the bark off Barack Hussein Obama-
CUNNINGHAM: -Barack Hussein Obama-
CUNNINGHAM: -Barack Hussein Obama-
O'DONNELL: -and accused the news media of going easy on Obama.
CUNNINGHAM: At some point, the media will quit taking sides in this thing and maybe start covering Barack Hussein Obama the same way they covered Bush.
O'DONNELL: More than just a few partisan zingers, Cunningham's nearly 10-minute provocative performance veered into more controversy when he parodied Obama as a religious figure.
CUNNINGHAM: -when the great prophet from Chicago takes the stand and the world leaders who want to kill us will simply be singing Kumbaya together.
O'DONNELL: After the event, McCain tried to quickly undo any damage.
JOHN MCCAIN: -and I absolutely repudiate such comments, and again, I will take responsibility, it will never happen again. It will never happen again.
O'DONNELL: McCain acknowledged that the shock jock's appearance was coordinated by his campaign. And, although Cunningham has a well-publicized reputation for making controversial comments, McCain advisors say they did not know in advance what Cunningham would say. And, Brian, Senator Obama heard about all of this and said he appreciated Senator McCain's apology. And, of course, this overshadowed much of what McCain wanted to be talking about today. And that radio host went on the air. He remained unapologetic and turned against McCain.

# ABC's World News:

CHARLES GIBSON: As for the Republicans, at a rally in Cincinnati today, John McCain felt compelled to apologize for some derisive remarks that were made about Barack Obama -- not by McCain himself, but by the speaker who had been asked to warm up the crowd for the Republican candidate. And then, McCain was sharply criticized for making the apology. Here's Ron Claiborne.

RON CLAIBORNE: Warming up the crowd before the McCain rally in Cincinnati today, local conservative radio personality Bill Cunningham made caustic references to Barack Obama, calling him a hack politician from Chicago.
BILL CUNNINGHAM: Imagine your horror if you wake up on January the 20th, 2009, and the commander-in-chief is Barack Obama.
CLAIBORNE: And Cunningham went on to use Obama's Muslim middle name, Hussein, three times. Obama is actually a Christian.
CUNNINGHAM: At some point, the media will quit taking sides in this thing and maybe start covering Barack Hussein Obama the same way they covered Bush-
CUNNINGHAM: -Barack Hussein Obama-
CUNNINGHAM: -Barack Hussein Obama-
CLAIBORNE: McCain arrived at the event following Cunningham's introduction. Immediately afterward, he quickly huddled with aides, then apologized profusely before reporters.
JOHN MCCAIN: I will take responsibility, and any offense that was inflicted I apologize for.
CLAIBORNE: On his national radio program, Rush Limbaugh wasted no time mocking McCain's apology.
RUSH LIMBAUGH: McCain went out there and, "We're sorry. It's uncalled for. It's uncalled for in American politics. I take full responsibility, although he did it."
CLAIBORNE: Campaign officials said Cunningham had been recommended by the local Republican party here in Cincinnati. But they had not vetted him themselves.
MATTHEW DOWD, ABC News Political Contributor: I don't know if it was dumb. Normally, in these presidential things, whoever introduces the candidate is totally researched, and usually they're giving some level of talking points, and told what to do and not to say.
CLAIBORNE: On his show today, Cunningham was defiant.
CUNNINGHAM: It's the nature of my life to speak truth to power.
CLAIBORNE: It's a sign of just how tentative the first steps of reconciliation between McCain and conservatives are that they may have been set back already just by his apology. Ron Claiborne, ABC News, Cincinnati.

Matthews Slams Conservative Host's 'Rotten'
Criticism of Obama

On Tuesday night's Hardball, Chris Matthews took offense to radio talk show host Bill Cunningham's criticism of Barack Obama, during a John McCain rally, as he called the comments "rotten business" and wondered: "Is this now gonna creep into the debate, the discussion? This ethnic stuff and whatever?" Citing Cunningham's reference to Obama's middle name, the Washington Post's Dan Balz fretted: "There's gonna be this all the way through the campaign if he's the nominee. I think it's gonna be incumbent both on Senator McCain and on Senator Obama, if he ends up as the nominee, to try to keep their supporters quieted down but it's gonna be very difficult."

[This item, by Geoffrey Dickens, was posted Tuesday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

The following exchange occurred on the February 26 edition of Hardball:

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Well let's take a look at, we had some really rotten business today. Here's radio talk show host Bill Cunningham at a John McCain rally today.
BILL CUNNINGHAM, AT RALLY: Obama just came back from meeting with Ahmadinejad, he's got a meeting next week with Kim Jong Il in North Korea. Then he's gonna saddle up next to Hezbollah. They're gonna have a little cookie and cream party. All is gonna be right with the world when the great prophet from Chicago takes the stand and the world leaders who want to kill us will simply be singing Kumbaya together around the table of Barack Obama. It's all gonna be great! Things are gonna be wonderful.
MATTHEWS: Margaret there's a winning personality for you. I hate to see he has an Irish name. I have to tell you, that was the offensive part to me.
MARGARET CARLSON, BLOOMBERG NEWS: Chris, let's not claim him as our own. With, with someone like him you know what he's about. It couldn't have been a surprise to the McCain campaign that he went a little bit wild, he is wild. That's his stock in trade. McCain apologized profusely, said this is not what he's about. He has a lot of respect for Senator Barack Obama. But, of course, the damage is done.
MATTHEWS: Let me ask you Dan [Balz], this interesting sort of marginal creeping into the national discussion. Well it even happened in a neutral way on this, on the Academy Awards the other night. Bill, Jon Stewart mentioned his middle name is Hussein. He made a joke about somebody, a name that sounded like Hitler, having a hard time in a '44 election in 1944. Tried to talk about Osama sounding like Obama. And then of course this thing where somebody put out a picture of Obama wearing this, East African Kenyan costume. And now this, this character putting out this sort of stuff. Is this now gonna creep into the debate, the discussion? This ethnic stuff and whatever?
DAN BALZ, WASHINGTON POST: Well it's, Chris it's been there for a long time as we know. I mean there have been emails around that suggest he's a Muslim which he is not. There's gonna be this all the way through the campaign if he's the nominee. I think it's gonna be incumbent both on Senator McCain and on Senator Obama, if he ends up as the nominee, to try to keep their supporters quieted down but it's gonna be very difficult.
MATTHEWS: Jonathan is this like, "the Pope's coming to take over," in 1960? Is that what we're gonna put up with here?
JONATHAN DARMAN, NEWSWEEK: You're definitely gonna see this Muslim issue surface again, again and again if it's Obama vs. McCain and I think that last point that Dan was making is significant. If, for both Obama and McCain who both said, "We're gonna run this high-minded politics," that's not a passive thing. You actually have to actively go out there and say, "Okay every surrogate of the Republican Party. Okay every surrogate of the Democratic Party we're not gonna run this race the way we have in the past." Now are they actually gonna do that and what's that gonna look like when, you know, of them is down by five or 10 points?
MATTHEWS: Well Senator Clinton has been almost perf-, well she's been perfect on that regard. We have no evidence that either her or Obama, of course himself, he wouldn't do it to himself or McCain. But wasn't it impressive, Margaret, that McCain did stand up today and take down this warm-up character that had made these comments?
CARLSON: Yeah, well that is the kind of guy that McCain is. He, he does, you know he, he is a straight-talker so you have to give him a lot of credit for that. These surrogates, though, remember there were a couple of surrogates for Senator Clinton that, Robert Johnson, the head of BET, her co-chair in New Hampshire, who brought up things about Obama that, that were derogatory and then they, you know, Johnson apologized and Shaheen resigned. These things happen and the question is whether people decide that you had a hand in it, you tacitly approved it, you want it out there. You're using these people to get it out or not. And I think in the McCain case you think he didn't want to do that.

Touting Geraldo Rivera, ABC's Cuomo Rips
Anti-Illegal 'Fear'

Good Morning America co-host Chris Cuomo used an interview with Geraldo Rivera on Tuesday to once again showcase his liberal views on illegal immigration. Touting the Fox News host's new book, His Panic, Cuomo gushed over the "beautiful" title and immediately accepted the premise of the book by stating: "But it is about why Americans fear Hispanics in the U.S. You believe to be the case."

Later in the segment, he again dropped any objectivity and opined: "There is a lot of history, a lot of fact in this book. Interesting in a discussion that's usually fueled by passion." In comparison, the host offered no such accolades to Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo, a foe of illegal immigration. During a June 2007 interview with the then-presidential candidate, Cuomo asked if Tancredo, who fought for tough border security bills, was "driving anti-immigrant sentiment?" He also chided Tancredo for using "scary" words in regard to the contentious subject. See the June 11, 2007 CyberAlert for more: www.mrc.org

[This item, by the MRC's Scott Whitlock, was posted Tuesday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

During the February 26 segment with Rivera, Cuomo asked a single question from the conservative perspective. (He pointed out to the FNC host that previous waves of immigrants came to the America legally.) However, the GMA anchor never seriously discussed negative aspects to illegal immigration, such as the national security threat that comes with an open border. (The only mention of terrorism came in a derisive comment about baseless fear. On opposition to such immigration, Cuomo dismissively wondered, "Is it fear? Is it fear of terrorism, fear of the unknown?")

Instead, Cuomo provided leading queries, such as when he played a clip of Rivera's famous April 2007 immigration debate with FNC anchor Bill O'Reilly. Cuomo followed up by asking, in a completely perplexed tone, "Why the passion? Why the paradox here?" Returning to his editorialist mode, the ABC host expounded, "America is about who is in it more than any other country in the world, about the diversity. But so much anger and passion on this issue. Why?"

Cuomo also allowed Rivera to take a shot at CNN host Lou Dobbs, who he insisted, "has resurrected a failed career on the backs of [immigrants.]" The GMA anchor closed the segment with the kind of comment that could end up as a blurb on the book's dust jacket: "The book is called 'His Panic.' A lot in here of fact and history in here. Takes the argument forward."

A transcript of the segment, which aired at 8:33am on February 26:

CHRIS CUOMO: We're going to talk today about one of the most pressing issues that's going on in this election. It's the debate over immigration. Who's coming into this country? Who do we allow? Who do we want to be? Geraldo Rivera, we know he's won a lot of awards, but this may be his most ambitious project. The book is called "His Panic," Hispanic. A beautiful play on words. But it is about why Americans fear Hispanics in the U.S. -- You believe to be the case. Geraldo, a pleasure as always to have you here.
GERALDO RIVERA: Chris.
ABC GRAPHIC: Flash point: Immigration: Are Immigrant Fears Being Stoked?
CUOMO: Let us set the context. Where do you think we are vis-a-vis this issue? What is the atmosphere right now?
RIVERA: I think we're back where we always are when a different wave of immigrants comes into the country. You know, the Irish, the Italians, the Germans, the European Jews. If you read the news accounts from those days back to the 19th century, you see that he immigrants come, there's a nativist reaction to them. They get blamed from everything from crime to disease, to terror. And then they become assimilated and the next group comes. And there's a maddening tendency, I think, from the group that's in to burn the bridge behind them. And I think that's what is happening with Hispanics now.
CUOMO: Deal with the obvious counter point, which is the difference is, when the Italians came over, my grandparents came here, they did it legally. A lot of this Immigration is happening illegally, puts them on different footing from the beginning. They should be dealt differently. They are not supposed to be here.
RIVERA: The fact of the matter is, Chris, when the Irish came there was no immigration law. So, everybody was legal. When they established Ellis Island, after they excluded the Chinese, and they established Ellis Island for European immigrants, you had a golden period of immigration. The last 25 years of the 19th century, the first 25 years of the 20th century, basically anybody could come as long as they were not a convict, prostitute or had infectious diseases. That's when the Italians came. That's when the Germans came. That's when you had this massive immigration. But, then they passed these laws, the National Origin Act of 1924 that gave all of the visas to, basically, the people of United Kingdom and Scandinavia. The Italians then were reduced to three percent of all the visas, Mexicans and other Latin Americans got zero. That's when they cut off legal immigration there. It's unfair to say that your forbearers were legal while mine were not, because, now, there is no system. There was never an Ellis Island for the Mexicans.
CUOMO: The rules change. There is a lot of history, a lot of fact in this book. Interesting in a discussion that's usually fueled by passion-- To look at it this way, Geraldo versus O'Reilly on this issue-- Ordinarily colleagues in balance. But this got to be a hot moment. Let's look at where this book came from.
[Brief clip of famous O'Reilly/Rivera debate.]
CUOMO: [Off of the clip] "I want to take you out and do something to you." I've had that said to me by Geraldo before and it's not pleasant. Why the passion? Why the paradox here? America is about who is in it more than any other country in the world. About the diversity. But so much anger and passion on this issue. Why?
RIVERA: Well, what got me going there is this tendency to blame -- to highlight every illegal act done by any person here without, without documentation. An illegal alien ran over a girl. An illegal alien killed someone. An illegal alien ate my sandwich. You know, the problem with doing that is you stereotype them, you paint them in a corner. You portray them-- Here's a story in the Wall Street Journal today, Chris, today's story, tiny story, immigrants on average are far less likely than U.S.-born citizens to commit crime in California, a study found. You'll never see this story on cable TV.
CUOMO: Is it fear? Is it fear of terrorism, fear of the unknown?
RIVERA: I think what you have is you have commentator playing on that fear. People like Lou Dobbs at CNN who has resurrected a failed career on the backs of these people. And you have no one speaking up for the underdog. That's what I'm trying to do here. To tell people slow down. This is part of the same process that made the country unique in the world. Let's harness this hybrid vigor. This is the country for the 21st century. We're all in this together. Be compassionate. Of course you need regulation, of course you need control. But I think what you can't do is scapegoat.
CUOMO: Well, certainly the reality, that the Latino presence, the Hispanic presence in this country is here to stay. It's growing all of the time. Thank you for getting me in trouble with Lou Dobbs, Appreciate that, Geraldo.
RIVERA [Laughs]: Send him my way.
CUOMO: The book is called "His Panic." A lot in here of fact and history in here. Takes the argument forward. Also the little known truth behind Geraldo Rivera's name. People talk about that all the time. You'll learn what the real story is. You can go to ABC News.com to read an excerpt of this book.

Letterman's 'Top Ten Ralph Nader Campaign
Promises'

From the February 26 Late Show with David Letterman, the "Top Ten Ralph Nader Campaign Promises." Late Show home page: www.cbs.com

10. Fund universal health care by making Wesley Snipes pay his taxes

9. Give the presidency a rumpled, Walter Matthau quality

8. The freezing over of Hell should solve our global warming crisis

7. Get those people off that island in "Lost"

6. Send Gary Busey in to annoy and confuse our enemies

5. Can fill out a pantsuit better than Hillary

4. Will hover in polls between 1% and "Statistically Insignificant"

3. Force Starbucks to identify their sizes "Small," "Medium," and "Large" -- am I right people?

2. Will not sleep with lobbyists, or for that matter anyone else

1. Get Bush re-elected like in 2000

-- Brent Baker