Lester Maddox (?-GA), Nets Refuse to ID Party of Segregationist --6/26/2003

1. Lester Maddox (?-GA), Nets Refuse to ID Party of Segregationist
Lester Maddox (?-GA Gov.). The media had no reticence last year about making sure readers and viewers understood that the Trent Lott who belonged to a whites-only fraternity was part of the Southern rise of the GOP, but in announcing the death Wednesday of former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox, a segregationist, the networks refused to inform their viewers that he was a Democrat. ABC and CNBC ran full stories, yet neither ABC's Peter Jennings or CNBC's Don Teague found Maddox's party affiliation worth noting even though both reported how in 1966, as Jennings recalled, "no candidate had a majority, and the state legislature chose Maddox." In fact, the Republican candidate got more votes, but the Democratic-controlled legislature made Maddox the Governor.

2. A Governor CBS Can Admire: Alabama's Tax-Raising Bob Riley
CBS has found a Republican it can admire: One who wants to raise taxes and spend more. On Wednesday's CBS Evening News, Dan Rather tied fiscal problems in states to Bush's tax cut as he stated that "now that President Bush's big federal tax cut plan has become law, there's renewed focus on the growing fiscal crisis for states" as "some analysts say that it's a trickle down from the federal budget cuts." Mark Strassmann proceeded to deliver a glowing look at Alabama's Republican Governor, Bob Riley: "His plan is heresy to many conservatives. He wants the poor to pay less and the rich to pay more as a matter of Christian conscience." CBS had no concerns about the separation of church and state.

3. Brown Champions Public Campaign Funding, "Let's Use Tax Dollars"
CNN's Aaron Brown brought Arianna Huffington aboard Tuesday's NewsNight so the two could fret about the evils of campaign fundraising and how it's all a "shakedown." At one point, Brown proposed a far-left, government control solution to the perceived problem: "Here's an easy solution to all of this....Let's just publicly fund the campaigns. Let's use tax dollars." Huffington giddily agreed: "I'm all in favor of that."

4. Boston Globe Decides it Should Be "Free of Any Political Agenda"
The second major newspaper in a month has acknowledged that political bias is a problem in its news pages which needs to be addressed. In her weekly column on Monday, Boston Globe Ombudsman Christine Chinlund recounted how, in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal at the New York Times, the Globe will soon distribute an ethics guide and it will advise reporters that news stories should be "free of any political or ideological agenda." Last month, Los Angeles Times Editor John Carroll scolded his staff: "We are not going to push a liberal agenda in the news pages of the Times."

5. Ann Coulter Sends ABC's The View Crew Into a Tizzy
Ann Coulter's guest-hosting slot on ABC's daytime show The View on Wednesday sent the regular tri-hosts into a tizzy as they denounced Coulter's criticisms of liberals. To Coulter's assertion in her new book that liberals hate America, former CBS News correspondent Meredith Vieira shot back: "Well, it's stupid." Former NBC News reporter Star Jones was so adamant about defending liberals that she boasted: "I'm a card-carrying Democrat." Later, Jones suggested Coulter was just mad at Hillary Clinton because of how many books Clinton has sold and Jones sing-songed to Coulter: "Hater. Hater."

6. "Top Ten Things the Iraqi Information Minister Has Admitted..."
Letterman's "Top Ten Things the Iraqi Information Minister Has Admitted Since Being Captured."

Lester Maddox (?-GA), Nets Refuse to
ID Party of Segregationist

Lester Maddox (?-GA Gov.). The media had no reticence last year about making sure their readers and viewers understood that the Trent Lott who belonged to a racially-discriminatory fraternity was part of the Southern rise of the Republican Party, but in announcing the Wednesday passing away of former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox, the racist, segregationist who led the state in the late 1960s, the networks refused to inform their viewers that he was a Democrat.

The morning AP dispatch didn't get to his party affiliation until the 19th paragraph, but ABC, CBS and NBC picked up on AP reporter Dick Pettys' characterization of Maddox's "relative moderation on race" in office: "Fears of racial strife during his 1967-71 governorship proved unfounded when Maddox pursued a policy of relative moderation on race."

ABC and CNBC even ran full stories which consumed more than two minutes each, yet neither ABC's Peter Jennings or CNBC's Don Teague found Maddox's party affiliation worth mentioning even though both noted how in 1966, as Jennings recalled, "no candidate had a majority, and the state legislature chose Maddox." In fact, the Republican candidate got more votes, but the Democratic-controlled legislature made Maddox the Governor.

As the AP's Pettys reported: "He won the Democratic nomination for Governor in 1966 but trailed Republican Howard H. 'Bo' Callaway in the general election. Write-in votes for other candidates prevented Callaway from receiving a majority, and the question was thrown to the Democrat-dominated Legislature, which picked Maddox." For the AP story: story.news.yahoo.com

The Washington Post's Adam Bernstein outlined in a Wednesday posting, also published in Thursday's paper, Maddox's defiance: "Gov. Maddox catapulted to infamy in 1964 while operating a chicken and burger restaurant in Atlanta at which he refused to serve blacks. He also drove them from his restaurant with a pistol and pickax in hand. He closed his business after a federal court forced him to integrate the facility." For the Post's article: www.washingtonpost.com

Below, a rundown of the Wednesday non-identifying of Maddox's party, starting with ABC, CNN, FNC and NBC in the morning (CBS's Early Show didn't mention it, the MRC's Brian Boyd informed me), and then the evening reports on ABC, CBS, CNN, CNBC and NBC.

-- ABC's Good Morning America, June 25, as taken down by MRC analyst Jessica Anderson. Robin Roberts at 8am: "A symbol of segregationist defiance, former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox died this morning at the age of 87. Maddox gained national notoriety in 1964 when he closed and sold his Atlanta restaurant rather than be forced to serve blacks. He became Governor in 1967 and was a moderate on race during his term."

-- CNN's American Morning. Daryn Kagan announced, as transcribed by the MRC's Ken Shepherd: "And former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox died this morning at an Atlanta hospice where he was recovering from a fall. Maddox had become known as a segregationist in the 1960s when he refused to let blacks eat at his restaurant. He was elected Governor in 1966, many feared the state would become even more racially polarized. Instead, Maddox pursued a moderate policy on race. Lester Maddox was 87 years old. A piece of Georgia and Southern U.S. history."
Bill Hemmer: "That he was."

-- FNC's Lauren Green at 9:30am EDT: "Former Georgia segregationist Governor Lester Maddox has died. He was 87. Maddox gained notoriety in 1964 by defying the civil rights act and later closed his Atlanta restaurant rather than serve blacks. He was chosen Governor by the legislature when no candidate got a majority of votes cast in the 1966 election."

-- NBC's Today. News reader Natalie Morales at 7am, as caught by the MRC's Geoffrey Dickens: "And former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox died this morning at the age of 87. He became a symbol of segregation during the 1960s."

And in the afternoon/evening:

-- CNN at 4pm EDT, Judy Woodruff just before Inside Politics: "Former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox has died of pneumonia. Maddox was elected in 1966, one of the last segregationist Governors in the South. He rose to prominence while battling to keep African-Americans out of his Atlanta restaurant and he later closed the business rather than serve black customers. Lester Maddox dead at the age of 87."

-- CBS Evening News. Dan Rather intoned: "Former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox died today at the age of 87. Maddox first made national headlines in 1964 as a hardline segregationist. He closed and sold his restaurant rather than obey federal civil rights laws and serve black customers. After becoming Governor in 1976, Maddox named some African-Americans to some state jobs."

-- CNBC's The News with Brian Williams, anchored by John Seigenthaler, devoted 2:30 to Maddox yet never managed to identify his party. Don Teague didn't do so despite its relevance to this sequence which Teague summarized: "Maddox ran for Governor of Georgia and won in a fluke election, appointed by the general assembly when no candidate received a majority of the popular vote."

-- NBC Nightly News. Anchor Brian Williams asserted: "Former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox died today. He was a defiant segregationist. His refusal to allow blacks into his Atlanta chicken restaurant in the wake of the civil rights act of 1964 propelled him into the Governorship in 1966. While in office Maddox pursued a policy of relative moderation on race, but he did refuse to close the Capitol for the funeral of the Reverend Martin Luther King Junior, which drew thousands of mourners to Atlanta's streets. Lester Maddox was 87 years old."

-- ABC's World News Tonight ended with a full story narrated by Peter Jennings, complete with vintage black and white video of Jennings reporting on Maddox, but Jennings refused to mention Maddox's affiliation with the political party which imposed and enforced segregation for a century. Jennings began, as taken down by MRC analyst Brad Wilmouth:
"Finally this evening, Lester Maddox has died. His name will not mean a thing to millions of younger Americans. But 40 years ago, for those in the civil rights battle that was raging across the South, he was a champion of segregation, and he was in the federal government's way.
"Lester Maddox was a high school dropout who went into the restaurant business and became a lightning rod for the civil rights movement."
Lester Maddox in 1960s: "No, sir, I will not integrate. This is my piece of property."
Jennings, over old video: "The sign on his door said, 'The Lester Maddox Cafeteria does not accept integrationists as customers -- either red, yellow, black or white.'"
Jennings, in a black and white 1965 ABC News story: "About 1:15 this afternoon, a lone Negro came down and tried to enter the Lester Maddox Cafeteria. He entered. He came out about 30 seconds later. Lester Maddox was right behind him."
Jennings: "The federal government was forcing Maddox to serve blacks. He got around it the only way he could."
Jennings, again in old ABC News footage: "Mr. Maddox then posted a sign on his door which said, 'This restaurant is closed. Out of business forever.'"
Jennings: "That was February 1965. By October he was running for Governor of Georgia."
Unidentified reporter in 1965: "Mr. Maddox, would you think it fair if I described you as one of the leading segregationists in the state of Georgia."
Maddox: "Oh, not too much so. I think we have about three million people who feel like I do."
Jennings: "No candidate had a majority, and the state legislature chose Maddox. Martin Luther King said it made him ashamed to be a Georgian. When Dr. King was assassinated in 1968, Maddox refused to close the state capitol for the funeral. Maddox, the arch-segregationist, will also be remembered for appointing many blacks to state government, but he always believed in segregation. He also disliked drinking, smoking, liberals, and the press. At the restaurant he sold axe handles as a symbol of defiance. They were unhappy days in Georgia. Mr. Maddox was 87."

He's the last Democrat until Al Gore to hate the news media.

A Governor CBS Can Admire: Alabama's
Tax-Raising Bob Riley

CBS has found a Republican it can admire: One who wants to raise taxes and spend more.

On Wednesday's CBS Evening News, Dan Rather tied fiscal problems in states to Bush's tax cut as he stated that "now that President Bush's big federal tax cut plan has become law, there's renewed focus on the growing fiscal crisis for states. Some analysts say that it's a trickle down from the federal budget cuts, but whatever the reason, many states are now so strapped by record budget deficits, it's making for some strange politics and tough choices, especially for Republican governors."

"The federal budget cuts"? Where, when?

Mark Strassmann proceeded to deliver a glowing look at Alabama's Republican Governor, Bob Riley. Strassmann trumpeted the mixing of politics and religion: "His plan is heresy to many conservatives. He wants the poor to pay less and the rich to pay more as a matter of Christian conscience."

Strassmann began his June 25 piece, as transcribed by MRC analyst Geoffrey Dickens: "Alabama voters thought they knew Governor Bob Riley as a disciple of Republican gospel."
Bob Riley, Alabama Governor: "What we've tried to do is build a fair plan where everyone pays a little more."
Strassmann: "A tax plan that includes a billion dollar hike and radical tax reform. It's ticked off his old friends and tickled his old foes, including many Democrats. I mean, did you ever think you'd ever be at a party for him?"
Phyllis Wayne, teacher: "No, I didn't."
Riley: "It's a different type coalition. It really is."
Strassmann: "That's the sizzle of Southern understatement. In Alabama, talking about raising taxes is politically radioactive."
John Russell, Alabama taxpayer: "They just keep throwing money at things, you know, and the money keeps coming out of our pockets."
Strassmann: "Many Alabama Republicans are stumped. Riley is the same guy who was once voted Washington's most conservative Congressman, and about the last guy supporters thought who'd ever be pushing tax reform and income redistribution. But once in office, Riley quickly realized what a mess the state was in. Its budget deficit is roughly $700 million. Its prisons are double capacity. Its schools rank among America's worst. His plan is heresy to many conservatives. He wants the poor to pay less and the rich to pay more as a matter of Christian conscience."
Riley: "According to our Christian ethics, we're supposed to love God, love each other, and help take care of the poor."
Strassmann: "There are a number of Republicans, in particular, who think they elected one guy and now think they may have something else."
Riley: "This is not something I want to do, but this is something that I have to do."
Strassmann: "Now there's a rebel yell of revolt from Riley's political base."
Rosemary Elebash, National Federation of Independent Businesses: "For some of my membership, I am sure that if all these new taxes were to be put in place, that it would force some of them to close their businesses."
Strassmann ended with the "fairness" spin: "This September, Alabamians will vote again. It's a referendum on taxes and priorities with a special focus on fairness. Mark Strassmann, CBS News, Montgomery, Alabama."

For a report from the Alabama Policy Institute detailing the tax hike plan, in PDF format: www.alabamapolicyinstitute.org

Brown Champions Public Campaign Funding,
"Let's Use Tax Dollars"

CNN's Aaron Brown brought Arianna Huffington aboard Tuesday's NewsNight so the two could fret about the evils of campaign fundraising and how it's all a "shakedown." At one point, MRC analyst Ken Shepherd noticed, Brown proposed a far-left, government control solution to the perceived problem: "Here's an easy solution to all of this. I so rarely come up with a solution to anything. Let's just publicly fund the campaigns. Let's use tax dollars."

Huffington giddily agreed: "I'm all in favor of that. There's a great group called Public Campaign that is working on this issue, there's growing support for this issue."

I think there's too much irresponsible cable news. Here's an easy solution: Let's just use taxpayer dollars to have a government agency review and edit all news copy before it airs.

An excerpt from Brown's June 24 gripe session with Huffington spurred by the Bush-Cheney series of fundraising dinners this week:

Brown: "Is it inherently a shakedown? I mean, it's a kind of subtle shakedown, and some cases, by the way, not so subtle. But do you see it as a shakedown, that these corporations know if they don't give money, they will not get from whoever has power?"
Huffington: "Yeah, they will not get access. They will not get the kind of tax breaks they want. They will not get the substance they want. Just look at the fundraiser in New York. The co-chairs were the head of Goldman Sachs, the head of Lehman Brothers, is actually the general chairman, the head of Credit Suisse. These are all companies that have problems with the Securities and Exchange Commission...."

Brown: "Why don't you think -- why is it, do you think, that Americans -- and you may disagree with the premise here -- that Americans aren't all that concerned about it? There's nothing new about this. Big money has been driving campaigns for a long time. We spend years talking about campaign finance reform, which may or may not survive court challenge. But very few people believe that it is a voting issue, if you will, for people."
Huffington: "Actually, I think that there is something new, Aaron. What is new is that we've seen the damage being done when public policy's on the auction block. All the corporate scandals we've had would have been prevented had it not been for the fact that the accounting and finance industries had given so much money in the last election cycle that all of the kind of obvious reforms, some of which have now been enacted, like separating accounting from consulting, did not pass. And we still have many reforms, like expensing stock options, which have a major impact on the economy, a major impact on people's lives and their pensions, on their ability to send their kids to college...."

Brown: "Here's an easy solution to all of this. I so rarely come up with a solution to anything. Let's just publicly fund the campaigns. Let's use tax dollars."
Huffington: "I'm all in favor of that. There's a great group called Public Campaign that is working on this issue, there's growing support for this issue. But unfortunately, the Democratic Party is also embedded with the kind of special interests that give the big money. It's going to take more populist groups than candidates, who can rely on small donations until we can clean up the system. And there is a tremendous potential that a group like MoveOn.org, that has 1.6 million Internet subscribers, has proven that there is tremendous fund-raising potential if you go directly to the people...."

Brown: "And just in literally 10 seconds or less, do you think, in the next four years, anything will change?"
Huffington: "Well, first of all, between now and 2004, which is less than four years, I don't think anything will change...."

My question: Does anyone think Brown's use of his CNN platform for liberal advocacy will change in the next few years?

Boston Globe Decides it Should Be "Free
of Any Political Agenda"

The second major newspaper in a month has acknowledged that political bias is a problem in its news pages which needs to be addressed. In her weekly column on Monday, Boston Globe Ombudsman Christine Chinlund recounted how, in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal at the New York Times, the Globe will soon distribute an ethics guide and it will advise reporters that news stories should be "free of any political or ideological agenda."

You'd think that would be a given.

The revelation about the concern of Globe management comes about a month after Los Angeles Times Editor John Carroll chided his news staff for liberal bias. In a late May internal memo, he accused his paper of publishing a story, on an abortion bill in Texas, that demonstrated the "occasional reality" that the LA Times is a "liberal, 'politically correct' newspaper." Carroll chastised his staff: "The apparent bias of the writer and/or the desk reveals itself in the third paragraph, which characterizes such bills in Texas and elsewhere as requiring 'so-called counseling of patients.' I don't think people on the anti-abortion side would consider it 'so-called,' a phrase that is loaded with derision." Carroll insisted: "We are not going to push a liberal agenda in the news pages of the Times."

For more on Carroll's May 22 memo: www.mediaresearch.org

Chinlund's June 23 Globe column summarized the proposed guidelines. An excerpt:

...."The journalistic sins committed by Jayson Blair at The New York Times and previously at The Boston Globe raise unsettling questions about whether news organizations have done everything they should to protect themselves against ethical and reportorial lapses," wrote Globe editor Martin Baron in his memo to the staff introducing the proposed guidelines....

Some of the items pertain strictly to in-house matters, such as checking the background of job applicants or creating a new system to track which reporters make the most errors. But most address what readers see in the paper, and thus are worth sharing, at least in pared-down summary form:

-- Quoting anonymous sources is allowed, but must be done "with caution." Sources must have personal knowledge of the information they provide and may not use the cover of anonymity to deliver a personal attack or speculation. They should also be identified in general but relevant terms (such as "a lawyer involved in the case" or "a business associate") so that readers can judge the value of the source's information....

-- Quotes gathered from other publications or outlets, such as wire services, should be clearly identified as such.

-- Relying on observations made by others is strongly discouraged. When it is unavoidable -- say, relying on a fire fighter to describe the course of a blaze -- the story must identify who provided the information and must not leave the impression the reporter witnessed something he or she did not.

-- A story's dateline must reflect where a substantial amount of the reporting took place. A story can not be datelined, say, Framingham just because the reporter went there the previous weekend....

-- Subjects of a story should be given sufficient time to respond to any allegations against them -- although that time may be abbreviated on late-breaking news stories. If a subject can't be reached, or is phoned late, the story should say so....

-- Overall, news reporting should be "thorough, careful, and honest, informed by a sincere effort to gather all relevant facts and to interview all relevant individuals," according to the guidelines. In addition, it should be "free of any political or ideological agenda."

Those are the standards that, barring last-minute changes, will guide the Globe newsroom. They are the rules by which readers can judge the paper in the post-Blair era.

END of Excerpt

For Chinlund's column in full: www.boston.com

So how good a job are Globe reporters doing at keeping their stories "free of any political or ideological agenda"?

Well, not so good.

On the very day of Chinlund's column, in a front page profile of Democratic candidate Howard Dean, Globe reporter Sarah Schweitzer described a Dean supporter as a "Republican loyalist," when her support makes that inaccurate on its face, and described a former Republican Senator as a "hard-core conservative," but insisted that "Dean's record isn't radically left-leaning" because "he advocates a balanced federal budget" and "received top ratings from the National Rifle Association and supports the death penalty in some cases." Plus, "on the campaign trail, Dean consistently distances himself from the far-left. 'This is not some liberal idea that makes me unelectable,' he said of his health care proposal last week in Manchester."

So, if he says his plan is not liberal it's not?

An excerpt from the June 23 Globe story:

HOLLIS, N.H. -- Howard Dean is standing in the company of a convert. Jane Charlesworth is a good-causes volunteer and a Republican loyalist who last fall hosted in her home the hard-core conservative former U.S. Senator Bob Smith but blows cold for her party's leader, President Bush.

On this June evening, at a house gathering in this southern border town, she is fingering a bumper sticker with Dean's name, pledging her support to this man from Vermont best known for opposing the war in Iraq and staking out territory as a Democrat's Democrat.

"My Republican friends are going to disown me!" Charlesworth said.

"No, they won't," Dean answered in the same clipped, blunt manner that impressed Charlesworth in his earlier address to the crowd sketching his ideas. Charlesworth, however, hadn't seen blunt yet. "New England Republicans are not the same as the right-wing wackos in Washington."

Such is the Dean lexicon. Unorthodox, sharp-edged, and appealing enough to have earned him a corps of fervent supporters....

Dean also seems self-consciously aware of the leftist-progressive image that precedes him. He is, after all, from Vermont, home of the country's sole socialist-leaning representative, Bernard Sanders. Dean presided over the creation of civil unions for gays and lesbians. And he is the darling of some high-profile liberals, including filmmaker Rob Reiner.

It all makes for a memorable backdrop, though a difficult one to parlay in the long run, particularly this election cycle when primaries in conservative states come fast on the heels of New Hampshire's, leaving less time for the traditional tilt to the middle.

Dean's record isn't radically left-leaning. He advocates a balanced federal budget. He is an abortion-rights advocate and opposes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, yet he received top ratings from the National Rifle Association and supports the death penalty in some cases, like terrorism or the killing of police officers or young children.

On the campaign trail, Dean consistently distances himself from the far-left. "This is not some liberal idea that makes me unelectable," he said of his health care proposal last week in Manchester....

END of Excerpt

You wouldn't know it from the Globe's description, but Smith was not consistently a "hard-core conservative." Like Dean supporting gun owners in Vermont, to appeal to a segment of Granite State voters Smith took very liberal stands on the environment.

For the story in full: www.boston.com

Ann Coulter Sends ABC's The View Crew
Into a Tizzy

Ann Coulter's guest-hosting slot on ABC's daytime show The View on Wednesday sent the regular tri-hosts into a tizzy as they denounced Coulter's criticisms of liberals. To Coulter's assertion in her new book, Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism, that liberals hate America, former CBS News correspondent Meredith Vieira shot back: "Well, it's stupid."

Former NBC News reporter Star Jones was so adamant about defending liberals that she boasted: "I'm a card-carrying Democrat."

Later, Jones suggested Coulter was just mad at Hillary Clinton because of how many books Clinton has sold and Jones sing-songed to Coulter: "Hater. Hater."

During a discussion of a study that claims women are as sexually aroused by pornography featuring two women or a man and a woman, to the dismay of the View crew, Coulter quipped that "the last time" she saw "two women get it on" was "the Katie Couric interview with Hillary Clinton."

The MRC's Jessica Anderson took down a hunk of the gabfest at the beginning of the June 25 The View, ABC's daytime show created by Barbara Walters, for whom Coulter was filling in.

Meredith Vieira explained: "In your last book you said liberals have been wrong about everything in last half century. You ticked us off over that one, alright. And now in this new bok you say that liberals hate freedom...I want to talk about your politics because in Treason you say, yes, that liberals hate America."
Ann Coulter: "Right."
Vieira: "Well, it's stupid. What do you mean liberals hate America?"
Coulter: "Well, for one thing, I mean, part of the point of my book is to get back to asking that question. I mean, I find it interesting that that is the one thing we cannot talk about: which party is more patriotic, the relative patriotism. Liberals, Democrats feel perfectly comfortable saying that Republicans are not as good on civil rights, on civil liberties, they aren't as good on women's issues. Why is the one issue that is simply off the table for debate, the relative patriotism of the two parties? Let's at least get back into that debate again. Surely you can acknowledge that it is possible to be more or less patriotic?"
Vieira: "Based on what?"
Joy Behar: "Yeah, based on what?"
Coulter: "Based on, for example, the burning hatred of the American flag from the left. I mean, that is how liberals describe someone they want to denounce; they cite his affection for the flag, 'flag-waving yahoos.'"
Star Jones: "I love the flag. I'm a card-carrying Democrat." [Audience member yells "Woo!" at this declaration, at which point the audience begins to applaud as Jones continues]
Jones: "My biggest, the biggest, most wonderful thing in my life is my citizenship, so that's one down -- keep going. I love the flag!"
Coulter: "It could well be that you belong to the-"
Vieira: "But some people wrap themselves in the flag -- I mean, that's what some liberals are against, to argue their point."
Behar: "Yeah, but they cover up their evil with the flag, and that is a sin."
Vieira: "Just like McCarthy: 'I'm just being patriotic.'"
Behar: "Yeah."
Coulter: "Well, that's why much of my book discusses McCarthy. I mean, this is how liberals have taken this issue off the table."
Behar: "We're not talking about the dummy and the ventriloquist, Charlie McCarthy."
Vieira: "Eugene."
Behar: "We're talking about Eugene McCarthy who was a senator.
Coulter: "Joe McCarthy."
Vieira: "Joe McCarthy, Joe McCarthy - sorry, that's what I said."
Coulter: "Eugene was your guy!"
Jones: "Actually, you talk about some of the myths that go along with this whole concept of McCarthyism, which is [trails off]"
Coulter: "Right, is going to be stunning and most people are going to be shocked when they hear that because he is perhaps the most demonized person in American history, but, I mean, that is part of my thesis of how this was taken off the table."
Behar: "No, no, no, Nixon! Nixon! I vote for Nixon."
Coulter: "And I'll give you - you raise an interesting point - I'll give you three more. I think the most reviled men in American history, to the extent they're remembered, are Whitaker Chambers, Joe McCarthy, J. Edgar Hoover, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan, the five men who did the most to defeat Soviet totalitarianism. I think that's not an accident."
Behar: "You see, J. Edgar Hoover, that's an example of somebody who could be construed as a hypocrite: homophobic, and yet wearing ladies clothing."
Vieira: "Exactly."
Behar, continuing: "And wraps himself in the flag."
Vieira: "Absolutely."
Behar: "So that's why people say that he's-"
Coulter: "In fact, I think that is the hypocrisy of the left, constantly gay-baiting people they don't like."
Behar: "What?!"
Coulter: "There is no evidence that J. Edgar Hoover was a cross-dresser. I think he was gay."
Behar: "Oh, yes, I saw him in Chico's in 1965! Oh, yeah!"
Vieira, pointing to Coulter: "In fact, he had on your skirt. If I remember correctly, he was wearing that skirt."
Behar: "On his head!"
Vieira: "Let's talk about what's going on right now in the news with the weapons of mass destruction."
Coulter: "I think you were confusing him with Hillary Clinton."
[Audience Oooooooooh's in response]
Vieira, turning to the audience: "Oh, come on! Give her a break!"
Coulter, also to the audience: "Whoa! You guys gay bait everybody you don't like -- I make one shot, and that's over the line."

During a discussion of a study that claims women are as sexually aroused by pornography featuring two women or a man and a woman:
Behar: "Do you like to watch two women getting it on?"
Coulter: "Uh, no. The last time I did was the Katie Couric interview with Hillary Clinton."
[Audience Ooooooooh's, with some applause and laughing]
Coulter: "Other than that, I have no experience with two women having sex."
An appalled Jones: "Are you taking a dig at Katie? Are you taking a dig at Katie?"
Behar: "You notice she didn't say Barbara Walters. She's not that stupid!"

Finally, at the very end of the show, Jones related how she and Coulter were arguing during the just-ended ad break: "She was just taking another dig at Hillary Clinton. Mad because she sold 600,000 books." Jones then started sing-songing to Coulter, with the syllables stretched out: "Hater. Hater."

Or, it could have been "hate her, hate her," but it sounded more like "hate-err," so "hater."

For The View's Web page with pictures of all the co-hosts: abc.abcnews.go.com

For Ann Coulter's Web page: www.anncoulter.com

"Top Ten Things the Iraqi Information
Minister Has Admitted..."

From the June 25 Late Show with David Letterman, the "Top Ten Things the Iraqi Information Minister Has Admitted Since Being Captured." Late Show Web site: www.cbs.com

10. "Okay, Iraq didn't win the war. It was a tie"

9. "Iraq's weapons scientists were secretly developing our own Hulk"

8. "Tariq Aziz had Botox"

7. "Saddam Hussein's not the innocent angel everyone thinks he is"

6. "Dr. Germ looks really hot when she's synthesizing VX gas"

5. "You picked the right guy for the 'Queen of Clubs,' if you know what I mean"

4. "Howard Dean will win the 2004 election"

3. "Uday Hussein's birth name -- Gary"

2. "I've been offered a job as editor of 'The New York Times'"

1. "The rumors are true -- I'm dating Ashton Kutcher"

Nice to see the New York Times continues to work as a target of derision.

-- Brent Baker