Moran: Palin's Rhetoric Make You 'Concerned for Obama's Safety?' --10/14/2008

1. Moran: Palin's Rhetoric Make You 'Concerned for Obama's Safety?'
In a gushing look at a day on the campaign trail with Democratic VP nominee Joe Biden for Monday's Nightline, ABC's Terry Moran charged Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin's rhetoric about Barack Obama has "stoked the anger at Republican rallies, where there have been reports of attendees yelling things like 'terrorist' and 'kill him,'" leading Moran to earnestly ask Biden if he now fears for Obama's "safety," and he pressed Biden to denigrate Palin: "Is she up to the job in your judgment?" Moran clearly suggested to Biden that Palin's criticism of Obama ("someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country") endangers the Democratic nominee as he followed that clip: "Are you at all concerned in this home stretch for Senator Obama's safety?" Biden dismissed Moran's hyperbole, prompting Moran to try again to get Biden to denounce the GOP ticket: "And when we told him about a Time magazine report quoting the Virginia state GOP Chairman, Biden couldn't believe it." Moran to Biden: "The Virginia GOP head was quoted by Time magazine as saying to volunteers go out there and draw the connection between Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden." Biden: "My God, did he really say that?" Moran assured him: "That's quoted in Time magazine."

2. NBC's Ron Allen to Hillary Clinton: Is GOP 'Inciting Violence?'
Interviewing Hillary Clinton on Monday's Today show, NBC's Ron Allen repeatedly asked the New York Senator about Barack Obama's ability to defend himself against GOP attacks, as he questioned: "Do you think they've crossed the line?" and claimed "there's concerns about actually inciting violence." For her part Clinton said she thought McCain/Palin had gone negative but had calmed down, however that didn't satisfy Allen as he proceeded to worry "if this gets more personal and, and more aggressive can he withstand" the "Republican assault?"

3. CBS Highlights 'Fiery McCain Campaign Moments' Against Obama
During the 7 AM half hour of Monday's CBS Early Show, correspondent Jeff Glor reported on a couple moments at recent McCain campaign events as evidence of harsh Republican attacks against Barack Obama: "A few recent fiery McCain campaign moments...Including one where McCain had to take the mic away from a woman who incorrectly called Obama an Arab." Glor went on to explain: "All of it led Democrat and civil rights leader John Lewis to issue a controversial statement, charging the Republicans with cultivating an atmosphere reminiscent of the days of segregation." While referencing Lewis's comments, Glor did not describe what made them particularly controversial: "George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights...Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama."

4. CBS Touts 'Great Schlep' Effort to Get Grandparents to Back Obama
A night after Sunday's CBS Evening News ended with a feature piece on a 106-year-old nun in Rome who plans to vote for Barack Obama, Monday's newscast concluded with a puff piece on "The Great Schlep," a Columbus Day weekend effort headlined by left-wing comedian Sarah Silverman to get Jewish grandchildren to travel to Florida to convince their grandparents to vote for Barack Obama. In a video clip from the group's Web site which CBS played, Silverman, star of the Sarah Silverman Show on Comedy Central, pleaded: "If you knew that visiting your grandparents could change the world, would you do it? Of course you would," so "schlep over to Florida and convince your grandparents to vote Obama."

5. GMA Delights in Clinton Gifts: Necklace and Football Watching
Good Morning America weekend anchor Kate Snow conducted another one of her trademark friendly interviews with Senator Hillary Clinton on Monday's program and eagerly speculated, "Do you think Democrats will win this election in a landslide?" Asking no tough questions of the former presidential candidate, she instead gushed about minor things such as the just-passed wedding anniversary for Hillary and Bill Clinton. Snow cooed: "And the gift that he [Clinton] gave her was a turquoise necklace. But the gift she gave him was time to watch football on television on Saturday." Snow also cited Democratic Congressman John Lewis and his incendiary comparison of the McCain campaign's tone to segregationist George Wallace. The ABC journalist did not question the parallel that Lewis made over the weekend. She didn't mention that the Congressman implied McCain might be creating a climate that could lead to violence, just like Wallace "created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights."

6. Joy Behar: Sean Hannity a 'Dangerous Force in America'
Sean Hannity is a "dangerous, dangerous force in America" Joy Behar declared on Monday's edition of the ABC daytime show. Her charge was sparked by a discussion of Andy Martin spreading rumors about Obama's background and an interview on FNC's Hannity's America. Elisabeth Hasselbeck reported that she spoke with Sean Hannity, who said he condemns Martin's actions, and has controversial figures of all political stripes on his shows, including Reverend Wright.

Moran: Palin's Rhetoric Make You 'Concerned
for Obama's Safety?'

In a gushing look at a day on the campaign trail with Democratic VP nominee Joe Biden for Monday's Nightline, ABC's Terry Moran charged Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin's rhetoric about Barack Obama has "stoked the anger at Republican rallies, where there have been reports of attendees yelling things like 'terrorist' and 'kill him,'" leading Moran to earnestly ask Biden if he now fears for Obama's "safety," and he pressed Biden to denigrate Palin: "Is she up to the job in your judgment?"

Moran clearly suggested to Biden that Palin's criticism of Obama ("someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country") endangers the Democratic nominee as he followed that clip: "Are you at all concerned in this home stretch for Senator Obama's safety?" Biden dismissed Moran's hyperbole, prompting Moran to try again to get Biden to denounce the GOP ticket: "And when we told him about a Time magazine report quoting the Virginia state GOP Chairman, Biden couldn't believe it." Moran to Biden: "The Virginia GOP head was quoted by Time magazine as saying to volunteers go out there and draw the connection between Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden." Biden: "My God, did he really say that?" Moran assured him: "That's quoted in Time magazine."

Time's Karen Tumulty reported Sunday that Virginia state GOP Chairman Jeffrey M. Frederick made "the connection between Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden: 'Both have friends that bombed the Pentagon.'" See: www.time.com

Monday's Washington Post reported the McCain campaign distanced itself from the comparison: "Gail Gitcho, a McCain spokeswoman, also denounced Frederick's remarks, calling them 'not appropriate.'" See: www.washingtonpost.com

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

Moran's piece on his Sunday with Biden concluded with a soundbite from Biden mocking McCain and Palin, a clip Moran graciously set up: "As the race heads into the final weeks, Biden just keeps talking. Talking to the anxious middle class voters of Scranton and those like them across the country about the man he hopes to govern it."

Moran's final word: "The irrepressible Joe Biden." And the irrepressible media bias.

Moran teased the segment at the top of the Monday, October 13 program: "Morning Joe. We hit the road with vice presidential nominee Joe Biden in the town he grew up in, as he speaks out about fringe elements at Republican election rallies. It's a Nightline exclusive."

A couple of Moran's friendly descriptions of Biden as the two walked around the Scranton neighborhood Biden left 55 years ago at age ten:

# "It was a good day to travel with Biden. He was headed to Scranton, Pennsylvania, his birth place and boyhood home and always hotly contested turf in this battleground state."

# "Biden is a born politician. He's a people person, a toucher, a glad-hander in the best sense of that word."

A transcript, picking up with the second half of the report with Moran interviewing Biden on the steps of Biden's old home and in a regular sit-down, indoor setting:

TERRY MORAN: Biden's got Obama's back, especially now after a couple of weeks of sharp character attacks from John McCain and Sarah Palin.
SARAH PALIN AT RALLY: Our opponent is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country.
MORAN: Attacks that stoked the anger at Republican rallies, where there have been reports of attendees yelling things like "terrorist" and "kill him."
MORAN TO BIDEN: Are you at all concerned in this home stretch for Senator Obama's safety?
JOE BIDEN: Look, no, I'm not. This is just a really hotly contested election. I don't think they intentionally do it, they encourage people who are really fringe people. I'm not suggesting the rallies are fringe rallies but the guy who yelled from the audience kill him is a fringe person. I mean, that's not a healthy thing in any circumstance.
MORAN: And when we told him about a Time magazine report quoting the Virginia state GOP Chairman, Biden couldn't believe it.
MORAN TO BIDEN: The Virginia GOP head was quoted by Time magazine as saying to volunteers go out there and draw the connection between Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden.
BIDEN: My God, did he really say that?
MORAN: That's quoted in Time magazine.
BIDEN: I don't believe -- I can't believe -- I don't -- I'm surprised John McCain hadn't gone down and whacked the guy with his fist. I mean, I don't think there's a prejudiced bone in John McCain's body. But that kind of stuff is really off the wall. I refuse to let myself believe John McCain had anything to do with that.
MORAN: And what about the other vice presidential candidate? The one grabbing all the attention.
MORAN TO BIDEN: Is she up to the job in your judgment?
BIDEN: That's for the public to decide.
MORAN: You have no opinion on that?
BIDEN: I have an opinion. It's for the public to decide.
MORAN: Well that's a rare moment. Joe Biden not sharing an opinion. And as the race heads into the final weeks, Biden just keeps talking. Talking to the anxious middle class voters of Scranton and those like them across the country about the man he hopes to govern it.
BIDEN: The idea that Sarah Palin and John McCain say this guy is detached when he and his wife have busted their neck for scholarships and loans and worked through school, and particularly in the case of Michelle coming out of a tougher neighborhood, and we're getting a lecture from Republicans about how we are not connected? Give me a break. These guys are about as connected as that SUV is to that stop sign.
MORAN: And for the record, the SUV was not connected to the stop sign at that point. The irrepressible Joe Biden.

NBC's Ron Allen to Hillary Clinton: Is
GOP 'Inciting Violence?'

Interviewing Hillary Clinton on Monday's Today show, NBC's Ron Allen repeatedly asked the New York Senator about Barack Obama's ability to defend himself against GOP attacks, as he questioned: "Do you think they've crossed the line?" and claimed "there's concerns about actually inciting violence."

For her part Clinton said she thought McCain/Palin had gone negative but had calmed down, however that didn't satisfy Allen as he proceeded to worry "if this gets more personal and, and more aggressive can he withstand" the "Republican assault?"

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

Also, Allen, mindful of the fact that, Clinton supporters "can make a big difference in a close race," pressed the former First Lady if her husband was "fully on board?"

The following interview occurred on the October 13, edition of the Today show:

MATT LAUER: Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton certainly fought each other tooth and nail in the Democratic primary season, some feelings, of course, were bruised, but now, the Clintons appear to have buried the hatchet, and they're on the campaign trail stumping for Obama together, for the first time. NBC's Ron Allen caught up with the New York senator in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Ron, good morning to you.

RON ALLEN: Good morning, Matt. Hillary Clinton admits it's been difficult convincing some of her strongest supporters, white, working-class, and middle-class voters, to now back Barack Obama. Here in Scranton, some longtime Clinton friends have even started an organization called, "Democrats for John McCain." We began the interview by asking whether Obama can win this conservative corner of Pennsylvania, the key to this critical state.
HILLARY CLINTON: Well, I'm sure trying to help him win it. I think that he's picking up support. The economic crisis that we are unfortunately mired in right now has sent a shock wave across the country. We're making the case that, you know, you cannot reward the Republicans. You voted for them before for guns and on, you know, abortion, and you know, that's fine, but we're, we're in trouble now.
ALLEN: What about the tone of the campaign? Joe Biden said it's ugly. In the primary, you also brought up Obama's association with Bill Ayers, Reverend Wright. Where's the line, and have the Republicans crossed it?
CLINTON: I think the McCain/Palin campaign has gotten quite negative in the last few days. It doesn't do anybody a service.
ALLEN: Do you think they've crossed the line?
CLINTON: Well, you know, from-
ALLEN: Some of this, there's concerns about actually inciting violence.
CLINTON: Yeah, well, I think John McCain came out the other day and basically said, you know, "Let's, let's calm down, let's stop this, and I appreciate him doing that, and that, that should be the tone of the campaign going forward.
ALLEN: During the primaries, you also questioned whether Barack Obama could withstand the Republican assault. If this gets more personal and, and more aggressive can he withstand that?
CLINTON: Oh I have no doubt he can. I mean he's run a very disciplined-
ALLEN: You seem to have doubts about that before though.
CLINTON: Well, I think that the circumstances have changed. I mean for one thing, people don't have the luxury of paying attention to that. Absent this economic crisis, you know, who knows? But the reality is, we're in this economic crisis, and every time President Bush gets on TV, John McCain's numbers drop.
ALLEN: Your husband, Bill Clinton, President Clinton, we've only seen him with Obama once, I think September 11th. Is he really fully on board?
CLINTON: 100 percent and he's doing whatever the Obama campaign asks him to do. If they want to campaign together, I'm sure that Barack will ask him, but right now he is traveling, he is going to Virginia and Florida and out west. He's doing everything he's asked to do.
ALLEN: Must be tough for him and tough for you, for that matter.
CLINTON: Well, you know, it isn't anymore. I mean obviously when you run a hard-fought campaign, there is a lot of emotion attached to it. You believe you'd be the best president, you give it all you've got, but you know, that wasn't meant to be.
ALLEN: What does Barack Obama have to do to close the deal?
CLINTON: I think he's closing it. I think the way he's conducted himself the last few weeks, during this economic crisis, has gotten a lot of people in his camp who might not have been there otherwise. I hear it all the time. People say well, "I don't any have no choice now," or you know, "I'm convinced." And he just has to keep doing that.
ALLEN: Listening to Clinton, it sounds as though losing still hurts a bit, but she's back out on the trail here in Pennsylvania and off to more battleground states later in the week. She's aware that her supporters can make a big difference in a close race.

CBS Highlights 'Fiery McCain Campaign
Moments' Against Obama

During the 7 AM half hour of Monday's CBS Early Show, correspondent Jeff Glor reported on a couple moments at recent McCain campaign events as evidence of harsh Republican attacks against Barack Obama: "A few recent fiery McCain campaign moments...Including one where McCain had to take the mic away from a woman who incorrectly called Obama an Arab." Glor went on to explain: "All of it led Democrat and civil rights leader John Lewis to issue a controversial statement, charging the Republicans with cultivating an atmosphere reminiscent of the days of segregation." While referencing Lewis's comments, Glor did not describe what made them particularly controversial: "George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights...Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama."

It would seem that a Democratic member of Congress comparing John McCain to George Wallace would be a little more serious than one random woman at a campaign rally making an incorrect statement about Obama's ethnicity.

Lewis's full comments: apnews.myway.com

[This item, by the MRC's Kyle Drennen, was posted Monday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

During the report, Glor played a clip of his recent interview with Hillary Clinton, and asked: "Congressman Lewis, as you know, said that the McCain-Palin campaign is 'sowing the seeds of hatred' on the trail. What's your reaction to that and how do you think John McCain's running his campaign?" Clinton replied: "This election should be about the big issues facing America and the economy is front and center. It is about the economy. So if you have nothing to say about the economy, don't try to divert the American people." The only sound bite of McCain given in the report was him saying "No, ma'am" to the woman who referred to Obama as an "Arab."

During another report in the 8:30AM half hour of the show, correspondent Joel Brown followed the same theme laid out by Glor: "McCain has dialed back the personal attacks on Obama after a series of ugly campaign incidents. He and running mate Sarah Palin had been hitting Obama hard on character issues for more than a week, but polls show it hadn't made much difference with undecided votes." Brown also played the clip of the woman calling Obama Arab.

However, unlike Glor, Brown did manage to show some unflattering footage of Obama at a campaign event in Ohio, talking to a voter upset with his tax plan: "The reason why I ask you about the American dream, I mean, I've worked hard. I'm a plumber...You know, I work 10, 12 hours a day...And I'm, you know, buying this company. I'm going to continue to work that way. Now, if I buy another truck and add something else to it and, you know, build the company...You know, I'm getting taxed more and more for fulfilling the American dream." Obama replied: "I'm going to cut back taxes a little bit more for the folks who are most in need and will, for the 5% of the folks who are doing very well...I just want to make sure that they're paying a little bit more in order to pay for those other tax cuts."

Brown concluded: "So Obama still has some convincing to do on the economy." One wonders why this exchange could not have been included in the report at the top of the show, when most viewers were watching.

Here is the full transcript of Glor's 7AM report:

7:00AM TEASE:
JULIE CHEN: Not over yet. With three weeks until election day, the polls narrow and the race heats up.
HILLARY CLINTON: We cannot afford four more years of the last eight years and that's all the Republicans offer.
CHEN: Our interview with Hillary Clinton.

7:08AM SEGMENT:
HARRY SMITH: Election day is now just about three weeks away. A new Gallup poll shows John McCain trailing Barack Obama by seven points. The candidates campaigned over the weekend in key states and Early Show national correspondent Jeff Glor sat down for a one-on-one with Senator Hillary Clinton, who campaigned for Obama along with President Clinton. Jeff is in Scranton, Pennsylvania this morning with more. Good morning, Jeff.

JEFF GLOR: Hey, good morning to you, Harry. Polls show that Barack Obama has opened up a double-digit lead here in Pennsylvania but both candidates are still fighting hard for this state. Sarah Palin will be here tomorrow. Joe Biden was here yesterday. And as you mentioned, he had help. Bill and Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail stumping for, but not with, Barack Obama. This one with Joe Biden.
JOE BIDEN: This is the most important election in your life. That is not hyperbole.
GLOR: The appearance comes after a few recent fiery McCain campaign moments.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: It's the socialists taking over our country.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: He's an Arab. He is not-
JOHN MCCAIN: No, no, ma'am.
WOMAN: No?
MCCAIN: No, ma'am, no, ma'am.
GLOR: Including one where McCain had to take the mic away from a woman who incorrectly called Obama an Arab. All of it led Democrat and civil rights leader John Lewis to issue a controversial statement, charging the Republicans with cultivating an atmosphere reminiscent of the days of segregation. Congressman Lewis, as you know, said that the McCain-Palin campaign is 'sowing the seeds of hatred' on the trail. What's your reaction to that and how do you think John McCain's running his campaign?
HILLARY CLINTON: This election should be about the big issues facing America and the economy is front and center. It is about the economy. So if you have nothing to say about the economy, don't try to divert the American people. I don't know what they're doing in their campaign. I think that the Obama-Biden campaign has been focused on talking about what people are talking about, what's happening to my 401(k), am I going to be able to retire? You know? How am I going to be able to afford to send my kid to college. That's what's on people's minds.
GLOR: Clinton continued turning the attention back to the economy. The same strategy the Obama campaign has employed, effectively, according to recent polls. But Obama could still face challenges courting working class voters, in rust belt cities like Scranton. You won this area, Lackawanna County, overwhelmingly 3-1. People in this county did not vote for Barack Obama. They did vote for you. Why do you think it'll be different in the general election?
CLINTON: The Democrats have better answers for the problems that are affecting the people of northeastern Pennsylvania and the entire country.
GLOR: We did ask Clinton, now that we've seen her and her husband on the stage with Joe Biden, if we'd see both of them on the stage with Barack Obama. She said 'you'll have to ask the Obama campaign.' As for the Obama campaign, they say today, they'll unveil a major economic rescue plan this afternoon. Harry.
SMITH: Jeff Glor in Scranton this morning, thanks very much.

Here is the full transcript of Brown's 8:30AM SEGMENT:

RUSS MITCHELL: 22 days until the election and Wednesday night, John McCain and Barack Obama meet for their third and final debate. CBS News correspondent Joel Brown is in Washington this morning. Good morning, Joel.

JOEL BROWN: Russ, good morning to you. It's been said that John McCain works best as the underdog. And he will campaign from that role starting today, portraying himself as the scrappy fighter and Barack Obama as the over confident front-runner who's already measuring the drapes for the White House. John McCain vows the comeback starts now.
JOHN MCCAIN: And after I whip his you know what in this debate, we're going to be going out 24/7.
BROWN: Wednesday's final presidential debate is a major opportunity and maybe one of the last for McCain to reverse his recent slide in the polls with election day just over three weeks away, the latest Gallup tracking survey shows McCain trailing Barack Obama by 7 points. Only Ronald Reagan in 1980 has overcome a deficit that large and this late to win the White House. McCain has dialed back the personal attacks on Obama after a series of ugly campaign incidents. He and running mate Sarah Palin had been hitting Obama hard on character issues for more than a week, but polls show it hadn't made much difference with undecided votes.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I can't trust Obama. He's an Arab.
MCCAIN: No, ma'am, no, ma'am. He's a -- he's a decent family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues.
BROWN: And, yesterday, at his headquarters, McCain again emphasized he wants to change the tone of the race.
MCCAIN: I respect Senator Obama. We will conduct a respectful race.
BROWN: For his part, Obama went door-to-door for votes in Ohio yesterday and ended up defending his tax plan.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: The reason why I ask you about the American dream, I mean, I've worked hard. I'm a plumber.
OBAMA: Appreciate that.
MAN: You know, I work 10, 12 hours a day.
OBAMA: Absolutely.
MAN: And I'm, you know, buying this company. I'm going to continue to work that way. Now, if I buy another truck and add something else to it and, you know, build the company.
OBAMA: Right.
MAN: You know, I'm getting taxed more and more for fulfilling the American dream.
OBAMA: I'm going to cut back taxes a little bit more for the folks who are most in need and will, for the 5% of the folks who are doing very well, even though they've been working hard and I understand that, I appreciate that. I just want to make sure that they're paying a little bit more in order to pay for those other tax cuts. Now, I respect the disagreement, but I just want you to be clear, it's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance at success, too.
BROWN: So Obama still has some convincing to do on the economy. This afternoon, he'll give what his campaign is calling a major speech outlining his economic rescue plan for the middle class. Russ.
MITCHELL: Joel Brown in Washington, thank you very much.

CBS Touts 'Great Schlep' Effort to Get
Grandparents to Back Obama

A night after Sunday's CBS Evening News ended with a feature piece on a 106-year-old nun in Rome who plans to vote for Barack Obama, Monday's newscast concluded with a puff piece on "The Great Schlep," a Columbus Day weekend effort headlined by left-wing comedian Sarah Silverman to get Jewish grandchildren to travel to Florida to convince their grandparents to vote for Barack Obama. In a video clip from the group's Web site which CBS played, Silverman, star of the Sarah Silverman Show on Comedy Central, pleaded: "If you knew that visiting your grandparents could change the world, would you do it? Of course you would," so "schlep over to Florida and convince your grandparents to vote Obama."

Anchor Katie Couric's introduction offered no hint to how the effort was on behalf of one specific candidate: "Senior citizens are a key voting block. In Florida, for instance, more than 7.5 million people voted in the last presidential election, and nearly one in five was 65 or older. Many of them, of course, are grandparents, a lot of them Jewish. So how do you win their votes this time around? Call in the grandkids, it's time for the Great Schlep."

CBS reporter Kelly Cobiella, however, soon explained: "An online push started by two Jewish activists to get young Jewish voters to visit their grandparents in Florida and encourage them to vote for Barack Obama. Thousands signed up online, and last weekend dozens of them crisscrossed the country armed with talking points."

Cobiella featured two who went to Florida to advocate for Obama before she offered a sentence about how Republicans "are looking for votes at tailgating parties instead of retirement homes."

She then returned to Silverman: "If they vote for Barack Obama, they're going to get another visit this year. If not, let's just hope they stay healthy until next year." Cobiella concluded: "Now that's political pressure."

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

The Great Schlep's Web site outlines its goals: "The Great Schlep aims to have Jewish grandchildren visit their grandparents in Florida, educate them about Obama, and therefore swing the crucial Florida vote in his favor. Don't have grandparents in Florida? Not Jewish? No problem! You can still become a schlepper and make change happen in 2008, simply by talking to your relatives about Obama." The home page: www.thegreatschlep.com

The October 13 CyberAlert item, "CBS Showcases 106-Year-Old Catholic Nun Voting for Obama," recounted:

Sunday's CBS Evening News ended with a feature piece on a 106-year-old nun in Rome who plans to vote for Barack Obama, her first time to cast a presidential ballot since the New Hampshire native voted for Dwight Eisenhower in 1952, because Obama is "a good" and "honest" man. From Rome, reporter Allen Pizzey related how her "simple, old-fashioned standard for politicians," which apparently does not include the Catholic church's opposition to abortion, inspired her to decide to vote for the first time in 56 years. Sister Cecilia Gaudette explained: "As I say, a good straight man; good private life, honest and politically able to govern, of course." As she put her hand over an Obama button on her clothing, Pizzey cautioned that though she's decided "the Democrat fit the bill," she's "not about to campaign for him."

For rundown of the Sunday story: www.mrc.org

The MRC's Brad Wilmouth corrected the closed-captioning against the video to provide this transcript of the story on the Monday, October 13 CBS Evening News:

KATIE COURIC: Senior citizens are a key voting block. In Florida, for instance, more than 7.5 million people voted in the last presidential election, and nearly one in five was 65 or older. Many of them, of course, are grandparents, a lot of them Jewish. So how do you win their votes this time around? Call in the grandkids, it's time for the Great Schlep. Here's Kelly Cobiella.

KELLY COBIELLA: Getting grandkids to visit usually requires a whopping dose of guilt. But in Florida, something else was at work this weekend. At bagel shops and condo pools, grandkids like Emily Cahn were showing up on their own.
DOROTHY CAHN, GRANDMOTHER: And all I heard was she's coming down. And this thrilled me no end because I hadn't seen her in two years.
COBIELLA: Hang on, Grandma Dorothy, there are strings attached.
SARAH SILVERMAN, COMEDIAN: If you knew that visiting your grandparents could change the world, would you do it? Of course you would.
COBIELLA: It's called the Great Schlep.
SILVERMAN: -schlep over to Florida and convince your grandparents to vote Obama.
COBIELLA: An online push started by two Jewish activists to get young Jewish voters to visit their grandparents in Florida and encourage them to vote for Barack Obama. Thousands signed up online, and last weekend dozens of them crisscrossed the country armed with talking points.
ANDREW STEINMETZ, GREAT SCHLEP PARTICIPANT: We got to understand who Barack Obama is.
COBIELLA: Andrew Steinmetz came all the way from the University of Pennsylvania. His grandparents were easy, but their friends?
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I don't care for either candidate.
STEINMETZ: You don't care for either candidate?
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: No. I think you'll make a great candidate.
COBIELLA: It's no surprise to political science Professor Joseph Uscinski.
PROFESSOR JOSEPH USCINSKI, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: Grandparents have very well defined voting patterns. They have very well defined partisanship. If somebody came to them and said, "I want you to vote for this one or that one," it's probably not going to have that much of an effect.
COBIELLA: Which may explain why the competition, Young Republicans, are looking for votes at tailgating parties instead of retirement homes.
HAROUT SAMRA, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI LAW STUDENT: You'll hear it from young people, that this is the most important election of their lifetimes. Short lifetimes but lifetimes nevertheless.
COBIELLA: Still, for Jewish grandparents, the stakes are higher than ever this election.
SILVERMAN: If they vote for Barack Obama, they're going to get another visit this year. If not, let's just hope they stay healthy until next year.
COBIELLA: Now that's political pressure. Kelly Cobiella, CBS News, Boynton Beach, Florida.

GMA Delights in Clinton Gifts: Necklace
and Football Watching

Good Morning America weekend anchor Kate Snow conducted another one of her trademark friendly interviews with Senator Hillary Clinton on Monday's program and eagerly speculated, "Do you think Democrats will win this election in a landslide?" Asking no tough questions of the former presidential candidate, she instead gushed about minor things such as the just-passed wedding anniversary for Hillary and Bill Clinton.

Snow cooed: "And the gift that he [Clinton] gave her was a turquoise necklace. But the gift she gave him was time to watch football on television on Saturday." Snow also cited Democratic Congressman John Lewis and his incendiary comparison of the McCain campaign's tone to segregationist George Wallace. The ABC journalist did not question the parallel that Lewis made over the weekend. She didn't mention that the congressman implied McCain might be creating a climate that could lead to violence, just like Wallace "created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights." See Reuters: www.reuters.com

Instead, Snow neutrally prompted, "And he [Lewis] referred to George Wallace, the segregationist, when talking about the McCain campaign. Do you agree with that?" (Lewis later backtracked from his statement.)

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

The weekend anchor also offered Clinton the opportunity to complain about press coverage. Referencing a piece by liberal Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen attacking Governor Sarah Palin's performance during the vice presidential debate, she repeated the writer's contention that "if you, if Senator Clinton had done the 'hiya sailor' wink....And if you had said some of the things that Governor Palin said in the debate, you would have been criticized by the press. Do you think she's being treated by a different standard?"

Snow has developed quite a history of boosting the Clintons. On August 4, 2008, she interviewed Bill Clinton and actually told him that he didn't have to answer one of her questions: "Pretty simple question. And maybe you don't want to answer it right now and I respect that fully. But, if you want to answer it, do you personally have any regrets about what you did campaigning for your wife?" See an August 5 CyberAlert for more: www.mrc.org

During the 2008 presidential primaries, Snow repeatedly raved over Hillary Clinton. A December 3, 2007 CyberAlert posting recounted some of Snow's more over-the-top coverage:

On October 1, she reported on the former First Lady's laugh, which many found odd and off-putting. However, according to the GMA correspondent, the cackle is representative of someone either having a great time or "she's the master of a shrewd political skill, disarming her critics with a gleam in her eye and a roar straight from the belly."...

A few weeks later, on October 25, Snow rhapsodized over Hillary Clinton's 60th birthday and how Bill and Hillary are both "masters of spin" and are experts at "turning bad news into good." The ABC reporter, beaming once again, marveled that "instead of facing gray hair and retirement, for Hillary Clinton, being a member of AARP is fund-raising gold." She also credulously touted marriage talking points: "On the eve of this birthday, Hillary is trumpeting the strength of their marriage."

See CyberAlert: www.mrc.org

A transcript of the segment, which aired at 7:14am on October 13, follows:

CHRIS CUOMO: Now, Robin, both vice presidential candidates were out on the campaign trail over the weekend. Governor Palin spoke to a crowd in southeastern Ohio. And Senator Biden was joined by both Bill and Hillary Clinton in his home state of Pennsylvania. Now, our Kate Snow, GMA weekend anchor, caught up with Senator Clinton to ask her about everything that is going on. Her take, how was it?
KATE SNOW: Very interesting, Chris. Both Senator Biden and Senator Clinton are from Scranton, Pennsylvania. And they were quite a threesome up on that stage yesterday. The former president and the two senators up there. Senator Clinton told voters no matter what the polls are saying, they can't get complacent. And we started off talking about the economic challenges that so many Americans are facing. People are really worried right now.
SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON: People should be worried. We've had a terrible economic crisis and, unfortunately, very poor economic leadership. And the last eight years have kind of come home to roost with these liquidity crises and the markets freezing up. And what we've got to do is convince the private sector to begin leading to one other again. Nobody trusts anybody, Kate. They are thinking, "Well, I know I've got a lot of junk on my books and I bet so-and-so has a lot of junk on his books." So, the government has to step in and put this money into the banks and then has to say, you've got to lend it. And we want transparency, we want to know what's on your books. Look, if we've got problems, let's get it all out now. And I think that will do a lot to restore confidence.
KATE SNOW: Do you think Democrats will win this election in a landslide?
CLINTON: I think we are headed toward a very big win and for the right reason. We're headed for a big win because the economy is in crisis. I think the American voter rightly has more confidence in the Democratic Party to fix the problems that we're facing.
SNOW: This weekend, civil rights leader John Lewis had some very strong things to say about John McCain. He said that the campaign, McCain's campaign, was sowing the seeds of hatred and division. And he referred to George Wallace, the segregationist, when talking about the McCain campaign. Do you agree with that?
CLINTON: Well, I think they've been negative. But I think that Senator McCain himself has publicly said that's not the direction he wants to go. And I appreciate that. Because this campaign is too serious to, you know, be pulled into negativity and the kind of diversionary politics that doesn't serve our country well.
SNOW: I want to ask you about a column that was written in the Washington Post. They were talking about the Palin/Biden vice presidential debate and this columnist said if you, if Senator Clinton had done the "hiya sailor" wink and said some of the- This is literally what this person wrote, if you had done that, and if you had said some of the things that Governor Palin said in the debate, you would have been criticized by the press. Do you think she's being treated by a different standard?
CLINTON: Oh, I don't know. I think that each of us gets plenty of criticism by the press. I think that kind of goes with the territory. But, I thought Joe Biden did a great job in that debate. I think he came across with gravitas that I know he possesses and which he gets from a deep well of experience having served for so long. SNOW: Very quickly, have you been watching "Saturday Night Live" at all?
[SNL clip]
"SARAH PALIN": You know, John McCain and I, we're a couple of mavericks.
CLINTON: You know, I've seen it a few times, and I think, look, they've done a great job. And, sometimes, it's hard to tell, is it really what we're looking at or is it the spoof that "Saturday Night Live" puts on.
SNOW: Governor Palin?
CLINTON: Yes, right. And Amy does a great job, you know, she plays me.
SNOW: And she has a little more time to watch TV right now. She said she and the former president actually celebrated their 33rd anniversary on Saturday. And the gift that he gave her was a turquoise necklace. But the gift she gave him was time to watch football on television on Saturday.
CUOMO: And that is priceless.

Joy Behar: Sean Hannity a 'Dangerous
Force in America'

Sean Hannity is a "dangerous, dangerous force in America" Joy Behar declared on Monday's edition of the ABC daytime show. Her charge was sparked by a discussion of Andy Martin spreading rumors about Obama's background and an interview on FNC's Hannity's America. Elisabeth Hasselbeck reported that she spoke with Sean Hannity, who said he condemns Martin's actions, and has controversial figures of all political stripes on his shows, including Reverend Wright.

When Sherri Shepherd proclaimed it is no different than Obama's condemnation of William Ayers, Hasselbeck reminded the panel that a television interview is different than sitting on a board. Whoopi Goldberg immediately pounced on the comment and told Hasselbeck to go to FactCheck.com (perhaps she meant FactCheck.org?). In a pot and kettle moment, Joy Behar, who has a history of airing false information on The View, chastised Elisabeth to "not say it unless you're sure what you're talking about."

[This item, by the MRC's Justin McCarthy, was posted Monday on the MRC's blog, NewBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

Later in the program, Joy Behar went on a rant against Sarah Palin, noting alleged cronyism and in another pot and kettle moment, Behar opined that Palin "overuses her power and under-uses her brain."

Relevant pieces of the October 13 transcript:

SHERRI SHEPHERD: Words are very powerful. And, I think that, that campaign has been inciting, you know, with the palling around with terrorists, it's just inciting a fear and I think, you know, it only starts with one person, this crazy lady here, and it's another person. That's how mobs get started. And I think that, that's a really dangerous thing that they're doing and I see that they're backing off of that whole thing. I saw Palin now. She's on the abortion stuff, but you know, they're backing off the whole "he pals around with terrorists."
ELISABETH HASSELBECK: Well, I mean, I think that look, the facts are the facts. You know, the fact that he did work with him, and he was a terrorist, he was unrepentant. They did work together. I think that Americans are, are smart enough to make their own assessment. I do believe that.
SHEPHERD: But Elisabeth I think when you say "terrorist," in this climate that we have today, when you say "terrorist," that immediately invokes a fear in people. And when you say terrorist, you think, you're supposed to kill terrorists. And I think when you say, he pals around with terrorists, that makes it seem- I mean, they knew exactly what they are doing when they said those words.

[...]

JOY BEHAR: There's other things going on. I mean, today's Times has exposed the fact that this guy Andy Martin started this cyberspace rumor that the guy was a Muslim and all of these lies about Obama. And then, and then it picks up. It starts to pick up steam and then the lie, the lie, the lie, the lie. And Sean Hannity, who I really think is a dangerous, dangerous force in television. [applause]
HASSELBECK: Really?
BEHAR: Yes I do because for, well, specifically in this case, he had this guy, his name is Andy Martin, who was perpetuating these lies. They had him on for a whole hour where he allowed this Andy Martin to spew his vitriol and his lies and never once questioned his- the authenticity of what he was saying. And this Andy Martin, by the way, has been diagnosed as some kind of a mental case.
HASSELBECK: Can I- I actually spoke to Sean about this. I talked to Sean Hannity today, this morning.
BEHAR: Oh, oh really? How is Sean?
[laughter]
HASSELBECK: He's great. And he said, he welcomes you on his show, and he has, first and foremost, he's actually condemned-
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: He's been on this show. He's actually-
HASSELBECK: He's great, first of all-
BEHAR: I don't like this particular thing though.
GOLDBERG: You're right.
HASSELBECK: This was on Hannity's America. He actually didn't interview this man. He didn't interview him. A producer interviewed Martin. Sean Hannity wasn't there.
GOLDBERG: It was on his show.
HASSELBECK: It was on his show and he acknowledges that. He also publicly condemned what Martin said as he did with Jeremiah Wright, with-
BEHAR: But so did Obama condemn what William Ayers said!
HASSELBECK: Let me finish. Can I just get- let me just get this point, please.
GOLDBERG: Yeah, yeah.
HASSELBECK: Please. Sean Hannity has made a career of having people with controversial views express their opinion, okay, including Khalid Abdul Muhammad, Reverend Wright, Malik Shibazz, Martin, okay? He has condemned what they have said across the board. He's condemned it. So to say what- do you have issue with having someone with an opinion on?
BEHAR: Well, when he has those people on that he disagrees with, he interrupts them so much, you can't even get a word in. This guy had a whole hour.
HASSELBECK: I don't think we- first of all, I don't think that we had an issue when he had on Reverend Wright, or when Farrakhan was saying- He never- no. I'm saying where was the issue then when he had them on? I think it's a selective sort of moralism that's going on. This is his career and it happens to be people that say things that are controversial that are not his opinion. They simply are on his show giving his opinion. He condemned what he said.
GOLDBERG: Well, I'm glad that he did because, you know, you can say that he's had these other folks on. Reverend Wright wasn't attacking any one specific person. He's just pissed at America. You know, Shibazz has a different view. So if Sean says, and I believe him, because you know, I like him and I know Sean.
HASSELBECK: He says you guys can come on anytime.
GOLDBERG: Well, I would if he would just, you know, be on my time schedule. But, but if he says, through you, that he condemns what that man says, and he doesn't buy it, I buy Sean.
SHEPHERD: And why can't we accept that, that he condemned him because I believe Barack Obama condemned everything that Ayers did, so if we can accept that Sean Hannity [applause] condemned this guy-
HASSELBECK: But, Sean Hannity didn't sit with this man for 20 years. He didn't sit with this man on a board there's a big difference-
GOLDBERG: Okay, don't, don't do that. Go to FactCheck.com [sic].
BEHAR: You don't know what you're saying. Don't say it unless you know for sure what you're saying.

[...]

BEHAR: Let me say something about Sarah Palin. This is a whole line of events about her. Number one, there's Troopergate. [applause] Let me just lay this out for a second.
HASSELBECK: Unload! Unload!
BEHAR: Number two, she is into cronyism, big time this woman.
HASSELBECK: Why would you say that?
BEHAR: Let me tell you why. May I tell you why? Because she put, as the head of agriculture in Alaska one of her girlfriends from high school. You know why? Because the woman liked cows, okay? [laughter] That is a fact.
HASSELBECK: That's an exaggeration.
BEHAR: Look it up in FactCheck.
HASSELBECK: She did hire her, but to say that it's because she liked cows-
BEHAR: She also- anybody who disagrees with this woman and her politics is considered a hater. This is Cheney in a dress, okay?
[applause]
SHEPHERD: Can I go back-
HASSELBECK: Those are kind of weak points against her.

[...]

BEHAR: She overuses her power and underuses her brain.

-- Brent Baker