All three morning shows on Thursday ignored allegations of "unwanted sexual
contact" by Al Gore against a woman in 2006. This is despite the fact that the
claim was reported by the AP, the New York Times and the Washington
Post [1].
CBS's Early Show, NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America failed to
mention the charges made by an Oregon massage therapist that Gore tried to have
sex with her.
Yet, on June 2, after Al and Tipper Gore announced their divorce, ABC
reporter Claire
Shipman [2] wondered if the separation meant that "storybook endings" aren't
possible. Logically, wouldn't the morning show want to follow up with this new
development?
When Republican Nikki Haley was accused of having an affair with two
different men, GMA had no trouble covering the story. On June
9 [3], host George Stephanopoulos interviewed the South Carolina gubernatorial
candidate about the allegations and demanded, "Can you assure South Carolina
voters that they're not going to be embarrassed if they elect you?"
On June
7 [4], he marveled, "And down in South Carolina, they can't just seem to get
enough of it. In the gubernatorial primary, the leading candidate embroiled in a
bit of a sex scandal." The program noted the story again on June
10 [5].
Now, obviously, there are differences. Gore is a private citizen. Haley is
running for office. However, there is an actual police report in the Gore case.
Additionally, journalists were quite
taken [5] with the then-Vice President when he famously kissed his wife at the
2000 Democratic National Convention.
Those same reporters have a responsibility to cover unflattering allegations
about Gore. ABC, although unable to mention the charges on GMA, did note them on
the network's website [6].
A sympathetic headline proclaimed, "Al Gore Sex Abuse Allegations Lack
Sufficient Evidence, Say Portland Police."
-Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here [7] to follow him on
Twitter.