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2. ABC's David Wright Slams Palin for Living in a 'Glass House'
3. Williams Hits McCain with Powell's Contention Palin's Unqualified
4. In Palin Interview, CNN's Griffin Warps National Review Quote
5. Tom Brokaw Takes Barack Obama Over Rush Limbaugh on Credibility
6. Joy Behar on ABC's The View: 'Rush Limbaugh is a Terrorist'
Reynolds helpfully previewed some additional CBS News bias in advance as he reported "this afternoon, the Early Show's Harry Smith asked Obama about McCain's campaign tactics that have drawn criticism even from some Republicans," and after a clip of Obama declaring he would never make unfair attacks on his opponents, Reynolds concluded: "Obama says he understands that politics is a rough business, but he insisted there is no equivalence between his campaign tactics and John McCain's." Anchor Katie Couric soon announced: "Sarah Palin may think the world of Joe the Plumber, too, but that doesn't mean she intends to dress like him. In fact, the Republican Party has spent $150,000 on Governor Palin's wardrobe, something that may not square with her image as a down-to-earth every woman." The story from reporter Nancy Cordes ended with another media-generated controversy: "Palin's also facing questions today about the 55 grand she charged Alaska taxpayers so her family could travel with her to events the past two years. Alaska law is vague, but when it comes to the clothes, the campaign is crystal clear. After the fashion faux pas came to light, they announced that all the pricey duds would go to charity." [This item, by the MRC's Brent Baker, was posted Wednesday night on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org [1] ] ABC's World News gave a sentence to the $150,000 for Palin family clothing story, first reported Tuesday by the Politico, while NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams put it at the top of his newscast as he set up his interview with McCain and Palin: "What a day it's been for the McCain-Palin campaign. The story about her wardrobe broke overnight. $150,000 worth of clothing from top retailers, for Palin and her family, clothing that was bought with Republican Party funds. The campaign says the clothes will be donated to charity." From the end of the CBS Evening News story by Dean Reynolds, which mostly dealt with Obama's reaction to Joe Biden's suggestion Obama's victory will precipitate an "international crisis":
Chip Reid wrapped up the next story, about McCain using "Joe the Plumber" to criticize Obama, by, out of the blue, taking this shot at McCain: "In other news, Gordon Smith of Oregon today became the fourth Republican to urge John McCain to stop those robo-calls to people's homes linking Barack Obama with William Ayers." Smith is a Republican U.S. Senator is a tough re-election race. Neither Reid, nor Reynolds before him, had uttered a word about robo-calls mentioning Ayers.
KATIE COURIC: Meanwhile, Sarah Palin may think the world of Joe the Plumber, too, but that doesn't mean she intends to dress like him. In fact, the Republican Party has spent $150,000 on Governor Palin's wardrobe, something that may not square with her image as a down-to-earth every woman. Here's Nancy Cordes.
NANCY CORDES: On the night she addressed the Republican convention, Governor Palin was dressed for success. The self-described-
He then introduced a clip of Palin speaking to a Denver NBC affiliate and asserted that the Republican vice presidential nominee "didn't seem to understand the job description of the position she's running for." Palin was featured observing that the Vice President is "in charge of the United States Senate. So, if they want to, they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes." Taking issue with Palin's comments, Wright retorted: "Technically, the Vice President does preside over the Senate. But the most they usually contribute is a tie breaking vote when required." [This item, by the MRC's Scott Whitlock, was posted Wednesday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org [2] ] Wright didn't mention it, but the question was actually part of the local affiliate's "questions from the third grade" series, where politicians answer questions from local children. (Palin prefaced her answer by noting, "Oh, that's something that Piper would ask me.") Considering the generalized tone of the Alaska Governor's statement, it seems clear she was tailoring her remarks for younger people. Wright should have mentioned the context. See ABCNews.com for more on the exchange: blogs.abcnews.com [3] During the 2008 campaign, David Wright has turned into one of the more aggressive advocates for Barack Obama. On the October 10 edition of Nightline, he accused the McCain campaign of conducting a "fear and loathing strategy." For a October 9 GMA segment, he railed against the "full-bore attack on Obama's character" and complained that McCain and Palin have suggested the Democrat is "yellow, disloyal and doesn't belong." See an October 15, 2008 CyberAlert posting for more: www.mrc.org [4] On Wednesday, he did highlight Biden's gaffe about Obama and an international incident, but he derided Republican attacks on the subject as playing into GOP "talking points." A transcript of the segment, which aired at 7:02am on October 22: ROBIN ROBERTS: But we begin with the very latest in the election. Just 13 days to go and ABC's daily tracking poll finds Senator Obama still holding a nine-point lead over Senator McCain. The McCain campaign is trying to cut that lead by challenging Obama's experience, continuing to capitalize on comments made by Obama's running mate. Our David Wright has the latest and he's in Ohio this morning. Good morning, David.
DAVID WRIGHT: Good morning, Robin. For two days now, the Republicans have treated Biden's comments like a, like a slow pitch across home plate. Calling it one of the best cases yet made yet against Barack Obama. Saying it's an admission of his inexperience and more than that, an admission that his inexperience would tempt America's enemies to test us. Biden made the comment Sunday night at a fund-raiser in Seattle.
In the last question in the interview excerpt aired on Wednesday's NBC Nightly News, Williams forced them to respond to Colin Powell as Williams cited his assessment Palin is unqualified: Williams had set up the segment by highlighting news that the RNC spent $150,000 on clothing for Palin and her family, followed by: "Then there are the polls out there, our own showing the GOP ticket ten points down with most respondents now saying Sarah Palin is not qualified to be President." The most upbeat question from Williams noted how far McCain had come from carrying his own garment bag, but: "Here you are, you're down, you're down in money. How do you stay up?" [This item, by the MRC's Brent Baker, was posted late Wednesday night on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org [5] ] Compare the tone of this interview session with his approach to Barack Obama, as recounted in "Williams Tosses Softballs to Obama, Empathizes Over Elitist Image," the May 8 CyberAlert item:
Obama said he had not, prompting Williams to remind him: "Last time you looked at it and you thought instantly of your mom." Obama effused: "She'd like that picture. She always encouraged me to smile more." Proceeding to cue up Obama for a long recitation on how he's not an elitist, Williams empathized: "You end up with people talking about your bowling score, gutter balls, wearing a tie, wearing a tie with farmers. And how have you dealt with that? Is there an operating theory that guides your life these days?" Full rundown: www.mrc.org [6]
# Senator, I will begin with your observation on the tarmac. You came in today, there's not one, but two planes with your name on the side. You immediately started reminiscing about the depths of New Hampshire, it was you and your garment bag coming off the commercial flight. But here you are, you're down, you're down in money. How do you stay up? # Did this campaign get out of your control? And here's what I mean: A lot of people who know you well saw you take that microphone from that woman in Wisconsin and for the first time in a long time they said, "there, that's John McCain." # You mention Senator Biden's comment the other day about, a new President and a test of the new President's mettle, one of your very closest friends in the Senate, Joe Lieberman said on Face the Nation quote, "our enemies will test the new President early. And it has happened throughout modern history." # Governor Palin, yesterday you tied this notion of an early test to a new President with this notion of preconditions that you both have been hammering the Obama campaign on. First of all, what in your mind is a precondition? # When he says the new President will be tested, though, I'm missing how that's different from Senator Lieberman saying quote "our enemies will test the new President early." # Let me ask you both about what must have been a hurtful Sunday for you especially, you Senator McCain, Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama and Governor, respectfully, the heart of his quote, about Governor Palin, Senator McCain, "I don't believe she's ready to be President of the United States which is the job of Vice President. And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made." When you heard those words from a man you've known for a long time, what was your reaction, saying basically we have little to judge these future leaders on except for the big decision of picking a running mate? Another excerpt will air on Thursday's NBC Nightly News. MSNBC.com video of what aired on Wednesday's NBC Nightly News: www.msnbc.msn.com [7]
In fact, in the article, which was originally only in the print version of National Review, York was ridiculing the media, not Palin: "Watching press coverage of the Republican candidate for Vice President, it's sometimes hard to decide whether Sarah Palin is incompetent, stupid, unqualified, corrupt, backward or -- well, all of the above." [This item, by the MRC's Matthew Balan, was posted Wednesday afternoon, with video, on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org [8] ] For Byron York's article on National Review Online, see "How Palin Governed: Behind all the criticism and controversy, what really happened," at: article.nationalreview.com [9] Prior to the airing of the Palin interview, CNN even aired a promo during The Situation Room which featured Griffin's warping of the York quote and Palin's immediate reaction to it. Palin responded to the question by first lightly asking where the quote came from. Griffin didn't have York's name handy to answer her inquiry. She then used the McCain campaign's standard depictions of the ticket, that McCain is a "patriot and the maverick in the Senate" and how she is the "team member who is new and fresh, with new ideas, new vision, new energy that needs to be infused into Washington, D.C., with that commitment to clean it up in DC, put government on the side of the people, and fight hard for Americans." She continued by addressing the mangled quote from National Review: "I think that some in the media, maybe in the National Review -- they don't know what to make of that. They are like, geez, she's -- you know, where did she come from? Surely, you know, it should be our job, I think they assume, is to pick and be negative and find things to mock, and that's just, I guess, part of the political game, I guess." This isn't the first time that CNN has highlighted supposed conservative rancor towards Palin. Less than a week earlier, during an interview with National Review's Ramesh Ponnuru, CNN anchor Rick Sanchez tried to portray that there were a bunch of conservatives who were "defecting," in his words, from John McCain over his selection of Palin as his running mate. For more on Rick Sanchez's claim that many conservatives were "defecting" from McCain, see the October 16, 2008 CyberAlert item, "CNN's Sanchez Highlights 'Defecting' Conservatives Against Palin," at: www.mrc.org [10] The transcript of the relevant portion of the Palin interview, which began five minutes into the 6 pm Eastern hour of Tuesday's Situation Room:
DREW GRIFFIN: Governor, you have been mocked in the press. The press has been pretty hard on you. The Democrats have been pretty hard on you, but also some conservatives have been pretty hard on you as well. The National Review had a story saying that, you know, 'I can't tell if Sarah Palin is incompetent, stupid, unqualified, corrupt, or all of the above.'
[This item, by the MRC's Tim Graham, was posted Wednesday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org [11] ]
Brokaw added: "If he didn't listen carefully to what Colin Powell had to say as he ticked off the many reasons that he was supporting Barack Obama and his concern about what's happening to the Republican Party, in which he has always been a stalwart member -- we even played some of the tapes from the 2000 convention, in which Colin Powell said that President Bush and Vice President Cheney would heal the racial divide in this country. Brokaw made no attempt to explain what precisely the McCain-Palin campaign has done that is harshly forcing apart the racial divide in America, except perhaps daring to oppose Obama, or mocking community organizers, or calling Obama "that one." CNN also failed to question how precisely Powell fits the definition of "always" being a "stalwart member" of the Republican Party. Brokaw and Schieffer also repeated talking points from earlier interviews. Brokaw praised the powerful eloquence of Powell: "In the midst of that long windup to what he had to say, which many people found very powerful and very eloquent -- even Republicans, by the way -- I didn't know whether, at the end of it, he would say I'm going to vote for Barack Obama or whether he would say, so I do believe that he's qualified to be president. I was prepared to try to pull it out of him, but he volunteered it on his own." Schieffer repeated that Powell speaks for many Republicans: "I think this is -- this was a very important thing. I think, when you stop and think about it, what Colin Powell did on Sunday was he said aloud what I have heard a lot of Republicans tell me privately. He expressed their frustrations." Powell also came up in the Maria Shriver interview at the end of the show:
KING: Colin Powell used the Palin nomination as an example of why he is opposed. What do you make of this?
For Walters scolding Hasselbeck on October 1: newsbusters.org [12] For Behar on Hannity: www.mrc.org [13] As Joy Behar has previously described friendly exchanges with the king of talk radio in the past, one has to wonder if such a line was to attract attention: newsbusters.org [14] After branding the conservative icon a "terrorist" Behar proclaimed "you heard it hear ladies and gentlemen." Hasselbeck replied "make your news headline." [This item was adapted from the NewsBusters post, with video, by Justin McCarthy: newsbusters.org [15] ] The transcript of the October 22 conversation on the ABC daytime chat fest:
[...]
WALTERS: Can I ask you both a question since I'm sitting in the moderator or the mediators chair? Is there ever a time when you like Barack Obama and the Democrats? Is there ever a time when you like John McCain and the Republicans? -- Brent Baker
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Consistency on the CBS Evening News: Wednesday night Dean Reynolds concluded his piece on Barack Obama's campaign day by asserting "McCain's campaign tactics...have drawn criticism even from some Republicans" and next Chip Reid ended his story on John McCain's day on the trail by highlighting how "Gordon Smith of Oregon," otherwise unidentified, "today became the fourth Republican to urge John McCain to stop those robo-calls to people's homes linking Barack Obama with William Ayers" -- all before a full report on how Sarah "Palin's carefully cultivated Joe Six Pack image is now bumping up against a six-figure wardrobe." 
REYNOLDS: This afternoon, the Early Show's Harry Smith asked Obama about McCain's campaign tactics that have drawn criticism even from some Republicans. 
CBS decided Palin's wardrobe deserved a full story and while some GOP donors may not like putting such money into clothing over TV ads, that angle didn't interest CBS which instead used the revelation to paint Palin as a hypocritical phoney. Couric, immediately after Reid: 
David Wright took a swipe at Sarah Palin on Wednesday's edition of Good Morning America. Discussing Senator Joe Biden's comments over the weekend that Barack Obama will face an international incident within the first six months of his (potential) presidency, the ABC journalist editorialized: "Her own glass house notwithstanding, Sarah Palin has thrown some stones on the issue, too, even though she's not above making gaffes of her own." 
Brian Williams, who was enamored with Barack Obama in two interviews this year in which he celebrated the liberal Democrat's achievements, in a Wednesday interview with the Republican ticket challenged the premises of their campaign. Recalling the woman in an audience who claimed Obama is Arab, Williams channeled left-wing efforts to discredit McCain: "Did this campaign get out of your control?" When McCain raised Joe Biden's warning that Obama's election will precipitate "an international crisis," Williams countered with how "Joe Lieberman said on Face the Nation quote, 'our enemies will test the new President early. And it has happened throughout modern history.'" Unsatisfied by McCain's explanation, Williams followed up: "When he says the new President will be tested, though, I'm missing how that's different from Senator Lieberman saying quote 'our enemies will test the new President early.'" 
Brian Williams, who slobbered over Barack Obama in their last interview in early January, did so again in a Thursday session conducted at Washington, DC's Newseum and excerpted on the NBC Nightly News. Back on January 7, Williams handed Obama a Newsweek with "Inside Obama's Dream Machine" as the cover story and wondered: "How does this feel, of all the honors that have come your way, all the publicity? Who does it make you think of? Is there, is there a loved one?" On Thursday, Williams didn't pose a single challenging question nor mention Jeremiah Wright in any of the ten questions aired, but pulled the same magazine stunt, this time holding up the new Time with a smiling Obama on the cover by the words, "And the Winner* Is..." Williams fondly recalled: "Last time we were together, I handed you a copy of Newsweek, it was the first time you'd held it in your hands with you on the cover. Have you yet held this in your hands?" 
All of the questions posed by Williams to McCain and Palin in the excerpt of the interview, conducted at an Akron-area high school, aired on the Wednesday, October 22 NBC Nightly News: 
NBC's Tom Brokaw, CBS's Bob Schieffer, and former NBC reporter Maria Shriver were all on CNN's Larry King Live on Monday night. Shriver effusively described her support for Obama: "I think he'd be great not just for this country, but I think for the whole world and for America's standing in the world. I think he is a thoughtful man, a deeply reflective man, smart, inclusive." But the stand-out moment of the hour came in the first segment, when King underlined Rush Limbaugh's assertion that Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama was all about race. King asked Brokaw in response: "Does that mean, Tom, that Limbaugh's endorsement of McCain was because he was white?" Brokaw snapped: "No. I don't want to go there. But what I would say is that Rush Limbaugh is going to match his credibility up against Barack Obama and a lot of people would like to have money in that pool." 
SHRIVER: I thought his statement was obviously very thoughtful, very careful, and he had done a lot of soul searching. I think this has been a year where people have done so much soul searching to come to the conclusions that they came to. Women, I think in particular, during the primary and now I think there's been much debate about Sarah Palin by women and by men. But I think, overall, it's been an extraordinary political career -- political year. 
JOY BEHAR: There are two other reasons I think. One of them was that Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson interview put the nail in her coffin because you saw that she was totally inarticulate, and as Bill Maher says "the sentence to nowhere was taking place."