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ABC's Denise $ Spin Contradicted; CBS Relayed ABC Poll on How Democratic Tax Plan Favored; Rivera Steadfast for Clinton 1 Back on the February 9 World News Tonight, anchor Charles Gibson castigated Republicans: "The furor surrounding President Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich is unabated, but ABC News has learned that some of the Republican outrage about the pardon may be misplaced. They claim Rich's former wife made a huge gift to the Clinton library and perhaps bought the pardon. That may not be the case." Judd outlined the spin: "ABC News has been told by Democratic sources that the ex-wife of fugitive financier Marc Rich gave $450,000 to the Clinton library. The sources say the contribution was made in three separate payments, with the final check going out last May. That would mean it was paid before there was any known discussion of a pardon." Six days later, on the February 15 World News
Tonight, Judd reported on the criminal probe launched by the U.S. Attorney
in New York City, Mary Jo White, who would follow the money to see if
there's any connection between it and Clinton's action. But Judd
cautioned: Now fast forward to Thursday night, March 1. ABC and CBS led with the House Government Reform Committee hearing into the pardons at which Democratic fundraiser Beth Dozoretz took the 5th. Without giving credit to Newsweek's Michael Isikoff who broke the story, ABC's Judd as well as CBS's Bob Schieffer and NBC's Lisa Myers, in a piece after NBC led with Tom Brokaw in Seattle on the earthquake beat, all reported how a March 2000 e-mail from an associate of Marc Rich suggested Denise Rich follow a "well-prepared script" in making a "personal mission" to lobby Bill Clinton about the pardon, a mission she apparently completed. Judd briefly outlined the significance of the discovery: "That would have been before Denise Rich made her final payment promised to the Clinton library, $450,000 in all, and before Beth Dozoretz pledged to raise a million dollars for the library." Lisa Myers offered a clear outline of the donation pattern in her NBC Nightly News story: "Federal records show that after that date Rich's already generous contributions to the Democratic Party, Hillary's campaign and the Clinton library accelerate. She gives more than a half million dollars over the next nine months."
Wednesday night, as detailed in the March 1
CyberAlert, the CBS Evening News refused to report a poll, taken after
Bush's Tuesday night speech to Congress, which found 67 percent favored
his tax cut plan compared to 31 percent who opposed it. Instead, CBS's
John Roberts featured a woman in an Omaha restaurant who thought Bush's
tax cut "could probably be reduced" as he added that another
woman "fears the President is rolling the dice on eight years of
success just for political gain." For more, go to the March 1
CyberAlert: For details about the CBS News poll, go to: (Wednesday morning on CBS's The Early Show Jim Nantz, filling in for Bryant Gumbel, introduced a story on Bush's speech by noting how a CBS News survey discovered "88 percent who watched say they approve of the President's proposals. On his centerpiece, 67 percent now favor his tax cut.") But Dan Rather still won't let his viewers hear
anything about it. He introduced a March 1 Evening News story by again
adopting the liberal spin about how Bush is cutting spending just to make
room for his tax cut,, warning "that to help bankroll the Bush tax
cuts, ten federal programs, at least, will face spending cuts." Roberts then checked in on President Bush's "road show" in Atlanta where Bush labeled his plan as "the people's budget." Roberts suggested Bush has a "divide and conquer" strategy to peel off Democratic Congressmen and Senators. Robert moved on to the unveiling of the Democratic plan to "slash only the lowest bracket from 15 to 12 percent," expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and reduce the marriage penalty. "Democrats boasted more benefits for middle and low income earners than the Bush plan, and no special breaks for the rich," Roberts compliantly announced in relaying the Democratic spin. Following a clip of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, Roberts noted how Republicans called the plan the "same old Democratic line." Viewers then heard House Majority Whip Tom DeLay assert: "Their bill, from what I've been able to ascertain, is nothing more than redistribution of wealth." Roberts then concluded his report by citing a poll which put DeLay in the minority: "New polls, however, show voters leaning slightly in favor of the Democratic plan. And with the Senate narrowly opposed to Mr. Bush there's bound to be a compromise, but it appears almost certain that Americans will get some kind of tax cut and soon." Roberts did not say which of any "new
polls" in particular he was citing, but in checking at www.pollingreport.com [4]
I could find only one such survey: The ABC News/Washington Post poll
released on Monday night which ABC News touted that night as well as on
Tuesday morning and which NBC's Today also highlighted on Wednesday
morning. This is the poll in which only 22 percent listed a tax cut at the
"top priority" for the surplus. See the February 27 CyberAlert
Extra: Roberts on Thursday night was apparently picking up on this ABC question: "Which of these would you prefer: a large tax-cut plan that provides an across-the-board tax cut for everyone, or a smaller tax cut plan that provides targeted tax cuts mainly for lower and middle-income people?" Fifty-three percent responded "smaller tax cut" while 43 percent preferred a "large tax cut." [WEB UPDATE: Roberts may also have been referring to a new Reuters/Zogby poll conducted Tuesday night after Bush's speech and on Wednesday. In a March 1 story Alan Elsner of Reuters reported it found: "Some 38 percent backed Bush's proposal for a $1.6 trillion cut over 10 years but 40 percent preferred the Democratic Party's smaller $800 billion package." Elsner added, however, that "eight percent wanted the $2.5 trillion cut proposed by some Republicans." So, by 46 to 40 percent the public actually wants a tax cut as large as Bush's or larger.]
For those who skipped item #2 above, check it for details on how the CBS Evening News on Thursday night again ignored its own network's poll and chose instead to highlight how a competitor's survey found "voters leaning slightly in favor" of the Democratic tax cut plan.
On the March 1 broadcast Moran announced: "Mr.
Bush has embarked on a two-day, five-state swing to sell his $1.6 trillion
tax cut, as well as his blueprint for the federal budget unveiled
yesterday. But the budget blueprint the White House has released may
already have cost the President votes in Congress. Democrats lost no time
in attacking the President's proposals as stingy to the point of
meanness."
Clinton may have lost most of his defenders in the media now that he's no longer in a position to block evil conservatives, but how many media defenders has Dan Burton ever had or have now?
Just like all of Clinton's defenders in the political ranks, not until after he's left office and it doesn't matter any more does Brokaw dare to make light of ethics in Clinton's orbit of friends, family and associates. --Brent Baker [6] >>>
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Oops. Twice
in February on World News Tonight ABC reporter Jackie Judd trumpeted
claims of how, since Denise Rich's large contributions came in before
pardon efforts began, there was no connection between her $450,000
donation to the Clinton library and a pardon for her ex-husband. But on
Thursday's World News Tonight Judd had to concede new evidence shows the
pardon effort began well before Denise Rich's final payment, but Judd
didn't point out how this contradicted her earlier reporting.
When
does CBS News promote a competitor's poll instead of its own? When its
own inconveniently determined people overwhelmingly favored President
Bush's tax cut plan while the competitor's poll suggested a preference
for the Democratic tax cut plan. Thursday night, CBS again skipped its own
survey while John Roberts asserted "new polls...show voters leaning
slightly in favor of the Democratic plan."
The
Fox News Channel's Brit Hume picked up on CBS's avoidance of its own
poll as reported in Thursday's CyberAlert. On the March 1 Special Report
with Brit Hume, during the "Grapevine" segment, Hume informed
FNC viewers:
President
Bush has lost Tom Daschle's support for his tax cut plan? That seemed to
be the odd implication of ABC's Terry Moran insisting, before a
soundbite from Tom Daschle, that Bush's budget may have "cost"
him votes since Democrats were "attacking the President's proposals
as stingy to the point of meanness." MRC analyst Jessica Anderson
caught the juxtaposition aired on Thursday's Good Morning America.
Geraldo
Rivera has realized he's among the very few remaining Clinton defenders.
On Wednesday's Rivera Live on CNBC, MRC analyst Geoffrey Dickens
noticed, Rivera lamented how a New York City weekly has take on Senator
Hillary Clinton as he worried to guest Lanny Davis on the February 28
show:
Even Tom
Brokaw is making Hugh Rodham jokes. Appearing Wednesday night on CBS's
Late Show with David Letterman, the NBC News anchor cracked: "I
should point out that my appearance here tonight was arranged by Hugh
Rodham. He's no longer taking money for these kinds of favors, however,
but I did have to arrange for $2,000 worth of Big Macs and a car load of
fries."