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Only CNN Noted Gore Fossil Folly; "Dastardly" Bush vs. Gore's "Cunningly" Smart Verbiage; Oval Office "Not a Flight Simulator" -- Extra Edition [1] 4) Letterman's "Top Ten Signs Your Debate Moderator is Nuts." Correction: The October 12 CyberAlert Extra included this quote in an excerpt of an article countering Al Gore's claim the North Pole will melt in 50 years: "At the North Pole the winter temperature is never lower than 35 degrees Celsius." We dropped what we thought was a misplaced dash mark. In fact, the quote actually referred to negative 35 degrees, so should have read: "...never lower than -35 degrees Celsius."
ABC and NBC fact-checked each candidate, but neither touched on Gore's claim about how the polar ice caps will melt in 50 years, a charge countered in the October 12 CyberAlert Extra. ABC admonished Gore for claiming his college tax credit is earned "per child" while NBC corrected Gore's implication that his education plan requires testing of students. Both corrected Bush on how only two of the three men convicted of murdering James Byrd were sentenced to death. NBC also corrected Bush about his allegation that Russia's Viktor Chernomyrdin embezzled IMF funds. ABC's Dean Reynolds backed up Gore's charge that Texas ranks at the bottom in health insurance coverage, but he failed to point out, as did CNN's Brooks Jackson, that Bush was also accurate in saying the percent covered in his state has increased while it has fallen nationally. Jackson also uniquely noted that contrary to his opposition in the debate, in the past Al Gore has supported higher energy taxes. Before getting to the debate, ABC, CBS and NBC all showed Gore's comment on the terrorist bombing followed by a clip of Bush supporting the administration. The CBS Evening News avoided debate fact checking as Bob Schieffer reported only that the candidates differed on foreign policy somewhat, but "it got testier on domestic issues. Bush chided Gore for relying too much on government. Gore went after Bush for his record back home. It was informative but broke no new ground." Here's how ABC, CBS and CNN evening shows on Thursday, October 12, evaluated the accuracy of Bush and Gore: -- ABC's World News Tonight actually ran two
brief stories, one on each candidate. Up first, Terry Moran from
Milwaukee with Al Gore, as transcribed by MRC analyst Brad Wilmouth: Moran failed to point out Gore's larger distortion in using the "$10,000 tax deduction" verbiage. As CNN's Brooks Jackson explained on the October 10 Inside Politics: "Ten thousand dollars of tuition will already qualify for a $2,000 tax credit under current law. Gore would increase the maximum benefit by $800 a year. One reason Gore keeps overselling his $800 tuition proposal: His campaign research shows talking about a $10,000 deduction is his single most popular initiative." Next on ABC Thursday night, Dean Reynolds with
George Bush: "Pressed last night on why he did not fight to
expand the Texas hate crimes law after the racially-motivated slaying
of James Byrd, Bush said this:" CNN's Brooks Jackson offered a more complete assessment of the Gore-Bush health insurance dispute. On Thursday's Inside Politics, like Reynolds, Jackson noted that Gore accurately got his ranking of Texas from the Census Bureau. But Jackson explained how the Census Bureau also backs up Bush's claim that the percent insured in Texas has risen during his tenure as Governor while it has fallen nationally: Those with no health insurance has decreased in Texas from 24.5 percent in 1995 to 23.3 percent in 1999 while nationally those without insurance has grown slightly, from 15.4 percent to 15.5 percent. -- NBC Nightly News. Tom Brokaw cited a new NBC News poll conducted after debate. It found Bush leading Gore by 46 to 41 percent. Lisa Myers handled "The Truth Squad"
for NBC and outlined her concerns: "Both men seemed more careful
with their facts than in their previous meeting, but there are a few
mistakes. Bush may have made a mistake in accusing a former Russian
Prime Minister of corruption." -- CNN. Inside Politics ran a debate review by Brooks Jackson, but it did not run again during CNN's 8pm ET hour usually filled by The World Today, though that hour-long special look at overseas crises did include a campaign story. In addition to Jackson's more thorough review
of health insurance claims quoted above as a contrast to ABC's
reporting, Jackson uniquely highlighted another Gore distortion of his
policy record: Jackson also asserted that Bush "stretched" in claiming he always supported the administration on Kosovo.
MRC Communications Director Liz Swasey caught the contrasting descriptions in the last few paragraphs of Bruni's debate review. It came in the context of praising Gore's restraint: "But there was acid just under the surface,
and it occasionally bubbled up. Mr. Gore made a point of referring to
the 'Bush-Quayle' administration, cunningly evoking with that
second name a politician, like the Texas Governor, who was ridiculed
for his verbal unsteadiness. Gore knew he could count on The New York Times to discredit Bush for him. Check out the ridicule heaped on Bush at the top of Bruni's story, titled "Rivals Massage Their Images in Conversational Exchange." Here's an excerpt from the beginning of it: For Vice President Al Gore, the second presidential debate was basically an act of contrition, a sustained and sometimes lightly self-mocking acknowledgment of where he had gone wrong the first time around. Almost every boast was qualified, every criticism carefully tempered. After saying that people all around the world admired the United States, Mr. Gore quickly added, "I don't think that's just the kind of exaggeration that we take pride in as Americans; it's really true." Before hitting Gov. George W. Bush with statistics that denigrated his record in Texas, he looked and sounded pained and self-effacing, as if he wished he did not have to do this and could only hope he was getting it right. Across the table, Mr. Bush was rummaging through a trove of big words. He talked about not letting the American military "atrophy." He expressed concern over any "abrogation" of agreements with allies. And he found something "egregious" twice in about five minutes. He also went through a roll call of Middle Eastern countries, naming "Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait." With geographic chops like these, Mr. Bush seemed to be asking voters, how could anyone doubt his capacity for world leadership? Mr. Bush even mentioned Viktor S. Chernomyrdin, the former prime minister of Russia, without having to, and managed to pronounce his name correctly. For all the serious talk about serious issues, what the candidates engaged in tonight was largely an exercise in image repair and image improvement. Mr. Gore sought a softer, warmer, more truthful touch. Mr. Bush sought an aura of comfort, not distress, with all the complicated information a president must, or at least should, master. Answering questions from the moderator, Jim Lehrer, about foreign policy, Mr. Bush adopted a tone so calm, content and convivial he might have been reminiscing with a grandmother about favorite holiday memories. END Excerpt
10. Rambling opening statement ends with teary marriage proposal to
Carmen Electra
A Nick News special aired Thursday night, "Kids Pick the President," featured Al Gore and George Bush responding to questions from kids. Jarred from Wichita, Kansas inquired: "I would like to ask why do my Mom and Dad have to pay so many taxes?" Sounds like a good topic for the third presidential debate next week. -- Brent Baker [2]
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The
terrorist bombing of a U.S. ship and violence in Israel led and dominated
all the broadcast and cable network newscasts Thursday night, but the
broadcast networks did manage to squeeze in one story each on the
presidential debate and its aftermath.
"Dastardly"
Bush versus how Gore was "cunningly evoking." An October 12
New York Times news story called George Bush's evoking, during the
debate, of Hillary Clinton's 1993-94 health care scheme, a
"dastardly claim." The American Heritage Dictionary defines
"dastardly" as: "Cowardly and mean-spirited; base.
Usage: Dastardly is employed most precisely when it refers to acts
involving cowardice. It is loosely used when it applies to any
reprehensible or risky act." But in the same story, New York
Times reporter Frank Bruni was impressed by how in using the term
"Bush-Quayle," Gore was "cunningly evoking" a
reminder of another politician "who was ridiculed for his verbal
unsteadiness."
The
President has his "hands on the controls and the Oval Office is
not a flight simulator," Tom Brokaw intoned as he ended
Thursday's NBC Nightly News with a lecture about the importance of
who is chosen to be the next President:
From
the October 12 Late Show with David Letterman, the "Top Ten Signs
Your Debate Moderator is Nuts." Copyright 2000 by Worldwide
Pants, Inc.
Speaking
of debate moderators, Bernard Shaw and Jim Lehrer may be incapable of
posing a conservative agenda question to the vice presidential and
presidential candidates, but a 12-year-old looking kid on Nickelodeon
can and did.