Time Mag Chief: Gore a 'Superb Choice' for Person of the Year --12/18/2007

Published: 12/18/2007 2:00 AM ET

the Steven P.J. Wood Senior Fellow and Vice President for Research and Publications

1. Time Mag Chief: Gore a 'Superb Choice' for Person of the Year
Time magazine's Managing Editor hinted on Monday's Today show that Al Gore would be a "superb choice" for recipient of the publication's 2007 Person of the Year award. Richard Stengel agreed with co-host Meredith Vieira that the former Vice President was on the "short list" and extolled: "He's had an extraordinary year. He's had an extraordinary influence. There was a real tipping point this year in terms of people being conscious of the environment. So, he would be a superb choice." On Time's Web site, the magazine is currently ranking the potential of the seven "short list" candidates. Each person receives a pro and con as to why that individual might or might not win. And while General David Petraeus's "con" is that he can be seen as "excessively protective" of President Bush, Gore's negative is simply that much of his "green works" were completed in 2006. However, the "pro" touted impact: "The Nobel Prize ensures that a generation of children will envision his face while being scolded for leaving a room without turning off the lights." The winner of Time's "Person of the Year" will be announced live on Wednesday's Today.

2. ABC's Kate Snow: Lieberman a 'Conservative' Backing McCain
According to ABC's Kate Snow, support for the Iraq War automatically makes one a conservative, even if that individual is liberal on most other issues. In reporting on Monday's Good Morning America on the increasingly tight race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Snow briefly mentioned at the end that Joseph Lieberman endorsed John McCain. She dismissively referred to Lieberman as a "conservative" when she announced McCain "won over a long-time Democrat, all be it a conservative one."

3. Tom Brokaw: Iraq Surge Success a 'Black Mark' on Team Bush
In a long interview with Rachel Sklar of The Huffington Post, former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw accentuated the dark cloud inside the silver lining of the surge. The fact that it's having some effect only darkens a "black mark" against the administration. But when it comes to the current campaign, he could only offer praise for Hillary Clinton ("enormous capacity" of her "native intelligence") and Barack Obama (also with "enormous intelligence," and some rookie mistakes.)

4. Now Online: '20th Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting'
Now Online: Results for the "Best Notable Quotables of 2007, the Twentieth Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting" A panel of 52 leading media observers judged 17 award categories and the winning quotes and top runners-up have been posted on the MRC's home page, with the quotes from television accompanied by click-and-play Flash video, as well as downloadable Windows Media video and MP3 audio clip.

5. Christmas Gift Idea: Bozell's New Book on the Media and Hillary
MRC President Brent Bozell's new book on the news media and Hillary Clinton: The Perfect Holiday Gift for Your Favorite Conservative. This Christmas, give your favorite conservative, Mom, Dad, friend or colleague, something you know they will love. Give them Whitewash: What the Media Won't Tell You about Hillary Clinton but Conservatives Will, by the Media Research Center's own L. Brent Bozell and Tim Graham. Listen to Sean Hannity: "This is the defining book that needed to be written on Hillary Clinton, and anybody who votes in 2008 needs to examine this thoroughly."

Time Mag Chief: Gore a 'Superb Choice'
for Person of the Year

Time magazine's Managing Editor hinted on Monday's Today show that Al Gore would be a "superb choice" for recipient of the publication's 2007 Person of the Year award. Richard Stengel agreed with co-host Meredith Vieira that the former Vice President was on the "short list" and extolled: "He's had an extraordinary year. He's had an extraordinary influence. There was a real tipping point this year in terms of people being conscious of the environment. So, he would be a superb choice."

On Time's Web site, the magazine is currently ranking the potential of the seven "short list" candidates. Each person receives a pro and con as to why that individual might or might not win. And while General David Petraeus's "con" is that he can be seen as "excessively protective" of President Bush, Gore's negative is simply that much of his "green works" were completed in 2006. However, the "pro" touted impact: "The Nobel Prize ensures that a generation of children will envision his face while being scolded for leaving a room without turning off the lights." The winner of Time's "Person of the Year" will be announced live on Wednesday's Today. See Time's Web site for the "pro/con" list: www.time.com

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

Stengel, it should be noted, is a former advisor and speechwriter to Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley. The MRC has documented his bias throughout the years. In June of 1999, he famously derided the communist-exposing Whittaker Chambers as a "nasty piece of work" and wrote that "nobody likes a snitch." Check the May 18, 2006 CyberAlert for more on Stengel: www.mrc.org

Co-host Vieira did mention that General David Petraeus is in the running and that the "controversial troop surge in Iraq may actually be working." But she also hyped the fact that "a lot of people think Al Gore is going to be the choice."

A transcript of the segment, which aired at 7:44am on December 17:

MEREDITH VIEIRA: It is one of the most anticipated announcements of the year. Since 1927, Time magazine has selected a man, woman, group, place or even idea to honor as person of the year. The criteria for the choice, someone that, quote, "for better or for worse, has done the most to influence the events of the year." And this year, the field is wide open. There have been presidents, dictators, and leaders in the world of business. Even you have made the cut. So who might grace the cover this year? Could it be author J.K. Rowling, who after seven installments of the wildly popular Harry Potter books, had her final Potter chapter? Or Steve Jobs, chairman and CEO of Apple, which continues to dominate new realms of technology with inventions like the iPhone. Or General David Petraeus, whose controversial troop surge in Iraq may actually be working? Other choices, former Vice President Al Gore, who won the Nobel Peace prize this year for his lifelong dedication to the environment. Or could it be one of the many world leaders who made headlines this year, like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Russian President Vladimir Putin, who tightened his grip on power? How about Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, trying to broker a Middle East peace? Or Chinese President Hu Jintao, who is transforming his country into a 21st century superpower. So who or what will it be this year? We'll find out later this week. And the answer lies in the brain of this man, Richard Stengel, Time's managing editor. Richard, good morning.
RICHARD STENGEL: That's a scary concept
VIEIRA: Well, ultimately, it's you who picks the person of the year. But explain the process to us a little bit.
STENGEL: Well, we consult with all our correspondents around the world, domestic and, and internationally. We poll otherwise men and women and former persons of the year, for example, Henry Kissinger. And then we kind of get a brain trust together to talk about it. But, you know, it's not a scientific choice. There's no mathematical equation. It's about making a judgment about who did have the most influence and the most importance.
DAVID GREGORY: Rick, you went with this idea of the concept last year, the user-generated media. Do you feel more of an inclination now to go back to an individual?
STENGEL: Yes, I do. And it will be an individual this year.
VIEIRA: Did it backfire? Picking "you" last year.
STENGEL: No, and it was a wonderful choice, very popular among readers. I think you heard more about person of the year last year than any time in history but I want to get back to that, kind of, core idea of choosing one individual who makes a difference. And that is what Time has talked about for years and years, how individuals change history.
VIEIRA: Core rhymes with Gore. And a lot of people think Al Gore is going to be the choice.
STENGEL: He's had an extraordinary year. He's had an extraordinary influence. There was a real tipping point this year in terms of people being conscious of the environment. So, he would be a superb choice.
VIEIRA: He's on the short list?
STENGEL: He's on the short list.
GREGORY: It is interesting to look at some of these foreign leaders and how they drive international behavior. So Ahmadinejad and the pall he's casting in the Middle East or Hu Jintao and the rise of China, how have you discussed all of this?
STENGEL: Well, when you look at, for example, Hu Jintao and Vladimir Putin of Russia, these are giants on the world stage. Their countries are enormously important. I mean, Russia is influencing the way everything is going on in the world. China has the Olympics this year. I mean, they both would be very, very strong choices.
GREGORY: And Vladimir could be, you know, could be in the future because he's apparently not leaving power.
STENGEL: That's right. He's succeeding himself.
VIEIRA: Well, isn't that one of the rules about this, it's not just who made a difference this year for better or worse but the possible impacts in the following year as well?
STENGEL: Well, I think so. I don't want it to be retrospective. Anybody who gets chosen is somebody who will continue to have influence in the future. It's not just about what you did in the past year.
VIEIRA: And should I be offended that we're not on the short list?
STENGEL: Well, it won't be you guys again this year.
VIEIRA: Richard Stengel, thank you so much. If you'd like to vote for your top choice from the short list, you can do it on our website Todayshow.com. And on Wednesday Richard Stengel will be back to reveal this year's winner for Person of the Year.

ABC's Kate Snow: Lieberman a 'Conservative'
Backing McCain

According to ABC's Kate Snow, support for the Iraq War automatically makes one a conservative, even if that individual is liberal on most other issues. In reporting on Monday's Good Morning America on the increasingly tight race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Snow briefly mentioned at the end that Joseph Lieberman endorsed John McCain. She dismissively referred to Lieberman as a "conservative" when she announced McCain "won over a long-time Democrat, all be it a conservative one."

Though Lieberman's support of the Iraq War is well known, Lieberman is hardly a conservative or even a "conservative Democrat." Lieberman voted with the American Conservative Union's agenda 17 percent of the time in 2006 and 16.8 percent lifetime. He voted with the ACU's liberal equivalent, Americans for Democratic Action, 75 percent of the time in 2006.

[This item was adopted from the NewsBusters post by Justin McCarthy: newsbusters.org ]

The entire transcript from 7:12 AM on December 17:

CHRIS CUOMO: Let's turn to the race for '08 and Hillary Clinton. Just a few weeks ago, she looked invincible, but now with 17 days left to the Iowa caucuses, she's in the race of her life. Over the weekend though, she did pick up the endorsement of the "Des Moines Register." And as "Good Morning America" weekend anchor Kate Snow reports, Hillary Clinton is doing all she can to win back more support.

KATE SNOW: Check out the 1980 Bell 222, AKA the Hill-o-copter. Senator Clinton and her supports plan to take to the air to hit all of Iowa's 99 counties in this key week before Christmas.
SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY): I could not be more pumped up. I am thrilled.
SNOW: Clinton is flying high off that endorsement from Iowa's biggest newspaper. Some good news after weeks of bad ink.
SENATOR BARACK OBAMA (D-IL): I think that this is how we're going to win this election.
SNOW: Barack Obama is leading polls in Iowa, and now he's coming on strong in New Hampshire, too. Sunday he won the endorsement of the neighboring paper, "The Boston Globe." But a certain former president says all those Obama supporters are rolling the dice. In a conversation with Charlie Rose Friday night, Bill Clinton talked at length about why he thinks Barack Obama isn't ready to be president.
FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: When's the last time we elected a president based on one year of service?
OBAMA: Here's a quote. "The same old experience is irrelevant. You can have the right kind of experience or the wrong kind of experience. And mine is rooted in the real lives of real people, and it will bring real results if we have the courage to change." And that was Bill Clinton in 1992.
SNOW: Beyond the Democrats, it was a good weekend to be John McCain. He won nods from both the "Des Moines Register" and "The Boston Globe." And he won over long-time Democrat, all be it a conservative one, Senator Joe Lieberman, who ran with Al Gore, will endorse McCain later today. For "Good Morning America," Kate Snow, ABC News, Des Moines, Iowa.

Tom Brokaw: Iraq Surge Success a 'Black
Mark' on Team Bush

In a long interview with Rachel Sklar of The Huffington Post, former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw accentuated the dark cloud inside the silver lining of the surge. The fact that it's having some effect only darkens a "black mark" against the administration. But when it comes to the current campaign, he could only offer praise for Hillary Clinton ("enormous capacity" of her "native intelligence") and Barack Obama (also with "enormous intelligence," and some rookie mistakes.)

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

Brokaw on the surge: "It was too late, there were a lot of officers and military analysts who said early on that we needed more troops there, the fact that the surge came so late in the process is, I think, a black mark against the war planners and against the administration, I don't think there's any question about that. But now that it's in place it is having some effect: The diminution of insurgent attacks -- but now we find out that they're moving north and they're just changing the battlefield."

Sklar seemed intent on finding every common point that could be made between Iraq and Vietnam. Like a good Democratic Party man, Brokaw could only find the nicest things to say about Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton, too. First, he said Obama has "made some rookie mistakes, and he's still a work in progress. Everyone agrees he's a man of enormous intelligence and great potential, but one of the reasons we have these campaigns is to see it through, so to speak."

By contrast, on Hillary, Brokaw argued: "I think she's run a very impressive campaign, I think she has enormous capacity in terms of her just native intelligence and her political acuity...she still struggles with what I would probably best describe as that missing component -- people are not quite there with her yet. And a lot of it unspoken and some of it just has to do with character -- 'I don't quite trust her, I can't warm up to her' -- whatever the element is, it's there. Despite all that she has run a remarkably strong campaign."

Just before that, Brokaw complained that the country was too divided between right and left, that the division is "radioactive," and he even complained about his recent interview with conservative talk-show host Hugh Hewitt:
"I think that what has happened at the national level -- much less at the state level, at the national level -- the professional party organizations have gotten hung up on this liberal/conservative wavelength and it becomes a radioactive wavelength. I was a talk show the other day with Hugh Hewitt -- he wanted to just parse the country with these labels! And he didn't want to make a qualitative judgment. He wanted to add up how many were left of center and how many were right of center and make a judgment about that. Listen, I'm out around this country a lot. And what I hear -- from Republicans and Democrats alike, in Montana, the Southwest, wherever I am -- they don't give a damn if the solution comes from a liberal or comes from a conservative as long as it's working. A lot of these are not ideological issues we have to face."

That's a rich answer coming from Brokaw, who has trouble telling an interviewer from The Huffington Post that the surge is working, and even if it is, it's way too late to give any credit to President Bush or General Petraeus.

For the Huffington Post interview posted Monday: www.huffingtonpost.com

Now Online: '20th Annual Awards for the
Year's Worst Reporting'

Now Online: Results for the "Best Notable Quotables of 2007, the Twentieth Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting" A panel of 52 leading media observers judged 17 award categories and the winning quotes and top runners-up have been posted on the MRC's home page, with the quotes from television accompanied by click-and-play Flash video, as well as downloadable Windows Media video and MP3 audio clip. The direct address: www.mrc.org

You'll also see a link to an Adobe Acrobat PDF that matches the eight-page hard copy version. Direct address for the PDF: www.mrc.org

For the list of judges, who were generous with their time: www.mrc.org

Between Christmas and New Year's Day I'll distribute the text of all the winners and runners-up, but for now you'll have to go online to learn the results.

Christmas Gift Idea: Bozell's New Book
on the Media and Hillary