Here are today's news items from Media Matters for America, click on the title or 'read more' to read the entirety of each story.

2008 Elections

Limbaugh: Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden "on the same page"
On his radio show, Rush Limbaugh claimed that he gets Sen. Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden "confused," stating that bin Laden's call in a newly released tape "to invade Pakistan and declare war on Pakistan and [Pakistani President] Musharraf ... puts him on the same page with" Obama. However, Obama has said he "never called for an invasion of Pakistan."
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JustHillary.com headline falsely labeled Clinton as "only Dem not to condemn MoveOn's ad"
A September 21 headline on the political website JustHillary.com falsely claimed that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) was the "only Dem not to condemn MoveOn's ad," a reference to the full-page advertisement on Gen. David Petraeus the liberal organization placed in The New York Times on September 10, titled "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" The JustHillary.com headline read in full: "BETRAYAL: Giuliani blasts Hillary for being only Dem not to condemn MoveOn's ad and linked to a September 21 article by Glenn Thrush and Craig Gordon posted on Newsday.com that reported that "Clinton was the only one of 25 senators, all Democrats, who opposed Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn's [R-TX] amendment to 'strongly condemn' MoveOn.Org for running newspaper ads referring to the general as 'Betray Us.' " Read more

Wash. Post's Weisman: "How about Obama blowing up the Sears Tower! ... (Just kidding, folks.)"
During the September 21 "Post Politics Hour" discussion on washingtonpost.com, a reader asked Washington Post congressional correspondent Jonathan Weisman what "could really shake up either of the presidential primary races between now and January," adding: "I'm not talking about Osama [bin Laden] blowing up the Sears Tower or 1,000 GIs being killed in Iraq next month but regularly scheduled events or ... things within the campaigns' control." Weisman began his response by stating: "How about [Sen. Barack] Obama [D-IL] blowing up the Sears Tower! I never liked that building anyway. (Just kidding, folks.)." Read more

New article by NY Times writer of "commanding daddy" profile left out 9-11 chairs' regrets about lack of scrutiny of Giuliani
Following a May 29 profile of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, in which he described Giuliani as a "commanding daddy of a [presidential] candidate," New York Times reporter Michael Powell produced a front-page, 2,700-word article published September 21, headlined "In 9/11 Chaos, Giuliani Forged a Lasting Image." In that article, Powell noted that Giuliani "has made this day the centerpiece of his presidential campaign, aware that millions of Americans hold that heroic view in their collective mind's eye" and quoted former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-NE), a member of the 9-11 Commission, saying that "Giuliani was brave and reassuring, and you can't subtract that from his résumé." But while Powell cited Kerrey's praise of one aspect of Giuliani's performance in the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks, Powell did not note, as Media Matters for America has, that the co-chairmen of the bipartisan 9-11 Commission have written that their review of Giuliani's overall record with respect to the 9-11 attacks constituted a "low point" for the commission. Read more

NY Times mischaracterized Boxer amendment, claimed it was "extremely similar" to Cornyn amendment repudiating MoveOn.org ad
A New York Times article on the passage of Sen. John Cornyn's amendment repudiating a MoveOn.org ad critical of Gen. David Petraeus described another amendment by Sen. Barbara Boxer as "extremely similar" and claimed that Boxer's amendment "did not mention the MoveOn.org ad." In fact, Boxer's amendment did mention the MoveOn.org ad but, unlike Cornyn's amendment, also noted Republican-backed attacks against Democratic Sen. John Kerry and former Sen. Max Cleland in condemning "all attacks on the honor, integrity, and patriotism" of those who have served in the military. Read more

War in Iraq

Wash. Times quoted Boehner's support for MoveOn condemnation, but not his prior denunciation of such resolutions
A Washington Times article reported that House Minority Leader John Boehner was demanding that House Democrats take up a nonbinding resolution condemning MoveOn.org's "General Betray Us" ad, but the Times did not note that Boehner declared earlier this year that a "nonbinding resolution is nothing more than political theater." Read more

Politico uncritically quoted Boehner spokesman's false accusation that DCCC is using "small price" quote for fundraising
In an article reporting on a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee email to supporters criticizing House Minority Leader John Boehner for saying the Iraq war's cost in dollars and lives was a "small price," the Politico uncritically quoted Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith falsely accusing the DCCC of using Boehner's comments to raise money. In fact, the DCCC email did not ask for contributions. Read more

NRO contributors ignore Ledeen's attack on Abizaid despite denunciation of Petraeus critics
In a blog post on National Review Online's The Corner, Michael Ledeen wrote that it "was under [retired Army Gen. John] Abizaid that the copious evidence of Iranian activity was suppressed, and we, let's say, took it easy on the thousands of Revolutionary Guards killers running all over the country." While several NRO contributors criticized MoveOn.org for its "General Betray Us" ad and Democrats for not condemning it, no NRO contributor has similarly condemned Ledeen's criticism of an American general.
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Media

Before MoveOn's "General Betray Us," there was Limbaugh's "Senator Betrayus"
Rush Limbaugh has called the MoveOn.org "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" advertisement "contemptible" and "indecent," but months earlier, on his radio show, he told his audience that he had a new name for Senator Chuck Hagel: "Senator Betrayus." Though Limbaugh has taken exception to accusations that he has attacked the patriotism of his political opponents, the "Senator Betrayus" remark is one of several instances in which Limbaugh has done so. Read more

LA Times reported Boxer's vote against GOP MoveOn amendment, not that she sponsored her own
On September 21, The Los Angeles Times reported that the Senate passed a nonbinding "sense of the Senate" amendment sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) that "condemned 'personal attacks on the honor and integrity of Gen. [David] Petraeus and all members of the United States armed forces.' " Cornyn's amendment refers to a full-page newspaper advertisement the liberal group MoveOn.org placed in The New York Times on September 10, titled, "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" The article continued: "The amendment split Democrats -- 22 voted for it, including California's Dianne Feinstein, and 24 against, including California's Barbara Boxer. It also split the chamber's two independents, with Joe Lieberman of Connecticut in favor and Bernie Sanders of Vermont opposed." However, the article did not report that Boxer herself sponsored a "sense of the Senate" amendment to "strongly condemn attacks on the honor, integrity, and patriotism of any individual who is currently serving or has served honorably in the United States Armed Forces, by any person or organization." Read more

Race/Affirmative Action

Matthews' coverage of Jena Six limited to Jackson's Obama comments
Hardball addressed the so-called Jena Six case for the first time on September 19, but the report focused only on Rev. Jesse Jackson's reported comment that Sen. Barack Obama was "acting like he's white" in his response to the matter. By contrast, the same edition of Hardball spent nearly 14 minutes on the O.J. Simpson case. The September 20 edition of Hardball featured no coverage of the Jena Six despite a thousand-plus march in Jena that day. Read more

O'Reilly surprised "there was no difference" between Harlem restaurant and other New York restaurants
Discussing his recent dinner with Rev. Al Sharpton at the Harlem restaurant Sylvia's, Bill O'Reilly reported that he "couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks, primarily black patronship." O'Reilly added: "There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, 'M-Fer, I want more iced tea.' "
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Health Care

MSNBC reported Bush "wants to see more [health] coverage for poor children" -- but not according to CBO
On the September 20 edition of MSNBC Live, correspondent Jeannie Ohm reported that President Bush, who was about to hold a news conference discussing health coverage, "will make comments about where he stands on the issue" of expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), adding that "[h]e wants to see more coverage for poor children." In a later segment on MSNBC Live, Ohm reported that "the president wants to make it very clear that he does not support what Congress is currently proposing, about $35 billion over five years; instead, he wants to see a much smaller amount, about $5 billion." But she did not report that the Congressional Budget Office estimated in May that "maintaining the states' current programs under SCHIP would require funding of $39 billion for the 2007-2012 period and $98 billion over the 2007-2017 period -- increases of $14 billion and $48 billion, respectively, over the baseline spending levels." Ohm also did not report that Bush has threatened to veto a Democratic bill that would substantially increase SCHIP funding. During the subsequent broadcast of Bush's press conference, MSNBC on-screen text read: "Pres. Bush talks about health care for poor children." Read more

Network news did not report CBO assessment that Bush's SCHIP proposal sharply underfunds program
In reports on President Bush's latest threat to veto legislation increasing funding by $35 billion for a health plan for poor children, neither NBC's Nightly News, ABC's World News, nor the CBS Evening News noted that Bush's alternative proposal -- a $5 billion expansion over five years -- would, according to the Congressional Budget Office, underfund the program by approximately $14 billion. Read more

Polling

AP, CNN, Wash. Post reported GOP claim that Webb proposal is unconstitutional without noting Webb response
Reporting on Sen. Jim Webb's proposal to "specify minimum periods between deployment of units and members of the Armed Forces" deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, several media outlets noted Sen. John McCain's criticism that the amendment is "unconstitutional" without including comments from Webb or any other Democrat defending the constitutionality of the proposal.
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Religious Discrimination

NRO's Derbyshire wants to deny Muslims entry to the U.S. and "expel foreign Muslim residents"
In a September 20 column headlined "Islamophobophobia," National Review Online columnist John Derbyshire explained why he takes issue with the concept of Islamophobia, which he previously discussed in a review of Robert Spencer's Religion of Peace? Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't (Regnery, 2007). In the column, Derbyshire wrote that it would be wise to "deny entry to foreign Muslims" and "to expel ... resident foreign Muslims": Read more

Propaganda/Noise Machine

Investor's Business Daily editorial -- reprinted by CNN -- falsely claimed Soros "financed" Media Matters
An Investor's Business Daily editorial, reprinted on CNNMoney.com, claimed that George Soros "has financed spin outfits such as Media Matters that specialize in providing distorted conservative political statements as grist for leftist politicians and media." The editorial also claimed that Media Matters "succeeded last year in denying incumbent [Sen. Joseph] Lieberman the Democratic nomination for Senate in Connecticut." In fact, Soros has never given money to Media Matters, and Media Matters does not participate or intervene in political campaigns. Read more

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