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

AP: Romney's NH mansion "a valuable asset"; Edwards' NC mansion "contrasts with anti-poverty message"
A July 10 Associated Press article by Philip Elliott reported that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's (R) New Hampshire vacation estate, valued at $10 million, "allow[s] him to portray himself to New Hampshire voters as one of them as he seeks to win the state's first-in-the-nation primary." The article reported that "[f]or a man who could be the next president, the estate at the tip of Clark Point could easily serve as a remote, [Lake] Winnipesaukee White House." But the AP presented a very different view of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards' $5.4 million North Carolina estate, which a February 7 AP article stated "contrasts with" Edwards' "anti-poverty message." Read more

Politico uncritically quoted McCain aide accusing Dems of voting not to "fund the troops"
In a July 10 article examining the effect of the Iraq war on the 2008 presidential race, The Politico quoted Mark Salter, an adviser to the presidential campaign of Republican candidate Sen. John McCain (AZ), asserting, "It's one thing for (Democrats) to say, 'Get out,' or 'Redeploy,' or 'Divide the country into thirds' ... But it's another to say, 'We won't fund the troops.' That, I think, will be a pretty costly mistake in the general election. You had 150,000 troops in the country, and you voted not to resupply them with armor. ... Those things are easy to point out." Salter appeared to be criticizing those Democrats, who, on May 24, voted against a war funding bill that did not include a binding timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. The Politico did not note, however, that McCain himself recently voted against an emergency spending bill that funded the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That bill passed the Senate by a vote of 51-47 on March 29 and was reconciled in conference with a similar House version. Bush ultimately vetoed the bill on May 2, citing its provision for a withdrawal timetable. Read more

Wash. Post's Kornblut claimed Edwards launched "new poverty tour" to distract from the "three H's"
In a July 10 Washington Post article, staff writer Anne E. Kornblut wrote that Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards "is battling back the 'three H's' that have dogged his campaign -- expensive haircuts, a lavish new house and a stint working for a hedge fund," adding: "Now, he is trying to put emphasis on a 'P' -- his new poverty tour across the South and the Midwest." Kornblut's suggestion, however, that Edwards' "emphasis" on poverty is intended to distract from the "three H's" is baseless -- poverty has been a signature issue of Edwards' 2008 presidential campaign, as it was during his 2004 campaign. Kornblut herself reported on July 25, 2006, while she was with The New York Times, that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) "did not, however, go as far down the populist path as other possible presidential candidates, in particular Senator John Edwards, who is focused almost exclusively on poverty as he campaigns in early primary voting states." Read more

Cal Thomas: Hillary Clinton is "not a person who believes in the central tenets of Christianity"
In his July 10 nationally syndicated column, Cal Thomas discussed a July 7 New York Times article that reported that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) "said she believed in the resurrection of Jesus, though she described herself as less sure of the doctrine that being a Christian is the only way to salvation." Thomas asserted: "This is a politician speaking, not a person who believes in the central tenets of Christianity." He went on to suggest that a Christian cannot believe that "there are other ways to God than through Jesus." Read more

Propaganda/Noise Machine

Despite past discussion on his show, Hannity claimed he had "never heard" Coulter call for Clinton assassination
On the July 9 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, co-host Sean Hannity responded to liberal blogger Hart Williams' recent statement that he has "dibs on [conservative radio host] Rush [Limbaugh], as soon as it's legal and lawful to shoot him" by asking, "And what if it was a conservative that said this?" Later in the segment, co-host Alan Colmes cited right-wing pundit Ann Coulter's statement in her book High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case against Bill Clinton (Regnery, 1998), that the national debate during the Monica Lewinsky uproar should not have focused on whether President Bill Clinton "did it," but rather "whether to impeach or assassinate" him. Media Research Center president L. Brent Bozell III replied: "I have never heard her say that." Hannity agreed: "I've never heard it, either." However, as Media Matters for America documented, Coulter's comments were discussed on a previous edition of Hannity & Colmes. Read more

Savage: "[O]f all of the dictators in the past," Al Gore is "closest" to Mussolini
On the July 9 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio program, Michael Savage responded to a caller who described former Vice President Al Gore's efforts to raise awareness of global warming as "passionate" by saying, "Oh, I'm sure he's also passionate. There are many passionate individuals in history. Mussolini was passionate about bringing back fascism to Italy." He added: "[O]f all of the dictators in the past, you know the one Al Gore strikes me as [being] closest [to] is Mussolini -- sort of a non-racist, benign demagogue using global warming in an attempt to take over the world's economy and put it in his own hands and the hands of his cronies." Read more

Ethics

NBC's Reid: "Washington" is "surprised" by Vitter-"D.C. Madam" connection because Vitter says he's a conservative
Reporting on Sen. David Vitter's (R-LA) apology after the disclosure that Vitter's phone number was among the phone records of alleged "D.C. Madam" Deborah Jeane Palfrey, NBC News congressional correspondent Chip Reid said that "Vitter's website says he is 'focused on advancing mainstream conservative principles,' which is one reason many here in Washington are so surprised by this revelation" -- suggesting that a conservative is far less likely to be involved in a prostitution scandal than a liberal or Democrat. Read more

Global Warming

Hannity continued to bash carbon offsets -- no mention of Murdoch's purported plans to use them
On the July 9 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, during a discussion of the recent Live Earth concert series -- a 24-hour, 7-continent concert series to raise awareness for issues related to global warming -- co-host Sean Hannity criticized the concept of purchasing carbon credits to offset one's "carbon footprint" as a "joke" and a "fraud." Guest Chris Horner, senior fellow for the energy industry-funded Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), joined Hannity in bashing carbon offsets, likening the system to a priest who buys "adultery offsets." This is only the latest example of Hannity attacking carbon offsets and, in particular, former Vice President Al Gore's reported use of them. However, Hannity has yet to address News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch's pledge to take steps -- including the use of carbon offsets -- "to be carbon neutral, across all our businesses" -- which includes Fox News -- "by 2010." Read more

Government and Elections

CNN's Dobbs said Clinton is "selling out our middle class" on H-1B visas, but ignored GOP candidates
On the July 9 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, Dobbs reported that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) "repeated her call for an increase in the number of H-1B visas" during a recent speech to the Indian Institute of Technology, adding that Clinton "backs a plan that would raise the number of H-1[B] visas to 115,000 from the current level of 65,000." Dobbs teased the segment by saying, "Tonight, Senator Hillary Clinton facing charges she's selling out our middle class to boost her presidential ambitions. Is the senator putting the interest of India ahead of working Americans?" In highlighting only Clinton's position on the issue, Dobbs ignored positions taken by Republican presidential candidates Sen. John McCain (AZ), former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Sen. Sam Brownback (KS) in support of plans "that would raise the number of H-1 visas to 115,000 from the current level of 65,000." GOP presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has also expressed his support for the H1-B visa program. Dobbs did not suggest that Giuliani, McCain, Brownback, or Romney are "selling out our middle class" or "putting the interest of India ahead of working Americans." In addition, both Dobbs and CNN correspondent Louise Schiavone suggested that Clinton was a hypocrite for supporting an increase in the number of H1-B visas issued while opposing the outsourcing of American jobs. Neither Dobbs nor Schiavone explained how Clinton's positions on these issues amount to hypocrisy. Read more

War in Iraq

O'Reilly now attacks NY Times, though he previously urged "hand[ing] over everything to the Iraqis" ASAP
Following the publication of a July 8 New York Times editorial asserting that "[i]t is time for the United States to leave Iraq, without any more delay than the Pentagon needs to organize an orderly exit," Bill O'Reilly attacked the Times on the July 9 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor for "declar[ing] defeat in Iraq yesterday on its editorial page." O'Reilly claimed: "It is beyond disappointing this campaign is not succeeding, but I'm still praying for a miracle, as a stable Iraq makes the world a safer place. I believe that prayer is not being shared in some precincts here in America, but of course I could be wrong." However, as Media Matters for America documented, on the February 20, 2006, edition of his nationally syndicated radio program, O'Reilly said that the United States ought to "hand over everything to the Iraqis as fast as humanly possible" because "[t]here are so many nuts in the country -- so many crazies -- that we can't control them." Read more

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