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

Discussing Foster, Hannity asked: "Did a close friend of Hillary Clinton commit suicide, or was it a massive coverup?"

On the July 22 edition of Fox News' Hannity's America, teasing a segment on "the mysterious death of [former deputy White House counsel] Vince Foster," host Sean Hannity asked: "Did a close friend of [Sen.] Hillary [Rodham] Clinton [D-NY] commit suicide, or was it a massive coverup?" During the segment, Hannity asserted that on July 20, 1993: "Vince Foster got in his car and drove to Fort Marcy Park in Virginia. And he supposedly walked through the woods, and depending on which version of the story you believe, he took his own life." He also claimed that "[i]n the minds of some," questions regarding the contents of Foster's files following his suicide "may have provided a motive for foul play." In fact, Foster's death has been conclusively determined by several investigations to have been a suicide. Hannity billed this segment as "one of the darkest and most mysterious" of "The Clinton Chapters," a regular series on Hannity's America whose assertions Media Matters for America has repeatedly debunked. This is the second week in a row that Hannity has baselessly asserted on Hannity's America that the circumstances of Foster's death are still a matter of debate. The Office of the Independent Counsel -- then headed by Kenneth Starr -- completed its inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Foster's death with a report issued on October 11, 1997, which concluded that "based on investigation and analysis of the evidentiary record, that Mr. Foster committed suicide by gunshot in Fort Marcy Park." The Office of the Independent Counsel's report also excerpted the findings of several other investigations into the death of Vince Foster, all of which conclusively determined that his death was a suicide. These investigations included:

Malkin on Clinton-Edelman exchange: "Wasn't this a case of Hillary ... playing armchair general?"
On the July 20 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, guest host Michelle Malkin led a discussion of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) request in May that the Pentagon brief Congress on what contingency plans, if any, it has for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq -- a request that Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman said "reinforces enemy propaganda." Malkin asked Fox News contributor Juan Williams, "Wasn't this a case of Hillary putting on her little imaginary four stars on her sleeve and playing armchair general? Isn't that perhaps what got the Pentagon so ticked off, Juan?" Read more

Coulter logic: Bush appointee's letter a "good sign" of Clinton's likely relationship with Pentagon if elected pres.
On the July 20 edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto, during a discussion of a letter sent to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) from Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman accusing Clinton of "reinforc[ing] enemy propaganda" by seeking information on the Pentagon's plans for an eventual U.S. exit from Iraq, guest host David Asman wondered what "this say[s] about what kind of relationship she's going to have as commander in chief, with the Pentagon?" Right-wing pundit Ann Coulter replied that the relationship may be "a little bit tense." Asman then cited purported "tension" between former President Bill Clinton and "military commanders," and asked: "Are we in for that again if Hillary is elected?" Coulter replied: "I suspect so, and this is a good sign of it." Yet neither Asman nor Coulter mentioned that Edelman -- a former adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney -- is a political appointee, appointed by President Bush in 2005, and that presumably such positions at the Pentagon would be filled by her own appointees if she is elected president. As such, Edelman's letter is in no way indicative of the Defense Department's relationship with Clinton in her own administration. Read more

Hannity & Colmes used cucumber, condom to misrepresent Obama's stance on sex ed
The July 20 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, previewing a discussion of comments Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) made July 17 in support of age-appropriate sex education, aired video footage of a woman applying a condom to a cucumber as co-host Sean Hannity asked, "Later, what is it that Barack Obama was thinking when he said he supported sex ed for kindergartners?" But the Obama campaign has made clear what he meant. Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki reportedly told David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network: "Barack Obama supports sensible, community-driven education for children because, among other things, he believes it could help protect them from pedophiles. A child's knowledge of the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touching is crucial to keeping them safe from predators." Explaining his views in 2004, as Media Matters for America noted, Obama reportedly said, "Nobody's suggesting that kindergartners are going to be getting information about sex in the way that we think about it," but rather that kindergartners should be taught about "inappropriate touching" and that "[i]f they ask a teacher 'where do babies come from,' that providing information that the fact is that it's not a stork is probably not an unhealthy thing." Later, co-host Alan Colmes said that "Barack Obama never said that we should teach in kindergarten things like condoms," but the program again showed the footage of a woman applying a condom to a cucumber just prior to Colmes' statement. Read more

NY Post, Wash. Times bashed Clinton for Edelman exchange
A July 21 New York Post editorial and a July 23 Washington Times editorial criticized Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) for, respectively, taking actions that "undermin[e] their [the U.S. troops'] mission" and "advertising U.S. willingness to abandon another ally" because of her request that the Pentagon brief Congress on "what current contingency plans exist for the future withdrawal of United States forces from Iraq." The editorials echoed a letter responding to Clinton's request sent by Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman, asserting that "[p]remature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq reinforces enemy propaganda." Read more

Global Warming

On Fox News, Hannity continued to call carbon offsets a "sham" -- still no mention of Murdoch
On the July 22 edition of Fox News' Hannity's America, host Sean Hannity again criticized the purchase of credits to offset one's "carbon footprint" as a "sham," adding: "You know what it's like? It's like saying to your husband or spouse, 'I'm going to cheat, but I'll buy you a diamond ring.' That's what it's saying." As Media Matters for America documented, Hannity has previously derided carbon offsets as a "sham," a "crock," and a "ridiculous concept," and has repeatedly criticized former Vice President Al Gore's reported use of them. However, Hannity has yet to address the pledge by News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch "to be carbon neutral, across all our businesses" -- which includes Fox News -- "by 2010." Murdoch specifically mentioned that his plan calls for reducing net carbon emissions to zero "through a combination of operational changes and carbon offsets." Read more

War in Iraq

On CNN, Lou Dobbs mischaracterized Iraq exit plans as "full withdrawal"
On the July 21 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs This Week, discussing Iraq withdrawal plans being offered "on the [presidential] campaign trail" and "on Capitol Hill," host Lou Dobbs asserted that "it's as if there are only two options before our policymakers, either full withdrawal or full 'stay the course.' " The Senate, however, recently debated an amendment to the defense authorization bill -- offered by Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Jack Reed (D-RI) -- that calls for a "reduction" of U.S forces in Iraq but also stipulates that the United States maintain a "limited presence" of troops there to protect U.S. and coalition infrastructure, train Iraqi security forces, and conduct counterterrorism operations. Moreover, Iraq withdrawal plans from two leading Democratic presidential contenders, Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), contain provisions that call for a "limited presence" and a "retention" of U.S. forces, respectively, for counterterrorism operations, force and infrastructure protection, and training Iraqi security forces. Read more

Propaganda/Noise Machine

Savage said Imus was "lynched," compared his firing to "what was done in Nazi Germany to Jews"
On the July 20 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage said Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson "lynched [radio host Don] Imus" over racially charged comments he made during his April 4 show. Savage, commenting on the subsequent firing of Imus, went on to say, "This is what was done in Nazi Germany to Jews." As Media Matters for America documented, Imus described the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos." Read more

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