Media Matters for America summary, August 20, 2007
 
Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 22:03:10 -0400


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<p>Here are today's news items from <i>Media Matters for America</i>, 
click on the title or 'read more' to read the entirety of each story.</p>
<h1><a href="http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/2008_elections?src=other">2008 Elections</a></h1>
<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200708200001?src=other">Scarborough falsely claimed  "Obama's people are saying, 'We don't want to debate anymore'  "</a></b><br />
On <em>Morning Joe</em>, Joe Scarborough 
asked, "Any news out of the debate yesterday other than Barack Obama's people 
are saying, 'We don't want to debate 
anymore'?" In fact, 
Obama's campaign has 
said he will participate in eight more debates in 2007 but will not 
participate in 
any other debates beyond those eight during that period.
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200708200001?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200708200006?src=other">Hannity claimed Obama was "bashing America" when he criticized Bush's Afghanistan policy</a></b><br />
On <em>Hannity's America</em>, Sean Hannity asserted that Sen.
Barack Obama was "bashing America" and "accus[ing]
U.S. soldiers of killing innocent Afghani civilians" during a campaign appearance. In
fact, accounts of civilian casualties resulting from U.S. air strikes in
Afghanistan have been widely reported, and Obama expressed support for
increasing the number of troops in Afghanistan so the U.S. military is not so
reliant on air strikes in the region. Hannity
has repeatedly mischaracterized Obama's comments on Afghanistan.
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200708200006?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200708200004?src=other"><em>NY Times</em>, <em>Daily News</em> characterized Clinton as having voted "for the Iraq war" in 2002</a></b><br />
In recent articles, <em>The New York Times</em> and the New York
<em>Daily News</em> falsely characterized
Sen. Clinton's vote for the 2002 resolution authorizing the use of force
against Iraq as a vote
"for the Iraq
war." However, prior to her vote, Clinton
said that she expected the White House to push for "complete, unlimited
inspections" and that she did not view her support for the resolution as
"a vote for any new doctrine of pre-emption or for unilateralism."
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200708200004?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200708200005?src=other">Discussing  Collins' complaint, CNN's O'Brien cast campaign tracking "phenomenon" as  new</a></b><br />
While discussing objections raised by Sen. Susan Collins' chief of staff to a 
tracker hired by the Maine Democratic Party, CNN's Miles O'Brien suggested that 
political tracking became widespread only after the 2006 midterm elections. In 
fact, CNN and other news organizations have noted campaigns' use of trackers 
since at least 1996.

<br />
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200708200005?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<h1><a href="http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/war_in_iraq?src=other">War in Iraq</a></h1>
<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200708200009?src=other">Two months after giving Iraqis "two more months" to pass oil bill, O'Reilly silent on their failure to do so</a></b><br />
On his
radio show on June 20, Bill O'Reilly asserted, "I'm
gonna tell you that the big picture is,
the Iraqis have two more months. They've got two more months. And
if they don't step up and help more than they're helping" on oil legislation and security, "in two months, it's
over. Come September and October, we're pulling back, and that's the
truth." August 20 marks the end
of the two-month period, but O'Reilly is yet to mention the Iraqi government's failure
to reach an agreement on oil
legislation or his claims about the need for improvements by the Iraqi Security Forces.

<br />
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200708200009?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200708200007?src=other"><em>Wash. Post </em>said "progress report" will come from Petraeus and Crocker, despite earlier <em>Post </em>report that Bush will prepare it</a></b><br />
An August 20 <em>Washington</em> <em>Post</em> article stated that "Congress is awaiting a
report from Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and U.S.
ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker on the war's progress, and their view
is likely to go a long way toward determining how Congress votes on further
funding for the war." In fact, the 2007 supplemental funding bill for the
Iraq war requires that President Bush prepare
and submit the report to Congress, after
receiving input from Petraeus, Crocker, and other senior foreign policy and
military officials.
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200708200007?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200708200002?src=other">Sunday  show  hosts left key Rove scandal questions unasked</a></b><br />
In appearances by Karl 
Rove on 
Sunday morning talk shows on 
Fox, CBS, and NBC, not one interviewer 
asked whether an August 19 
<em>Washington Post</em> article was 
accurate in stating that, according to White House officials, one of Rove's "two 
basic rules" in putting together briefings for political appointees was "to make 
sure they complied with the Hatch Act," a federal law that limits 
political 
activities by federal 
employees. As the article noted, "the Office of the Special Counsel ... has 
concluded that the Hatch Act was violated" during a briefing that was conducted 
by a Rove aide for political appointees in the General Services 
Administration.
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200708200002?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<h1><a href="http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/propaganda_noise_machine?src=other">Propaganda/Noise Machine</a></h1>
<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200708200008?src=other">AP reported Rove attack on Democrats over Social Security, immigration without challenge</a></b><br />
An Associated Press article
reported that Karl Rove, during an appearance on <em>Fox News Sunday</em>, "[b]lamed congressional Democrats for
standing in the way of changing Social Security and immigration law." But
the AP did not note -- as <em>Fox News Sunday</em>
host Chris Wallace did during his interview with Rove -- that "there was
tremendous opposition from your own party on immigration reform and, frankly,
not much support on Social Security reform."
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200708200008?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>




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