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

Tapper noted criticism of Kerrey for using Obama's middle name, but not own unprompted usage
In a blog post, ABC's Jake Tapper wrote: "Some Obama supporters have asked why former Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., who endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., today, mentioned her opponent Sen. Barack Hussein Obama's middle name in remarks published in The Washington Post." Tapper's headline read: "Why Did Bob Kerrey Mention Obama's Middle Name -- 'Hussein.' " While the question is justified, Tapper himself has made unprompted references to Obama's middle name in two prior blog posts and a Nightline report. Read more

CNN's Schneider misidentified Lieberman as a Democrat
On the December 17 edition of CNN International's Your World Today, while reporting on Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-CT) recent endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (AZ), CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider misidentified Lieberman as a Democrat, stating, "And, of course, Joe Lieberman is a Democrat who has voted very often with Republicans, especially on the Iraq war, so there's a kind of commonality between the two of them." In fact, Lieberman lost the 2006 Democratic Senate primary, but subsequently won re-election as an independent. As Media Matters for America has repeatedly noted, on January 12, Congressional Quarterly reported that "Lieberman has asked to be called an Independent Democrat," adding that, "if the compound modifier that the senator prefers was not going to take hold, then Lieberman's second choice is to be described as an Independent," rather than being described as a "Democrat." Read more

Matthews, repeatedly using "cocaine," falsely asserted Clinton strategist "raised drugs"
On The Chris Matthews Show, Matthews falsely asserted that Mark Penn "raised drugs again when I had him on Hardball." In fact, that entire Hardball segment was devoted to the controversy over remarks made by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's then-campaign co-chair about Sen. Barack Obama's past drug use, and Penn was not the first to "raise[]" the issue. On the December 14 edition of Hardball, Matthews accused Clinton's campaign of engaging in "dirty politics"; Matthews and his guests went on to say "cocaine" a total of 10 times during the show. Read more

Matthews asked about Clinton endorsers' "willingness" "to become castratos in the eunuch chorus"
On the December 17 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews claimed: "Every day I pick up the paper and there's another quote out there from somebody who's a wannabe, saying whatever the Clinton people told them to say apparently." Moments later, Matthews asked Financial Times U.S. managing editor Chrystia Freeland: "[A]ren't you appalled at the willingness of these people to become castratos in the eunuch chorus here or whatever they are?" Matthews made the comment in the context of discussing endorsements of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and specifically that of former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-NE), who made reference following a December 16 campaign event to, among other things, Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) middle name. Read more

MSNBC's Hall referred to McCain and Lieberman as "maverick[s]"
During the December 17 broadcast of MSNBC Live, anchor Tamron Hall said of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ): "[H]e's been called, certainly, a maverick, but can he now be called the new comeback kid?" Hall then returned to the "maverick" label, asserting that "McCain now has the support from another maverick in his bid for president," referring to Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-CT) endorsement of McCain. Read more

Ignoring key bill, Wash. Post's Milbank attempted to refute Obama's statement that he "expanded health care in Illinois"
The Washington Post's Dana Milbank wrote that Sen. Barack Obama's "signature legislation as a state senator, the Health Care Justice Act, merely set up a panel to craft a plan," not, as Obama claimed, "expanded health care in Illinois by bringing Democrats and Republicans together, by taking on the insurance industry." In fact, Obama sponsored a bill that expanded health insurance programs for low-income families in Illinois. Following that bill's passage, more than 150,000 additional people reportedly received health insurance through the programs. Read more

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