Media Matters for America summary, November 02, 2007
 
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 22:03:02 -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/200711020015?src=other">CNN reported on  Obama's missed Senate votes, but ignored McCain's</a></b><br />
During the November 2 edition of 
CNN&#39;s <i>The Situation Room</i>, CNN congressional 
correspondent Jessica Yellin reported on the voting records of Democratic 
presidential candidates who are also current U.S. 
senators. Yellin stated that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has missed "nearly 80 
percent [of Senate roll-call votes] since September" and that Sens. Joseph R. 
Biden Jr. (DE), Chris Dodd (CT), and Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY) "don&#39;t have 
great voting records, either." She added that "the Obama campaign points out 
that if you consider the entire year of voting, it is not Obama who&#39;s missed the 
most, but Senator Biden, then Dodd, and Obama comes in third." However, Yellin 
left out the fact that Sen. John McCain (AZ) -- the only current Republican 
presidential candidate who is a sitting U.S. senator -- has missed more votes 
than any other senator since Congress convened in January, with the exception of 
Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD), who spent months <a href="http://mediamatters.org//rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2FNightline%2Fstory%3Fid%3D3532159%26page%3D1" title="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=other&to=http%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2FNightline%2Fstory%3Fid%3D3532159%26page%3D1
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=3532159&amp;page=1">recuperating</a> 
from a brain hemorrhage.
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020015?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020010?src=other">On <em>Morning Joe, </em>Kudlow falsely asserted that Democrats want to "rais[e] taxes across the board"</a></b><br />
On <em>Morning Joe</em>,
Larry Kudlow asserted that "on the campaign trail, Democrats trashing
this economy, talking about raising taxes across the board are totally, utterly
missing the boat here." In fact, the leading Democratic candidates for
president have all proposed economic plans that include some
tax cuts.
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020010?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020012?src=other">Matthews and <em>National Journal's </em>Douglass on Clinton's "anti-male thing"</a></b><br />
During the November 1 edition of MSNBC&#39;s <i>Hardball</i>, while discussing Sen. Hillary
Rodham Clinton&#39;s (D-NY) speech at Wellesley College, her alma mater, in
which she asserted, "In so many ways, this
all-women&#39;s college prepared me to compete in the all-boys club of
presidential politics," host Chris Matthews asked: "Is this pandering or
playing to the Seven Sisters crowd up at these all-women&#39;s colleges,
where there may be that sort of mood if you&#39;re -- and they all want
dates. I assume a lot of them do, on weekends. But this anti-male thing, is that something
that&#39;s particularly something you can sort of spruce up, you can play up,
up there?" Matthews opened the segment by asking his guests -- <i>National Journal</i> contributing editor
Linda Douglass and NBC News political director Chuck Todd <b>--</b> "Don&#39;t you both agree,
Linda, that she should just lighten up on this gender -- &#39;the boys are
coming to get me&#39; routine?" Douglass replied: "I think, in this case, she&#39;s
making a really big mistake, because now she&#39;s ventured into feminist
territory where the man is the enemy."
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020012?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020008?src=other">NRO's  Goldberg falsely claimed Clinton said Republicans are "tougher on  terrorism than Democrats"</a></b><br />
In his November 2 
National Review Online <a href="http://mediamatters.org//rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Farticle.nationalreview.com%2Fprint%2F%3Fq%3DNGE2NmI5MTlkY2Y0ZjQ0ZWIwYTgxNzIwNDA1YzRkMmU%3D" title="http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=NGE2NmI5MTlkY2Y0ZjQ0ZWIwYTgxNzIwNDA1YzRkMmU=">column</a>, NRO editor-at-large Jonah 
Goldberg offered "questions" for the media to ask Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 
(D-NY). Referring to <a href="http://mediamatters.org//rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.boston.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fnew_hampshire%2Farticles%2F2007%2F08%2F23%2Fclinton_says_shes_prepared_for_gop_attacks%2F" title="http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2007/08/23/clinton_says_shes_prepared_for_gop_attacks/">comments</a> Clinton made at an August 23 house party in New Hampshire, Goldberg 
wrote: "You&#39;ve claimed that you are the Democrat best able to &#39;deal&#39; with the 
Republicans&#39; natural advantage if there is another terrorist attack. Why is it 
wrong for Republicans to say they&#39;re tougher on terrorism than Democrats, but 
O.K. for you to say so?" Clinton, however, did not say Republicans are 
"tougher on terrorism than Democrats." As <i>Media Matters for America</i> has <a href="http://mediamatters.org//items/200709090004?src=other" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200709090004">noted</a>, in her August 23 remarks, 
Clinton 
criticized Republicans for their handling of terrorism. Clinton said: "It&#39;s a 
horrible prospect to ask yourself &#39;What if? What if?&#39; But if certain things 
happen between now and the election, particularly with respect to terrorism, 
that will automatically give the Republicans an advantage again, no matter how 
badly they have mishandled it, no matter how much more dangerous they have made 
the world." 
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020008?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020014?src=other">CNN  reported on some who say single women voters are "stupid," "slutty, anxious  female[s]"</a></b><br />
Discussing young female voters' support for presidential candidate Sen. Hillary 
Rodham Clinton, CNN's Carol Costello asserted, "[I]f Hillary Clinton can 
persuade these young, single women to vote for her, many say she will win. And 
those who oppose Clinton know that. That's why they're calling 
these young women voters stupid." She added, "[T]he online magazine Jezebel 
dubbed them the elusive, slutty, anxious female, that's slutty in a political 
sense of course," a reference to a June 14 Jezebel item with the headline: 
"Barack Obama Lures Elusive Slutty Anxious Female Demographic."

<br />
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020014?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020007?src=other">After teasing story by saying "Obama makes a little girl cry," Fox News' Kelly acknowledged it was not true</a></b><br />
On the November 2 edition of Fox
News&#39; <i>America&#39;s Newsroom</i>,
co-host Megyn Kelly teased an upcoming story by saying: "Well, in other
news, Barack Obama makes a little girl cry. What? That story ... in five
minutes." Kelly added, "He&#39;s made me cry many times."
However, as the Associated Press <a href="http://mediamatters.org//rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fap.google.com%2Farticle%2FALeqM5gXq-u7VEJy7QebHxoTdHaMwEgu0wD8SL77TG0">reported</a> on November 2,
Obama, at a campaign event in North
  Carolina the previous day, spoke with the young girl <i>because</i> she had "shed a few tears."
According to the AP: "That&#39;s how Hadassah Jones, of Durham, got Barack Obama to answer questions
Thursday after the campaign initially denied such requests from
reporters." When co-host Bill Hemmer later reported on the story and
correctly noted that Obama took "questions from a five-year-old girl
after she shed a few tears and got his attention," Kelly said: "So
he didn&#39;t make her cry. She was crying, and then he -- and then she
stopped crying." Hemmer replied, "I didn&#39;t say he made her
cry." Kelly then stated, "We said in the tease -- I was waiting to
see how he made her cry." Hemmer responded: "That&#39;s why they
call it a tease."
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020007?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020004?src=other">Media jump on  chance to invoke comparisons to Kerry over Clinton's driver's license  response</a></b><br />
Discussing Sen. Hillary Clinton's performance during the Democratic presidential 
debate, Chris Matthews claimed that Clinton made herself "look like a switcher" 
when responding to questions about her views on Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposal to 
allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. In fact, Clinton 
maintained that Spitzer's plan "ma[de] sense," explaining that "what Governor Spitzer is trying to do is 
fill the vacuum left by the failure of this administration to bring about 
comprehensive immigration reform" and claiming: "I believe we need to get back 
to comprehensive immigration reform because no state, no matter how 
well-intentioned, can fill this gap. There needs to be federal action on 
immigration reform." Matthews and other media figures invoked Sen. 
John Kerry's alleged "flip-flopping," suggesting that Clinton made inconsistent 
statements. 

<br />
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020004?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<h1><a href="http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/torture?src=other">Torture</a></h1>
<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020011?src=other">AP  falsely reported that Mukasey "pledged to study" legality of waterboarding</a></b><br />
An Associated Press report claimed that, in an October 30 
letter to Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, attorney general 
nominee Michael Mukasey "pledged 
to 
study," if 
confirmed, the legality of the 
interrogation technique known as waterboarding. However, if news 
reports that the government stopped the use of waterboarding in 2005 are 
correct, then Mukasey's promise appears not to cover waterboarding, because 
Mukasey said in his letter that he would "review any coercive interrogation 
techniques <em>currently</em> used by the 
United States Government and the legal analysis authorizing their use to assess 
whether such techniques comply with the law" [emphasis added].
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020011?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020013?src=other">Blitzer  cited "this notion that the Democrats are weak when it comes to national  security" -- not according to polling</a></b><br />
In response to Cybercast News Service editor-in-chief Terry Jeffrey's statement 
that "[i]f the Democrats in the Senate want to ban the procedure by which we got 
vital information out of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Harry Reid ought to put up a 
bill right now that says: 'Waterboarding is forbidden. What we did to Khalid 
Shaikh Mohammed may not be done again.' " CNN's Wolf Blitzer replied: "It sort 
of reinforces this notion that the Democrats are weak when it comes to national 
security. That's been a very successful strategy for the Republicans for decades 
now." In fact, polling shows that the public is split on which party is better 
on handling terrorism, with some polls showing Democrats with a slight lead.

<br />
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020013?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020009?src=other">On  CNN, West asserted waterboarding is "not torture," claimed, "[Y]ou wake up  feeling fine the next day"</a></b><br />
On CNN, <em>Washington Times</em> 
columnist Diana West said: "What I would like to see is people really start 
thinking about what is torture. If putting people into human-size shredders, as 
Saddam Hussein did, is torture, then waterboarding, which my senior military 
sources tell me you wake up feeling fine the next day -- it is not torture." 
However, in congressional testimony, Allen S. Keller, M.D., director of the 
Bellevue Hospital Center/New York University Program for Survivors of Torture, 
stated, "To think that abusive methods, including the enhanced interrogation 
techniques [in which Keller included waterboarding], are harmless psychological 
ploys is contradictory to well established medical knowledge and clinical 
experience." Keller stated of waterboarding specifically, "Long term effects 
include panic attacks, depression and PTSD," and said it poses a "real risk of 
death."
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020009?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<h1><a href="http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/iran?src=other">Iran</a></h1>
<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020005?src=other">Savage:  "Let's get it on! Let's bring it on! Bomb Iran,  bring our boys home now!"</a></b><br />
On the October 29 
edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, host <a href="http://mediamatters.org//issues_topics/people/michaelsavage?src=other" title="http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/people/michaelsavage">Michael Savage</a> played the song 
"Everybody&#39;s Dixie" by recording artist Bobby 
Horton, and said: "Yee-haw! This is the America -- this is the America 
that those Islamic-fascist, robe-wearing, throwback bums have never seen!" 
Savage repeatedly said, "Let&#39;s bring it on! Bomb Iran, bring our boys home now!," and then 
demanded, "Get every hunter in America armed to the teeth!" He 
continued: "Throwback bastards! I&#39;m so sick of them! I&#39;m so sick of the 
brainwashing about Islam and Muslims and the Koran! Shove it! Shove it all! I&#39;m 
sick of it!"
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200711020005?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>




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