A day after Barack Obama and many of his liberal media compatriots complained about ABC's Wednesday debate questioners daring to ask him about William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright and not wearing a flag pin, Friday's World News featured a story championing Obama's “bandwagon” momentum with his campaign “firing on all cylinders.” Anchor Charles Gibson teased, “Obama Bandwagon: The candidate picks up three big name endorsements, including the backing of a long-time Clinton friend.” Neither CBS or NBC were so excited over the endorsements.
ABC reporter David Wright, whose Thursday evening story was dominated by criticism of ABC's debate topics, trumpeted: “Despite all the focus on bitterness this week and the debate, the Obama campaign seems to be firing on all cylinders, gaining in the national polls, today gaining these endorsements...” Wright touted how Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich “was one of three elder statesmen to endorse Obama today, along with former Senators Sam Nunn and David Boren, both conservative Democrats with strong defense and foreign policy credentials.” With Nunn's words on screen, Wright heralded:
Today Nunn said: "I believe Senator Obama has a rare ability to restore America's credibility and moral authority and to get others to join us in tackling serious global problems."
Gibson described the three endorsers as “influential.” Super-delegates may know them, but I wonder how many Democratic voters in the remaining states have ever head of any of them?
Friday's CBS Evening News limited coverage of the endorsements to this one sentence in Jim Axelrod's story, “Today Obama picked up the endorsement of two former Democratic Senators: Sam Nunn from Georgia, David Boren from Oklahoma, both moderates.”
(So Nunn and Boren are “moderates” to CBS News, but “conservative Democrats” to ABC News.)
Over on the NBC Nightly News, Lee Cowan didn't mention Nunn or Boren and only gave a clause to Reich's endorsement of Obama.
My Thursday NewsBusters item, “Obama and Liberals Whine: ABC Contrite and CBS Shares His Pain,” recounted ABC's Thursday night approach:
...ABC hardly stood by Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos. David Wright cited “a grueling round of questions focused on issues such as Obama's patriotism, and his more controversial friends” -- though Wright only highlighted Jeremiah Wright and ignored William Ayers. After a clip of Obama complaining about how it was “45 minutes before we heard about health care. 45 minutes before we heard about Iraq. 45 minutes before we heard about jobs,” Wright ran four comments, three of the four critical of ABC: “Today, in Philadelphia's Redding market, we met plenty of others who shared those views.” A man declared: “I felt they wasted a whole hour, a good hour, talking about nothing.” Wright then read this e-mail: “This so-called debate will be shown to my communications students as an example of what shoddy journalism looks like.”
Wright concluded by helpfully promoting a far-left publicity effort: “There's now an organized campaign by the liberal group MoveOn and others to send a message to ABC.” A message ABC News and Wright himself delivered by framing an entire story around their agenda....
A transcript of the story on the Friday, April 18 World News on ABC:
CHARLES GIBSON: Next, turn to presidential politics, and new support today for Barack Obama. He picked up the endorsements of influential former Senators Sam Nunn and David Boren, as well as Robert Reich, Labor Secretary under Bill Clinton and a long-time Clinton friend. The Obama campaign is doing everything it can to signal momentum for its candidate. ABC's David Wright tonight is in Philadelphia again. David, good evening.
DAVID WRIGHT: Good evening, Charlie. Despite all the focus on bitterness this week and the debate, the Obama campaign seems to be firing on all cylinders, gaining in the national polls, today gaining these endorsements, just as the national party leadership is again signaling their wish to wrap this up. Today, Obama toured a steel plant in Erie, stopped off across the street at a brewery. Hillary Clinton started her final push in Radnor, accusing Obama of whining about the debate.
HILLARY CLINTON: I'm with Harry Truman on this: If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. I am very comfortable in the kitchen.
WRIGHT: But today the negative tone of her campaign, especially the attack ads she started this week, cost her the support of an old friend. Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich has known the Clintons for 40 years.
ROBERT REICH: The economy going down the tubes, Iraq a mess. I mean, to distract the attention of the public and do that kind of old politics as usual, frankly, I just went over the top. I just couldn't be silent anymore.
WRIGHT: Reich was one of three elder statesmen to endorse Obama today, along with former Senators Sam Nunn and David Boren, both conservative Democrats with strong defense and foreign policy credentials. Both were short-listed to be Bill Clinton's Defense Secretary. Today Nunn said [text on screen]: “I believe Senator Obama has a rare ability to restore America's credibility and moral authority and to get others to join us in tackling serious global problems.”
TAD DEVINE, POLITICAL STRATEGIST: I think what the party leadership right now is looking for closure. I think they want this process to come to a peaceful end.
WRIGHT: Last night the Democratic Party Chairman practically pleaded on CNN for super-delegates to make up their minds.
HOWARD DEAN, CHAIRMAN, DNC: We can not give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time. We've got to know who our nominee is.
WRIGHT: Clinton has 23 more super-delegates than Obama, but since February 5th, she's had a net loss of two. During the same period, Obama has gained 77.
DEVINE: I think the results of the Pennsylvania primary will have a huge impact on the decisions that super-delegates make.
WRIGHT: Today, Hillary Clinton picked up three super-delegates, including two former governors of New Jersey. And for both of these campaigns, the timing of these endorsements is important -- coming just before the Pennsylvania primary -- because it does give that appearance of momentum. Charlie?
GIBSON: David Wright, reporting from Philadelphia tonight.
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Very Influential
April 18, 2008 - 21:10 ET by the curatorGibson described the three endorsers as “influential.” Super-delegates may know them, but I wonder how many Democratic voters in the remaining states have ever head of any of them?
It doesn't matter if voters in the remaining states know who they are. It's been well established there aren't enough state delegates to nominate a winner.
The democratic nomination will be decided by the Superdelegates. So, ANY SuperD's are newsworthy... they are senior people in the party... and likely (I don't know for a fact, I'm not in Washington) very influential with other Super Ds.
I would also be fine with the "firing on all cylinders" line. The reporter prefaced the debate and the bitterness before the line.
But, when you pick up these types of endorsements in, what is now, a SuperD race... I'd say you're doing well. The simile is fine to me.
As for NBC and CBS not really mentioning those endorsements... so much for them being on the Obama bandwagon.
"I don't think our troops ought to be used for what's called nation-building."
-George W. Bush, October 11, 2000
HOWARD DEAN, CHAIRMAN, DNC:
April 18, 2008 - 21:20 ET by MidAmericaHOWARD DEAN, CHAIRMAN, DNC: We can not give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time. We've got to know who our nominee is.
You mean just stop the primaries? What happened to counting all the votes and not disenfranchising anyone. If they stop early that means obama was selected not elected.
Public Vote Irrelevant
April 18, 2008 - 21:24 ET by the curatorIf the state primaries could decide a winner - absolutely, let them vote.
But, mathematically, the state primaries can decide NOTHING.
Its up to the Super Delegates. There's nothing wrong with Dean saying 'make up your mind.'
"I don't think our troops ought to be used for what's called nation-building."
-George W. Bush, October 11, 2000
But, mathematically, the
April 18, 2008 - 22:07 ET by MidAmericaBut, mathematically, the state primaries can decide NOTHING.
That's not quite true. Supers are being warned about voting against the majority of the regular voters and right now that would be obama. So if voters in the upcoming primaries would vote heavily for hillary, even though it would not be enough to win outright, she would then be in the position obama currently is in so the Supers would end up voting for her.
Curator... "There's
April 18, 2008 - 22:15 ET by Clear thinkerCurator...
"There's nothing wrong with Dean saying 'make up your mind.'"
That may, or may not be true, but the longer this thing goes on, the more Operation Chaos looks like a brilliant plan.
"Abstain from McCain"
Rush Limbaugh is right
April 19, 2008 - 07:16 ET by motherbeltRush Limbaugh is right when he says in the Democratic Party there are no rules, only "customs and traditions."
Like everything else, the Superdelegates thing is malleable, to whatever purpose the Dems desire. The concept was created in the 70's after the McGovern disaster. Democrats didn't want to trust "the people" and their delegates, so they created the Superdelegates, who were NOT BOUND by the will of the people. Therefore, their only purpose was to override the will of the peons; i.e. the popular vote.
Now Pelosi et al are insisting that the SD's have to "reflect" the popular vote. Then why have them at all? They would serve no purpose. And if they are going to insist that the SD's reflect the will of the people, then they need to hold every single primary; otherwise the will of people in the last states is completely disregarded.
So that's just more Democrat B as in B; S as in S.
And when it was all over,
April 18, 2008 - 21:22 ET by motherbeltAnd when it was all over, someone probably called their contact inside the Obama campaign and asked "Was that good enough?"
Not the magic Negro
April 18, 2008 - 21:51 ET by ScrapironBut the typical life long unemployed, on the con, street corner Negro.
Old, Retired and glad of it.
Stupid, or racist?
April 19, 2008 - 07:20 ET by sarcasmoYou make the call...
JMR
The tax & spend drug war looks racist in the real world.
Fmr. Sen. Sam Nunn has lost it.
April 19, 2008 - 00:42 ET by R D HelmI am ashamed the man resides in my home state.
Theme for Election '08: Who cares?
When will some
April 19, 2008 - 03:08 ET by riff_raffWhen will some enterprising, ambitious trial lawyer sue some of these fat-cat, left-leaning internet media outlets like Google or Yahoo, for the way they bias their search engines to skew results favorably for certain political candidates. It's a pattern of behaviour that has been well documented, and should rightly be considered a form of political contribution in kind.
To do this for a private commercial enterprise, Google or Yahoo would charge millions in fees. To me, this seems like a trial lawyer's dream come true. A civil rights case against a company like Google with a $170 billion market cap. I'm sure they would be willing to settle out of court for at least $50 million. After all, Microsoft ended up settling the bogus federal anti-trust case against them for $Billions.