Flashback to 2000 VP Picks: Dan Rather Chided Bush-Cheney and Championed Gore-Lieberman

Photo of Brent Baker.
By Brent Baker (Bio | Archive)
August 18, 2008 - 08:10 ET

With this year's vice presidential picks expected any day now, time to go into the MRC archive for a look back to 2000 when Dan Rather's left-wing tilt still got air time on a major network.

When George W. Bush named Dick Cheney, Rather introduced the Tuesday, July 25, 2000 CBS Evening News story by relaying the derisive and negative Democratic spin against the GOP ticket:
In the presidential campaign, the official announcement and first photo-op today of Republican George Bush and his running mate Richard Cheney. Democrats were quick to portray the ticket as quote 'two Texas oilmen' because Cheney was chief of a big Dallas-based oil supply conglomerate. They also blast Cheney's voting record in Congress as again quote, 'outside the American mainstream' because of Cheney's votes against the Equal Rights for Women Amendment, against a woman's right to choose abortion -- against abortion as Cheney prefers to put it -- and Cheney's votes against gun control. Republicans see it all differently, most of them hailing Bush's choice and Cheney's experience.
But two weeks later, his glowing Tuesday, August 8, 2000 set up of the Gore-Lieberman pairing forwarded the Democratic ticket’s boasts about themselves which included a sly dig at Bush-Cheney:
Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore officially introduced his history-making running mate today, Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut. History-making because Lieberman is of Jewish heritage and faith. The two started running right away. In their first joint appearance they gave a preview of the Gore-Lieberman fight-back, come-back strategy. Their message: They represent the future, not the past, and they are the ticket of high moral standards most in tune with real mainstream America.

Audio: MP3 audio of Rather on Bush-Cheney; MP3 of Rather on Gore-Lieberman.

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As I observed at the time in the August 9, 2000 MRC CyberAlert: “Bias doesn’t get much more obvious or easy to see than this.”

The MRC's Kristine Lawrence rendered the old videotape into the above video clips.

—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center


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Apparently, main stream

August 18, 2008 - 08:51 ET by Lee Boggs

Apparently, main stream America disagreed, twice, with Rather, the now unemployed, falsely-accusing-Bush-of-AWOL-based-on-a-fake-letter, suing-CBS-for-character-defamation, and the-most-pathetic-excuse-for-a-newsman-excluding-Andrea-Mitchell.

Corrupt Media

August 18, 2008 - 09:09 ET by allanf

Dan Rather may be gone. But the corrupt media keeps on putting out the same message. He just got caught.

We need a stop watch

August 18, 2008 - 09:12 ET by KC Mulville

OK, we already know that reporters will be standing within the Obama campaign headquarters (e.g., Andrea Mitchell) waiting to hear the official Democrat criticism of whoever-McCain-picks. The question is how fast will they give the Democrat criticism after the GOP official announcement? Will it be:

  1. "Senator McCain picked XX..." Ten paragraphs of XX's background, and only at the very end will there be a reaction from Obama or the DNC.
  2. "Senator McCain picked XX, whom Democrats say ... "
  3. "Democrats blasted McCain's choice of  ... "

How long will it take each reporter to offer the Democrat point of view?

But they're not baised, you

August 18, 2008 - 09:17 ET by motherbelt

But they're not baised, you know....

 

This is the perfect example

August 18, 2008 - 09:32 ET by USA4freedom

This is the perfect example of Bias in the news.

Well done

 

 

Ronald Reagan, 1962: I did not leave the Democratic party, the party left me.

Insert: your name, 2008, and the Republican party.

 

Speaking of VP picks... I

August 18, 2008 - 14:33 ET by bigtimer

Speaking of VP picks...

I just heard Obama is going to name his VP pick this week....

Rather convenient he is doing so BEFORE the convention....

One has to wonder if this is to put a lid on Hillary if she isn't named before the convention and all protesters let alone the roll call vote on the floor.

"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh

Brent--Great Example

August 18, 2008 - 18:03 ET by Redrowan2000

What else can you say.  The only problem is that if you showed that to a large crowd of so called journalists print or tv(also known as democrats for hire) they would look at you and ask "Whats the problem?'  It was fair.  And by God they'd believe it in their hearts. 

"Don't let the bastards grind you down."

Red