CBS and NBC led Tuesday night with speculation over the VP picks, but moved quickly, without citing any proof of John McCain's supposed scurrilous attack on Barack Obama's patriotism, to Obama condemning McCain for questioning his patriotism.
“Patriot games,” CBS Evening News anchor Harry Smith teased, “Barack Obama fights back.” Viewers then heard a clip of Obama before the VFW: “I will let no one question my love of this country.” Reporter Dean Reynolds described how “Obama is pivoting toward a more combative style, rebuking the Republicans for habitually turning differences over policy into questions about patriotism, a habit he said John McCain has readily embraced.” CBS ran two Obama soundbites, yet on Monday, when McCain addressed the VFW, CBS didn't show a second of him. Reynolds soon asserted that McCain and Republicans “had the stage to themselves last week while Obama vacationed.” Certainly not on the CBS Evening News which spent the week puffing Obama.
On the NBC Nightly News, Andrea Mitchell touted how “Obama strongly defended his patriotism today to veterans, the same group that heard John McCain attack him yesterday,” and relayed how Obama's “hearing a lot of messages from all across the country that he has not been tough enough. He has to go after John McCain, he's got to be more aggressive.”
On a potential VP for McCain, Mitchell offered that he “could wait until the Republican Convention to distract attention from George Bush and Dick Cheney, the first night's speakers,” before she reported that sources say McCain is seriously considering a registered Democrat, Joe Lieberman,” but “the right wing is threatening a revolt.” Providing the pro-Lieberman argument, NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd: “It's a message of independence. It brings back the maverick John McCain. It solidifies his image with independent voters.”
Citing Tim Pawlenty as “a much safer political choice for McCain,” Mitchell, who earlier in her story failed to apply a liberal label to Joe Biden, Tim Kaine or Evan Bayh, tagged Pawlenty as “conservative.”
As for Reynolds' contention McCain and Republicans “had the stage to themselves last week while Obama vacationed,” in fact, the CBS Evening News spent the week promoting Obama:
♦ On Monday, Katie Couric highlighted how “Obama put out a tongue in cheek response to Senator McCain's celebrity ad” and she helpfully pointed out: “The ad also features six different shots of Senator McCain next to President Bush.” The newscast also allocated more than three minutes to a "CBS News Exclusive" interview and profile by Couric of "Barack Obama's brain," Valerie Jarrett.
♦ On Tuesday, Jeff Greenfield twisted news -- that a top Clinton campaign operative recommended attacking Obama as less than genuinely American -- into reprimanding McCain for supposedly following that strategy.
♦ On Wednesday, Reynolds himself recalled how McCain promised "to conduct a respectful campaign," but citing McCain's celebrity ad, charged "now it frequently seems respect takes a backseat to ridicule.”
♦ And on Thursday, the CBS Evening News compared the Web sites of the two candidates and declared Obama's far superior as reporter Daniel Sieberg asserted “McCain's Web site is still playing catch up to Obama's use of cyberspace” and considered it newsworthy that “Obama is 'friended' almost seven times more than McCain.”
From Tuesday night, August 19:
CBS Evening News, picking up after the VP speculation:
DEAN REYNOLDS: ...The eventual announcement will come at a time when Obama is pivoting toward a more combative style, rebuking the Republicans for habitually turning differences over policy into questions about patriotism, a habit he said John McCain has readily embraced.
BARACK OBAMA, AT VFW CONVENTION IN ORLANDO: Instead of just offering policy answers, he turned to a typical laundry list of political attacks.
REYNOLDS: Obama told the Veterans of Foreign Wars today he would never suggest McCain bases policy on politics.
OBAMA: I've not suggested it because I believe that he genuinely wants to serve America's national interests. Now it's time for him to acknowledge that I want to do the same.
REYNOLDS: Whether McCain's gone negative or not, the question to many Democrats is whether the Republicans, who had the stage to themselves last week while Obama vacationed, are running a savvier campaign-
NARRATOR OF McCAIN AD, WITH VIDEO OF OBAMA: Who can you thank for rising prices at the pump?
REYNOLDS: -with better ads and a sharper message. Well, the running mate speculation is rampant this evening, one of those on the list appeared to take himself off. Senator Joseph Biden telling reporters "you've got better things to do, I'm not the guy." Harry?
HARRY SMITH, BRIEF MENTION OF McCAIN'S DAY: Dean Reynolds in Chicago. Thanks. John McCain will announce his running mate at the end of next week. Today, the Senator toured an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico and talked of his plan for offshore drilling as one way to deal with the country's energy problems.
NBC Nightly News, after Brian Williams' intro centered on the VP talk:
ANDREA MITCHELL: Barack Obama strongly defended his patriotism today to veterans, the same group that heard John McCain attack him yesterday.
BARACK OBAMA, AT VFW: That is John McCain's prerogative. He can run that kind of campaign, and, frankly, that's how political campaigns have been run in recent years. But I believe the American people are better than that.
MITCHELL: To help defend him on foreign policy, he could turn to Joe Biden. Biden was troubleshooting in Georgia over the weekend, but was back home today in Wilmington trying to deflect attention.
JOE BIDEN, DRIVING BY IN HIS CAR: I'm not the guy. See yah.
MITCHELL: Biden would help Obama with blue collar voters, but he would also undercut Obama’s message of change. And he's been called a “gaffe machine.”
BRIAN WILLIAMS, DURING APRIL 27 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES: Can you reassure voters in this country that you would have the discipline you would need on the world stage, Senator?
BIDEN: Yes. (Audience laughs)
MITCHELL: If Obama wants change without experience, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine is his man, from a red state that could go blue.
TIM KAINE: It's very flattering, but my main focus is Virginia.
MITCHELL: Or the safest choice, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh. John McCain, who campaigned on an oil rig today, could reveal his choice at the end of next week on his 72nd birthday. Or McCain could wait until the Republican Convention to distract attention from George Bush and Dick Cheney, the first night's speakers. Sources say McCain is seriously considering a registered Democrat, Joe Lieberman. The right wing is threatening a revolt.
RICH LOWRY, NATIONAL REVIEW: You're going to have a lot of conservatives throwing up their hands and saying, you know, this is a ticket we can't support.
CHUCK TODD, NBC NEWS POLITICAL DIRECTOR: It's a message of independence. It brings back the maverick John McCain. It solidifies his image with independent voters.
MITCHELL: The Lieberman possibility is so serious that state party officials say that they have been asked to check their party rules to see if a non-Republican can be on the ballot in their states. And, Brian, if he does choose Lieberman, McCain would promise to serve for only one term. A much safer political choice for McCain, Minnesota’s conservative Governor, Tim Pawlenty. Brian?
BRIAN WILLIAMS: All of it interesting stuff. Now, Andrea, when we get this far in the game, these presumptive nominees hear from just about everybody in the party. On the Obama front, what's he hearing from fellow Democrats?
MITCHELL: He's hearing a lot of messages from all across the country that he has not been tough enough. He has to go after John McCain, he's got to be more aggressive. He has been trying to do that in the last two days, but a lot of people in the party say that Joe Biden is his man to be an attack dog to really go after John McCain. Brian?
WILLIAMS: Andrea Mitchell in our Washington news room tonight with the very latest on all of this. Andrea, Thanks.
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
More like Barack "Fights
Tue, 08/19/2008 - 21:21 ET by BlazerMore like Barack "Fights Patriotism".
Member of a racist marxist-seperatist church for twenty yrs., rubbing elbows in Hyde park with the Weather Underground, but noone is ever, ever supposed to question Barry's patriotism.
"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious. "
- Ben Kenobi on Liberals, and the MSM.
" The Cake is a lie."
damn these are NEGATIVE AND
Tue, 08/19/2008 - 21:32 ET by TruthMongerdamn these are NEGATIVE AND DEMEANING ATTACKS ON McCAIN!!! What's with the sudden ATTACKS by an ATTACKINGLY NEGATIVE OBAMA who is ATTACKING McCAIN NEGATIVELY, VERY VERY NEGATIVELY
is this the desperate act of an angry and bitter young liberal or something??!?
Journalism is the opium of the liberals
"is this the desperate act
Tue, 08/19/2008 - 21:39 ET by Blazer"is this the desperate act of an angry and bitter young liberal or something??!?"
Nope TM, it's just the creaking and groaning of the SSSR Candy A$$ starting to sink.
"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious. "
- Ben Kenobi on Liberals, and the MSM.
" The Cake is a lie."
Obama's Clean
Tue, 08/19/2008 - 21:41 ET by the strugglerJoe Biden could help Obama with the 7/11 vote
Fight = Big Baby
Tue, 08/19/2008 - 22:10 ET by Logic over emotionGreat. He had his arse handed to him in Saddleback so now he's going to attack McCain big time. This will come back to bite him as his "different kind of politician" "hope and change" persona melts into "little crybaby" persona.
Has anyone heard McCain say, "Obama is unpatriotic"? Obama seems to be playing the patriotic card. McCain attacks his experience and judgment so that implies Obama is unpatriotic?
Yep - same thing they did to Bush
Tue, 08/19/2008 - 22:13 ET by Dee BunkHe never called anyone unpatriotic. If you disagree with Dems then that means you are calling them unpatriotic. Bush even said specifically that protest was the American way.
Dee,
Tue, 08/19/2008 - 22:26 ET by RESTLESS 1"If you disagree with Dems then that means you are calling them unpatriotic".
Absolutely. Methinks they doth protest too much. They are absolutely paranoid about it.
"This
liberal would be all about socialize -- uh, uh, would be about
basically taking over and the government running all of your companies."-Maxine Waters 2008
Restless - there are regular people
Tue, 08/19/2008 - 22:38 ET by Dee Bunkwho may call them unpatriotic (because they are!) but Bush & McCain have never called anyone unpatriotic.
Mark Lavine
Tue, 08/19/2008 - 22:27 ET by Logic over emotionEverybody interested in Obama's patriotism should listen to the first part of Mark Levine's radio show. The 'Great One' is dead on!
http://marklevinshow.com/audio/#
Click the August 19 link.
The Bambi Spin
Tue, 08/19/2008 - 22:33 ET by KC MulvilleFor a year, Obama has been blasting George Bush as a disaster, and has hurled every nasty name in the book. He has accused Bush of recklessly plunging us into war, which (when you think about it) is about as nasty a thing you can say about someone. Of course, Bush-Cheney-McCain are just stooges of Big Oil, corrupted by lobbyists, and eager to give all your money to rich, fat cat corporations. Obama takes every opportunity to ridicule and demean his opponent.
McCain put out an ad that suggested Obama was a lightweight. Oh the humanity.
Someone said earlier (after a lot of internet surfing, I can't track down who it was) that Obama expects McCain to treat Obama as an equal when it comes to patriotism. In Obama's mind, McCain's five years as a POW should count for nothing, since Obama thinks he loves this country as much as anyone. And when McCain says that Obama's policies will hurt America, Obama translates that as McCain insulting his patriotism. Which is, of course, ludicrous.
I think this is the quote
Wed, 08/20/2008 - 09:04 ET by Free ThinkerI think this is the quote you were looking for from James Taranto at WSJ:
In politics one often hears the charge of hypocrisy: My opponent criticizes me for X, but he has done Y, which is just as bad or worse. Obama's argument here, though, is roughly opposite in form. He concedes that McCain is above reproach on this particular subject and therefore demands that McCain treat him as if he were beyond reproach. Obama's acknowledgment of a McCain virtue is well and good, but it does not mitigate or excuse his own shortcoming.
Good analysis Free
Wed, 08/20/2008 - 09:14 ET by Cool ArrowBecause he is capable of recognizing dignity in another's character, the audience naturally assumes Obama knows and possesses dignity.
I ♣ my seal
AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Wed, 08/20/2008 - 13:18 ET by KC MulvilleBest of the Web!!!! Of course!!! You are exactly right.
I surfed all over, increasingly frustrated, for about twenty minutes, looking for a name of the columnist. But I don't have Taranto by name, I have him under "Best of the Web," and so because I was looking for a name, it didn't register. There has to be a neurological explanation for that somewhere.
You hit the nail on my thick head. Thanks!
You know what...
Tue, 08/19/2008 - 22:56 ET by americaneagleIf Obama hadn't taken off his flag pin, calling it a symbol of "false patriotism" and hadn't sat under a clearly racist pastor for 20 years, or if he had avoided being a part of ACORN then he wouldn't face any such questions. But as it is, he has not faced any such attacks or questions from McCain...so it must be his conscience calling him to account for his attitudes and actions.
Exhibit No.
Wed, 08/20/2008 - 01:34 ET by TEExhibit No. 1,000,000,000,000,001 that Andrea Mitchell is dimwitted leftist dingbat: "Biden was troubleshooting in Georgia over the weekend, ...." Wow. Mitchell actually thinks that Biden (one of 100 senators) has any authority to act on behalf of the United States or the ability to persuade a single person in Georgia or Russia to do a damn thing.
teflon is wearing thin
Wed, 08/20/2008 - 06:39 ET by welderforeKenneth J Roberts
I believe the Teflon is wearing thin on Obama he has said enough himself to discredit him from being our leader. McCain has not been tough on Obama at all ,if anything he needs to get tougher. like his connections with all kinds of people who have been in the communist party and association with a known terrorist Bill Ayers . The records have been blocked to any one so that this will not be an issue for Obama, but the public has the right to know these things. How in the world this guy is running for president is beyond me it has to be that the news has covered for him just because they want a black president so they can fill the papers with the historic event of Obama being the first black president . We need only look at the fact that Obama had a white mother so he is half black and half white , so is it historic or not? Can we afford to place someone with so little experience in the position of President and turn all the foreign policy over to a green horn, no we can not afford that . In today's times what with Russia getting into the fray of flexing it's muscle we can ill afford a novice as president .
So the current strategy of
Wed, 08/20/2008 - 08:57 ET by FishFace222So the current strategy of BHO is to inject race and questions on patriotism into the campaign because the McCain campaign is just not doing what they are supposed to do.
This is another example of
Wed, 08/20/2008 - 09:10 ET by Free ThinkerThis is another example of why Obama is falling like a rock in the polls. He has taken a position and that position has been questioned. Rather than defend his position he diverts because he knows he cannot win with rational, thinking people. Whether he uses race or patriotism in this case, the argument is the same, an attack on my ideas is a personal attack. Welcome to the big leagues Obama. Can you imagine if President Bush cowered this way everytime a lefty questioned his judgement. Or can you just hear Obama calling Putin or Bin Laden a racist and ignoring his own responsibility. Obama has alot to learn about leadership and is obviously not ready for the Presidency.
The bottom line is:
Wed, 08/20/2008 - 09:16 ET by TDVIf you have to try to convince people that you are patriotic......there must be evidence out there that you are'nt.