Flashback: Media Coverage on Military families unrepresentative

Recently exposed here by numerous blog posts on Newsbusters is the media's obsession with Military-mom-gone Anti-Bush in an attempt to portray a mass movement of military families turning against our fight in Iraq. Most past evidence indicates that military families and the military believe in our cause and in President Bush despite not receiving non-stop media coverage. (Probably because they would not want it in the first place.)

Some Blasts from the Past are regarding the military, their families and President Bush. (Families who are never spotted except in polling data.)

(Oct. 15, 2004) AP (Via CBS) military election polling:

A most interesting line: "Those in the military and their families have a more favorable view of Mr. Bush than Americans generally, and they take a more optimistic view about Iraq, the economy and the nation's direction."

More: "When asked whom they would trust as commander in chief, people in military service and their families chose President Bush over Sen. John Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran, by almost a 3-to-1 margin. Mr. Bush, who served in the Texas Air National Guard, was more trusted by 69 percent while 24 percent said they trusted Kerry more...The National Annenberg Election Survey found that seven in 10, 69 percent, had a favorable view of Mr. Bush. Only three in 10, 29 percent, had a favorable view of Kerry."

(Oct. 3, 2004) USA Today: "In the survey of more than 4,000 full-time and part-time troops, 73% said they would vote for Bush if the election were held today; 18% said they would vote for Kerry." (Respondents of Army Times poll).

And Upon Further Review... Cindy Sheehan isn't the first Mom-gone-Activist to be showered upon by the media. In December of 2004, the Media Research Center chronicled the life and times of Sue Niederer. Well worth a refresher:

(excerpts) "In a Sunday night ABC story, the brother and mother of soldiers killed in Iraq denounced Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for having an auto-pen machine sign his letters of condolence. The brother charged that Rumsfeld doesn't "care about the troops." The mother claimed "it personally shows me how callous and unfeeling he is and our government is." But while World News Tonight/Sunday anchor Terry Moran portrayed the two as representative of how "some military families" are "upset" with Rumsfeld, the two are dedicated Bush and Rumsfeld haters with a political axe to grind.

Sue Niederer, the mother of the late Seth Dvorin, sported a "President Bush: You Killed My Son" T-shirt when she was arrested for disrupting a September speech by First Lady Laura Bush. Earlier, in a May interview with the far-left Counterpunch Web site, she urged harm to President Bush. Asked her reaction to how the war was based on "misinformation," she replied: "I wanted to rip the President's head off. Curse him, yell at him, call him a self-righteous bastard and a lot of other words. I think if I had him in front of me I would shoot him in the groined area."