MRC's Bozell on 'Fox & Friends' Discusses Democratic Debates and LAT Piece on McCain Disability

MRC President and NewsBusters Publisher Brent Bozell appeared opposite liberal radio talk show host Mike Papantonio on the April 24 "Fox & Friends" program in two short segments in the 8 a.m. half-hour. Topics included the cancellation of a planned CBS North Carolina Democratic primary debate and the recent Los Angeles Times's article hinting that John McCain "may face "fitness questions" in light of his U.S. Navy disability pension. [see video here; audio available here]

In the first segment, Bozell applauded ABC for a hard-hitting Pennsylvania debate and lamented that the primary debates up to it had mostly been "a farce." In the second, the MRC president slammed the April 22 Ralph Vartabedian article in the Times as worse than being a mere "cheap-shot," it's just merely "stupid" and nonsensical.

A transcript of Bozell's remarks appears below:

STEVE DOOCY, co-host: Brent, ABC took a lot of heat because, from the mainstream media that said, "Oh, you guys were just too rough on Barack Obama.' But he was the front runner and for a change he got front-runner questions.

BRENT BOZELL, MRC President: Be still my heart. For the first time in 7,000 debates or whatever we've had this year, ABC decided to ask real questions and tough questions. And he folded like a cheap suit underneath them. Look, ABC did the right thing, and by the way, I wish they would do tougher questions on Republicans as well. These debates, I think, have been a farce. They've been love-fests. Tough questions were asked and liberal orthodoxy was violated, and the Left is going apoplectic.

[...]

BOZELL, reacting to Papantonio defending Obama declining a North Carolina debate: Can I translate what Mike just said into English? What he's saying is Barack Obama is at his best when no one challenges him and all his does is give rhetoric. When he's asked a tough question, he folds.

[...]

DOOCY: Brent, according to the L.A. Times, it talks about how John McCain is getting 50-some odd thousand dollars a year military disability pension. Of course, he was ejected, shot out of the sky, uh, broke his arms, they tortured him for five years. Now they're saying...

BOZELL: Details!

DOOCY: ...if he is disabled, technically, in the eyes of the government he couldn't possibly be fit to be the commander-in-chief.

BOZELL: No, and neither was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This is not a cheap-shot article, this is just a stupid article, on two points. First they say that, that because he's disabled he's not fit to be president. In the very next sentence, the very same source says that because he hiked in the Grand Canyon, he's not eligible to get the benefits. You know, it's one or the other. Either you are or you're not unfit.

BOZELL: And here's the funny thing. The source for this story, Robert Schriebman, do you know what medical qualifications he has according to the L.A. Times? You know how they cite him? He's a tax advisor!