Last Wednesday, ABC's "World News with Charles Gibson" exposed a serious flaw in a television advertisement Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is running in Indiana (video embedded right, h/t Gateway Pundit).
In fact, Indiana newspapers began pointing out the former first lady's mistake almost three weeks ago after she spoke at a school in that state.
Yet, according to LexisNexis, no other television network felt this issue deserved any coverage, nor did many major newspapers outside of Indiana.
For some background, here's how ABC reported Hillary's flub on Wednesday (video available here):
CHARLES GIBSON (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) And as Hillary Clinton crisscrosses Indiana, ahead of next Tuesday's primary, one economic story about lost jobs and foreign competition has become a staple of her campaign stops. But it turns out to be a story with some holes in it. Our senior political correspondent, Jake Tapper, has been looking at that story. Jake?
JAKE TAPPER (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) Good evening, Charlie. Well, in Indiana, Senator Clinton decries how the company Magnequench moved from Indiana to China in 2003. Magnequench makes high tech magnets with defense applications, including in smart bombs. And now, China has a monopoly on the technology. But there's one key part of the story Senator Clinton tends to leave out, her husband's role.
JAKE TAPPER (ABC NEWS) (Voiceover) This rusty, abandoned factory in the heart of Valparaiso, Indiana, housed magnet maker Magnequench until it moved to China, costing more than 200 jobs. It's a story Senator Hillary Clinton tells a lot as she campaigns throughout the Hoosier State.
SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON (DEMOCRAT) A Chinese company bought Magnequench. And then, they decided that they were going to move the whole company from Indiana to China.
JAKE TAPPER (ABC NEWS) (Voiceover) Over and over again, Clinton blames President Bush for dropping the ball on a national security issue. Including in a new TV ad.
SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON (DEMOCRAT) George Bush could have stopped it. But he doesn't.
JAKE TAPPER (ABC NEWS) (Voiceover) What Clinton does not say is that her husband could have stopped it because the Chinese bought Magnequench, in 1995, when he was president. And his administration approved the deal, despite national security concerns, raised partly because the Chinese companies were run by sons-in-law of the then-Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.
PROFESSOR VIRGINIA SHINGLETON (DEPT OF ECONOMICS) If we believe this was truly a national defense issue, it should not - the company should not have been allowed to be sold in 1995.
JAKE TAPPER (ABC NEWS) (Voiceover) One of Senator Clinton's main arguments, the Chinese now know our secrets.
SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON (DEMOCRAT) Not only did the jobs go to China, but so did the intellectual property and the technological know-how to make those magnets.
JAKE TAPPER (ABC NEWS) (Voiceover) Former Magnequench vice president, Andrew Albers, says that's false. By the 2003 move, he says the Chinese already knew everything.
ANDREW ALBERS (FORMER VICE PRESIDENT, MAGNEQUENCH) There was nothing new that we were doing that the Chinese didn't already have and know about.
JAKE TAPPER (ABC NEWS) (Voiceover) This month Clinton held an event in Valparaiso.
SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON (DEMOCRAT) We've got to elect a president next January who's going to remember Magnequench.
JAKE TAPPER (ABC NEWS) (Voiceover) Clearly some things about Magnequench Clinton has clearly forgotten.
JAKE TAPPER (ABC NEWS)
(Off-camera) The Clinton campaign argues that the Chinese promised in 1995 to keep jobs and technical production in the United States. But, Charlie, they only promised to do that until 2005. And at any rate, they broke that promise. Charlie?
Pretty powerful stuff, wouldn't you agree? Shouldn't this have received MUCH MORE media attention, especially given recent gaffes and misstatements by Hillary, not the least of which being her claim that she ducked sniper fire in Bosnia when she was first lady?
Of course, let's not forget the significance of Indiana to this campaign, or Tuesday's primary.
Yet, ABC wasn't the first to notice Hillary's error concerning Magnequench. The Indianapolis Star reported on April 15: "After all, Magnequench was sold to a consortium that included Chinese investors in 1995 while Bill Clinton was president."
The Star elaborated two days later:
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's second campaign ad in Indiana blames President Bush for the move to China of an Indiana plant that made magnets for smart bombs.
"George Bush could have stopped it, but he didn't," Clinton
says after the camera shows the empty Valparaiso plant and former Magnequench workers. "American workers should build America's defense."Magnequench moved its equipment to China in 2003. But the sale of the company to a Chinese consortium was approved in 1995, during the Bill Clinton administration.
In 1988, Congress gave the president authority to block foreign acquisitions that could threaten national security.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, an interagency panel that reviews foreign acquisitions, approved the Magnequench sale in 1995 after a 30-day review.
Yet, for the most part, media ignored this. Why?
Also peculiar was an MSNBC.com article on this subject published April 29 with a very interesting tidbit (emphasis added):
According to a report issued in March by the Congressional Research Service, General Motors sold Magnequench in 1995 to a group of investors including Archibald Cox, Jr., the Sextant Group, Soros Fund Management, and two Chinese firms, one of which was owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Hmmm. So George Soros was a partial buyer of Magnequench. Isn't that interesting? I wonder why nobody's jumped on that?
Regardless, the larger issue here is the responsibility of the media to examine the veracity of the statements being made by the three remaining candidates both on the stump and in ads. With the Democrat race neck-and-neck, and the general election almost guaranteed to be squeaker, it is incumbent upon the press to vigilantly analyze every comment made by these folks.
Anything less is journalistic malfeasance.
Though my hat goes off to ABC for its fine work reporting this issue, the rest of the national press get an "F" on this one, and need to do a far better job in the months to come.
—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters. Follow him at Facebook and Twitter.
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OK, OK, I
May 4, 2008 - 13:39 ET by DEVILDOCMOMknow I should not be surprised, but I am...a little. However, the failing media has been ignoring bill clinton's China connection for years, so why should it start now?
And the Media bears NO responsibilty for this??
May 4, 2008 - 13:51 ET by Calypso JonesDon't tell ME that they didn't know what was going on during Clinton's term in office. If we're going to hold Clinton responsible now, let's hold the media responsible for their protection of Bill Clinton and his decisions and their FAILURE to report what they knew and when they knew it.
OK, I won’t tell you that.
May 4, 2008 - 15:21 ET by needleDon't tell ME that they didn't know what was going on during Clinton's term in office.
OK, I won’t tell you that. I will say however that as long as the Bill Clinton supported abortion categorically, and appointed judges calculated to dilute and corrupt our statues, laws, and country according to the Liberals’ agenda Bill was going to get a pass on anything. And he did. What about Monica Lewinski? He had a hard time with that mainly because his consummate* bumbling. But even there the MSM managed to suppress coverage of the outrage, and thus engineer his survival.
If we're going to hold Clinton responsible now, let's hold the media responsible for their protection of Bill Clinton and his decisions and their FAILURE to report what they knew and when they knew it.
Sure, we folks that gather around NewsBusters are going to hold the MSM responsible for this and other corruption, but how to get the word out to the masses? In my view the real crime in the very idea of electing HRC (or Obama), is the commensurate surrendering of the whole United States government to the MSM.
*Yes, the pun is intended.
Impunitas semper ad deteriora invitat.
Lets be honest
May 4, 2008 - 14:36 ET by Jerry MackLet us be honest here. The average Dim voter will go to there graves believing that it is George Bushs' fault that the plant closed. All those facts mean nothing to them.
George tried to get her
May 4, 2008 - 15:01 ET by docbto answer some hard questions but she bloviated right through him...This was her stump speech and he did not DO followup questions.
She was really pissed when he ask about the donor lists to the Library....ESPECIALLY WHEN HE GOT HER TO ADMIT THEY WOULD NOT BE RELEASED.
HER SPIN ON THE MAGENQUENCH DEAL IS A FLAT OUT LIE..LOOK AT THE $$$ BILL HAS PULLED OUT OF CHINA and she can not get 50% the Dem voters to trust her.
She has stood up to no one and won nothing..
Sham -liar, thief, race baiter, dismisive, arrogant with nothing to back it up.
Why didn't Bill O'Reilly
May 4, 2008 - 16:00 ET by ThisnThatWhy didn't Bill O'Reilly hammer her on this during last week's interview? Overall, I think he pretty much wimped out.
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If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
Disagree that O'Reilly
May 5, 2008 - 03:15 ET by ceedubyaDisagree that O'Reilly wimped out, he was just laying the foundations for future interviews after the Democrats select their candidate. If HRC is selected then the Clinton's Chinese connections is one of the major pieces of artillery that will bombard her.
Aw, be easy on Shmillary!
May 4, 2008 - 16:26 ET by goldenthroatSo Shmillary screwed up on her "facts" again. And is it really that big of a deal if Slick Willy was really the one who approved the move of this company?
But you can't blame her! Remember, Shmillary was in Bosnia dodging sniper fire at the time!
"How can you be in two places at once when you're not anywhere at all?" - Firesign Theater
Cone on Noel.
May 4, 2008 - 16:33 ET by Mark_for_Senate"journalistic malfeasance" has been 'going on' for over 50 years!
To know and not do, is to not yet know
OMG! This should be HUGE
May 4, 2008 - 16:50 ET by bigtimerOMG!
This should be HUGE in so many ways to-boot!
As usual the msm is ignoring situations like this because they are too lazy to report this, or because they were very complicit themselves during the Clinton administration, intentionally over-looking anything that had to do with the communist Chinese, the bags of cash donations, the national security secrets let to them earlier... and now what I see here is the SOROS connection with all this...my gawd, this should be used by the Obama campaign if they had a brain, but Obama will not use this either...BECAUSE of SOROS and his support behind him... the msm should have to report this, whether they like it or not, that is suppose to be their job....instead of being blind cheerleaders with an agenda.
I know what they would say in their defense though...as usual, the old line...it is too complicated.
It is always too complicated if it involves anyone with a 'D' behind their name.
Excellent find here, great information, and thanks for once to abc.
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Churchill
Evening, bt...some things
May 4, 2008 - 17:10 ET by motherbeltEvening, bt...some things never change...the MSM still covering up for the Clintons.
You do have to wonder, though, since they seem to really be pulling for Obama, you'd think they would point this out.
You may be right in your reasoning why they are ignoring it. Or, they don't care, because they don't consider her a threat any more.
Evening back to you too
May 4, 2008 - 17:43 ET by bigtimerEvening back to you too mb....
I don't know for sure quite what to think with the silence from the msm, I do think Soros has a big pull with his behind the scenes groups, that originated with Hillary hand in hand and has now turned on her for Obama...all in all, it is delicious, but this should come out, maybe on down the line, but doubtful in my opinion.
Typical eh? Thank goodness for the internet and NBs or I would not have known about this most likely.
Btw...I was stunned to hear the name Soros in this, maybe I shouldn't of been knowing his background, just glad I learned of this...
BTW...Thanks so much for this info. Mark...
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Churchill
Another hillar-y-ous
May 4, 2008 - 20:23 ET by stratmanAnother hillar-y-ous episode of the Hill and Bill Show.
It's like Hillary wants to lose.
Hubris plus stupidity is a toxic combination.
To loosely paraphrase General Patton: "Hillary, you magnificent implosion!"
RRAM Tough!
Not a flaw
May 5, 2008 - 02:36 ET by OrroHillary and Clinton bitterly disagreed on the relocation of Magnequench and had a row over this that dwarfed the Monica issue.
She does not bring this up cos it is still a sensitive issue that would have her reaching for the kleenex again. Very simply the wife has a different view of politics from the Husband.
Orro http://www.dragonlas...
I don't understand why
May 5, 2008 - 11:30 ET by ThermistoclesI don't understand why Obama isn't running with this. Hillary is playing up her experience and toughness on military matters and this would really undermine that perception.
One thing that this ad reinforces for me is that the Democrats are still pretty much driven by Bush Hatred. If I didn't know any better, I'd think Bush was up for another term and she was running against him.