"Good Morning America" co-host Chris Cuomo somehow managed to make it through an entire segment on Kwame Kilpatrick, the scandal-ridden Democratic mayor of Detroit, without mentioning his political affiliation (other than a brief, non-verbal video graphic). Cuomo described Kilpatrick as the "beleaguered mayor," a "prominent politician," and, simply, "the mayor."
In contrast, while GMA's report on Kilpatrick was a rather straight forward recitation of the facts, the morning program wondered in August of 2007 if Senator Larry Craig's bathroom scandal could spell doom for the Republican Party. On August 28, 2007, guest co-host Bill Weir gravely wondered, "Is the GOP losing its grip?"
Of course, ABC hasn't been the only network ignoring the fact that Kilpatrick is a Democrat. On March 21, the MRC's Brent Baker observed that NBC's "Nightly News" followed the exact same tactic while covering Kilpatrick, who was charged on Monday morning with felony perjury charges for covering up an affair with a staffer. This is also the same news program that waited four days to inform viewers that disgraced ex-Governor Eliot Spitzer was also a Democrat.
Continuing the pattern, an AP story that appeared on Monday, shortly after Kilpatrick was charged, also failed to ID the mayor as a Democrat.
A transcript of the March 24 segment, which aired at 7:17am, follows:
ROBIN ROBERTS: We're going to turn now to the mayor of Detroit who could be facing some very serious criminal charges later today. He is the latest politician to be hit by a sex scandal but this time it isn't the scandal itself that could undo him, it's what he has said about it. Chris has been following it for us. 'Cause it is a little confusing.
CUOMO: Absolutely. You have it right. I mean, there is an expression that seems to be becoming a big part of our political culture, it's not the crime that gets you, it's the cover-up. So, once again we hear about a prominent politician under fire for sexual indiscretion and, once again, efforts to deny the situation have drawn attention.
KWAME KILPATRICK: I want to make a public apology to my wife Carlita.
CUOMO: In January, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick apologized to both his constituents and his family while remaining defiant.
KWAME KILPATRICK (D-Detroit, Michigan): There has also been a lot of speculation about me resigning from office. Let me be clear tonight: I would never quit on you, ever.
CUOMO: This morning, the beleaguered mayor's resolve to stay in office may be shaken if a prosecutor decides to indict him for crimes including lying under oath about an affair with his former chief of staff Christine Beatty.
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE (Prosecutor?): Did you ever receive messages from the mayor of a personal nature?
CHRISTINE BEATTY: No.
CUOMO: Kilpatrick and Beatty's denials rang hollow when the Detroit Free Press discovered these intimate text messages. In one, Kilpatrick says "I need you so bad." In another, Beatty asks, "Did you miss me sexually?" Now Kilpatrick may be facing a slew of charges.
DAVID ANGER (Editor/Vice President, Detroit Free Press): Possible perjury charges, possible obstruction of justice, possible conspiracy, possible misuse of office.
CUOMO: Allegations he's denied while blaming the media for death threats he's received.
KILPATRICK: I don't believe that a Nielsen rating is worth the life of my children.
CUOMO: We'll find out today about [sic] if there are any charges, potential arraignment. And, also, the mayor said he wouldn't quit. He won't have to. If he's convicted of anything, the city's charter says he has to be removed as mayor
ROBERTS: It's like you said, it's not the crime, it's the cover up that keeps going on.
—Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center.
















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Don't Expect AP to change the template, either.
March 24, 2008 - 12:47 ET by richflanjhttp://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8VJSSFO6&show_article=1
SIXTEEN paragraphs. No party mentioned.
Angry? Yes. Surprised? Nope.
I would really like someone
March 24, 2008 - 12:51 ET by gopsteveI would really like someone to confront a reporter live on the air about why they leave out the D so much...
That would be fun to see.
It's so dam@ typical...google DETROIT MAYOR with and without the word DEMOCRAT!
4,504 to 156
Kwame's Quandry
March 24, 2008 - 13:15 ET by soosanisn't he the son of a prominent D politician?
soosan... Yes,
March 24, 2008 - 13:24 ET by bigtimersoosan...
Yes, congress-critter Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick...Mich. 13th district.
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Churchill
as well
March 24, 2008 - 13:25 ET by UndercoverConservativeas yet an other Clinton "superdelegate"?
"to call an illegal immigrant an "undocumented alien" is the same as calling a streetcorner drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist".
Theory:
March 24, 2008 - 13:17 ET by mattmA Democrat working for a Democrat organization not mentioning the party affiliation of a Democrat, is not that surprising...they only mention Republicans by Party, because it's so alien to them...as if they're reporting on Martians...
no mention here either
March 24, 2008 - 13:22 ET by UndercoverConservativethis just off their links in yahoo and msn:
http://www.msnbc.msn...
only mention of democrat is the bottom links for some other news story. Not one mention of party in the entire article as of 10:19AM PST
can they get any more blatant?
"to call an illegal immigrant an "undocumented alien" is the same as calling a streetcorner drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist".
I have to get everyone's
March 24, 2008 - 13:44 ET by marpelI have to get everyone's opinion...Do y'all think they purposely omit party affiliation, or do you think this is a subconscious effort? If yes to either one, do you think they think they're fooling the American viewer?
I'm trying to understand what the heck possesses these people...
marpel,
March 24, 2008 - 13:55 ET by R D HelmI think it is probably a little of both.
As to your third question, in the cases where the ommission is deliberate, I think they really believe they are fooling us, as they think most of us are idiots.
Theme for Election '08: I want my mommy!
I have a tendency to agree
March 24, 2008 - 13:58 ET by marpelI have a tendency to agree with you. It's a little bit of both. They must think the flyover population is a group of mutants who just dragged their knuckles back in from the prairie. It's so dang laughable!
It's even more devious!
March 24, 2008 - 15:07 ET by Mark_for_SenateThey purposely omit the (D) label on any scandalous story that involves indictments, corruption, etc. They also go as far as to 'quote' Republicans in the story (labelling as such) so that searches with all popular search engines will return more Rs than Ds when using keywords like indict, corrupt, etc.
To know and not do, is to not yet know
Thanks, Mark. You brought
March 24, 2008 - 15:16 ET by marpelThanks, Mark. You brought up a point I certainly did not think about.
I ditto marpel's post
March 24, 2008 - 15:22 ET by bigtimerI ditto marpel's post Mark.
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Churchill
Notice they don't miss the
March 24, 2008 - 15:18 ET by SamNotice they don't miss the party affiliation when it comes to possibly blaming "a republican consultant" for turning Spitzer in (even if it happened months after Spitz turned himself in by his bank activity). See http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=674573&category=FRONTPG&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=3/24/2008
The MSM is almost humorous, if they weren't so damaging to this country.
Sam, you're absolutely
March 24, 2008 - 15:24 ET by marpelSam, you're absolutely right. In fact when this crap about the passport infos being looked at broke last week, Keith O and Howard Fineman were breathlessly talking about how this Republican administration has got to be investigated for these actions, etc, etc. The word "Republican" was negatively inserted into almost each paragraph they spoke. The only one who did not accuse the Republicans or Bush or Cheney or Rice was Andrea Mitchell. Who knows? I'm sure she was dying to say something, but I'm hoping her professionalism got in the way.
Keith O was so excited about this "breaking news" that I thought he was going to have to don some Depends.
"objective" msm
March 24, 2008 - 15:22 ET by SamI'll bet they start endlessly harping on all recent Democratic scandals and how it's a new culture of corruption. Spitzer, Patterson, Kilpatrick, etc. Just like they didn't for the Democrates leading up to the mid-term elections. Not! :D
Yes the "D" is left out to
March 24, 2008 - 16:49 ET by radiofitz34Yes the "D" is left out to prevent any association with the more humble and upstanding citizens in the democratic party.
Hey, anybody got a shovel?