When the Air Pelosi brouhaha arose in the last few weeks, the first story that came to my bias-obsessed brain was the Air Sununu scandal in 1991, a crusade led by The Washington Post. The White House chief of staff John Sununu (father of the current senator) drew great controversy for his use of government jets and then, a government limo trip to a stamp auction. Comparison to other scandals, including congressional travel, came in our newsletter MediaWatch. Consider the comparison of the Post's investigative vigor:
Air Pelosi, 2007: One story on A-15, headlined "Pelosi Catches Nonstop Flights Home," a header designed for yawns, 272 words.
Air Sununu, 1991: 25 stories in 68 days (April 21-June 27), eleven on Page 1.
From an old file of mine, the raw data:
June 27: "Sununu Reportedly Used Federal Guards on Trips," Page A11.
June 26: "Sununu Sees Vendetta As Source of Troubles: GOP Insiders, Liberal News Media Blamed," Page A5.
June 25: front page center photo with headline: "Intends to Remain in Job." News story on A7.
June 24: "Sununu Stays, Bush Indicates: President Gives Aide Thumbs Up." Small column on page A5.
June 23: "Sununu Concedes Travel Mistakes: Aide Regrets 'Appearance of Impropriety.'" Top right on page 1, continues to page A6.
June 22: "Sununu Travel Rules Tightened: Probe Finds Counsel Was Misinformed." Top right on page 1, continues to pages A6 and A7.
June 21: No news story. (Haynes Johnson column on A2).
June 20: "President Chides Sununu: Job Safe Despite Ethical 'Appearance Problem'." Bottom half left, page 1. Continues to A6.
June 19: "Sununu Trip Said to Anger Bush: President Reportedly Sought Advice on Flap Over Use of Limousine." Top right, page 1. Continues to A4.
June 18: "Sununu's Trip Lawful, White House Aides Say: 'Doing Official Business' When in the Car." Page A4.
June 17: "Chief of Staff Defends N.Y. Limousine Trip: Phone Link Said to Serve 'National Interest'." Page A4.
June 16: "Sununu Uses Official Car To Attend Stamp Auction." Page A11.
May 31: "Sununu Took Eight Months To Repay Some Travel Costs: Bills Sent Promptly, White House Aides Say." Page A1, bottom left. Continues to A16.
May 16: "A Sununu Sing-Along: A Sampling of Lampoons Directed at White House Chief of Staff." Federal Page, A17.
May 11: "Figures Show Sununus on Tight Budget: Military Jets May Have Made Some Trips Affordable for Bush Aide." Front page, exact middle. Continues to half-page on A12.
May 10: "White House Strips Sununu of Travel Authority." Entire top of front page. Continues to more than half a page with two sidebars, A14.
May 3: "Review of Sununu's Travel Widens: White House Lawyer to Assess Propriety of 70 Trips on Military Jets." Page A4.
May 2: "White House Shunning Questions On Subsidized Jet Trips by Sununu: Unresolved Issues Include Who Reimbursed Government for Expenses." Page A12. (Accompanied by A12 story on Dan Quayle flying to Georgia to play golf.)
April 28: "Appointees Fire Barbs at Sununu: Chief of Staff Acted to Curb Others' Trips." Page A1, continues on A19.
April 27: "White House Scours Sununu Travel Records for Improprieties." Page A4.
April 26: "Sununu Charts Different Course As Chief of Staff: Former New Hampshire Governor Does Not Confine His Influence to the White House." Page A4.
April 25: "Bush Says Counsel Will Review Policy Covering Military Flights by Sununu." Page A1, top center. Continues to page A12.
April 24: "Sununu Deems Only 4 Plane Trips 'Personal'." Entire width of front page. Continues with almost entire page on A6.
April 22: "Administration Officials Defend Sununu's Use of Military Jets." AP dispatch on Page A4.
April 21: Post begins the whole story by revealing its investigation of travel records. "Sununu: Frequent Flier on Military Aircraft: Trips to Ski Resorts, Home, Fund-Raisers." Top Left Page 1. Continues to almost entire page with chart, A18.
MRC Chairman Brent Bozell held a press conference, which the Post dutifully covered. Howard Kurtz began his story on June 28:
The Washington Post, which has been riding high on the Air Sununu story, came under groundfire yesterday from a conservative media critic, who accused the paper of "a shameless double standard in a deliberate effort to get rid of the president's chief of staff."
L. Brent Bozell III, chairman of the Alexandria-based Media Research Center, told a news conference that while The Post has run 25 stories on travel abuses by John Sununu -- more than 25,000 words -- in the past 68 days, the paper has been "whitewashing" similar abuses by Democratic members of Congress. He said The Post was pushing the Sununu story to further its "ideological agenda."
Leonard Downie Jr., The Post's managing editor, said the paper has done "scores of stories" on congressional abuses of power.
"We have gone through how congressmen spend money on the franking privilege, on office accounts and on junkets we discovered... . In my mind, the Sununu coverage fits in with this very aggressive attack we've been on," Downie said. "A year or so ago, it was the Democrats who were complaining to us, Democratic congressmen who said we were blowing [stories] up."We have no ideological agenda... . We're not out to get anybody," Downie said. "We don't favor one party over another."
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Tim,Do you feel that sometime
February 17, 2007 - 14:50 ET by NeoConfirmedTim,
Do you feel that sometimes it's just to easy?
Sununu...'R'Gen. Pelosi....'D
February 17, 2007 - 14:55 ET by bigtimerSununu...'R'
Gen. Pelosi....'D'
Easy as pie.
Tim, this is super, but
February 17, 2007 - 15:06 ET by Gary HallTim, this is super (it tells it like it is), but how about a similar piece comparing the coverage on Hastert vs. Pelosi - one that lays out the data on this issue. Speaker vs. Speaker. (;~> gary
Of course, this works for Abramoff vs. James Riady
w/ WMD's under Clinton vs. Bush
w/ Enron under Clinton vs. Bush
w/ secrecy in the WH under Clinton vs. Bush
w/ spying under Clinton vs Bush
w/ pardons under Clinton vs anyone else.
w/ Kosovo (no UN resolution) vs Bush (well, actually he had the first one still)
w/ kosovo - Condemnations of Clintons actions by Carter, Mandela, etc. vs under Bush
It works for all issues, one could safely assume.
The MSM praises the wicked a
February 17, 2007 - 15:37 ET by jonathanandersonThe MSM praises the wicked and slanders the just.
EXACTLY. Those are importan
February 17, 2007 - 15:39 ET by jonathanandersonEXACTLY. Those are important hypocrisies to expose.
Clinton bombed the Serbs into the Stone Age and NOT A PEEP from liberal media.
.....live televison stations
February 17, 2007 - 15:43 ET by bigtimer.....live televison stations while on the air at the time...three times or more...I was watching a couple of times those exact stations broadcasting...and bang bang...gone forever, buried in the rubble.
...some in the media world-wide did complain...but not much here.
We all know why....Clintoon network at work to the utmost here in the US.
....unilaterally and without
February 17, 2007 - 15:45 ET by gfrrman....unilaterally and without the UN's blessings too.
grrrf,BINGO!No msm bias in a
February 17, 2007 - 15:49 ET by bigtimergrrrf,
BINGO!
No msm bias in all forms eh?
Makes me LMAO!
Pathetic leftist hypocrites all.....
Btw....(just easier to put grrrf! LOL, hope ya don't mind)
....."bias? We never heard o
February 17, 2007 - 16:14 ET by gfrrman....."bias? We never heard of no stinkin' bias"!! Hypocrisy?...well.........
Gfrrman...Grand Funk Railroad
February 17, 2007 - 20:05 ET by MikeBGfrrman...Grand Funk Railroad man?
"A communist is someone who reads Marx. An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx." Ronald Reagan
Hey there, Captain!
February 17, 2007 - 20:07 ET by BlondeHey there, Captain!
Right you are grasshopper!!!
February 17, 2007 - 20:25 ET by gfrrmanRight you are grasshopper!!!
Well, I had two braincells
February 18, 2007 - 00:04 ET by MikeBWell, I had two braincells locomoting about that collided and made the connection. It was an accident!
"A communist is someone who reads Marx. An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx."
Ronald Reagan
Always be careful on the &quo
February 18, 2007 - 07:16 ET by Tim GrahamAlways be careful on the "not a peep" claims. It's risky to claim someone "never" did something in the media. For example, when I went back a few months ago to look at Clinton-Kosovo coverage in 1999, coverage of the little war itself (if not Clinton) was fairly gloomy and "anti-war" in tone, at least the old Peter Jennings newscasts I viewed.
As for Hastert, Gary, I don't think anyone questioned his plane because of the natural reasons you wouldn't have questioned Pelosi's, the added layer of security after 9-11. But I wouldn't say "never." I just don't remember. Reporters focused on DeLay, not Hastert, because they didn't think Hastert had much power. Hastert was low-profile (the anti-Gingrich), and one effect of that is less media attention, good or bad. His major scandal, obviously, was the massively over-promoted Mark Foley scandal.
One you forgot there:w/ arr
February 18, 2007 - 05:33 ET by DontFeedTheTrollsOne you forgot there:
w/ arrests and convictions Clinton WH staff vs Bush WH staff.
D
Want your elected reps to know what you think? Go to Congress.org, it's real easy.
You can also send faxes to your reps for free from NumbersUSA.
Damn good reporting.The only
February 17, 2007 - 15:43 ET by jonathanandersonDamn good reporting.
The only thing the MSM produces politically is democratic dictators.
One can look up the history o
February 17, 2007 - 15:44 ET by ThisnThatOne can look up the history and principles of the Washington Post.
Eugene Meyer had a vision of what makes a newspaper truly great, and that vision included serving the public according to seven principles. He offered them in a speech on March 5, 1935 and published them on his newspaper's front page.
Does this sound like today's Post, as evidenced by this comparison? You be the judge.
Absolutely not.And he could h
February 17, 2007 - 16:23 ET by jonathanandersonAbsolutely not.
And he could have boiled it down to 3 points :
1 - A newspaper is obligated to speak the truth, the whole truth, and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH.
2 - A newspaper is to insure that THE TRUTH prevails in every event it covers.
3 - A newspaper is to forward and protect the free course of the word of the Lord ... it is there to make sure that THE TRUTH reaches every citizen.
__________
The whole duty of a newspaper is embodied here :
Proverbs 25:25 As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
Here :
Proverbs 13:17 A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health.
And here :
2 Thessalonians 3:1 ... that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:
And note his 2nd principle --
February 17, 2007 - 16:48 ET by ThisnThatAnd note his 2nd principle -- put America first, while considering the world at large. Wonder what the current Post editors think of that?
Chancellor Pelosi ... the rei
February 17, 2007 - 16:55 ET by jonathanandersonChancellor Pelosi ... the reigning Sith lord of the Democratic Party.
So the Washington Post's edit
February 17, 2007 - 16:58 ET by HumanEventsSo the Washington Post's editor says, "We have no ideological agenda." Hmmmm your editorials are so liberal but that's no reflection of ideology, eh? "We're not out to get anybody." Yeah you didn't help get Richard Nixon out of office. "We don't favor one party over another." Naw, you just happened to endorse John Kerry, Al Gore, Bill Clinton for President, as well as almost always endorsing Democrats for all office.
Great to have the facts to prove bias, like the Air Pelosi 2007 Post coverage vs. their Air Sununu 1991 coverage. Lying liberals like the Post's editor just sit there and say, "Whatdaya mean? We aren't biased for the Democrats." Well any idiot can sit there and assert whatever he wants. But the facts show what the real deal is.
Evidence refutes liberals once again.
Broomstick 1
February 17, 2007 - 18:27 ET by BlondeThe Pelosi plane story died such a fast death that I have no actual idea what plane she will get...when she flies home to her district after all her hard work today.
Anybody?
She flew home last weekend, a
February 17, 2007 - 19:07 ET by Del DolemonteShe flew home last weekend, and not in the "bigger" plane, but in the 12 person C37-A. She made it nonstop.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/02/10/BAGEVO2E271.DTL&type=politics
Del,Thanks for the update.It'
February 17, 2007 - 19:09 ET by BlondeDel,
Thanks for the update.
It's still rather interesting that this appeared nowhere in the MsM. Yes?
I think the pro-Pelosi presso
February 17, 2007 - 23:07 ET by Del DolemonteI think the pro-Pelosi pressoids decided they better back off this one, especially when bloggers quickly found out that the smaller planes would fly a long distance. As we have postulated here since the beginning, the smaller planes (like the one Hastert used) had a range that could easily take them nonstop from Andrews AFB to Travis AFB in California, which is the nearest major military airbase to the Bay Area.
Since planes fly using the "Great Circle Route", the straight line distance coast to coast is actually just over 2100 miles. Tack on a couple of hundred extra miles due to flight routing along the airways, but you still end up with less than 3 thousand miles.
One later qualifier came up after the range of the airplanes was confirmed. This was that "winter headwinds" could knock back the range of the aircraft. However, it should be noted that said plane has a service altitude that can in fact take it higher than many prevailing jetstreams.
These "smaller" jets routinely fly at 35,000 feet. In fact, a similar earlier plane (Learjet) mapped Mt. Everest from the air while a mile above it.
This is such a non-story on t
February 17, 2007 - 18:22 ET by ferrarimanf355This is such a non-story on the level of Anna Nicole Smith's death that it's laughable. That's my only comment on this.
Uzumaki/Ayanami '08. Because a ninja and an Eva pilot can govern the nation better that what we have now...
Actually, Bad Example of Bias
February 17, 2007 - 22:16 ET by aaronarnwineThis is really a bad example to use as bias because the differences are too striking.
With Sununu, he had already taken the trips; the trips were extravagant; and he had no security need for a plane.
San Fran Nan (as much as I cannot stand her) still hasn't flown anywhere.
If she had been doing this for a year and then it came out, it would warrant multiple articles like Sununu's as more facts came out. But it would still be like in "Section P, the Travel Section" of the Washington Post...which I am looking at right now!
Panama is the new South Beach, y'all!
Actually, as I noted above in
February 18, 2007 - 14:32 ET by Del DolemonteActually, as I noted above in another reply, she *has* already flown somewhere, namely back to SF to attend a political funeral last weekend. She used the smaller plane.
Sununu's mistake was that the
February 17, 2007 - 22:44 ET by dahliatraversSununu's mistake was that the House sergeant at arms did not make the request for him. Pelosi didn't want this special treatment; she was just being polite to the security expert.
Too bad Sununu couldn't use t
February 18, 2007 - 00:42 ET by ding7777Too bad Sununu couldn't use that 'ole 9/11 changed everything routine.
Yeah, because as we know fo
February 18, 2007 - 08:07 ET by Jack BauerYeah, because as we know, for lib***ls, 3000 citizens incinerated on 9/11 changed f**k all.
Not one thing about their braindead, asinine "thought" processes.
Hello there Liberal spin-doct
February 18, 2007 - 01:02 ET by liberal_bug_zapperHello there Liberal spin-doctors. Welcome to the truth... what? What do you mean you can't handle the truth??? Who do you think you are?? Tom "freakin" Cruise???
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"These are the times that try men's souls." ~ Thomas Paine