CNN Reporter: Mitt Romney’s Presidental Bid Appeals to ‘Far Right’

CNN reporter Dan Lothian resorted, not for the first time, to a classic example of liberal bias on Monday’s "American Morning." Beginning a piece on Republican Governor Mitt Romney’s potential White House run, he described the politician’s positioning this way:

Miles O’Brien: "Now, on the Republican side of the race for the White House, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney thinking hard about that. ‘American Morning’s’ Dan Lothian looking at that potential run. Dan, good morning."

Dan Lothian: "Good morning, Miles. Well, polls seem to favor Senator John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for the nomination in 2008. But Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney seems to be carving out his base by appealing, political experts say, to the far right. It might feel like he's running for president in 2008, but Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney insists he's just doing his homework."

A few seconds later, Lothian continued his "far right" angle:

Lothian: "From New Hampshire to Iowa to South Carolina, Romney, who’s chairman of the Republican Governor's Association, has been raising money and his profile."

Ron Kaufman, (Republican Strategist): "The more he's out and about traveling for candidates, the more people see him, the more people think this man is a leader for the future."

Lothian: "But critics say the process of becoming that leader and the effort to win the hearts of evangelicals is pushing Romney away from the more moderate candidate than he was four years ago."

All candidates position themselves and play to their respective bases. But the media rarely slaps a "far left" label on a Democratic candidate. Will Barack Obama be appealing to the far left when he runs for president? Perhaps not. Obama, who in his first year as a Senator, landed a score of eight from the American Conservative Union, was recently labeled a "centrist" by the Associated Press.

Lothian concluded his piece, which aired at 7:16a.m. EDT, by chatting with "American Morning" co-host Miles O’Brien. This gave the CNN reporter one last chance to reiterate the scary news: Romney is appealing to conservatives.

O’Brien: "Still kind of scratching my head, Dan, about a conservative guy from Massachusetts coming to the fore as a presidential candidate. Bit of a contradiction there on the face of it at least."

Lothian: "Well, true. I mean, and I think that goes back to what I said in the piece that, you know, when he was running for governor here in the state of Massachusetts, many say that he was much more moderate in this state because that's what it took to win in a state like this. But what you've been seeing lately is that Romney has been taking some of the more, sort of, to-the-right conservative views in order to get that vote that he believes is out there if, indeed, he does run for president."

"Far right" is a phrase that Lothian apparently enjoys, as this is not the first time he’s used it. The MRC’s Brent Baker noted that Lothian’s uttered those words on August 13th 2003, in a story about California’s special gubernatorial election:

"Dan Lothian, fresh from NBC News... observed that ‘while Schwarzenegger has been connected to some conservative themes, like eliminating the car tax and voting for the anti-illegal immigrant measure Prop 187, his support of gay rights, abortion rights, and some gun control, turning off the far right.’"

As mentioned earlier, Barack Obama will likely run for President. Numerous media outlets have interviewed him, in relation to a new book he’s written, yet the questions are almost uniformly fawning and friendly. Two programs that did talk with the Illinois Senator, CNN’s "American Morning" and NBC’s "Today," failed to describe his voting record as liberal, and they also neglected to ask whether Obama would attempt to appeal to his party’s left-wing base. Apparently only conservatives such as Romney have to worry about scary sounding groups like the "far right."

A transcript follows:

10/23/06

7:16

Miles O’Brien: "Now, on the Republican side of the race for the White House, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney thinking hard about that. ‘American Morning’s’ Dan Lothian looking at that potential run. Dan, good morning."

Dan Lothian: "Good morning, Miles. Well, polls seem to favor Senator John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for the nomination in 2008. But Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney seems to be carving out his base by appealing, political experts say, to the far right. It might feel like he's running for president in 2008, but Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney insists he's just doing his homework."

Romney

Lothian: "From New Hampshire to Iowa to South Carolina, Romney, whose chairman of the Republican Governor's Association, has been raising money and his profile."

Ron Kaufman, (Republican Strategist): "The more he's out and about traveling for candidates, the more people see him, the more people think this man is a leader for the future."

Lothian: "But critics say the process of becoming that leader and the effort to win the hearts of evangelicals is pushing Romney away from the more moderate candidate that he was four years ago."

Jeff Santos: "He has played around with the choice and life issue."

Lothian: "Jeff Santos is a liberal Boston radio talk show host."

Santos: "Taking that hard right turn and somebody thinking that he's believable on that part. I have a hard time with that."

Lothian: "Romney admits he now takes a harder line against abortion than he did in his gubernatorial campaign. But he disagrees he's toughened his stance against same-sex marriage."

Romney: "I'm in the same position I was before."

Lothian: "He shared that position with evangelicals in Boston at a recent nationally televised rally against same-sex marriage."

Romney

Lothian: "A warm welcome from a key voting block. But political analysts say some may ultimately be reluctant to embrace him as a presidential candidate because he's a Mormon."

David Gergen: "There are people in his own party, his won conservative base, the social conservatives, evangelical conservatives, some of whom see the Mormonism as an errant, a deviation from the word of God."

Lothian: "Romney says everyone is on the same page when it comes to values, and that is what motivates voters. Republican Adviser Ron Kaufman agrees."

Kaufman: "People are voting for the commander in chief, I think, not the pastor in chief."

Lothian: "Political analysts say that the Mormon factor is difficult to really measure right now. But it has been getting more attention and it's believed that he is quietly rising to the top tier of potential presidential candidates. And the spotlight will intensify this issue will only get bigger. Miles."

O’Brien: "Still kind of scratching my head, Dan, about a conservative guy from Massachusetts coming to the fore as a presidential candidate. Bit of a contradiction there on the face of it at least."

Lothian: "Well, true. I mean, and I think that goes back to what I said in the piece that, you know, when he was running for governor here in the state of Massachusetts, many say that he was much more moderate in this state because that's what it took to win in a state like this. But what you've been seeing lately is that Romney has been taking some of the more, sort of, to the right conservative views in order to get that vote that he believes is out there if, indeed, he does run for president."