The NewsBusters Weekly Recap: October 21 to 27

With less then two weeks to go before the midterm elections, two separate programs, on two different networks, speculated that the Republicans are colluding with big oil to lower gas prices. The "Today" show wondered if this indicated "a vast right-wing conspiracy."

Fox’s Geraldo Rivera speculated that America was seeing a case of "gas pump pimping."

Meanwhile, ABC’s "Nightline" weighed in on political commercials and lamented GOP "mudslinging." They also characterized Rush Limbaugh’s comments about Michael J. Fox as a "vicious attack." (They apparently didn’t find any mudslinging or vicious attacks done by the Democrats)

CNN had their own take on Limbaugh’s comments. They wondered: "Could it be a new low?"

Speaking of the cable network, CNN also previewed a new Bush special by noting that "many say" the President has "stretched" and "trampled" the Constitution.

Sean Hannity appeared on "Good Morning America" to defend Limbaugh and slam the Democrats’ "selective moral outrage."

Much of the mainstream media used their outlets to promote Democratic candidates. "Newsweek" described Harold Ford as "not your daddy’s Democrat." Chris Matthews stated that Senator Barack Obama is "ridiculously good looking." The AP ludicrously called the liberal Obama a "centrist."

"60 Minutes" co-anchor Lesley Stahl hosted a pre-election celebration of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

NewsBusters Executive Editor Matthew Sheffield noted that ABC News political director Mark Halperin recently admitted that the media does have a liberal bias.

Finally, on the celebrity front, Rosie O’Donnell compared the Patriot Act to apartheid. And Bill Maher slammed prominent conservatives and right-wing think tanks.