The NewsBusters Weekly Recap: September 9 to 15

September 15th, 2006 3:06 PM

Rosie O’Donnell, the newly installed co-host at "The View," observed the 9/11 anniversary by stating that America "squandered" world support and the next day she asserted that "radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam."

O’Donnell wasn’t the only media member to use September 11 as a pretext to bash America. CBS veteran Andy Rooney suggested in his "60 Minutes" commentary that America start acting in a way that "wouldn’t make so many people in the world want to kill us." MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann went further, accusing President Bush of "impeachable" offenses and "lies."

Appearing on another network, but continuing in the same vein, Sean Penn talked to CNN’s Larry King and mused about the President bringing fascism to the United States...

"The Boston Globe" wondered if, in the end, will George Bush will do more harm then bin Laden.

"Good Morning America" used the arrival of 9/11 to discuss "Islamaphobia" and whether the President stoked anti-Muslim attitudes by denouncing Islamic extremists. The "Today" show’s Matt Lauer grilled President Bush during a September 11th interview, while throwing softballs to Senator Clinton.

On the issue of politics, Hardball reporter David Shuster told Chris Matthews that the liberal Lincoln Chafee, who received a 100 percent rating from the ACLU, was a "moderate" and "bipartisan." Shuster characterized his primary opponent, Stephen Laffey, as a "hard-line conservative."

Meanwhile, the networks reported on the death of former Texas Governor Ann Richards, by emphasizing her "fun loving spirit," in reference to her famous "silver foot" attack on then Vice President Bush. These same networks weren’t so generous when Republicans mocked John Kerry as being out-of-touch in 2004.