"Nightline" co-host Terry Moran on Monday condemned the "cruel" and "inaccurate" attacks liberal Fox News anchor Alan Colmes made about Rick Santorum and the "crazy" way he handled the death of his newborn son. [See video below. MP3 audio here.] NBC also covered the shocking remarks. CBS skipped them entirely.
On Monday, Colmes taunted Santorum, wrongly claiming the Republican took "his two-hour-old baby, who died right after childbirth, home and played with it for a couple of hours so his other children would know that the child was real."
On Monday night, Moran chided, "And now come the attacks on Santorum. Now that's doing so well, including this shockingly cruel comment from liberal pundit Alan Colmes on Fox News, describing, inaccurately, how Santorum and his wife grieved their dead newborn child in 1996."
Yet, although ABC reporters rejected the comments on Monday, they ignored them on Tuesday's "Good Morning America." This was despite the fact that GMA co-host George Stephanopoulos had an exclusive interview with Santorum.
On NBC's "Today," Peter Alexander relayed the "highly emotional" moment of the former Pennsylvania senator talking about Colmes attack. Alexander added, "And that Fox News commentator, Alan Colmes late apologized for what he called a hurtful comment. Santorum accepted the apology."
CBS's "Early Show" ignored the remarks.
A transcript of the reporting on Monday's "Nightline" and Tuesday's "Today" can be found below:
NL
01/02/11
11:50pm EST
TERRY MORAN: And now come the attacks on Santorum. Now that's doing so well, including this shockingly cruel comment from liberal pundit Alan Colmes on Fox News, describing, inaccurately, how Santorum and his wife grieved their dead newborn child in 1996.ALAN COLMES: Like taking his two-hour-old baby who died right after childbirth home and played with it for a couple of hours so his other children would know that the child was real.
MORAN: This afternoon at a town hall in Newton, Santorum was asked about that.
RICK SANTORUM: We got together and we brought Gabriel home with us to bury him.
MORAN: Nearby, his wife Karen wept. Those values have gone straight to the heart of what socially conservative Iowans care about. Lynn Roger got on the Santorum train early back in October. What was it like to be a Santorum supporter for all those months when he was at like, one, two percent in the polls?
LYNN ROGERS: It was tough to see him that low. I wanted- I wanted the media- I wanted to call the media and say you're missing it. You're missing it. You know, you're missing out. You got to speak with him. Go see him because when you see him, you change your mind. So, it was hard, but I felt good in my heart.
MORAN: But whether Iowa conservatives will go with their hearts tomorrow or with the man many think has the best chance to beat Barack Obama, that is the question here tonight.
Today
01/03/12
7:03
PETER ALEXANDER: The former Pennsylvania senator was greeted by a standing room only crowd inside this coffee house, Monday. Among those in attendance, reality TV stars the Duggar family, 12 of their 19 children in tow there to endorse the social conservative. Later in a highly emotional moment, Santorum spoke about the family's decision to take their baby son Gabriel home, after he died just hours after being born prematurely. His comments came after Fox News commentator Alan Colmes called that decision, quote, "crazy."
ALAN COLMES: What I'm saying us I think it shows a certain unusual attitude taking a two-hour baby home to die to play with his other children.
RICK SANTORUM: We brought him home so our children could see and to some who don't recognize the dignity of all human life, recognizing the humanity in your son is somehow weird, somehow odd, and should be subject to ridicule.
...
ALEXANDER: And that Fox News commentator, Alan Colmes late apologized for what he called a hurtful comment. Santorum accepted the apology.
