NewsBusters Podcast: There Was No Neocon Press Parade

On the 20th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War, NewsBusters is determined to rebut the silly leftist allegation that the "mainstream media" were Bush-Cheney lackeys who never threw tough questions before and during war in Iraq. The Left has a bad habit of believing the press should be all-powerful, bowling over all other political actors in achieving their movement goals. When the media fail to present something, like a war, then they are accused of being saps for the warmongers.

Bill Moyers of PBS compared Bush and Cheney to burglars and arsonists, and then even claimed the media resembled a cult engaged in a "collective Jonestown-like suicide." The idea of a neocon press parade was ridiculous. Studies we did at the Media Research Center in late 2002 showed the anti-war side was obviously favored.

On the verge of war on March 6, 2003, Bush faced hardballs in a press conference. ABC's Terry Moran asked "May I ask what went wrong that so many governments and peoples around the world now not only disagree with you very strongly, but see the U.S. under your leadership as an arrogant power?”

He wasn’t alone. CNN's John King cited Ted Kennedy 's belief that "your fixation with Saddam Hussein is making the world a more dangerous place." Ed Chen of the Los Angeles Times demanded to know that if Bush "trusted the people" with their tax cuts, why not trust them enough to give them an estimate of the war costs? Bob Deans of Cox Newspapers even bizarrely suggested that the Vietnam War was somehow unjustified because "The regime is still there in Hanoi, and it hasn't harmed or threatened a single American in the 30 years since the war ended."

Enjoy the podcast below or wherever you listen to podcasts.