Al Franken - World-of-Newave.info http://answers.world-of-newave.info/al-franken.htm Latest news and articles about Al Franken en-us Copyright (c)2004-2008.ยง/Newave SARL. All rights reserved. webmaster@world-of-newave.com (Webmaster) Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:29:51 GMT Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:29:51 GMT Newave Lisa XML Engine v1.0 - http://www.world-of-newave.info/about.htm 60 http://www.world-of-newave.info/images/wi8831.gif World-of-Newave.info - Knowledge and Informational Database http://www.world-of-newave.info/ 88 31 {ISSUES > BIAS AND BALANCE} - Blasting Franken's "vulgarity," Wash. Post 's Gerson touted McCain's "civility," ignoring McCain's "vulgarity" and tolerance of it http://articles.world-of-newave.info/society/issues/business/media/bias-and-balance/blasting-franken-s-vulgarity-wash-post-s-gerson-20080635924.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/society/issues/business/media/bias-and-balance/blasting-franken-s-vulgarity-wash-post-s-gerson-20080635924.htm Fri, 20 Jun 2008 01:01:36 GMT In a June 18 Washington Post column, citing writings and jokes that are years and even decades old, Michael Gerson criticized comedian and Minnesota Democratic senatorial candidate Al Franken for what he called Franken's "offensive vulgarity." Gerson wrote: "The objects of Franken's humor -- including political opponents and women -- are not merely mocked but dehumanized. His trashiness is also nastiness." Gerson later added, "At its best, politics can offer examples of civility and generosity that challenge selfishness and prejudice -- the tradition so far embraced by both John McCain and Barack Obama. At the very least, politics should not actively push our culture toward vulgarity and viciousness. This is not prudery; it is a practical concern for the cooperation and mutual respect necessary in a functioning democracy. And it is hard to believe those causes would be served by a Sen. Franken." However, in citing McCain as an "example[] of civility and generosity that challenge selfishness and prejudice," Gerson ignored McCain's previous personal attacks on Sen. Hillary Clinton, including an appearance at a 1998 Republican fundraiser where McCain reportedly made what New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd called a "disgusting jape": "Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno." (He reportedly later apologized to President Bill Clinton.) Media Matters for America has documented that McCain tolerated an attack on Hillary Clinton as well as took a "swipe" at her during the presidential campaign. During a November 2007 campaign event in South Carolina, when a questioner asked McCain, "How do we beat the bitch?" -- presumably referring to Hillary Clinton -- McCain responded that it was an "excellent question" and then pointed to a Rasmussen poll that he said showed him beating Clinton in a head-to-head matchup before saying, "I respect Senator Clinton." Additionally, an October 18, 2007, Associated Press article reported that while campaigning in South Carolina, McCain "couldn't resist a swipe at Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton." The article noted that during an appearance at the University of South Carolina Upstate nursing school, "McCain took one look at a ... training mannequin and asked if the dummy's name was Hillary." The article quoted McCain as saying, "I was very glad to meet the dummy, named 'Hillary.' " McCain's campaign has also been linked to personal attacks against Clinton, as Media Matters has noted. Before joining the campaign in early June, McCain's deputy communications director, Michael Goldfarb, regularly engaged in the kind of personal smears that McCain has denounced. In his prior capacity as online editor of The Weekly Standard, from which he is on leave, Goldfarb described Clinton as a "shameless panderer" who "lie[s]" "more than most" politicians and mustered "faux outrage" that came off as "pathetic whining" about her treatment from the media. Goldfarb said of Clinton's "3 a.m." ad about the economy: "[D]oes anyone think Clinton wouldn't bite off the heads of at least three staffers if her much needed beauty sleep was disturbed by a middle of the night phone call about the economy?" From Gerson's June 18 Washington Post column: In the razor-close and nationally important Senate race in Minnesota, Republican incumbent Norm Coleman is presented with a unique political problem. Should he raise in his ads the issue of comedian Al Franken's offensive vulgarity? Or would this risk a backlash against Coleman for coarsening the public conversation? Remember that when Ken Starr detailed Bill Clinton's most repulsive antics -- stained dresses and such -- it was Starr who was accused of sexual obsessiveness. [...] "Porn-O-Rama!" is a modern campaign document every voter should read -- the Federalist Papers of lifestyle liberalism. It has the literary sensibilities and moral seriousness of an awkward adolescent nerd publishing an underground newspaper to shock his way into campus popularity. But, in this case, the article was written in 2000 by a 48-year-old man. Franken's "brand name" includes other highlights. In 2006, after a long monologue about a dog and its vomit, Franken impersonated the deceased Sen. Strom Thurmond as saying: "Yeah, I screwed a woman who was vomiting once." He once proposed a television sketch about a female CBS reporter being drugged and raped. He has suggested that his next book title might be "I F -- -- -- Hate Those Right-Wing Motherf -- -- -- !" At an event hosted by the Feminist Majority Foundation in 1999, Franken offered this thigh-slapper: "Why don't we focus on what Afghan women can do? They can cook, bear children and pray. As I recall, that was fine for our grandmothers." Our popular culture, of course, violates even these expansive boundaries of tastelessness with regularity. We laugh at comedies featuring the C-word and at cartoons of foul-mouthed third-graders. In the cause of relevance and realism, our common life is already decorated with excrement. Why should political discourse be any different? For at least one reason: Because vulgarity is often the opposite of civility. This is not, of course, always true. I know a brilliant and large-hearted academic with roots in south Philly who uses the F-word with the frequency of "like" or "and." But the vulgarity of "The Jerry Springer Show" or misogynous rap music -- the cultural equivalents of Franken's political "satire" -- generally expresses contempt and cruelty. Franken is not content to disagree with Karl Rove; he calls him "human filth." He is not satisfied to criticize Ari Fleischer; Franken terms him a "chimp." The objects of Franken's humor -- including political opponents and women -- are not merely mocked but dehumanized. His trashiness is also nastiness. Rather than lampooning the emptiness and viciousness of our political discourse -- a proper role for satire -- Franken has powerfully reinforced those failures. Some institutions must be more than a mirror to our culture, including families, religious communities and government. At its best, politics can offer examples of civility and generosity that challenge selfishness and prejudice -- the tradition so far embraced by both John McCain and Barack Obama. At the very least, politics should not actively push our culture toward vulgarity and viciousness. This is not prudery; it is a practical concern for the cooperation and mutual respect necessary in a functioning democracy. And it is hard to believe those causes would be served by a Sen. Franken. Mediamatters.Org Blasting Franken's "vulgarity," Wash. Post 's Gerson touted McCain's "civility," ignoring McCain's "vulgarity" and tolerance of it {new window}   Mediamatters.Org - In a June 18 Washington Post column, citing writings and jokes that are years and even decades old, Michael Gerson criticized comedian and Minnesota Democratic senatorial candidate Al Franken for what he called Franken's "offensive vulgarity." Gerson wrote: "The objects of Franken's humor -- including political opponents and women -- are not merely mocked but dehumanized. His trashiness is also nastiness." Gerson later added, "At its best, politics can offer examples of civility and generosity that challenge selfishness and prejudice -- the tradition so far embraced by both John McCain and Barack Obama. At the very least, politics should not actively push our culture toward vulgarity and viciousness. This is not prudery; it is a practical concern for the cooperation and mutual respect necessary in a functioning democracy. And it is hard to believe those causes would be served by a Sen. Franken." However, in citing McCain as an "example[] of civility and generosity that challenge selfishness and prejudice," Gerson ignored McCain's previous personal attacks on Sen. Hillary Clinton, including an appearance at a 1998 Republican fundraiser where McCain reportedly made what New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd called a "disgusting jape": "Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno." (He reportedly later apologized to President Bill Clinton.) Media Matters for America has documented that McCain tolerated an attack on Hillary Clinton as well as took a "swipe" at her during the presidential campaign. During a November 2007 campaign event in South Carolina, when a questioner asked McCain, "How do we beat the bitch?" -- presumably referring to Hillary Clinton -- McCain responded that it was an "excellent question" and then pointed to a Rasmussen poll that he said showed him beating Clinton in a head-to-head matchup before saying, "I respect Senator Clinton." Additionally, an October 18, 2007, Associated Press article reported that while campaigning in South Carolina, McCain "couldn't resist a swipe at Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton." The article noted that during an appearance at the University of South Carolina Upstate nursing school, "McCain took one look at a ... training mannequin and asked if the dummy's name was Hillary." The article quoted McCain as saying, "I was very glad to meet the dummy, named 'Hillary.' " McCain's campaign has also been linked to personal attacks against Clinton, as Media Matters has noted. Before joining the campaign in early June, McCain's deputy communications director, Michael Goldfarb, regularly engaged in the kind of personal smears that McCain has denounced. In his prior capacity as online editor of The Weekly Standard, from which he is on leave, Goldfarb described Clinton as a "shameless panderer" who "lie[s]" "more than most" politicians and mustered "faux outrage" that came off as "pathetic whining" about her treatment from the media. Goldfarb said of Clinton's "3 a.m." ad about the economy: "[D]oes anyone think Clinton wouldn't bite off the heads of at least three staffers if her much needed beauty sleep was disturbed by a middle of the night phone call about the economy?" From Gerson's June 18 Washington Post column: In the razor-close and nationally important Senate race in Minnesota, Republican incumbent Norm Coleman is presented with a unique political problem. Should he raise in his ads the issue of comedian Al Franken's offensive vulgarity? Or would this risk a backlash against Coleman for coarsening the public conversation? Remember that when Ken Starr detailed Bill Clinton's most repulsive antics -- stained dresses and such -- it was Starr who was accused of sexual obsessiveness. [...] "Porn-O-Rama!" is a modern campaign document every voter should read -- the Federalist Papers of lifestyle liberalism. It has the literary sensibilities and moral seriousness of an awkward adolescent nerd publishing an underground newspaper to shock his way into campus popularity. But, in this case, the article was written in 2000 by a 48-year-old man. Franken's "brand name" includes other highlights. In 2006, after a long monologue about a dog and its vomit, Franken impersonated the deceased Sen. Strom Thurmond as saying: "Yeah, I screwed a woman who was vomiting once." He once proposed a television sketch about a female CBS reporter being drugged and raped. He has suggested that his next book title might be "I F -- -- -- Hate Those Right-Wing Motherf -- -- -- !" At an event hosted by the Feminist Majority Foundation in 1999, Franken offered this thigh-slapper: "Why don't we focus on what Afghan women can do? They can cook, bear children and pray. As I recall, that was fine for our grandmothers." Our popular culture, of course, violates even these expansive boundaries of tastelessness with regularity. We laugh at comedies featuring the C-word and at cartoons of foul-mouthed third-graders. In the cause of relevance and realism, our common life is already decorated with excrement. Why should political discourse be any different? For at least one reason: Because vulgarity is often the opposite of civility. This is not, of course, always true. I know a brilliant and large-hearted academic with roots in south Philly who uses the F-word with the frequency of "like" or "and." But the vulgarity of "The Jerry Springer Show" or misogynous rap music -- the cultural equivalents of Franken's political "satire" -- generally expresses contempt and cruelty. Franken is not content to disagree with Karl Rove; he calls him "human filth." He is not satisfied to criticize Ari Fleischer; Franken terms him a "chimp." The objects of Franken's humor -- including political opponents and women -- are not merely mocked but dehumanized. His trashiness is also nastiness. Rather than lampooning the emptiness and viciousness of our political discourse -- a proper role for satire -- Franken has powerfully reinforced those failures. Some institutions must be more than a mirror to our culture, including families, religious communities and government. At its best, politics can offer examples of civility and generosity that challenge selfishness and prejudice -- the tradition so far embraced by both John McCain and Barack Obama. At the very least, politics should not actively push our culture toward vulgarity and viciousness. This is not prudery; it is a practical concern for the cooperation and mutual respect necessary in a functioning democracy. And it is hard to believe those causes would be served by a Sen. Franken.
Media Matters - Blasting Franken's "vulgarity," Wash. Post 's Gerson touted McCain's "civility," ignoring McCain's "vulgarity" and tolerance of it {...} Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson criticized senatorial candidate Al Franken for what he called Franken's "offensive vulgarity" and wrote: "At its best, politics can offer examples of civility and generosity that challenge selfishness and prejudice -- the tradition so far embraced by both John McCain and Barack Obama." However, Gerson ignored McCain's previous personal attacks on Sen. Hillary Clinton, including McCain's reported telling of this joke at a 1998 fundraiser: "Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno." {...}
Published: June 20, 2008, 1:01 am - Indexed: June 21, 2008, 12:18 pm - Page Size: 22KB
Category: Society > Issues > Business > Media > Bias and Balance

]]> Society > Issues > Business > Media > Bias and Balance {NORTH AMERICA > NEWSPAPERS} - [Opinion] The balance of the Senate is in limbo http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/north-america/united-states/minnesota/regions/twin-cities/news-and-media/newspapers/opinion-the-balance-of-the-senate-is-in-limbo-20080639613.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/north-america/united-states/minnesota/regions/twin-cities/news-and-media/newspapers/opinion-the-balance-of-the-senate-is-in-limbo-20080639613.htm Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:14:36 GMT Minnesota's DFL convention delegates on Saturday gave Al Franken the go ahead to take on Republican nominee and incumbent Norm Coleman in a U.S. Senate race which, according to Congressional Quarterly, has "no clear favorite." ... Mndaily.Com [Opinion] The balance of the Senate is in limbo {new window}   Www.Mndaily.Com - Minnesota's DFL convention delegates on Saturday gave Al Franken the go ahead to take on Republican nominee and incumbent Norm Coleman in a U.S. Senate race which, according to Congressional Quarterly, has "no clear favorite." ...
The balance of the Senate is in limbo - Minnesota Daily {...} Minnesota's DFL convention delegates on Saturday gave Al Franken the go ahead to take on Republican nominee and incumbent Norm Coleman in a U.S. Senate race which, according to Congressional Quarterly, has "no clear favorite." ... {...}
Published: June 11, 2008, 4:14 am - Indexed: June 11, 2008, 5:41 pm - Page Size: 36KB
Category: Regional > North America > United States > Minnesota > Regions > Twin Cities > News and Media > Newspapers

]]> Regional > North America > United States > Minnesota > Regions > Twin Cities > News and Media > Newspapers {ISSUES > BIAS AND BALANCE} - Chetry falsely claimed Franken said Rove and Libby "should be executed for treason" -- then denied having claimed it http://articles.world-of-newave.info/society/issues/business/media/bias-and-balance/chetry-falsely-claimed-franken-said-rove-and-libby-2008031869.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/society/issues/business/media/bias-and-balance/chetry-falsely-claimed-franken-said-rove-and-libby-2008031869.htm Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:38:07 GMT During an interview with Al Franken on the March 14 edition of CNN's American Morning, host Kiran Chetry falsely asserted to Franken, "You said some things about [former White House deputy chief of staff] Karl Rove and [former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney] Scooter Libby, saying they should be executed for treason." As the website Raw Story noted, Chetry was referring to an exchange Franken had with David Letterman on the October 21, 2005, edition of CBS' Late Show regarding Rove and Libby's roles in leaking the identity of former CIA operative Valerie Plame. However, during that interview, Franken did not assert that Rove and Libby "should be executed for treason." Rather, as Franken noted during his interview with Chetry, he asserted on the Late Show that "George H.W. Bush, the president's father, was the head of the CIA, and he has said that outing a CIA agent is treason," and then said, "what it looks like is going to happen is that Libby and Karl Rove are going to be executed." Franken added, "I don't know how I feel about it because I'm basically against the death penalty, but they are going to be executed, it looks like." In response to Chetry's claim that he "sa[id]" Rove and Libby "should be executed for treason," Franken stated, "I did not say that, Kiran," and later said, "I didn't even say that in a joking matter." After Franken described his original comments, Chetry asserted: "All I'm saying is, when you say things like that in the past ... and you're running, obviously those things come up." When Franken replied, "What you said was that I advocated the execution of Karl -- ," Chetry interrupted, and denied she made her earlier statement, saying, "I didn't say advocated. I didn't actually say you advocated [it]." Franken concluded of his Late Show remarks, "[T]he whole point of that was to show that outing a CIA agent is serious. That's what a satirist does." From the March 14 edition of CNN's American Morning: CHETRY: Now, you quoted something [Sen.] Norm Coleman [R-MN] said. You've said some controversial things in the past. You wrote a book called Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot. You said some things about -- FRANKEN: -- and Other Observations. CHETRY: You said some things about Karl Rove and Scooter Libby, saying they should be executed for treason because they are -- FRANKEN: I did not say that, Kiran. CHETRY: In a joking manner? FRANKEN: Kiran. CHETRY: In a satirical way? FRANKEN: No. I didn't even say that in a joking manner. CHETRY: What did you say? FRANKEN: I was on David Letterman's show, and he asked me, this is, like, the day after it was revealed that they had outed -- participated in the outing of Valerie Plame, and he asked me what was gonna happen to him. And I said that President George H.W. Bush, before he was president, was director of the CIA. And George H.W. Bush said that outing a CIA agent was treason. I said, "David, you know what the penalty is for treason." And David asked me what was gonna happen to them. I said, "So I guess they might be executed, which I'm against. I don't know how -- I'm against the death penalty. And I'm afraid that [Vice President Dick] Cheney and [President George W.] Bush might be involved in some way, and so we should pass a constitutional amendment to ban the execution of a sitting president, because that would be very demoralizing to the American people." This was, you know, this is exactly what the Republican Party is doing. They take things out of -- CHETRY: Well, this is a CBS Late Show quote. OK, so the CBS Late Show quote, just so we're clear -- if you say, I mean, you were joking, you were joking around with David Letterman, he's a comedian, too -- is: "And so basically what it looks like is going to happen is that Libby and Karl Rove are going be executed because outing a CIA agent is treason." And then you said -- you went on to say, "We should never, ever, ever execute a sitting president." All I'm saying is, when you say things like that in the past, and you're running -- FRANKEN: But no, but what you said was -- CHETRY: -- obviously those things come up. FRANKEN: What you said was that I advocated the execution of Karl -- CHETRY: I didn't say advocated. I didn't say you advocated. I'm just talking about when you say things in the past that can be perceived as divisive, how do you then come together and say, "You know what? I can be a senator for everyone in the state"? FRANKEN: Because people know the difference between being a satirist, and the whole point of that was to show that outing a CIA agent is serious. That's what a satirist does. A satirist points out what is actually serious, and anyone -- and, you know, the trick here is, they are going to be taking things out of context, and you're right. The Republican Party in Minnesota said that I advocated the execution of those guys. And I wasn't. And that's -- it was very clear to the Letterman audience and anyone who saw that, and, look, this is just ridiculous. We should be talking about foreclosures on homes. We should be talking about gas prices. We should be talking about loss of jobs, and that's what I'm going to do. CHETRY: No, I agree. FRANKEN: The reason they want -- the reason they want to do this kind of distraction is that Norm Coleman has such a terrible record on these things. So I'm not gonna let them do that, and then when they say that I advocated these things, they're only shooting themselves in the foot. They came out with this the day I announced. The day I announced, the first poll came out, said I was 22 points down to Norm Coleman. The last poll has me three points ahead of Norm Coleman. This doesn't work. And if they -- let them continue to do this. I'm gonna talk about the problems that face Minnesotans. CHETRY: OK. And I just want to ask you this -- FRANKEN: I'm gonna talk about getting to universal health care. CHETRY: Right. FRANKEN: Go ahead. From the October 21, 2005, edition of CBS' Late Show with David Letterman (Media Matters for America was unable to locate the full video of the segment; clips available here and here): LETTERMAN: The feeling was that this report made the administration's decision to go to war look bad -- FRANKEN: Right. So they wanted to smear the guy who came back with the report, and so they outed his wife and said she sent him there, that she had -- and this is essentially -- you know, George H.W. Bush, the president's father, was the head of the CIA, and he has said that outing a CIA agent is treason. LETTERMAN: It is treason, yes. FRANKEN: And so, basically, what it looks like is going to happen is that Libby and Karl Rove are going to be executed. LETTERMAN: What? What? Really? FRANKEN: Yeah. And I don't know how I feel about it because I'm basically against the death penalty, but they are going to be executed, it looks like. [...] LETTERMAN: The real crime is that there's an adult man walking around in the current administration named Scooter. I mean, we can agree on that, right? FRANKEN: That, and -- but sooner or later he'll be executed, so -- and you worry about it because the president at some -- he said right away when [columnist Robert] Novak outed the CIA agent, Plame, said, "I want to get to the bottom of this." Well, now, Karl Rove is his right-hand man. Did he ask Karl? Did Karl lie to him? If so, we know now he should have fired Karl by now so that -- did Karl tell the truth to him? In that case, the president -- and I think, by the way, that we should never ever, ever, ever execute a sitting president. LETTERMAN: It makes us look bad around the world, I think. FRANKEN: It would. It would be heartbreaking, I think, and I think that we should have a constitutional amendment. LETTERMAN: I see, yeah. Have we ever come close in the history to executing a seated president? FRANKEN: No, this will be the closest. LETTERMAN: This will be the closest, yeah. FRANKEN: Unless we get that amendment passed now. Mediamatters.Org Chetry falsely claimed Franken said Rove and Libby "should be executed for treason" -- then denied having claimed it {new window}   Mediamatters.Org - During an interview with Al Franken on the March 14 edition of CNN's American Morning, host Kiran Chetry falsely asserted to Franken, "You said some things about [former White House deputy chief of staff] Karl Rove and [former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney] Scooter Libby, saying they should be executed for treason." As the website Raw Story noted, Chetry was referring to an exchange Franken had with David Letterman on the October 21, 2005, edition of CBS' Late Show regarding Rove and Libby's roles in leaking the identity of former CIA operative Valerie Plame. However, during that interview, Franken did not assert that Rove and Libby "should be executed for treason." Rather, as Franken noted during his interview with Chetry, he asserted on the Late Show that "George H.W. Bush, the president's father, was the head of the CIA, and he has said that outing a CIA agent is treason," and then said, "what it looks like is going to happen is that Libby and Karl Rove are going to be executed." Franken added, "I don't know how I feel about it because I'm basically against the death penalty, but they are going to be executed, it looks like." In response to Chetry's claim that he "sa[id]" Rove and Libby "should be executed for treason," Franken stated, "I did not say that, Kiran," and later said, "I didn't even say that in a joking matter." After Franken described his original comments, Chetry asserted: "All I'm saying is, when you say things like that in the past ... and you're running, obviously those things come up." When Franken replied, "What you said was that I advocated the execution of Karl -- ," Chetry interrupted, and denied she made her earlier statement, saying, "I didn't say advocated. I didn't actually say you advocated [it]." Franken concluded of his Late Show remarks, "[T]he whole point of that was to show that outing a CIA agent is serious. That's what a satirist does." From the March 14 edition of CNN's American Morning: CHETRY: Now, you quoted something [Sen.] Norm Coleman [R-MN] said. You've said some controversial things in the past. You wrote a book called Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot. You said some things about -- FRANKEN: -- and Other Observations. CHETRY: You said some things about Karl Rove and Scooter Libby, saying they should be executed for treason because they are -- FRANKEN: I did not say that, Kiran. CHETRY: In a joking manner? FRANKEN: Kiran. CHETRY: In a satirical way? FRANKEN: No. I didn't even say that in a joking manner. CHETRY: What did you say? FRANKEN: I was on David Letterman's show, and he asked me, this is, like, the day after it was revealed that they had outed -- participated in the outing of Valerie Plame, and he asked me what was gonna happen to him. And I said that President George H.W. Bush, before he was president, was director of the CIA. And George H.W. Bush said that outing a CIA agent was treason. I said, "David, you know what the penalty is for treason." And David asked me what was gonna happen to them. I said, "So I guess they might be executed, which I'm against. I don't know how -- I'm against the death penalty. And I'm afraid that [Vice President Dick] Cheney and [President George W.] Bush might be involved in some way, and so we should pass a constitutional amendment to ban the execution of a sitting president, because that would be very demoralizing to the American people." This was, you know, this is exactly what the Republican Party is doing. They take things out of -- CHETRY: Well, this is a CBS Late Show quote. OK, so the CBS Late Show quote, just so we're clear -- if you say, I mean, you were joking, you were joking around with David Letterman, he's a comedian, too -- is: "And so basically what it looks like is going to happen is that Libby and Karl Rove are going be executed because outing a CIA agent is treason." And then you said -- you went on to say, "We should never, ever, ever execute a sitting president." All I'm saying is, when you say things like that in the past, and you're running -- FRANKEN: But no, but what you said was -- CHETRY: -- obviously those things come up. FRANKEN: What you said was that I advocated the execution of Karl -- CHETRY: I didn't say advocated. I didn't say you advocated. I'm just talking about when you say things in the past that can be perceived as divisive, how do you then come together and say, "You know what? I can be a senator for everyone in the state"? FRANKEN: Because people know the difference between being a satirist, and the whole point of that was to show that outing a CIA agent is serious. That's what a satirist does. A satirist points out what is actually serious, and anyone -- and, you know, the trick here is, they are going to be taking things out of context, and you're right. The Republican Party in Minnesota said that I advocated the execution of those guys. And I wasn't. And that's -- it was very clear to the Letterman audience and anyone who saw that, and, look, this is just ridiculous. We should be talking about foreclosures on homes. We should be talking about gas prices. We should be talking about loss of jobs, and that's what I'm going to do. CHETRY: No, I agree. FRANKEN: The reason they want -- the reason they want to do this kind of distraction is that Norm Coleman has such a terrible record on these things. So I'm not gonna let them do that, and then when they say that I advocated these things, they're only shooting themselves in the foot. They came out with this the day I announced. The day I announced, the first poll came out, said I was 22 points down to Norm Coleman. The last poll has me three points ahead of Norm Coleman. This doesn't work. And if they -- let them continue to do this. I'm gonna talk about the problems that face Minnesotans. CHETRY: OK. And I just want to ask you this -- FRANKEN: I'm gonna talk about getting to universal health care. CHETRY: Right. FRANKEN: Go ahead. From the October 21, 2005, edition of CBS' Late Show with David Letterman (Media Matters for America was unable to locate the full video of the segment; clips available here and here): LETTERMAN: The feeling was that this report made the administration's decision to go to war look bad -- FRANKEN: Right. So they wanted to smear the guy who came back with the report, and so they outed his wife and said she sent him there, that she had -- and this is essentially -- you know, George H.W. Bush, the president's father, was the head of the CIA, and he has said that outing a CIA agent is treason. LETTERMAN: It is treason, yes. FRANKEN: And so, basically, what it looks like is going to happen is that Libby and Karl Rove are going to be executed. LETTERMAN: What? What? Really? FRANKEN: Yeah. And I don't know how I feel about it because I'm basically against the death penalty, but they are going to be executed, it looks like. [...] LETTERMAN: The real crime is that there's an adult man walking around in the current administration named Scooter. I mean, we can agree on that, right? FRANKEN: That, and -- but sooner or later he'll be executed, so -- and you worry about it because the president at some -- he said right away when [columnist Robert] Novak outed the CIA agent, Plame, said, "I want to get to the bottom of this." Well, now, Karl Rove is his right-hand man. Did he ask Karl? Did Karl lie to him? If so, we know now he should have fired Karl by now so that -- did Karl tell the truth to him? In that case, the president -- and I think, by the way, that we should never ever, ever, ever execute a sitting president. LETTERMAN: It makes us look bad around the world, I think. FRANKEN: It would. It would be heartbreaking, I think, and I think that we should have a constitutional amendment. LETTERMAN: I see, yeah. Have we ever come close in the history to executing a seated president? FRANKEN: No, this will be the closest. LETTERMAN: This will be the closest, yeah. FRANKEN: Unless we get that amendment passed now.
Media Matters - Chetry falsely claimed Franken said Rove and Libby "should be executed for treason" -- then denied having claimed it {...} Interviewing Al Franken on CNN's American Morning , Kiran Chetry falsely claimed that Al Franken, in a 2005 appearance on David Letterman's show, "said some things about Karl Rove and Scooter Libby, saying they should be executed for treason." In fact, as Franken noted, he had said that "George H.W. Bush, the president's father, was the head of the CIA, and he has said that outing a CIA agent is treason. ... And so, basically, what it looks like is going to happen is that Libby and Karl Rove are going to be executed." Chetry then denied having said that Franken "advocated" executing Rove and Libby. {...}
Published: March 17, 2008, 9:38 pm - Indexed: March 18, 2008, 11:20 am - Page Size: 27KB
Category: Society > Issues > Business > Media > Bias and Balance

]]> Society > Issues > Business > Media > Bias and Balance {ISSUES > BIAS AND BALANCE} - MSNBC's Witt aired McCain ad without noting misleading claims about visiting wounded troops, Afghanistan hearings, military funding http://articles.world-of-newave.info/society/issues/business/media/bias-and-balance/msnbc-s-witt-aired-mccain-ad-without-noting-misleading-20080713642.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/society/issues/business/media/bias-and-balance/msnbc-s-witt-aired-mccain-ad-without-noting-misleading-20080713642.htm Sun, 27 Jul 2008 23:40:14 GMT During the 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. hours of MSNBC Live on July 27, anchor Alex Witt aired an ad from Sen. John McCain asserting that Sen. Barack Obama "made time to go to the gym, but canceled a visit with wounded troops. Seems the Pentagon wouldn't allow him to bring cameras." But in neither segment did Witt or her guests, McClatchy Newspapers chief Washington correspondent Steve Thomma and Hill blogger Bob Franken, note that Obama reportedly previously visited wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center without the media, or that although Obama decided not to visit Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, he reportedly made phone calls to wounded soldiers there. Nor did Witt or her guests note that according to Obama spokeswoman Linda Douglass, "We told military officials explicitly that Senator Obama had absolutely no intention of bringing any members of the media or photographers in with him to visit the wounded warriors." In addition, while the ad asserts that Obama "made time to go to the gym, but canceled a visit with wounded troops," the accompanying footage shows Obama playing basketball during his July 19 visit with U.S. troops at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, which neither Witt nor her guests noted. During the 8 a.m. segment, Thomma asserted that "Obama had a gaffe here by canceling a long-planned trips to visit these wounded troops in Rammstein, Germany." He added, "I think he looked a little weak in the process, and it was a gaffe." During the 9 a.m. segment, Franken said, "I think that the Obama people blew it. Plain, simple, period." He also asserted, "And the McCain ad I think is going to draw a little bit of blood because I believe in the case of Barack Obama, if you live by the photo op, you die of the photo op, or in this particular case, the lack of a photo op." By contrast, in a July 26 post on his blog Political Punch, ABC senior national correspondent Jake Tapper wrote: The McCain campaign provides no evidence for the assertion that being told he [Obama] couldn't bring media had anything to do with the trip's cancellation. Oddly, when discussing Obama's trip to the gym, the ad uses footage of Obama playing basketball with US troops in Kuwait over the weekend. Tapper also provided Douglass' statement: "We told military officials explicitly that Senator Obama had absolutely no intention of bringing any members of the media or photographers in with him to visit the wounded warriors. In all of our communications with the military, we stressed that this was to be a private visit by Senator Obama." Similarly, in a July 26 post on the Time blog Swampland, national political correspondent Karen Tumulty wrote, "[T]here's a little problem with this line: 'And now, he made time to go to the gym, but cancelled a visit with wounded troops.' " Tumulty continued, "Sure enough, the accompanying footage shows Obama playing basketball ... with the troops in Kuwait." Tumulty also asserted that "[t]here is absolutely no evidence" for the ad's suggestion that "Obama cancelled the trip because he was told he couldn't bring the media." Further, in uncritically airing the McCain ad's contention that Obama "never held a single Senate hearing on Afghanistan," Witt did not note that McCain is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, but reportedly has not attended a single Armed Services Committee hearing related to Afghanistan in 2007-08. Nor did Witt note, in uncritically airing the McCain ad's claim that Obama "voted against funding our troops," that McCain himself voted against legislation funding the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq or that, as Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz wrote, that "Obama has frequently voted to finance the war but was one of 14 Senate Democrats to oppose a war-funding bill last year -- after Republicans removed troop withdrawal deadlines -- saying he did not want to be 'validating the same failed policy in Iraq.' " From the 8 a.m. ET hour of MSNBC Live on July 27: WITT: We talked about this new McCain camp ad, and it is releasing it. It's slamming Barack Obama for not visiting the wounded soldiers in Germany. So let's take a little look at it. NARRATOR [video clip]: Barack Obama never held a single Senate hearing on Afghanistan. He hadn't been to Iraq in years. He voted against funding our troops. And now, he made time to go to the gym, but canceled a visit with wounded troops. Seems the Pentagon wouldn't allow him to bring cameras. WITT: Well, the Obama camp says that Senator Obama scrapped the plans to visit those troops after the Pentagon raised the concerns it might involve the troops in politics. So, I'd like your reaction to this new McCain ad, considering everything. THOMMA: Well, I think Senator Obama had a gaffe here by canceling a long-planned trips to visit these wounded troops in Rammstein, Germany. He says -- his campaign says -- they gave several explanations, Alex, but the bottom line was, they said, "The Pentagon told us not to come." You know, Senator Obama says he wouldn't take the orders of the Pentagon on issues like whether to get out of Iraq, but somehow he'll take their orders from a junior PR guy at the Pentagon about whether to visit wounded troops. I think he looked a little weak in the process, and it was a gaffe. WITT: OK, I'm curious, though, Steve. Do you think there's a chance Senator McCain can overplay this hand? THOMMA: Yeah. Yeah, it's well-put, Alex. I think Senator McCain personally should have left this to surrogates and/or the media to cover. [unintelligible] been a lot of coverage of this screw-up not visiting the troops, and I think it would have been best left to others. WITT: OK. Steve Thomma, not leaving anything to others. We're having you with us next hour, as well. Thanks so much. From the 9 a.m. ET hour of MSNBC Live on July 27: WITT: Let's talk about what McCain is doing now by releasing this stinging new ad slamming Obama for not visiting the wounded soldiers in Germany. Let's take a look at part of it. NARRATOR [video clip]: Barack Obama never held a single Senate hearing on Afghanistan. He hadn't been to Iraq in years. He voted against funding our troops. And now, he made time to go to the gym, but canceled a visit with wounded troops. Seems the Pentagon -- WITT: Well, the Obama camp says that Senator Obama scrapped the plans to visit the troops after the Pentagon raised all those concerns that it might then involve the troops in politics. But I'm curious about your reaction, Bob, to this new McCain ad. FRANKEN: Well, they blew -- first of all, I think that the Obama people blew it. Plain, simple, period. And if they were smart, they would just come out and say, "You know, we made a mistake." And the McCain ad I think is going to draw a little bit of blood because I believe in the case of Barack Obama, if you live by the photo op, you die of the photo op, or in this particular case, the lack of a photo op. The truth of the matter is, is that he had sort of gone unchallenged all week by the adoring media who were singing "Obama Mia" throughout the week. So finally, when he made a misstep, it was amplified quite a bit because of all the easy going that he'd had in the other photo ops. WITT: "Obama Mia." May I quote you on that and attribute you when I do? Anyway -- FRANKEN: Yeah, you don't want to accept blame for that one, do you? WITT: No, but I'll give it to you. But the question with John McCain now. Do you think he might overplay his hand here with this? Is there a risk of that? FRANKEN: Oh, probably. I suspect he will overplay it. But subtlety has never been a part of any kind of campaign. One could argue that the whole Obama trip was an overplay of a major proportion, and John McCain has to sort of match that. So what you always get in a campaign is exaggeration. So, sure, he's going to overplay it. That's what politicians do. Mediamatters.Org MSNBC's Witt aired McCain ad without noting misleading claims about visiting wounded troops, Afghanistan hearings, military funding {new window}   Mediamatters.Org - During the 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. hours of MSNBC Live on July 27, anchor Alex Witt aired an ad from Sen. John McCain asserting that Sen. Barack Obama "made time to go to the gym, but canceled a visit with wounded troops. Seems the Pentagon wouldn't allow him to bring cameras." But in neither segment did Witt or her guests, McClatchy Newspapers chief Washington correspondent Steve Thomma and Hill blogger Bob Franken, note that Obama reportedly previously visited wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center without the media, or that although Obama decided not to visit Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, he reportedly made phone calls to wounded soldiers there. Nor did Witt or her guests note that according to Obama spokeswoman Linda Douglass, "We told military officials explicitly that Senator Obama had absolutely no intention of bringing any members of the media or photographers in with him to visit the wounded warriors." In addition, while the ad asserts that Obama "made time to go to the gym, but canceled a visit with wounded troops," the accompanying footage shows Obama playing basketball during his July 19 visit with U.S. troops at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, which neither Witt nor her guests noted. During the 8 a.m. segment, Thomma asserted that "Obama had a gaffe here by canceling a long-planned trips to visit these wounded troops in Rammstein, Germany." He added, "I think he looked a little weak in the process, and it was a gaffe." During the 9 a.m. segment, Franken said, "I think that the Obama people blew it. Plain, simple, period." He also asserted, "And the McCain ad I think is going to draw a little bit of blood because I believe in the case of Barack Obama, if you live by the photo op, you die of the photo op, or in this particular case, the lack of a photo op." By contrast, in a July 26 post on his blog Political Punch, ABC senior national correspondent Jake Tapper wrote: The McCain campaign provides no evidence for the assertion that being told he [Obama] couldn't bring media had anything to do with the trip's cancellation. Oddly, when discussing Obama's trip to the gym, the ad uses footage of Obama playing basketball with US troops in Kuwait over the weekend. Tapper also provided Douglass' statement: "We told military officials explicitly that Senator Obama had absolutely no intention of bringing any members of the media or photographers in with him to visit the wounded warriors. In all of our communications with the military, we stressed that this was to be a private visit by Senator Obama." Similarly, in a July 26 post on the Time blog Swampland, national political correspondent Karen Tumulty wrote, "[T]here's a little problem with this line: 'And now, he made time to go to the gym, but cancelled a visit with wounded troops.' " Tumulty continued, "Sure enough, the accompanying footage shows Obama playing basketball ... with the troops in Kuwait." Tumulty also asserted that "[t]here is absolutely no evidence" for the ad's suggestion that "Obama cancelled the trip because he was told he couldn't bring the media." Further, in uncritically airing the McCain ad's contention that Obama "never held a single Senate hearing on Afghanistan," Witt did not note that McCain is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, but reportedly has not attended a single Armed Services Committee hearing related to Afghanistan in 2007-08. Nor did Witt note, in uncritically airing the McCain ad's claim that Obama "voted against funding our troops," that McCain himself voted against legislation funding the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq or that, as Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz wrote, that "Obama has frequently voted to finance the war but was one of 14 Senate Democrats to oppose a war-funding bill last year -- after Republicans removed troop withdrawal deadlines -- saying he did not want to be 'validating the same failed policy in Iraq.' " From the 8 a.m. ET hour of MSNBC Live on July 27: WITT: We talked about this new McCain camp ad, and it is releasing it. It's slamming Barack Obama for not visiting the wounded soldiers in Germany. So let's take a little look at it. NARRATOR [video clip]: Barack Obama never held a single Senate hearing on Afghanistan. He hadn't been to Iraq in years. He voted against funding our troops. And now, he made time to go to the gym, but canceled a visit with wounded troops. Seems the Pentagon wouldn't allow him to bring cameras. WITT: Well, the Obama camp says that Senator Obama scrapped the plans to visit those troops after the Pentagon raised the concerns it might involve the troops in politics. So, I'd like your reaction to this new McCain ad, considering everything. THOMMA: Well, I think Senator Obama had a gaffe here by canceling a long-planned trips to visit these wounded troops in Rammstein, Germany. He says -- his campaign says -- they gave several explanations, Alex, but the bottom line was, they said, "The Pentagon told us not to come." You know, Senator Obama says he wouldn't take the orders of the Pentagon on issues like whether to get out of Iraq, but somehow he'll take their orders from a junior PR guy at the Pentagon about whether to visit wounded troops. I think he looked a little weak in the process, and it was a gaffe. WITT: OK, I'm curious, though, Steve. Do you think there's a chance Senator McCain can overplay this hand? THOMMA: Yeah. Yeah, it's well-put, Alex. I think Senator McCain personally should have left this to surrogates and/or the media to cover. [unintelligible] been a lot of coverage of this screw-up not visiting the troops, and I think it would have been best left to others. WITT: OK. Steve Thomma, not leaving anything to others. We're having you with us next hour, as well. Thanks so much. From the 9 a.m. ET hour of MSNBC Live on July 27: WITT: Let's talk about what McCain is doing now by releasing this stinging new ad slamming Obama for not visiting the wounded soldiers in Germany. Let's take a look at part of it. NARRATOR [video clip]: Barack Obama never held a single Senate hearing on Afghanistan. He hadn't been to Iraq in years. He voted against funding our troops. And now, he made time to go to the gym, but canceled a visit with wounded troops. Seems the Pentagon -- WITT: Well, the Obama camp says that Senator Obama scrapped the plans to visit the troops after the Pentagon raised all those concerns that it might then involve the troops in politics. But I'm curious about your reaction, Bob, to this new McCain ad. FRANKEN: Well, they blew -- first of all, I think that the Obama people blew it. Plain, simple, period. And if they were smart, they would just come out and say, "You know, we made a mistake." And the McCain ad I think is going to draw a little bit of blood because I believe in the case of Barack Obama, if you live by the photo op, you die of the photo op, or in this particular case, the lack of a photo op. The truth of the matter is, is that he had sort of gone unchallenged all week by the adoring media who were singing "Obama Mia" throughout the week. So finally, when he made a misstep, it was amplified quite a bit because of all the easy going that he'd had in the other photo ops. WITT: "Obama Mia." May I quote you on that and attribute you when I do? Anyway -- FRANKEN: Yeah, you don't want to accept blame for that one, do you? WITT: No, but I'll give it to you. But the question with John McCain now. Do you think he might overplay his hand here with this? Is there a risk of that? FRANKEN: Oh, probably. I suspect he will overplay it. But subtlety has never been a part of any kind of campaign. One could argue that the whole Obama trip was an overplay of a major proportion, and John McCain has to sort of match that. So what you always get in a campaign is exaggeration. So, sure, he's going to overplay it. That's what politicians do.
Media Matters - MSNBC's Witt aired McCain ad without noting misleading claims about visiting wounded troops, Afghanistan hearings, military funding {...} On MSNBC Live , Alex Witt aired an ad from Sen. John McCain asserting that Sen. Barack Obama "made time to go to the gym, but canceled a visit with wounded troops. Seems the Pentagon wouldn't allow him to bring cameras." But in neither segment did Witt or her guests note that Obama reportedly previously visited wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center without the media, or that although Obama decided not to visit Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, he reportedly made phone calls to wounded soldiers there. Nor did they challenge any of the other misleading claims in the ad. {...}
Published: July 27, 2008, 11:40 pm - Indexed: July 28, 2008, 11:37 am - Page Size: 27KB
Category: Society > Issues > Business > Media > Bias and Balance

]]> Society > Issues > Business > Media > Bias and Balance