What Media Bias? Part 116
July 17th, 2008 at 12:33am Mark Noonan
The MSM sycophants follow Obama overseas, proving they are the most miserable of lap dogs:
Senator John McCain’s trip to Iraq last spring was a low-key affair: With his ordinary retinue of reporters following him abroad, the NBC News anchor Brian Williams reported on his arrival in Baghdad from New York, with just two sentences tacked onto the “in other political news” portion of his newscast.
But when Obama heads for Iraq and other locations overseas this summer, Williams is planning to catch up with him in person, as are the other two evening news anchors, Charles Gibson of ABC and Katie Couric of CBS, who, like Williams, are far along in discussions to interview Obama on successive nights.
And while the anchors are jockeying for interviews with Obama at stops along his route, the regulars on the Obama campaign plane will have new seat mates: star political reporters from the major newspapers and magazines who are flocking to catch Obama’s first overseas trip since becoming the presumptive nominee of his party.
The extraordinary coverage of Obama’s trip reflects how the candidate remains an object of (slavish deovotion) in the news media…(report edited for clarity)
This may backfire - its clear that we’re going to get an “all Obama, all the time” fest in the MSM while he globtrots to places he doesn’t know about to look into issues he’s ignorant of…and that opens up the prospect of both people noticing that Obama was resoundingly wrong about Iraq and, additionally, people getting turned off by fawning media coverage. On the other hand, these MSM heavyweights migth be going so that they can carefully edit Obama on-scene to prevent the gaffe machine from really blowing it overseas…
Entry Filed under: Campaign 2008, Democrats, Media
16 Comments
1. The New Conservative | July 17th, 2008 at 1:31 am
Once we get Obama on the stage with McCain this election is going to be over. Obama just isn’t very quick on his face and McCain is going to bury him on his filp-flops.
http://thenewconservatives.blogspot.com/
2. Retired Spook | July 17th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Mark,
Can you imagine what the poll numbers would currently be if it weren’t for the MSM bias. In 2004 Evan Thomas, editor of News Week, announced publicly that the MSM bias for Kerry was worth at least 15 points. And much of the press didn’t even like Kerry; well, for that matter, many of the people who VOTED for Kerry didn’t like him, they just hated George Bush more. I figure, with the lovefest between the press and Obama, the bias has got to be worth 20-25 points, and still most polls have got the race in or near a statistical dead heat. As the bloom continues to come off Obama’s rose, I think he’s not only toast, but badly burnt toast.
3. neocon | July 17th, 2008 at 9:03 am
The medias obsession with Obama could prove to be his undoing. The more people learn of him, the more they realize just how woefully inexperienced he is for the POTUS. The community organizer is barely qualified to be a Senator, so I say, the more coverage the better.
It’s also hard to believe that we haven’t had one debate yet. How the MSM is letting him off the hook for ignoring McCains request for Townhall debates is beyond me. If it were McCain that was unwilling to meet Obama in an open forum debate, we’d never hear the end of it. Of course this would lead anyone to conclude that the MSM is a completely biased, unobjective joke.
Where have journalistic ethics gone?
I agree with Spook, I think McCain will win easily in November.
4. NeoClown | July 17th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Mark,
I hadn’t heard about Brian Williams going to Iraq to interview Obama until I read it here.
Thanks for the heads-up; I’ll make sure I watch. I want to set my TiVo and was wondering if you know what day of the week the interview will take place?
5. \'08ama | July 17th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Spook said …
“…..In 2004 Evan Thomas, editor of News Week, announced publicly that the MSM bias for Kerry was worth at least 15 points. And much of the press didn’t even like Kerry …..”
So that means what exactly, Kerry would have had 15 more points had the media not been so biased against him ?
I’d agree with that.
6. \\\'08ama | July 17th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Neocon:
I dont think it’s the media that’s obsessed with Obama, but rather it’s the Republicans who are obsessed with him. Sean Hannity dedicates 3/hrs per day to Obama and he hardly ever even mentions McCain. odd.
You never hear from the right wingers any reason to vote FOR McCain, you only hear screams of ‘SOCIALISM’ or ‘MARXISM’ from the loud mouths on the right.
Sorry folks, the scare tactics no longer work, Bush beat that horse to death several times over. America is wide awake now and hungry for change. Desperate really.
McCain used to offer change, but he’s flopped back to the mandated GOP mantra of the same ol’ same ol’.
The GOP already ran a campaign on ‘change’ in 1994. It worked marvelously, but once the Republicans got into office, they changed nothing for the better, they made the government bigger, more expensive and completely incompetent.
This is how America sees the GOP brand now. All the Obama attacks and misdirections from the right pale in comparison and America is well aware of it.
7. Rana Quijotesca | July 17th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
the media favors Obama… really? REALLY???
R.E.A.L.L.Y?!?! Have you actually been following the coverage? They devote whole segments to one Obama flub and fail to mention a single McCain flip flop (oh, there are several). Are you guys high???
8. neocon | July 17th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
When’s the next debate? Has Obama decided if in fact he is ready for even one?
neocon
9. Retired Spook | July 17th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Spook, Could you imagine what would happen if conservatives, who like to preach about personal responsibility, actually practiced personal responsibility and instead of blaming their lack of appeal to Americans on a media conspiracy
nhak, I assume you have statistics to show how Conservatives, as a group, do not practice personal responsibility. I can only speak for myself, but my entire life has been an exercise in personal responsibility, from paying much of my own way through college by working several part-time jobs to enlisting in the Navy early in the Vietnam War to voluntarily leaving a secure, well-paying job at age 46 (with 2 kids in college) to start a new business (a business I still run 18 years later). How have you exemplified personal responsibility in your life?
10. What? | July 17th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Gee, I wonder why he is getting so much coverage?
May be because McCain and the right-wingers have been making it such an issue that Obama had not been to Iraq since 2006.
If you don’t want him to to get media coverage, don’t make the issue that will create it.
11. neocon | July 17th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
What?
I want more media coverage of Obama, and can not wait to see him refine is Iraq position further after meeting with Patreaus.
I am sure the KOS kids and MoveOn are awaiting that refinement as well.
The more Obama is covered by the media, the further he slips in the polls. It’s a win-win.
12. David B. Schmidt | July 17th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Actually neocon & nhak,
It was Obama that stated early on he would debate McCain “anywhere, anytime” and after McCain offer 10 ten-hall style “open forum” meetings with real people asking the questions (R, D & I all included) –Obama quickly flipped..oops, I meant revised or adjusted or whatever today’s word for it is –and countered with one on the economy (panel led) on July 4th & the teleprompter only speech (no questions) for later on.
Talk about running scared…
or good politics on Obamas part because he knows he wouldn’t even be invited to Denver following an open debate with McCain
13. Treeline | July 17th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
The media covered McCain buying rugs in Baghdad. What are you talking about?
14. HeyHey | July 18th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Deleted - off topic.
15. HeyHey | July 18th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Not sure why my commenting on Media Bias is off topic but I’ll say it again.
Again, Obama has been scrutinized for tiny insignificant things while McCain has been getting a pass from the MSM so far. His gaffes, inappropriate comments and downright flip flops go largely ignored by the so called evil MSM.
16. Cavalor Epthith, Esquire, D.S.V.J. | July 18th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
17. HeyHey | July 18th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
And of course you are correct, ser.