not so much...
Fox News, the neutral network (hold your applause) recently had a story on its website about FactCheck.org, Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. It is kind of humorous, kind of sad and terribly annoying.
I will readily admit that I am a Fox viewer. I turn on my hometwon boys (I have friends that work there, for Pete's sake) but have to leave after just a few shows. That would be CNN for those that aren't paying attention... I also turn on MSNBC, CNBC, CBS, NBC and ABC. Same basic story.
A few days ago, I watched a segment with a pro-Obama advocate and a pro-McCain advocate. Aside from the weakness of the pro-McCain person, there was a little trick I noticed. The microphone was much louder for the Obama spokesperson. When they talked over each other (basically, when the Republican tried to make a point), only the Democrat could be heard. The Republican was polite and firm... but absolutely ineffectual. And it wasn't that she wasn't trying.
The other little oddity was that the host would say specifically "One at a time please" when the GOP mouthpiece butted in... and silent when the Democrat was shouting out a talking point. And he was quick to point out percieved innaccuracies of the Republican, but failed to notice those of the Democrat. She had some whoppers, too... She actually said that the country had a "$5.3trillion surplus, in the bank when Clinton left office." The truth is that when Clinton left office there was a $5.3trillion debt... the opposite of money in the bank. She further stated that there was less revenue to the government under Bush than Clinton... wrong again. The problem under Bush hasn't been revenue, but rather it has been spending.
So, back to the story about FactCheck failing to live up to their name...
The media seems to have been covering for Biden for some time. While news stories still talk about Dan Quayle’s spelling mistake 18 years later, there has been almost no news coverage of Biden’s numerous wacky statements. What if Quayle had said something similar to Biden’s recent statement that, "When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened.'" A neat trick given that Herbert Hoover was president in 1929 and no one was watching television. It might not fit the simple template for a 36-year veteran of the Senate to not understand what vice presidents do (after all, eight vice presidents have served with him), but Biden knew less about this than the political outsider, Sarah Palin. Given that they are running to be vice president, why didn’t that story dominate the news coverage after the debate? I know that there are going to be cries of "right wing conspiracy" over the mention of fox. But, just because you don't agree with them doesn't mean they are wrong.
Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2012 Lane Bailey.
I'd love to hear from you...
Lane ~ As usual, you point out the hypocrisy in the media and so called factscheck, with candor and well thought out examples. The liberal media has lost all respect from the American people. People are not as stupid as these producers think they are.
America has to get the news from honest bloggers and this is what drives them crazy.
Nicholas - I have friends (a surprise in and of itself for many out there) that are NOT conservative. They think that the majority of the media is unbiased in their reporting. We are the choir.
I'll admit to being a Fox news watcher. Lane I am really sick of the whole thing...how the media can be so biased is beyond me.
I'm ready to vote already just get it over with. The whole process gets me irritated but it is what we have. My suggestion take all the money spent on campaigning and put it towards the national debt and just have a few debates. The ads on TV and elsewhere are just too much.
I watch MSNBC, Fox News, CNN and listen to Air America, Rush, Sean Hannity, Michael Medved, Laura Ingram, Dennis Preger, and Hugh Hewitt. I am a registered Republican and have been since 1986. But I have to tell you that I am ashamed of the way the Republicans have run the past few campaigns, and appalled at some of the statements that are made by Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, and Rush. And to say that Fox News is fair and balanced is really a ludicrous statement. After every debate they run their poll "who won the debate" and no surprise that everytime it's either McCain or Palin by an 80-20 ratio. Well of course. That's like going to Yankee Stadium in July and asking, "how many of you are Yankees fans?". The only people who watch Fox are Republicans. Go ahead and lambast me, but I think we Republicans need to look in the mirror and admit that we need to change our party. We have been in power for the past 8 years in the executive office, and 12 of the past 14 in congress. We have run up HUGE budget deficits, have allowed our financial systems to collapse, and are still mired in two wars that we can't afford to fight. Now, there's blame to go around surely. But, like in sports, the buck stops at the desk of the person in charge. And we've blown it big time. And the choice of Sarah Palin for VP does nothing to improve our image. Sorry, but I'm an Obama man this election. The likes of Hannity, O'Reilly, Limbaugh, and Palin have made me embarrased to be a Republican.
Monika - What it comes down to is that they are in an environment where everyone thinks the same, so they have a hard time seeing that they aren't neutral. I don't see it as evil intent... most of the time.
Terry - Sad as it may seem, it wouldn't even make a minor parking lot ding...
Jerry - There is NO doubt that the GOP needs to change. They can look in the mirror and see the problems. But, the bigger issue that I have are the misrepresentation and outright lies that are being made by, and on behalf of Barrack Obama... with a blind eye from the press.
If you look back on many of the biggest issues before Congress and the President in the last eight years, the President generally moved with bi-partisan support. There are almost NO party line votes. In fact, Bush generally ran WITH the Democrats on most of the non-war issues. And the biggest problem was a GOP controlled Congress that completely lacked a spine. When they should have stood up to the Democrats in Congress, they negotiated... The Democrats wanted a $1trillion presription drug package, the GOP gave them one for $500million... that is projected to cost $1trillion now... and they STILL get abuse that the didn't do enough... and that they spent too much... but only spent half of what Congressional Democrats wanted.
Bush signed McCain-Fiengold... even though he thought it was unconstitutional. He passed the buck to the Supreme Court.
I'm NOT a Republican... never have been. I am a Libertarian. But this election is too important to use to punish the GOP. Just because the fire department has screwed up in the past, letting the house burn on purpose isn't a valid strategy. Neither is hiring an arsonist to put the fire out.