I don't see any resemblance....
Posted on 10/05/2004 11:38:39 AM PDT by FlyLow
NBC's "RATS"? Four years ago, the NBC Nightly News took seriously the appearance of the letters "RATS," in a single frame of an enlargement of part of the word "BUREAUCRATS," in an anti- Gore ad from the Bush campaign. The September 12, 2000 NBC Nightly News carried two full stories on the controversy. Jump ahead four years, and on Monday night the NBC Nightly News displayed the letters "ILIE" for 16 seconds next to President George W. Bush's face in a "Decision 2004" graphic beside anchor Tom Brokaw as he introduced a story by David Gregory.
The letters came from the word "FAMILIES" in a sign on the far side of Bush, which read: "TAX RELIEF FOR AMERICAN WORKING FAMILIES"
At the Iowa event, Bush signed bills to extend some provisions of his tax cuts which otherwise would have expired next year.
The right half of NBC's screen was consumed by a waist-up shot of Brokaw. On the right, at the bottom, the NBC News "Decision 2004" graphic. Above that, a side shot of Bush's head turned slightly toward the TV viewing audience. The letters "ILIE," the MRC's Tom Johnson astutely noticed, ran from screen edge to his Bush's chin. The rest of the background was blank. The letter "I" could be seen, but since it was partially cut off on the lower left side of it, viewers may have assumed they were only seeing part of another letter and so saw "LIE." If they identified it as an "I," then they saw: "ILIE." Brokaw's intro took 20 seconds, but for four seconds Bush's movements obscured the last two letters, "IE."
To view a picture of what NBC displayed, go to the posted version of this CyberAlert where the MRC's Mez Djouadi will place it: http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2004/cyb20041005.asp#3
Inadvertent, I'm sure. Just as was "RATS," for much less time, in the 2000 anti-Gore ad from the Bush campaign. But NBC took it quite seriously, covering it for two straight mornings on Today and devoting campaign stories to it at night.
From the September 13, 2000 CyberAlert, about the Tuesday, September 12, 2000 NBC Nightly News:
Claire Shipman showed the ad and allowed Gore to maintain: "I find it a very disappointing development. I've never seen anything quite like it."
Shipman then took the Gore campaign complaint gimmick quite seriously, trying to nail down who knew what, when: "The Bush campaign says it's a meaningless flash, silly even. But explanations for how it got there are confused. Last night, Alex Castellanos the veteran Republican ad man who made the commercial, says the reference is unintentional but today he suggests he put it there on purpose to emphasize the tail end of the word 'bureaucrats,' but he says he wasn't trying to call Al Gore a rat." Castellanos: "It doesn't matter, all it was was a drumbeat to get you to pay attention to the real thing, bureaucrats." Shipman ominously warned: "A marketing expert on the effects of so-called subliminal advertising says in his experience, this sort of word flash is not accidental and it can be effective." Professor Robert Goodstein, Georgetown University: "I think it was a curious selection of letters to take the last four letters in bureaucrats, in saying Gore's health plan is being developed by rats. I think it's a word that contains a lot of emotions when you're talking about people's health." Shipman concluded by admitting the stunt she was gullible enough to buy: "In public the Gore campaign is trying to stay away from this story, but behind the scenes aides are pushing it relentlessly, expressing shock, passing out background materials on subliminal advertising. As for the ad itself, Republicans say it was due to be pulled off the air today anyway."
Next, David Gregory noted how the Bush campaign was "knocked off message" as Bush was "forced to answer" questions about the "rats" ad. Gregory argued: "Similar missteps last week and the debate over the debates consumed most of Bush's efforts to get his message out."
Gregory surreally concluded: "Today Bush says all of this is just another example of Democrats making quote 'everything out of anything.' Maybe so, but some believe the problem for Bush is that it doesn't take much to throw him off his message or his game."
It was silly when the DemocRats had a kitten over the subliminal message.... This is just as silly.
If anyone has that TIVOed that needs to go to the FCC
I don't see any resemblance....
That's just low...............but I'm not shocked
What? Liberal hypocrisy? Say it ain't so!
Rush is talking about now.
Rush is talking about this now.
Not surprisingly, the Drudge website is swamped.
Figures. Some leftist at NBC thought this would be cute.
Oh, that one's fake.................
How true!
....how I despise these liberals in the media....((((shudder))))
LMAO... tell me that is real... please!
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