Hugh Hewitt: The Death of Spin

Weekly Standard/Crosstalk ^ | 11/6/03 | Hugh Hewitt

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

THE VERY BEST ASPECT of the decision by CBS to cancel its network showing of the Reagan miniseries was the first paragraph of CBS's statement explaining its decision:

CBS will not broadcast "The Reagans" on November 16 and 18. This decision is based solely on our reaction to the final film, not the controversy that erupted around a draft of the script.

Sure. And New Coke really did taste great. And Michael Dukakis is glad he rode in that tank. You can hear Jon Lovitz in the background going, "Yeah, yeah. That's the ticket. Nothing at all to do with the controversy."

The New York Times dutifully reported Barbra Streisand's angst--"today marks a sad day for artistic freedom"--and managed to find the nearly invisible Bill Maher, who intoned, "It looks so bad." The Times then solemnly editorialized that "CBS was wrong to yield to conservative pressure and yank it."

Everyone on the left seems to know that CBS crumbled under pressure, but CBS boldly asserts that it didn't. This stubborn refusal to cop to the facts is more significant than the movie itself. A network that just trotted out Uncle Walter to help celebrate its 75th birthday should be more circumspect in its lying.

There is a pervasive dishonesty running throughout elite media. CNN admitted its cover-up for Saddam earlier this year. The Los Angeles Times is still reeling from the fallout from its recall bias which it swears didn't exist. Maureen Dowd got caught slicing quotes to fit her needs, and now CBS is standing by its story on why it is not standing by its movie.

Truth is taking a beating on the left this fall. It turns out the entire "get real" Democratic debate on Tuesday night--with its turtle-necked general, its open-collared Senators, and its shirt-sleeved rolled, feisty stars-and-bars Vermonter--was contrived. CNN selected the audience, screened the questions, and even decided to which candidates those questions would be directed. "Rock the Vote" was as authentic as Velveeta. Al Sharpton dominated the debate. Al Sharpton!

None of this trifling with the truth is playing well because America is at war, and war demands seriousness. The elites continue to rage about talk radio and the blogosphere, but it doesn't look like anyone is buying their spin. Voters in Kentucky and Mississippi continued Terry McAuliffe's streak and the president keeps moving forward in a serious purposeful fashion.

[Cicero]

How good it is.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

CBS is living a lie. Wonder how long Moonves will keep his job.

[cwb]

"It turns out the entire "get real" Democratic debate on Tuesday night--with its turtle-necked general, its open-collared Senators, and its shirt-sleeved rolled, feisty stars-and-bars Vermonter--was contrived."

Is their a story for this? Thnaks

[pabianice]

It turns out the entire "get real" Democratic debate on Tuesday night--with its turtle-necked general, its open-collared Senators, and its shirt-sleeved rolled, feisty stars-and-bars Vermonter--was contrived. CNN selected the audience, screened the questions, and even decided to which candidates those questions would be directed. "Rock the Vote" was as authentic as Velveeta ("The Weekly Standard").

Please send to everyone on your email list.

[alwaysconservative]

GREAT post! When I read this:

Truth is taking a beating on the left this fall. It turns out the entire "get real" Democratic debate on Tuesday night--with its turtle-necked general, its open-collared Senators, and its shirt-sleeved rolled, feisty stars-and-bars Vermonter--was contrived. CNN selected the audience, screened the questions, and even decided to which candidates those questions would be directed. "Rock the Vote" was as authentic as Velveeta.

I was reminded of the horribly contrived back-and-forth between Leahy and Reid at their podiums about the judicial nominees that FOX showed tonight. It was so badly and artificially scripted and acted (the sham outrage) as to be embarassing. What am I saying? (Slaps forehead.) These guys have NO shame whatsoever. Bring on the filibuster next week! I hope every single time one of the Dimbulb Senators on the Judiciary Committee gets up to speak, the Pubbies have their prior quotes against filibustering on charts in REALLY BIG LETTERS! Same with the intelligence memo. Highlight the part where security is "secondary" to fanning the partisan flames of the public. (/rant)

[RonDog]

From www.weeklystandard.com:

The Death of Spin
Everywhere you look this fall the left's spinning is coming undone.
by Hugh Hewitt
11/06/2003 12:00:00 AM

Hugh Hewitt, contributing writer

THE VERY BEST ASPECT of the decision by CBS to cancel its network showing of the Reagan miniseries was the first paragraph of CBS's statement explaining its decision:

CBS will not broadcast "The Reagans" on November 16 and 18. This decision is based solely on our reaction to the final film, not the controversy that erupted around a draft of the script.

Sure. And New Coke really did taste great. And Michael Dukakis is glad he rode in that tank. You can hear Jon Lovitz in the background going, "Yeah, yeah. That's the ticket. Nothing at all to do with the controversy."

The New York Times dutifully reported Barbra Streisand's angst--"today marks a sad day for artistic freedom"--and managed to find the nearly invisible Bill Maher, who intoned, "It looks so bad." The Times then solemnly editorialized that "CBS was wrong to yield to conservative pressure and yank it."

Everyone on the left seems to know that CBS crumbled under pressure, but CBS boldly asserts that it didn't. This stubborn refusal to cop to the facts is more significant than the movie itself. A network that just trotted out Uncle Walter to help celebrate its 75th birthday should be more circumspect in its lying...

.

If you listen to Hugh Hewitt, or read his WND commentaries,
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Please post your comments, and BUMP!

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[Grampa Dave]

Even in his final days, President Reagan continues to defeat the lefties.

[DLfromthedesert]

Have you EVER seen such sleaze as those two "eminent" senators?

Disgraceful!!

[Grampa Dave]

Constant BS Loses Again!

[GulliverSwift]

Spin is alive and well. As long as there are liberals, there will always be spin.

[RonDog]

You can hear Jon Lovitz in the background going, "Yeah, yeah. That's the ticket. Nothing at all to do with the controversy."

See also, from snltranscripts.jt.org:

Pathological Liars Anonymous

Tommy Flanagan.....Jon Lovitz

---

Announcer: And now, a message from Pathological Liars Anonymous.

Tommy Flanagan: Hello, my name is Tommy Flanagan, and I'm a member of Pathological Liars Anonymous. In fact.. I'm the president of the organization! I didn't always lie. No, when I was a kid, I told the truth. But then one day, I got caught stealing money out of my mother's purse. I lied. I told her it was homework -that my teacher told me to do it. And she got fired! Yeah, that's what happened! After that, lying was easy for me.
I lied about my age and joined the army. I was thirteen at the time. Yeah.. I went to Vietnam, and I was injured catching a mortar shell in my teeth. And they made me a three-star general! And then I got a job in journalism, writing for the National Enquire.. er, Geographic! Yeah.. I was making twenty thousand a ye.. month! In fact, I won the Pulitzer Prize that year! Yeah, that's the ticket.

And then my cousin died - Joe Louis - and I took it hard. Maybe too hard - I tried to kill myself. Yeahh.. I did kill myself! Sure! I was medically dead for a week and a half! It was a woman that brought me out of it - Indira Gandhi! Yeah, right.. And she told me about Pathological Liars Anonymous. Oh, you'd be surprised how many famous people belong. In fact.. at one of the meetings I met my wife - Morgan Fairchild! Yes, I'm a change man now, and all because of Pathological Liars Anonymous. Why, I - I even have my picture on the cover of Newsweek magazine. Yeah. Every day! Yeah.. that's the ticket! Yeah, you betcha!

---

SNL Transcripts

[Valin]

Wonder how long Moonves will keep his job.

Just in case he doesn't. We are looking for an assistant shipping/receiving person. Starts at $12.00 an hour. Of course he'd need to get a forklift license and pass a piss test, but hey it's a job.


Just trying to be helpful.

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

She felt compelled to make us aware time spent on the stage with the old man was only four hours on one day.

Remember, "Once a tiger..."

[RonDog]

Truth is taking a beating on the left this fall. It turns out the entire "get real" Democratic debate on Tuesday night--with its turtle-necked general, its open-collared Senators, and its shirt-sleeved rolled, feisty stars-and-bars Vermonter--was contrived.

CNN selected the audience, screened the questions, and even decided to which candidates those questions would be directed. "Rock the Vote" was as authentic as Velveeta. Al Sharpton dominated the debate...

From www.mtv.com:

Democrats Talk Pot, Red Sox, Iraq In Rock The Vote Debate

11.05.2003 11:27 AM EST

General Wesley Clark Photo: Newscom

General Wesley Clark and Senator Joe Lieberman have never smoked pot.

Senator John Kerry would have pulled Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez in the 8th inning against the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.

The Reverend Al Sharpton would like to party with Kerry's wife.

Those and somewhat weightier topics were covered by the eight Democratic candidates for president during a lively 90-minute debate in Boston Tuesday evening. The event was hosted by CNN and Rock the Vote and designed specifically to address concerns relevant to younger voters...

[Lancey Howard]

The Times then solemnly editorialized that "CBS was wrong to yield to conservative pressure and yank it."

This is not surprising coming from the editorial page of the former "paper of record". How far down the toilet has that paper gone that they apparently have no concept whatsoever about profit and loss? Even my 7th grader understood that CBS' decision was strictly a business decision. Airing that mini-series would have been bad for business. Period.

But the Old Gray DNC Mouthpiece takes it as a personal slap in the face because conservatives prevailed, and this cannot stand. Is it really any surprise that the editors would love to spend CBS' money? After all, that paper loves the concept of spending other people's money.

[Grampa Dave]

[Lancey Howard]

I turned the debate on long enough to hear some teenage girl ask, "Well, it's not boxers of briefs, but....(giggle).... PCs or Macs?" (Mild, eye-rolling, obligatory applause from the audience.) Carol Mosely-Braun jumped to answer and said she uses a PC and her son(?) uses a Mac.

I changed the channel.

[Valin]

Carol Mosely-Braun!



She's my candidate, "person of color" AND a woman. I get to check off 2 boxes on my PC scorecard.

[Lancey Howard]

Carol Mosely-Braun! She's my candidate, "person of color" AND a woman.

That's exactly why Hillary encouraged her to run - - the perfect weapon to help flatten out the field, prevent the emergence of a consensus candidate, and open the door for her to be drafted at a chaotic Democrat convention.

Ah, but you know what they say about the best laid plans of liberal mice. Or whatever.