"I'M SHOCKED...I'M SHOCKED...CNN BIASED?
Posted on 02/13/2004 2:32:10 PM PST by FlyLow
On Thursday night, CNN dedicated the entire hour of its 8pm EST Paula Zahn Now to “2 Men, 2 Choices,” a title which appeared beneath old black and white photos of John Kerry and George Bush in military uniforms. But in 1992, well more than a week after news broke about Bill Clinton’s underhanded efforts to avoid the draft by misleading the chief of his local draft board, CNN aired a profile of Clinton during a prime time special on the candidates, yet failed to mention his draft avoidance.
The MRC’s Tim Graham reminded me of this paragraph from the March 1992 MediaWatch, a monthly newsletter the MRC published in the pre-CyberAlert era: “On February 15, CNN replaced its 10-11 PM (ET) World News with a special titled The Battle to Lead. Political reporter (and former Morris Udall aide) Ken Bode narrated an eight-minute profile of Clinton. Though Bode reviewed Clinton's personal history, he completely omitted the draft scandal.”
CNN, of course, isn’t giving Bush such a pass.
Zahn’s hour featured a piece by Bruce Morton in which, Zahn promised, he “lays out the facts.” Morton didn’t mention Kerry’s impugning Vietnam vets as murderers of civilians but reminded viewers how Kerry had asked: “How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?”
Next, Zahn brought aboard Boston Globe reporter Walter Robinson, who had written a Thursday story headlined: “Bush's loss of flying status should have spurred probe.” See: www.boston.com
She balanced him with a session with Republican Congressman Steve Buyer of Indiana, a Gulf War vet, who defended Bush, followed by a taped piece from Jamie McIntyre on how during the Vietnam era the National Guard was barely trained and rarely used, but now is well-trained and often deployed. McIntyre pointed out how in a book Colin Powell had written that he was “angry” about how the well-connected used National Guard and reserves to avoid the Vietnam war.
Then she did a segment with anti-Bush book author James Moore and retired Lt. Colonel Bill Burkett, the man who claims Joe Allbaugh wanted Bush’s National Guard records “cleansed.” Like CBS’s John Roberts, she failed to note Moore’s left-wing political agenda. (For proof, see item #2 above.)
Viewers then heard from former Deputy Secretary of the Army Van Hipp, who dismissed the controversy as politics and admired how Bush put in enough time to qualify for retirement benefits, followed by a look by Suzanne Malveaux at how the White House is handling the issue.
RNC Communications Director Jim Dyke and DNC Finance Vice Chairman Michael Brown debated the issue, a segment Zahn set up by asking Brown why Democrats aren’t being hypocritical since they didn’t see Clinton’s Vietnam avoidance as an issue in 1992.
After Jeff Greenfield ruminated about why Vietnam remains a raw topic after so many years, the show concluded with a segment featuring Time’s Joe Klein, OpinionJournal.com’s John Fund and Kerry biographer Douglas Brinkley.
Klein passionately defended Democrats for making Bush’s National Guard years an issue, contending his Democratic buddies were just getting even: “This is about the way Republicans have gone at the patriotism issue for about 20 years now and Democrats just aren’t going to take it this year.”
His questions are crafted...nearly sculpted...to get the conservative, pro Bush point across--most times without the knowledge of those answering the questions. He's THAT good! He doesn't raise his voice. His calm, nearly stealthy demeanor is sheer brilliance. His panel discussion guests, and the material covered are riveting.
--Not to mention, he can actually formulate a question to pose to his guests, rather than a 20 minute statement where the guest has no idea when to chime in with their verbal contribution--like OTHER shows on air at the same time.
Okay, the monkey thing (he occasionally has a chimp visiting him) is a bit bizzare, but despite his humorous antics, he is a not-so-obvious bright light for either newly conservative, or tired of hearing the same 'ol, same 'ol conservatives, AND IMHO could actually be one to sway the views of some Dems. = PRICELESS
No need for rumination -- I can tell you in one sentence why it's such a raw topic: It's because navel-gazing, self-absorbed baby boomers control the media, and they think Camelot and Vietnam are the only two important things to ever happen in the history of this country.
Kerry's first choice: Stay as far away from the war as possible.
Kerry's second choice: Get the h#ll out of the war as fast as possible:
They're more dedicated to their politics than to their network or the truth.
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