Posted on 08/31/2004 4:40:16 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
As your intrepid reporter on liberal bias at the morning news shows, a thought was running through my mind as I watched last night's speeches by McCain and Giuliania: "these are so good, there is no way the morning shows can spin these as anything but a major blow to John Kerry."
Apparently the morning shows agreed, because to varying degrees they adopted the strategy that the best coverage was limited coverage, or in the absolutely mind-blowing case of CBS' Early Show, NO COVERAGE AT ALL!
OK, in fairness, there was some brief mention of the convention during the Early Show's news recap at the very top of the hour.
But when it came to the extended segments during the first half-hour, first up was a rehash of the Kobe Bryant case. Surely, I thought, the convention must be next. But no, it was an update on surgery on conjoined twins. "No, this can't be happening," I thought. "They must be building toward a big conclusion to the half-hour with a major convention segment."
Uh, no. The final segment was devoted to informing us that it was rainy in Richmond yesterday.
Over at the Today Show, rather than extended coverage of the convention, we were treated to the second installment of a near week-old interview that Matt Lauer had done with Pres. Bush. OK, not as bad as CBS' Richmond weather report, but the big news of yesterday was what happened in the convention, and we saw very little of it. Rather than any extended excerpts from the McCain/Giuliani speeches (and don't forget that NBC did not broadcast the convention last night), we were treated to another soporific interview between Katie and Tim Russert.
Finally, at GMA, Diane Sawyer conducted a live interview with First Lady Laura Bush. I must say that Laura looked absolutely beautiful and conducted herself with her characteristic charm and class. That was put to the test when Diane Sawyer crudely asked her "so, are you going to attack John Kerry tonight?" "Of course not," replied Laura, maintaining her good-natured composure as someone might when a visitor's dog soils the living room carpet.
Both Today and GMA focused of course on W's inelegant phrase yesterday regarding our ability to win the war on terrorism. Nice try, but that would only stick if people thought for a second that W wasn't tough on terrorism or that Kerry was tougher. Don't make me laugh.
I thought a clear highlight of last night's speeches was Giuliani's parody of Edwards' 'two Americas' theme, when Rudy suggested that perhaps Kerry needs two Americas: one to take one position, the other to take exactly the opposite position on the same issue. But of course none of the networks let Americans see that this morning.
All in all, an infuriating performance by the MSM. But let's take it as a compliment and a good sign: they know how devastating the McCain/Rudy one-two punch was last night, and didn't dare let the American people see too much of it this morning.
Agreed. The Republicans could use some Ann Coulter/Michael Savage "in your face" attitude.
I thought that Rudy's rehash of the world's historical appeasement of terrorism, beginning in 1972 (the Olympics), and throughout recent history may have been cathartic for some apolitical types who may have been watching. He clearly dissed the Germans and the Italians (he's no Italian-American, he's AMERICAN).
I also watched a little of the three nets this am, and couldn't help but notice the somber mood, I know they are always sour, but they were obviously snippy this morning. Bwahahahahah!
thanks for posting glgb.
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I found the same thing last night. CSPAN was the way to go. As far as I know, it was the only place to hear the Ron Silver speech, and that was an event in itself.
WE'RE IN A DAMN WAR.
People go through a process and they hear, "can't win the war? Why not? Who says? We're freakin' Americans." The next step is "Lessee, can Kerry win the war . . . oh. Guess not. That leaves Bush. I'll show him."
I'm telling you, there are psychological buttons being pushed that REMIND people that KERRY IS A LOSER, and that we CAN'T TRUST HIM. Any message that reminds people we are in a war plays to Bush's strengths.
Remember, the whole Dem strategy was "Kerry fought in Vietnam, that's all you need to know about the War on Terror, now let's talk about Two Americas." This whole convention so far has reminded people of 9/11, and Bush's statement, while analyzed by the media-idiots, hits hard at the fact that we are in a war and he is the leader.
I watched on CNN 2, where they didn't interrupt at all. Amazing that FOX has to be such idiots on this.
Maybe there is an answer to this question, but I've never heard it. Why are the networks in lock step with one another? Did it ever occur to them, to break from the pack mentality? If they didn't want to cover all 4 nights, they could take turns to cover the entire event. Afterall, I'm told these are public airways and the public deserves better service than we are getting.
Excellent answer.
I would have agreed with you six months ago, but recently Fox seems to be trying to out-lib the majors at times. Bill Kristol is a joke. Emmett Tyrrell is a poor public speaker, but his ideas would be perfect on those roundtables.
The Dems better be glad I'm not in charge of the production: I would have had, hard as it is to watch, a movie/video of the planes HITTING THE BUILDINGS, the people jumping, then the buildlings falling, the rescue workers, the candlelight vigils, Bush at Ground Zero, the Sept. 20 speech, then the Dems coming out and whining just before military operations started, followed by news announcments of the fall of Kabul. Then I would have showed clips of Kerry or Clinton advocating war with Iraq, followed by Bush's ultimatum, then the "Mission Accomplished" video, then the Christmas in Baghdad video! I would leave NOTHING OUT. As Sherman said of Georgia, I'd "make the Democrats howl."
Here in Central Florida, every evening during the Democratic National Convention, the major networks of ABC, CBS and NBC showed live and taped coverage between 9:00 and 11:00 pm. Last night, none of those networks showed the Republican National Convention.
It's infuriating, but then again, the MSM can run but it can't hide. Word is getting out, and Kerry is going down.
I thought that too...some may disagree, but I think Chris has seen some really terrible internal polls. He all but claimed victory for Pres. Bush.
LOL That is a great story about Barbara Bush. We live right across the bayou from where the Bushes lived in Indian Trails but I am not sure which house they lived in. You probably don't remember a house # do you?
I agree. Americans need to realize we are at war...Kerry is not the man for the job. Such footage would remind us why Pres. Bush is the man for our times. Personally, I will never forget the sight and the sound of bodies falling as innocent people jumped to their deaths because it was better than being burned alive. I have a feeling...I don't know why, but I think there is a good chance we will see Bin Laden either dead or captured before the election..
LS, I can't agree. The Sheep don't think like that; all they are told to think is, "Bush is an idiot/drunk/fratboy/warmonger/liar/puppet/yadayada" day in and out. No one ever failed to get elected to public office by underestimating the stupidity of the American Voter.
They see the images of the riots, and they believe that this is the majority - it has to be true, the news told us so.
She Who Must Not Be Named speaks out against America, and The Sheep believe - She was almost President, so She must know.
I'm in Army Intelligence. One of the disciplines we must know is Psychological Ops. One of the things we study is how a mass of people exist. The herd mentality is overpowering. A herd has no thought, no conscience, no concept of good and evil - it only exists for the moment. And the herd will follow the loudest bell it hears.
All the Left has to do is make sure that all other signals are drowned out. "Four legs good, two legs baa-aad", as the story goes. And The Left has had three generations of TV viewers to perfect it.
Shouldn't the FCC "Equal Time" regulations apply here? Could a Freeper more knowledgeable than me back that up or correct me?
Somebody has to take over Helen Thomas' place...
I don't know. Did those networks air the Republican National Convention where you live last night?
Sarge, if that assessment was right, we never would have won four of the last six pres. elections; control BOTH houses of Congress; or control a majority of the statehouses/governorships. Moreover, you know as well as I that the more "nuanced" a message is, the less the "sheeple" get it. When you say the word "war," it reaffirms in people's minds that there IS a war. Forget about winning/losing. Right now, the Dems message is, "there is no war." The GOP's message is, "there IS a war." Bush's statement, oddly, reaffirms the GOP message once again and counters the Dems message that we are in a 9/10 world.
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