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Media Watchdog: 'October Surprise' Blows Up in Faces of NY Times, CBS News
Cybercast News Service ^
| October 26, 2004
| Melanie Hunter, Managing Editor
Posted on 10/26/2004 1:40:25 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
(CNSNews.com) - A media watchdog group Tuesday said "what amounted to an 'October surprise'" by the New York Times and CBS News blew up in their faces.
The Times was first to report Monday what it considered to be new information that 380 tons of explosives were missing from an Iraqi military facility that was supposed to be under U.S. military control. But an NBC News report later noted the explosives were already gone before troops arrived at the Al-Qaqaa installation in April 2003.
CBS News' "60 Minutes" was planning to hold the story until Halloween, two days before Election Day, according to the Drudge Report Tuesday. "Our plan was to run the story on October 31, but it became clear that it wouldn't hold..." Jeff Fager, executive producer of the Sunday "60 Minutes," reportedly said in a statement.
"Both the New York Times and CBS have repeatedly shown they have chosen sides against President Bush in this election and, once again, they have been caught with Halloween eggs on their faces," said Media Research Center President Brent Bozell in a statement.
"Once again it's the Times, once again it's CBS, once again it's 60 Minutes, and once again they have proven that they cannot be believed when it comes to election coverage or anything else," Bozell said.
"The Times, CBS News, and 60 Minutes especially, have proven beyond all doubt that they are nothing more than extensions of the Democratic National Committee and they have no credibility whatsoever. In fact, episodes such as this and the Rathergate fiasco prove they may be even more partisan than the Democratic Party itself," he added.
TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 60minutes; ammogate; cbs; cbsnews; explosives; kerry; nbc; nytimes; octobersurprise; seebsnews; wot
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To: Southack
Hey, glad to be wrong. I've been listening to the toady local radio reporter, and he was breathlessly reporting the Kerry line (as usual). I've also seen John Gibson and Brit reporting the facts of the case, but they seem to be ignored by the so-called MSM.
81
posted on
10/26/2004 3:34:37 PM PDT
by
Rastus
(Forget it, Moby! I'm voting for Bush!)
To: cricket
President Bush has got to start having Press Conferences or just making statements.......I agree. I don't understand why Bush just stands there and takes punchs from Kerry and let him get away with it. The election is just around the corner and it is time for Bush to stand up and get the documented truth out to the American people.
.
To: Caipirabob
Good! The message is getting out. In light of this, if Kerry keeps running with the NYT version, he'll be in deep Al-Qaqaa. What do you bet 60 Minutes runs their original version of the story as planned, thus digging themselves in deeper.
83
posted on
10/26/2004 3:36:48 PM PDT
by
Rastus
(Forget it, Moby! I'm voting for Bush!)
To: commish; Congressman Billybob; Howlin
"A Sunday Night airing, followed by NYT running on Monday Morning would have been worth 3 pts for Kerry. Instead the NYT pulled the stunt a Monday early and it allowed the Bush People and the few honest media people left time to jump on the story."
Early voting.
They couldn't hold their scandal any longer because early voting is now nationwide, and GWB is getting 51% of the early votes compared to JFK's 47%.
84
posted on
10/26/2004 3:38:25 PM PDT
by
Southack
(Media Bias means that Castro won't be punished for Cuban war crimes against Black Angolans in Africa)
To: flashbunny
Well CBS said the NYT ran the story early because they said it "wouldn't hold". It was supposed to be a double attack with the NYT and CBS hitting at the same time on the Sunday before the election. I don't know if "it wouldn't hold" meant someone else would break it or that it would be debunked before it could get out. My guess is the latter.
85
posted on
10/26/2004 3:40:32 PM PDT
by
normy
(Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft.)
To: cricket
President Bush has got to start having Press Conferences or just making statements; to counter the lies told by Kerry campaign. Not enough to discover the lie; it has to be taken head on. . . Bush must tell the truth to the American people; get it out there. . .special announcement from the President!' . . .and everyday until this frickin election He has the 'bully pulpit'; he has every reason to use it. IMHO!" This is what you wrote. This sounds to me like you want him to stand up in the WH press room or oval office and do a public service announcement daily. That isn't offense. That would be reactionary. The American people would see this as desperation.
They have already stated this story was false. Any further enlightenment of that fact will be on their terms when and where they decide it will be most effective. It will not be influenced by the cries for instant response. The Bush team does not respond to Kerry or the MSM, they make each respond to them.
Nor would I state the cries of dis-enfranchisement have been effective. If they had been, where is the determination to ensure this "illegimate' President isn't re-elected? The dems have admitted their own base isn't energized to vote for kerry and they are the only ones that believe votes were stolen. 100% of their base should be turning out for him, but it would appear they can't even encourage Gore levels from their base.
To: Cincinatus' Wife; All
Here's a fast grab of all the links & relevant commentary I have so far:
Kerry Ad Promoting LIES about Missing Explosives Is LIVE Let me get this straight. The NYT issues a bogus story on missing explosives. Kerry then makes it a key part of his campaign. Then the NYT reports on the new theme of Kerry's campaign. Then Kerry makes an ad touting the NYT story.
I've read the Kerry ad. It may be built on deceptions and half truths but it's an effective ad and it will require not rebutting but refutation.
President Bush needs to make a statement; have a press conference - something straight from the President himself and NOW. . .stop the lies. . .stop the misinformation. . .stop the Kerry camp in it's tracks. . .NOW; by stepping up and out. . .taking advantage of his position as President so speak directly to the people. He should have a 'fireside' everynight. . .or Press conference every day. . .
NBC Video vs. Kerry Campaign Video... ~4:41pm~ EST
SEEMS INCREDIBLE THAT NEARLY 24 HOURS AFTER NYTIMES STORY IS BLOWN AWAY - JOHN KERRY CONTINUES TO USE IT ON THE TRAIL: The Daily Recycler has done everyone in the blogosphere a tremendous service by editing together Kerry's specific statements and the actual truth from NBC News. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE (1:27), LISTEN HERE TO THE 3 HOUR EXPOSE we did on air today.
YET ANOTHER SERVICEMAN REFUTES THE TIMES ACCOUNT [10/26 05:23 PM] --
Question seems to be IS THIS THEIR BEST SHOT??
I'm confident it won't be their last.
NYTrogate--
As I said yesterday, Joe Lockhart on the Kerry-Edwards conference call yesterday said the missing explosives: "Central issue for the rest of the campaign."
This is their October Surprise and they have nothing else but vote fraud. They have to go with this story no matter if it is a lie or not. They have nothing else. Desperation has set in for the Dems and it is blowing up in their face.
We in the "New Media" need to keep telling everyone we know that this story is a "LIE" and Kerry is a liar as well as MSM
Edwards rips Bush for lost Iraq explosives (Will Edwards apologize now?) I have been contacting the media sources that are continuing the missing explosives lie trying to pressure them to issue retractions and to get Kerry Campaign people to comment on the latest information about this story that they have been using as a political attack against President Bush. I urge you all to do the same.
Why don't they just call it the Oct 25th Surprise, since they have a new one everday.
This is not the real October surprise- it's too early for the critical hit; there's a whole week for the story to be shot at and sunk - The real attack comes at the end of week and is directed at Bush's character, a follow-up to the Kitty Kelly and Dan Rather types of attack.
THE DITTOCAM IS ON! Live Rush Thread Rush is ripping CBS, NYT, and Kerry a new one. (LOVING IT) I have a feeling that this is going to hurt CBS and Kerry in the long run. I am glad that NBC came forward with their
footage showing the explosives were moved before we took Baghdad. You would think that CBS and Dan Rather would have learned their lesson after Memo-gate-- In a lot of workplaces today (and for the next week) people are fixating on the election. It's topic #1 in conversations.
So even if the MSM doesn't get on it, those of us of the PJ platoons can burn peoples ears off at work about it.
"what's coming out now is just old useless info. Am I wrong?"
I believe you are correct, if they had anything, anything at all they would have used it by now. They are recycling old news- remember the national guard story they tried to resurrect and put some extra pepper on it by sending in FAKE documents. Again the bloggers came to the rescue and were the first to prove the documents as false. Everything they have tried to throw at this president has fallen flat on its face-
"Obviously this isn't a case of Bush failing to "guard" the explosives. By the time our troops got there they weren't there to guard."
Another CLASSIC case of guilt by accusation. The truth didn't matter, only the accusation. And once again, the MSM jackals run full tilt with the story, without adequate corroboration, as long as they had any chance of smearing President Bush. The decades long practice of MSM lies, smears, and propaganda against Republicans continues.
Dear God these people at CBS and in the MSM are desperate to bring down a sitting POTUS...at any cost. I suspect anything and everything reported as NEWS for the last half century from the MSM...
Kerry wants answers on missing explosives
"Are you keeping up with this on the thread about Hanoi Documents: Two recently discovered documents captured from the Vietnamese communists during the Vietnam War strongly support the contention that a close link existed between the Hanoi regime and the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) while John Kerry served as the group's leading national spokesman"
Here's the direct link to the WinterSoldier.com article that this WorldNetDaily article is summarizing:
What ironies! Bob Woodward and the press fought to bring to light the Watergate facts. Today, the MSM consciously avoids the facts and it is left to ordinary patriots to uncover the rot. Well done.
I've known all this (not about Kerry, specifically, but the war protestors) since my days in military intelligence. I never thought I'd see the day that a 'useful idiot' or worse, communist mole, would be nominated for the highest office in the land.
87
posted on
10/26/2004 3:45:12 PM PDT
by
backhoe
(Just an old Keyboard Cowboy, ridin' the Trackball into the Dawn of Information...)
To: Cincinatus' Wife
The Kerry Campaign had the TV ads ready to go on this---more evidence that the Media and the DNC are in cohoots.
88
posted on
10/26/2004 4:01:23 PM PDT
by
SkyPilot
To: Southack
How is this story "unchallenged?!" Not everyone can watch Fox news all day. I have heard Kerry talking about this at a rally somewhere in WI (I think) several times today, but not until I got home and turned on Hume's program did I see or hear anyone except Limbaugh contradicting the NYT story.
Now I'm hearing that NBC has backed off from it's original story contradicting the NYT article, which means only Fox and talk radio are getting out the correct story. Unfortunately, I'm afraid my experience today is typical of many voters who don't pay attention to any news except newspaper headlines and the quickie newsbreaks on their FM radios.
89
posted on
10/26/2004 4:07:53 PM PDT
by
epow
To: All
The reason Bush isn't spending time responding to this is because that's exactly what the Dims want. The more Bush protests, the more it looks like he's been "caught" and he's just trying to wriggle off the hook. I think it's the correct tactic here to let the media debunk the media, which is exactly what's happening. It's also exactly what happened with RatherGate, and it worked to perfection.
A lot of us are panicking because we want an instant reaction. Again, remember RatherGate... the debunking started off a little slow, then caught fire in a few days and turned the tables on the Dims. This story will go the same way, I think.
Sometime over the next week, the story will switch from "Bush Loses Weapons" to people talking about the NYT blunder, the Kerry Campaign running with the false accusations, the DNC ads, etc. As that happens, the whole thing will backfire on Kerry.
By the way, I figured where the missing explosives went: They're hiding in this story, and they're about to blow up in Kerry's face.
To: PrtzlLogic
Whoops, that should read: "I figured OUT where the missing explosives went..." I wish you could edit your posts here.
To: counterpunch
But you're wrong about this imploding on Kerry and the MSM. That can only happen if the Bush campaign and the GOP point this stuff out.Be careful, now. Someone might accuse you of being a "handwringer".... Personally, I think the earlier CBS Memogate fiasco makes this new batch of mud harder to stick on the President. He's still got to fight though, because he's up against some pretty relentless mudslingers.
To: Cincinatus' Wife
They'll have to come up with something worse, and they will. Let's see...in the immortal words of Susan Estrich, (a press blurb put out by republicans):'Dukakis not insane....details at ten.'...This having been the handiwork of the late political genius, Lee Atwater and which helped deep six her boy, Dukakis...along with that tank photo. Gosh, they might have to claim that GW is falling down drunk all the time. Kerry's already said his faith is better and deeper than GW's. He's already said GW is 'out of control, enraged, almost attacked the debate moderator'.
What's left? The missing explosives ploy was an attack on handling of the Iraq war, where the RATS think he's vulnerable. He's high in opinion polls on fighting terror, keeping us safe at home...so if they hit him hard there, blame a terrorist attack (God forbid), on GW between now and Tues., they might hit pay dirt. That earlier post about a possible attack in CA, with Guatemalan? terrorists having sneaked in from Mexico, and the fact that Arnold is leaving CA on a short leash, speaking for GW and rushing back home...that's worrisome.
93
posted on
10/26/2004 5:23:10 PM PDT
by
hershey
To: Brownie74
"I don't understand why Bush just stands there and takes punchs from Kerry and let him get away with it. The election is just around the corner and it is time for Bush to stand up and get the documented truth out to the American people."
There are some here that do not agree with this strategy. . .but think more do; I would say. . .the 'do's' have it. . .;^)
94
posted on
10/26/2004 6:14:01 PM PDT
by
cricket
(Don't lose your head. . vote Republican. . .)
To: Soul Seeker
'They have already stated this story was false. '
When in Kerry's campaign folder; do you see 'truth' being featured? NOOOOwhere. These people ride on lies; like cowboys on a a good horse.
The election is one week away. . .and still people are confused as to the 'truth of who John Kerry really is'.
Forget offense. . .defense. Just get the frickin truth out. . .calmly...and spoken with authority and integrity.
Never before have we had a totally compromised and complicit MSM aiding/abetting, LYING to serve John Kerry and an idiological agenda
.
So the TRUTH must out. . .and not by 'gamesmanship' at this late point of the game.
95
posted on
10/26/2004 6:21:05 PM PDT
by
cricket
(Don't lose your head. . vote Republican. . .)
To: cricket
I really don't understand your rant. You want the Bush campaign to deny the charges. They've done so. They've put the truth out.
What you really want is for Bush to jog up to a microphone and unleash on Kerry. Well, I would find that reaction defensive and more harmful than a calmer approach. Playing defense didn't do him a lick of good earlier in the year over Abu Grabib and WMD's, did it? Offense is the best defense and that is what they are playing.
And, no one is confused about John Kerry's nature. Just because they may vote for him, doesn't mean they are unaware of who he is.
To: andy58-in-nh
Well, look, there needs to be more than just a defensive maneuver by the Bush campaign. Hell, even that would be an improvement. But what they ought to be doing is defending by going on the offensive. The UN screwed this up, just as they screw up everything. They were guarding the explosives at the time of there disappearance with nothing more than tape and a tag, and a promise from Saddam not to touch touch them. This needs to be exploited, with Bush going on the offensive against the UN failure and Kerry's calls like
this for even more UN control in Iraq.
97
posted on
10/26/2004 6:32:57 PM PDT
by
counterpunch
(The CouNTeRPuNcH Collection - www.counterpunch.us)
To: mplsconservative
To: JusPasenThru
You are right.
The Kerry internal polls must be stinkers. The NYT basically told CBS that they couldn't wait until the 31st, the NYT would go ahead w/the story and give CBS *credit*. They panicked because they think Kerry has already lost.
IMO
To: Soul Seeker
"Playing defense didn't do him a lick of good earlier in the year over Abu Grabib and WMD's, did it? Offense is the best defense and that is what they are playing."
Bush 'speaking on Abu Grahib' was not the problem. . .
WHAT he SAID, WAS the problem. Speaking did not put Bush on 'defense'. . .his humbling, grumbling comments on this matter; missed the mark entirely; his comments WERE weak and defensive. . .
And that WAS a problem.
He could have spoken out. . .and just told the world; when we start sawing off heads. . .call me with your complaints; 'end of story'.
That would have been perfectly appropriate; in my book. And nothing defensive about it.
100
posted on
10/26/2004 6:52:23 PM PDT
by
cricket
(Don't lose your head. . vote Republican. . .)
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