Posted on 01/17/2005 6:04:19 PM PST by CHARLITE
Embattled television news network CBS is again at the center of controversy after snubbing a White House request to allow a Republican to appear with one of President George W. Bush's greatest adversaries, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), on "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
Kennedy was allowed to fire away at Bush on Social Security and Iraq without any rebuttal during his appearance on the Sunday morning talk show.
Maintaining that Bush and the Republicans are making up a crisis with Social Security in order "to make a crisis on any political problem," Kennedy said there is not a funding issue with the government retirement program that was started by Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Declaring the crisis in Social Security as "nonexistent" because it will provide 80 percent of current benefits through 2075, Kennedy said the Republicans are fabricating a sudden crisis so they can pass their private investment account program for younger taxpayers.
But there was no Republican reaction to these charges made by Kennedy because CBS denied a White House request to have a representative on the show.
Brit Hume reported on "Fox News Sunday" that the White House was "happy to put [White House Communications Director] Dan Bartlett or somebody else on that program and CBS said, 'Thank you, No.'"
Bartlett had been assured by CBS News President Andrew Heyward just one week prior to this incident that "neither CBS News nor [Dan] Rather had a vendetta against the White House" and that CBS "would do everything it could to be fair and balanced."
However, despite the firing of four CBS News employees last week over the forged document scandal regarding the airing of a "60 Minutes" episode during the height of the 2004 presidential election calling into question President George W. Bush's service in the National Guard, CBS has once again stepped into a controversy which seems to go against their promise to treat the White House more fairly.
Bartlett responded to Kennedy's criticism of Social Security crisis by stating it is "a matter of math, not ideology."
Speaking on Iraq, Kennedy said it "clearly is George Bush's Vietnam" that is the "result of blunder after blunder after blunder."
"Until Iraqis are going to fight for their own country, we are going to have a very, very dangerous situation," Kennedy declared.
Kennedy warned, "[I]s the face of the United States part of the liberation and security and the stability in that country, or are we a force that is perceived to be expanding the kind of uncertainty and savagery and revolution that's taking place there?"/i>
Bartlett again responded to Kennedy on "Fox News Sunday" rather than on CBS that regarding the concerns over Iraq there were "two very different, competing versions or visions of what was happening."
"The American people agreed with [Bush's] assessment," Bartlett commented, reminding Kennedy and others that Bush's decision to go to war was vindicated by his reelection in November. "It was heard by the American people, and they embraced President Bush's vision."
Chappy Kennedy's entire life is a fraud. Instead of being in the U.S. Senate, he should have gone to the slammer for vehicular manslaughter.
I think that Brit's animous toward CBiaS is the same reaction any honest person would have towards dishonest hacks in their profession.
"Have you ever noticed that Teddy Kennedy and Hillary Clinton always get a free pass? They are never placed in a face to face rebuttal situation with anybody but a cream puff."
In the case of Teddy, the answer is quite simple - not enough space.
And of course Ted loves cream puffs - he is one.
Same with "Regime Change" in Iraq. Dems applauded it in December 1998 when Clinton espoused the policy and all the presumed WMD in Iraq. When Bush acted on the very same policy, all the Dems cried foul. Liberal hypocrisy, as always.
Mapes was after Moby Dick. Rather was just a reader.
NOT FOR ME, I FOUND IT HELPFUL
CBS MAIN NUMBER: 212-975-4321
CBS News: Anchor Dan Rather : 212/975-6677
News President Andrew Heyward : 212/975-7825
Sounds like you fell for CBS's explanation.
and his cell mate shoulda been the traitor who aided and abetted the enemy - sKerry
sure is getting easier to sort our the white hats versus the black hats these days.
Wheat from the chaff?
I am sure cBS will be the first outlet to carry his claim.This could be the Dummies ultimate conspiracy theory.
Hey don't laugh , You KNOW they could go there.
I agree totally - and Thank the good Lord we have him as counterpoint. Hopefully we wont start shooting our messengers
Chappy Kennedy's entire life is a fraud. Instead of being in the U.S. Senate, he should have gone to the slammer for vehicular manslaughter.
and his cell mate shoulda been the traitor who aided and abetted the enemy - sKerry sure is getting easier to sort our the white hats versus the black hats these days. Wheat from the chaff?
(hopefully the numbers work.....will try tomorrow).
He doesn't even realize what this means.
That's a great way to put it. I can visualize a bumper sticker or sign: "Teddy Kennedy says Iraq is George Bush's Chappaquidick."
You got it. Or even that 20% of the people expected to retire on SS will receive nothing, nada, zippo, zilch while fully funding the rest of the 80%.
The conclusion of CBS's internal "investigation" by the squishy bureaucrats Thornburgh and Boccardi was laughable. Nonetheless, they were probably paid quite well.
They would have us believe that first and foremost, there was no finding of bias, and second, that CBS News had "rushed the story" -- which they had reportedly been researching for YEARS -- thus missing due diligence. Anyone who has bee following this story in detail would agree that these claims are absolutely ludicrous.
It is obvious that the "conclusion" was in fact the starting point in the investigation. They probably had the full report produced in two weeks time, but waited another three months to clear the election and to provide credibility to their efforts.
Nonetheless, I agree with you that they will not get by so easily whistling past this graveyard. There are "others" who would prefer to see the story wrench onward, either to prolong CBS News' excruciating decline into obscure irrelevance, or to actually get to the truth.
Among these, I cite the truth patrol among the blogosphere and talk radio. Then there are CBS's competitors in the MSM, who would also like to twist the knife if it could be done in such a way as to not reveal their own malfeasance. Didn't Russert make a comment last week about why CBS has failed to report the source of the documents? Why protect a source of forged documents?
Where oh where does the trail lead? Where are Woodward and Bernstein when you need em?
George Bush is Dan Rather's Moby Dick?
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