Today: Katie Dreams of 3rd-World Pope; On Delay, Barney Frank Face of Dem Ethics?

It's so predictable that you could have written the script yourself without bothering to tune into the Today Show this morning. And of course, when it comes to Today, FReepers in droves don't bother to tune in!

There was Katie Couric, interviewing Today's Vatican regular, the made-for-TV handsome and articulate Father Thomas Williams, an American priest stationed at the Vatican.

And what was the focus of Katie's questioning? You don't need me to tell you. Her opening gambit: "what are the odds a cardinal from a Third World country could be elected Pope?" [Watch out what you wish for, Katie - Third World cardinals tend to be among the most conservative].

Next on Couric's agenda: disqualifying Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, the German cardinal who was Pope John Paul II's closest confidante and who is a champion of traditional Catholicism. Over the weekend he gave a speech warning his fellow cardinals against "the dictatorship of moral relativism," an interesting formulation that no doubt sent shivers up Katie's spine.

Katie trotted out various epithets that have been applied to him, including that of "God's rotweiler." She also mused that at 78, he might be too old. Obviously Katie is concerned that a conservative might be chosen, and even resorted to opinion polls, the reliable standby for liberals who see the election of the Pope as just one more political venture.

She cited a poll saying that 78% of American Catholics want the church to be less conservative, and asked [fingers no doubt crossed behind back], "is there any chance the next Pope will call for greater reforms and a looser interpretation of doctrine?"

Williams observed that "it's hard to say. I don't think [ideology] will be the focus, bur rather on the kind of person to be selected."

Speaking of cliches, Today again had an utterly predictable piece on Tom Delay, even trotting out the hackneyed line about "storm clouds gathering on Capitol Hill." Reporter Chip Reid intoned that "Democrats say he has no one but himself to blame." Gee, what a surprise.

Reid then claimed that Delay "rallied supporters in his typical take-no-prisoners style." But the only evidence he offered in support was Delay's good-natured quip to the NRA that when a man is in trouble, it's good to be surrounded by friends, preferably armed. Guess what, Chip? At NRA conventions's there tend to be references to guns. Don't faint.

Today next aired a clip of uber-liberal Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank [presumably from his Meet the Press appearance] who opined that Delay is accused not merely of peccadilloes, but of "serious ethics charges."

What does it say about the Democrats when their lead man on ethics is someone who was reprimanded for letting a prostitution ring be run out of his home and who fixed tickets for his prostitute lover?

Finally, Today aired a clip of notorious TV hound and political commentator Norman Ornstein, who ominously warned that Delay's problems are "dangerously close to affecting the Republican party." Translation: the Dems have yet to come up with anything that will stick.

Consider the overall reporting on Delay: there was NO focus on any specific charges against him. Rather, it was all about the mood, the "gathering clouds," blah, blah, blah.

If there were any serious, substantiated, charges, we would have been treated to intensive coverage of them. That the coverage is exclusively limited to the atmospherics gives away the game: the Dems and their MSM friends don't have the goods on Delay.

Have a look at Brent Bozell's take, that just appeared today, on The Today Show's coverage of Delay that I reported on days ago in this thread, and see if you don't think he might be lurking here for inspiration!

You'll note he picks up the same items appearing in my report about "storm clouds," the irony of using Barney Frank as an "ethics" spokesman, and the fact that the Dems made serious-sounding noises while avoiding any specific allegations.

Hey Brent, you're welcome to lurk, but how about a citation!

Tom DeLay vs. media lite
Brent Bozell

April 21, 2005

For years now, liberals have snidely suggested that watching Fox News Channel makes dumb conservatives even dumber. They've even produced trumped-up studies trying to prove it. This is in marked contrast to the enlightened viewers of the fusty old news networks, the ones upholding the standards of seriously weighty journalism, you see.

How vague and uninformative can these tired Old Media types be? Take the issue of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. From the vantage point of these news networks, it's unimportant to debate the substance of liberal attacks on DeLay. The charges don't even have to be explained. No, the only thing that's important is to build a vague impression of staggering momentum: DeLay has to go. On Monday morning, April 18, CBS and NBC morning shows picked up the story. Let's look at the basic elements used to sing the "Hallelujah, Republicans in Trouble" chorus:

1. Set a dark and spooky tone. NBC's Matt Lauer introduced the story: "Storm clouds are gathering on Capitol Hill, and at the center of the storm is the House Majority Leader, Texas Congressman Tom DeLay." Lauer overlooked the [natty] point: It is the media themselves who are taping the dark clouds into the metaphorical sky and then "reporting" on that storm. CBS's Julie Chen armed herself with other cliches: "Under fire for possible ethics violations," DeLay went to Houston "for some much needed support."

2. Empower the protesters. Then came the chants and obligatory signs of the left-wing DeLay-haters standing outside the NRA convention in Houston as DeLay spoke. Some signs read "Un-American Radical," and "Indict Delay now," and mocking DeLay's old exterminating business, "The Constitution is not a cockroach." Why does this little crowd outside, estimated by reporters as at best 150 people, suddenly get anointed as the voice of the people, while thousands cheering DeLay inside are ignored? Because they help the networks build their DeLay-the-crook storyline. CBS added the ridiculous line that some people in the protesters claimed to be conservative Republicans. Yes, and I suppose Dan Rather is a conservative Republican, too.

3. Run the clip of DeLay making a gun joke at the NRA convention. DeLay cracked: "When a man's in trouble or in a good fight, you want all your friends around them, preferably armed." It's fair to wonder if the networks aired this because they thought this joke was sick, not funny. From his Sunday perch on "Face the Nation," CBS anchor Bob Schieffer demanded that Rep. David Dreier denounce the line as "inflammatory" and asked him to disassociate himself "from these kinds of remarks." Should Schieffer disassociate himself from CBS's Julie Chen reporting DeLay was "under fire," too?

4. Run outraged soundbite from a Democrat denouncing DeLay and ignore that Democrat's documented unethical behavior. In NBC's case, we were treated to Rep. Barney Frank disparaging DeLay: "We're not talking about peccadilloes here. We're talking about a serious corruption of the public policy process." NBC knows Barney Frank didn't care about corruption when the Clintons were in power, and NBC knows Barney Frank is a rich pick to accuse DeLay of corruption, given the revelation in August 1989 that Barney Frank had a male lover running a male prostitution ring out of his house -- which NBC thought merited some 30 seconds of anchor dismissal at the time.

5. Speculate like crazy, for the Death Watch is on. NBC highlighted how "some Republicans" are wondering if DeLay is harming the party, and maybe he'll have a tougher re-election fight. This isn't the reporting of today's news. It's an attempt to influence the next day's news. On this count, at least CBS noted that even Democrats assume he's not going anywhere soon. But too much political news is trying to set the stage for what's next, and too little is based on what's already established.

What was missing in these "storm cloud" reports was any substance, not even much of a description of what the charges entailed. CBS only cited "three congressional rebukes for alleged ethical lapses ... amid reports he took luxury trips set up by big money lobbyists." NBC said, "DeLay is under scrutiny for his political fundraising, for his overseas trips and for his connections to lobbyists under federal investigation. All that comes on top of three admonishments by the House Ethics committee last year."

Are those few seconds really offering enough -- for that matter, any information? Does it really explain what happened before the Ethics Committee? Why not compare the charges against DeLay to what Democrats do? Or to what Bill Clinton did to please donors, foreign and domestic? In the final analysis, TV news looks shallow and uninformative. Maybe it's because it's the only way to keep the storm brewing.

Brent Bozell is President of Media Research Center, a Townhall.com member group.

©2005 Creators Syndicate, Inc.

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