What goes around comes around. Rick Davis, Sen. McCain’s campaign manager, was irate when Andrea Mitchell on Meet the Press mentioned that the senator had not been in the “cone of silence” before his interview with Pastor Rick Warren. He asked for a meeting with NBC’s president and in a letter said the “network is abandoning nonpartisan coverage of the presidential race.” (For the record, McCain was in his motorcade on the way to the interview and not in the agreed upon soundproof room).
I can imagine how Rick Davis feels. The previous week, I watched Jerome Corsi on Fox News, and not one of his anti-Obama views was challenged by Sean Hannity. The Obama campaign needed to publish a 41-page rebuttal, “Unfit for Publication,” correcting many of Mr. Corsi’s “facts” (smears).
We can thank Mr. Corsi for a new term—swift boating—from a book he wrote sliming Sen. John Kerry’s military serivice. He is notorious for mixing facts with fiction and often uses himself as a reference in his footnotes. It should be noted that his book, Obama Nation, and another anti-Obama book, The Case Against Barack Obama by David Feddoso, made The New York Times Best Seller List because the books were bought in bulk by conservative organizations. That is why there is a symbol of a dart by the book entries; it indicates books were not driven by individual buyers.
I too would like some nonpartisan coverage. Will Rick Davis write a letter to Roger Ailes, president of Fox News? I am not going to hold my breath.
— Linda Pannullo
Asheville
It would be a wonderful thing, wouldn’t it?
Uh, you do realize Hannity and Colmes is an opinion show, not unbiased reporting, right?
Strangely, the author makes no such pleas for nonpartisan reporting by, say, Keith Olberman.
I think it was a general plea for nonbiased coverage…something the news is supposed to aspire to. Specific requests shouldn’t have to be made…they ALL should do it.
I don’t bother watching televised news because of this problem. I don’t want to have to figure out which way what channel leans to be able to decipher what actually is going on. Give me both sides and let ME choose how I feel about it!
Chesire,
The concept of ‘both sides’ seems to be part of the problem, in my opinion. How about giving the Facts, without spin from either ‘side’?
Can you imagine, for just a moment, how uninformed we would all be if all we had to rely on for info was the network and cable news?
At least the internet allows us more opportunity to seek out the truth on our own.
Rainbowjim, that’s why I haven’t had television service for 11 years now.
I have to disagree, Linda. John Kerry was his own worst enemy and has no one to blame but himself. He was and still is an elitist blow-hard and a pompous fool. That is why is is not President today. The swiftboat controversy relied heavily on the testimonies of Navy men who served with John Kerry–and who were less than impressed with his honesty and gis gross misrepresentations of his brief career in Vietnam. Example: Remember the statement Kerry made about the Xmas river trip into Cambodia being ‘seared’ into his memory? It was a lie and was proven so. He was never there. Corsi had lots of excellent material, provided by Mr. Kerry himself.
Similarly, Obama has presented a variety of versions of ‘the truth’ swirling around him. It does give thoughtful people pause. His flip-flopping on the issues is close to becoming a classic sterotype of a wishy-washy politician–which is one reason why he will have is a** handed to him in November.
Hannity does not claim to provide objective news coverage. He has clearly stated his is a politically motivated commentary. That is not the case with Meet The Press.