Led by Cheney, Imus in the Morning became Brit Hume fan club

On the January 20 edition of MSNBC's Imus in the Morning, host Don Imus and Newsweek chief political correspondent Howard Fineman joined Vice President Dick Cheney in heaping praise on FOX News host, managing editor, and chief Washington correspondent Brit Hume. When asked by Imus, "Do you watch the news at night?" Cheney responded, "I sometimes watch another network [besides MSNBC]. No, I'm a fan of Brit Hume's show. I think Brit does a good job." Imus then declared, "I actually like Brit Hume." Later in the program, Fineman stated that Hume is a "terrific journalist" who has been "great at ABC and great at FOX."

Cheney's praise for Hume is unsurprising, given that Hume is a regular promoter of Cheney and the Bush administration. But it is unclear why Imus and Fineman have such respect for Hume as a journalist, given his long history of distortions and outright falsehoods and his reliable attacks on Democrats, which Media Matters for America has documented:

• Hume defended Cheney with lie about Kerry weapons-system cuts
• Hume defended Rumsfeld's falsehood as "quite thoughtful," "pretty reasonable"
• Led by Hume, FOX "All-Stars" agreed on falsehoods about Social Security
• Barnes, Hume, and Limbaugh agree on a lie: "Bush had said that there was not an imminent threat"
• As evidence mounts of GOP connection to anti-Kerry Swift Boat Vets, Hume and [former Republican presidential candidate Bob] Dole deny the obvious
• Hume on Kerry: "He'd have to clear everything" with [French President] Jacques Chirac
• FOX's Brit Hume spins for Bush

—A.S.