Memo: The Media Heart McCain
M E M O R A N D U M
To:
Interested Parties
From: Karl Frisch, Media Matters for America
Re: The Media Heart McCain
Date: Thursday, February 14, 2008
This year, the media have chosen a new valentine to swoon over: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) -- the media heart McCain. With the presidential primaries heating up, Media Matters for America thought it might be helpful to provide you with examples of how the media have fawned over McCain's presidential campaign; lauding him as a "maverick" and "straight talker" while overlooking his flip-flops.
Media Matters has also released a video compiling numerous examples of the media's repeated reference to McCain as a "maverick." View the video here.
More detailed descriptions of Media Matters' top items on these themes and links to full text are included below:
MSNBC's Brzezinski asked if McCain is "the perfect candidate" without disclosing that her brother advises him
On MSNBC's Morning Joe, Mika Brzezinski asked presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin: "[A]t this moment in history, isn't John McCain the perfect candidate to deal with what challenges we face as a country, and given the presidency that is just coming to a close right now?" At no point during the segment, however, did Brzezinski disclose that her brother is a McCain adviser.
Kudlow cited WSJ editorial board member to claim "McCain is no flip-flopper," but WSJ already noted "McCain's Tax Reversal"
In his February 9 nationally syndicated column, CNBC host Lawrence Kudlow wrote: "McCain is no flip-flopper. ... Think of his duty-honor-loyalty persona, to borrow from my friend Kim Strassel of the Wall Street Journal." Strassel wrote in her Wall Street Journal column on February 1 that McCain is "no flip-flopper, and his duty-honor-loyalty persona would stand in stark contrast to both Clintons." However, the Journal editorial board, of which Strassel is and was at the time a member, published an editorial on February 18, 2006 -- headlined "McCain's Tax Reversal" -- noting that after voting against President Bush's tax cuts in 2001 and 2003, McCain voted in 2006 to make some of them permanent.
CNN contributor Bennett's donation to McCain not disclosed during discussion of senator
On CNN's The Situation Room, radio talk show host and CNN contributor Bill Bennett defended McCain against criticism he has received from radio host Laura Ingraham and other conservatives. But Bennett and host Wolf Blitzer both failed to disclose that Bennett has given more than $2,000 to McCain's presidential campaign.
CNN's Sesno suggests McCain owns copyright on "straight talk" label
Referring to the Democratic presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama, CNN special correspondent Frank Sesno said: "[M]oney is pouring in, but with apologies to John McCain, you might hear some straight talk, too." In assigning McCain ownership of the "straight talk" label, Sesno joined a long line of media, including CNN hosts and correspondents, who have adopted McCain's self-laudatory label of "straight-talker" despite his stark inconsistency on numerous issues.
Print press repeats media mantra of McCain as "maverick"
In their coverage of the February 5 presidential primaries and caucuses, numerous print publications -- including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times -- continued a longstanding practice of referring to McCain as a "maverick" who has challenged Washington and his own party, despite a lifetime rating of 83 by the American Conservative Union and his recent rightward shift on high-profile issues such as immigration and taxes.
In endorsing McCain's bid for the Republican presidential nomination, The Baltimore Sun asserted that McCain has "stood his ground" on "immigration reform." However, while McCain now says that border security must be addressed first, he previously said that border security could not be disaggregated from other provisions in the legislation on immigration reform. Similarly, the San Antonio Express-News claimed in its endorsement of McCain that his "advocacy for comprehensive immigration reform" is among the positions that may "be attractive" to "independent voters"; but McCain has said he "would not" vote for his own comprehensive immigration reform proposals.
Politico/WJLA forum hosts claimed McCain has "regularly" "stood up" to Republican Party
During interviews with Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton, Politico's John F. Harris and ABC 7's Leon Harris each claimed that McCain has "regularly" "stood up" to the Republican Party. But McCain has altered his positions on significant issues, such as taxes and immigration, to more closely align himself with the base of the Republican Party, and has been one of the most constant and forceful proponents of the Iraq war and its continuation.
Ignoring conservative record, MSNBC's Barnicle claimed that McCain is "in the middle"
On Morning Joe, guest co-host Mike Barnicle claimed that while in "most campaigns," "Republicans begin on the right for their campaign and come to the middle for the fall," McCain is "in the middle and he has to swing right for the primaries." In fact, McCain has already shifted rightward on immigration and taxes, and McCain himself has asserted that he is a "mainstream conservative."
A Gannett News Service article claimed that McCain "has built up such a straight-talker image that any aroma of pandering or changing positions to placate conservatives would expose him to the flip-flopping label he has pinned on [Mitt] Romney." In fact, on two of the issues cited -- taxes and immigration -- McCain has changed his positions to more closely align himself with the base of the Republican Party, which the article did not note.
For more information on the media's coverage of Sen. John McCain, visit Media Matters' website: http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/john_mccain
