CNN's Bash ignored McCain flip-flop on administration's Iraq war rhetoric
On the January 25 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash aired a statement by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) criticizing the Bush administration for presenting "rosy scenarios" about the situation in Iraq, which he said "exacerbated" public "disillusionment" with the war. But Bash did not tell viewers that McCain has previously commended President Bush for providing the public with what McCain characterized as an accurate assessment of the situation in Iraq.
CNN aired McCain saying the following:
McCAIN: They [the American people] were assured that "mission accomplished," "last throes," "stuff happens," "a few dead-enders," you know, the list goes on and on. So -- and then they've -- then they find out that the situation continues to deteriorate.
We want -- I think it would be important to them -- for them to have some specific benchmarks as to whether those are being met or not met. You see what I mean?
I think the disillusionment was exacerbated by the rosy scenarios.
As Media Matters for America has noted, McCain made nearly identical comments at an August 22, 2006, fundraiser in Ohio, only to backtrack on them days later and praise Bush for his "honest" "public statements" regarding the war (see here, here, and here).
McCain's comments from an August 22, 2006, fundraiser for then-Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH):
I think one of the biggest mistakes we made was underestimating the size of the task and the sacrifice that would be required. "Stuff happens." "Mission Accomplished." "Last throes." A few "dead-enders." I'm as -- more familiar with those statements than anyone else because it grieves me so much that we have not told the American people how tough and difficult this task would be.
McCain's statement from an August 25, 2006, press release, in which he restated his support for the war in Iraq and then praised Bush for his statements regarding the war:
And I commend the President for his public statements offering Americans an honest assessment of the progress we have made in Iraq and the challenges that still confront us there, and, of course, for his determination to defend American security and international peace and stability by succeeding in this arduous and costly enterprise.
McCain has complimented or defended Bush's management of the Iraq war on numerous occasions, as Media Matters has documented.
From the January 25 edition of CNN's The Situation Room:
BASH: Well, you know, since the vote was cast in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday, what we have seen is those who support sending troops to Iraq trying to figure out a way to blunt the impact of any resolution or resolutions that will be on the Senate floor in the next week or two.
John McCain, of course, has been one of the most vocal supporters of a troop increase in Iraq. And what he said is that he is trying to come up with a resolution that would perhaps issue some benchmarks for the Iraqi people and also in some way increase Congress' oversight on this issue.
McCAIN [video clip]: They were assured that "mission accomplished," "last throes," "stuff happens," "a few dead-enders," you know, the list goes on and on. So -- and then they've -- then they find out that the situation continues to deteriorate.
We want -- I think it would be important to them -- for them to have some specific benchmarks as to whether those are being met or not met. You see what I mean?
I think the disillusionment was exacerbated by the rosy scenarios.
BASH: Now, McCain admits his resolution is in its embryonic stages right now. He's not sure exactly where this is going to go.
Bash is scary-looking to me...and she apparently has no fact-checking skills to go along with her reporting...by the way, I love her second to last line- 'McCain admits his resolution is in the "embryonic stages" right now' That cracks me up because of most rebuplicant's opposition to stem cell research...just a little word play that amuses me...
You know Mr. L you're right. Ms. Bash looks like a Stepford Wife, nothing is there behind the eyes. We can see the negative effects of cloning; the need to add a little rosemary to the mix the next time!
Funny stuff Mr. L and Papi. I wish I had come up with some of that!
I have to admit, trying to be open-minded, the first few times I heard McCain speak I didn't think him too bad. He actually can come across as a straight talker, as long as his talk is limited.
I think McCain could have had a shot at the '08 election-if he didn't start talking until October '08.
Here's a real question. I don't know the answer to this but maybe one of you is familar with the industry. Mr. L mentions 'fact checking'. To what extent do these reporters 'work'? Are they just handed scripts to read? Get gussied up like reporters and read this pulp into the camera? (sometimes im surprised they don't wear Fedoras with a paper in the hat band that says 'PRESS') Or do they actually do most of the footwork themselves? Do you think there is an army of underlings that work for the 'Bash Department' where in they dig up stories, check facts, write copy etc. and hand over prepared copy to be read by the 'pretty one' or by the 'legitimate looking one'. I don't know...but it seems that these people reach like 'star status'. It's not like this woman could sneak around in the shadows unknown and actually 'find something out'. It seems more like the CNN or the FOX truck rolls up, screaming with generators and broadcast tools and then the show is on. Like I said, I'd like to know.
A lot of what gets passed as news is not news at all, espcially when you get to networks like Fox. They are propaganda machines, designed to set forth the owner's agenda. In the last six years, we have seen the effects of absolute control over a country; federal, state, and local gov'ts and both sectors of the media (electronic and print). Combine this with the regulatory comissions making sure that the message only goes one way. If the Fairness Doctrine had been implemented that forces both sides of an issue to be expressed, then the outcome would be different.
Media Matters and other sites that expose the lies are necessary in this day and age, because we the populace suffer when we don't know the facts. All the problems that this country has experienced is a direct result of not knowing the truth.
You have to ask yourself, why would folks go through all this trouble to misdirect, misinform and mislead? And you already know the answer; money and power. But more importantly, power. Why be a politician when you are a millionaire? Why take the pay cut and then be held up to public scrutiny everyday? POWER. You have the ability to influence the outcome of millions of people's lives with one piece of legislature.
What Americans have a hard time accepting is that there are people in our society that think like this; they don't want a democracy because a democracy requires having to listen to different opinions and accepting input from those who you may not agree with. Bush has gone on record saying that if this was a dictatorship it would be a lot easier to run, as long as he was the dictator. Rumsfeld even talked about the virtues of a dictatorship at some point (research should be done to produce the sound clips to back up the claim, we all could help in this.). We fought the Nazis, but forget that prominent businesses in America like IBM, Ford and others either sympathised with them or supplied them with technology and money to get their agenda going. Cheney under the Nixon administration has always wanted to have the president as a unitary executive, with absolute power. He didn't get it then, and remained bitter about that until the era of George W. A lot of the think tanks, strategists and business societies want to take our society somewhere where it was not meant to go and they have absolutely no conscience about doing so.
Actually, funny you should ask, I'm about to have lunch with a friend who is "in the business" so to speak.
No the faces on the screen never do footwork (although minor "reporters/actors" will do fluff pieces to "prove" they are real reporters once in a while. (i.e. "Dog chases cat up tree, live video from the sceen."))
The size of the staff involved usually depends on how popular that (well lets just call them actors) actor is and the size of the network. But usually an underling (greatly underpaid, that's my friend speaking) runs around and pieces together a story. Others try to confirm it, and the talking head, oh yeah actor reads the script.
And that's the funny part, these actors get the praise (for great stories) and usually never do the work.