NBC's Mitchell said McCain took "very strong stand" against NC GOP's anti-Obama ad, but omitted pattern of smears benefiting McCain
SUMMARY: Reporting on an ad from the North Carolina Republican Party that attacks Sen. Barack Obama for his relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright, NBC News' Andrea Mitchell asserted that Sen. John McCain "is taking a very strong stand," telling the party "that he does not want them to run this ad." She later said that "John McCain immediately demanded that the North Carolina Republicans kill the ad." By simply reporting McCain's condemnation of the North Carolina ad, Mitchell was repeating a pattern in the media of allowing McCain, as Slate.com's Melinda Henneberger noted, to "take the high road," while his supporters engage in smears for his benefit.
On the April 23 edition of NBC's Nightly News, NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell aired a portion of a recent ad from the North Carolina Republican Party that attacks Sen. Barack Obama for his relationship with his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Mitchell then stated: "[Sen.] John McCain immediately demanded that the North Carolina Republicans kill the ad." Earlier that day, during the 1 p.m. ET hour of MSNBC Live, Mitchell reported that McCain has "written a letter to the North Carolina Republican Party telling them that he does not want them to run this ad," and asserted of McCain: "He's obviously taking a very strong stand." Mitchell went on to ask McCain's senior economic adviser, former Rep. Jack Kemp (R-NY), "[W]hat does it say about the Republican Party that the North Carolina Republicans were planning to run this ad?"
What Mitchell did not report during either segment was that this isn't the first time McCain has repudiated an attack on Obama by a Republican state party. Nor did she report that members of McCain's own campaign have at least twice spread attacks on Obama's relationship with Wright from which McCain subsequently distanced himself. On the 4 p.m. ET hour of the April 23 edition of MSNBC Live, Slate.com contributor Melinda Henneberger commented on its effect: "McCain gets to have it both ways. He gets to take the high road and say that these attacks are absolutely unwarranted ... and yet the ads are still out there, no doubt doing him some good for the general [election]." By simply reporting McCain's condemnation of the North Carolina ad, Mitchell was repeating a pattern in the media of allowing McCain, as Henneberger noted, to "take the high road," while his supporters engage in smears for his benefit.
Previous examples of attacks on Obama that McCain subsequently denounced or distanced himself from include:
- Following conservative radio talk-show host Bill Cunningham's attacks on Obama during a February 26 McCain rally, including Cunningham's repeated use of Obama's middle name, McCain condemned the comments. The New York Times reported that McCain said: "Whatever suggestion that was made that was any way disparaging to the integrity, character, honesty of either Senator Obama or Senator Clinton was wrong. ... I condemn it, and if I have any responsibility, I will take the responsibility, and I apologize for it." The Times added: "Mr. McCain called Mr. Obama a 'man of integrity' and said he was someone he had come to know 'pretty well and I admire.' He also said that it was not appropriate to invoke Mr. Obama's middle name. 'I absolutely repudiate such comments,' Mr. McCain said. 'It will never happen again.' "
- A February 25 press release by the Tennessee Republican Party titled "Anti-Semites for Obama" stated in its original form: "The Tennessee Republican Party today joins a growing chorus of Americans concerned about the future of the nation of Israel, the only stable democracy in the Middle East, if Sen. Barack Hussein Obama is elected president of the United States." The party later added a "clarification" to the press release, stating that "in order to diffuse attempts by Democrats and the Left to divert attention from the main point of this release ... we have deleted the use of Barack Obama's middle name." McCain reportedly condemned the press release but later touted the endorsement of the Tennessee GOP chairman who was quoted in it attacking Obama.
- The McCain campaign reportedly circulated to reporters a March 14 Wall Street Journal op-ed, in which Newsmax.com chief Washington correspondent Ronald Kessler wrote that "Obama's close association with Mr. Wright ... raises legitimate questions about Mr. Obama's fundamental beliefs about his country," which "deserve a clearer answer than Mr. Obama has provided so far." On March 14, the Politico's Jonathan Martin also reported that the McCain campaign "included an op-ed from the WSJ written by Ron Kessler about Obama's pastor today in its morning clips." Subsequently, McCain's campaign reportedly said it sent the op-ed "in error."
- A McCain campaign aide reportedly distributed a video, titled "Is Obama Wright?" that, as the Politico's Martin also reported, "splices together the most inflammatory language of Jeremiah Wright with a series of other issues that have arisen in the campaign," and "includes footage of Malcolm X, the U.S. Olympians who raised their hand in the black power salute and the song 'Fight the Power.' " On March 20, Martin reported that "[a]n aide to John McCain was suspended from the campaign today for blasting out an inflammatory video that raises questions about Barack Obama's patriotism." Martin wrote that the staffer, "who works in McCain's political department, sent out the YouTube link of 'Is Obama Wright?' on twitter at 12:31 today with the tag, 'Good video on Obama and Wright.' It has since been taken down." Additionally, on the March 20 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, CNN Internet correspondent Abbi Tatton reported that "John McCain staffer Soren Dayton" viewed the video, "then sent it out through the website Twitter," and "[t]hat got Dayton suspended today from the McCain campaign."
By contrast, during the April 23 edition of the CBS Evening News, correspondent Dean Reynolds noted that while McCain has "disowned" the ad, "McCain has been down this path before, repeatedly apologizing or rejecting statements from supporters who have questioned Obama's patriotism." After airing a clip of Cunningham's repeated use of Obama's middle name at the February 26 McCain rally, Reynolds added: "But McCain's requests to stop such attacks have not been effective. In North Carolina, the Republicans put their ad on the Internet and say they're going to broadcast it as well. Today, Obama said McCain could do more to stop it." Reynolds then aired a video clip of Obama's response: "I assume that if John McCain thinks that it's an inappropriate ad, that he can get them to pull it down since he is their nominee and standard-bearer."
From the April 23 edition of NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams:
MITCHELL: Obama was also under attack today from Republicans in North Carolina, where the state GOP prepared an ad criticizing his connection to his former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright.
NARRATOR [Republican ad]: He's just too extreme for North Carolina.
MITCHELL: John McCain immediately demanded that the North Carolina Republicans kill the ad.
McCAIN: We called and asked them not to run that message. It's not the message of the Republican Party.
MITCHELL: But McCain did not hesitate to call Obama an elitist for his remarks about people feeling bitter and clinging to their guns and faith.
McCAIN: I think those comments are elitist.
From the 1 p.m. ET hour of the April 23 edition of MSNBC Live:
MITCHELL: Jack, let me play for you an ad that the Republican Party in North Carolina was planning to run, and it's an attack ad against Barack Obama raising the issue of Reverend Wright.
[begin video clip]
NARRATOR: For 20 years, Barack Obama sat in his pew, listening to his pastor.
WRIGHT: -- and then wants us to sing "God Bless America"? No, no, no. Not "God bless America," "God [bleep] America."
[end video clip]
MITCHELL: Now, John McCain has written a letter and, I gather, has in the last few minutes, in fact, spoken out against this ad. He's written a letter to the North Carolina Republican Party telling them that he does not want them to run this ad. He said that "the television advertisement you are planning to air degrades our civics and distracts us from the very real differences we have with Democrats. In the strongest terms, I implore you to not run this advertisement."
He's obviously taking a very strong stand, but what does it say about the Republican Party that the North Carolina Republicans were planning to run this ad?
KEMP: Well, I think most people would understand that this is a state party in North Carolina. I agree with John. I don't think they need to run and shouldn't run that ad. The American people know exactly what Reverend Wright stands for. That's Barack Obama's problem, and it's going to stick to him for a long time to come.
I would like to see this -- and I think John has pointed this out -- that's it's better for our democratic process to talk about what you're for, not just against -- not what you're just against. And I think he has tried to lift the level of debate. It's going to be a tough campaign, but it's going to be respectful.
And I think John, in going to Selma, Alabama, and talking about John Lewis, the great civil rights leader, and going to Appalachia -- and, as I mentioned before, Andrea, going into Youngstown, Ohio, getting picketed for believing in free trade, is not all that bad. Because frankly, the enemy of the steelworker in Ohio or Buffalo, New York, is not in Japan or Germany or Brazil; the enemy are the tax policies and regulatory policies in Washington, D.C., and that's what John McCain is after.
MITCHELL: OK, Jack Kemp, former cabinet secretary, former congressman, and now the economic adviser -- top economic adviser --
KEMP: Thank you.
MITCHELL: -- to John McCain.
From the 4 p.m. ET hour of the April 23 edition of MSNBC Live:
CONTESSA BREWER (host): These attacks, are they because the GOP party in North Carolina wants to hurt Barack Obama before the general election? Or because they really are hoping that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee?
HENNEBERGER: Well, whichever is the case, I think this is fantastic because McCain gets to have it both ways. He gets to take the high road and say that these attacks are absolutely unwarranted, as I think they are, and yet the ads are still out there, no doubt doing him some good for the general. So, whatever the motivations, I think it's a win-win for him.
From the April 23 edition of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric:
REYNOLDS: An advertisement from the Republican Party of North Carolina.
NARRATOR: He's just too extreme for North Carolina.
REYNOLDS: For his part, Republican John McCain disowned it.
McCAIN: It's not the message of the Republican Party. It's not the message of my campaign. I sent them an email again today, asking them to pull down that ad.
REYNOLDS: But McCain has been down this path before, repeatedly apologizing or rejecting statements from supporters who have questioned Obama's patriotism.
CUNNINGHAM: Barack Hussein Obama --
REYNOLDS: But McCain's requests to stop such attacks have not been effective. In North Carolina, the Republicans put their ad on the Internet and say they're going to broadcast it as well. Today, Obama said McCain could do more to stop it.
OBAMA: And I assume that if John McCain thinks that it's an inappropriate ad, that he can get them to pull it down since he is their nominee and standard-bearer.
he may be a lot of things, but he's definitely not a neocon.
He sure as hell ain't no liberal, which is what the Limbaughs and Levins are calling him.
OK, he's not a neo-con. He just rolls over and plays dead for the neo-cons.
He also plays fetch and on occasion one of the neo-con talking heads rubs his belly. But he's not one of them.
How ironic that MMFA plays hall monitor and criticizes these "supporters" of McCain for their negative attacks ads, while MMFA's founder is chairman of what's expected to be an integral part of Democratic attacks on McCain, Progressive Media USA.
Gee, I wonder if Clinton or Obama will take a "very strong stand" against these as McCain does? Of course they will, the candidates always do.
They are prevalent on both sides.
Not if he continues lying the way he's been lately. Here's a story about Progressive Media's first anti-Gramps ad:
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15221.html
Tommy,
Last night on the No Spin Zone Oreilly played an ad from that pathetic smear group taking cheap shots at Mccain because of his age . . . . "humorously" teasing him about how he's pretty much older than dirt. It was a weak ad, and like the far right ad, entirely devoid of substance.
Nonetheless, as with the ad that is the subject of this article, it may well help the dem contender with some on the loony left.
Steve,
I heard the ad on the radio this morning, it was ridiculous. Unfortunately, these attack ads filled with crap will hit the airwaves funded by all sorts of groups with agendas and axes to grind, politically. If one criticizes one, they should criticize all. To sit on some pedestal and say the ones against your guy or gal are unfair, yet shutup about the attacks against the one you don't like, is hypocritical.
Yet, that's just what you did when speaking of MMFA a few post above.
Is there a contest that I haven't heard about? And, if there is, who's ahead, You, AA, or Rumpy?
For all the complaining Tommy, AA, Rumpy, PC, Hogbreath, and the others do about MMFA, they sure post here a lot - don't they?
:-)
Watching McCain reminds me of when I was a young girl. Every 4 years our roads would get paved and little things were done to spruce up our neighborhood. I would ask my Dad why and he would say "It's election time and they want my vote". Let me explain to the GOP and McCain, Black folks aren't crazy. We get that you come to visit ONLY when it's election time.
LOL
Every 4 years some GOP hopeful explains how they really want to attract black voters. Each and every four years I hear that same line repeated and yet NOTHING changes and they pretend to "wonder why?". Get real, your still talking out of both sides of your mouth. McCain "pretends" to care while the NC GOP reminds their "white" voters that you can't elect that "N".
Pearle - I'm curious - was it Democrats or Republicans who were winning those elections and would come back once every four years to spruce up the community?
Where I lived on Long Island it was the Dems doing it.
What Media Matters has failed to report is the the add by the NC GOP is ad add against a candidate for Governor who is openly supporting Obama. This add is not intended to support McCain who is not running in the NC primary, and who has no standing in the add as it does not involve his candidacy.
I wonder if anyone in the discussions above even listened to the whole add.
What Media Matters has failed to report is the the add by the NC GOP is ad add against a candidate for Governor who is openly supporting Obama.
GOP is GOP!
My underlying point Pearle is that MM is more in the business of creating the impression of conservative media bias than actually uncovering it. This is just another example of it.
dbeden4153
When he claimed that the govt created aids to kill black people....that is racist.
Whatever you want to call it - racist ot racially motivated - it was wrong. This Wright thing will hang aroung Obamma's neck for the remainder of his political career. Obama was a fool not to see this comming.
I'm not disagreeing with that, but to say its racist is a whole other thing...the charge of racism gets used too much these days, by both the left and the right (exception: the Ferraro comment. That was definitely racist. When you attribute something to someone simply because of their skin color, that's the definition of racism.)
dbeden4153
Ok, explain it to me. Your answers seem pretty reasonable, so help me understand. He says the govt invented aids to kill black people. Aids would have been created in the 70's if not before. You dont just create a virus over night. Most high ranking govt officers then were white. So how does that not fit your definition of racism?
Of course that's how it works in the contemporary Republican Party: the repeated lie becomes the truth. The spirit (expulsion of air) transcends the material (body) which is sacrificed for the higher principle: God or its synonym, the Free Market!
The amazing things is that so many Americans buy into this totally irrational narrative!
"ridiculous rantings from the likes of pearlene."
Common sense and the truth is ridiculous ranting now? When did that happen?
of course they didn't. instead, you get the ridiculous rantings from the likes of pearlene.
Ahhh Hissy you want some attention? Sorry not much time for yeah.
Bye Bye
What a specious argument.
This is an anti-Obama ad, pure and simple. Just because it offhandedly mentions a couple of local races doesn't mean it's not about the Presidential election.
This has everything to do with keeping up the wingnut NONtroversy surrounding Wright. (And a lot to do with supporting McCain.)
And, I just read, Fox News gave it free airtime under the guise of "reporting on the ad." They did the same thing with the Swiftboat Liars. The Liars didn't have to pay Fox very much for ad time because Fox News played the ad in its entirety almost every hour during their news reporting.
Professional courtesy I guess. The smearers gotta stick together!
Because McCain's letter came with a "wink-wink" and a "nudge-nudge."
I can't believe you actually think the NC GOP and the McCain camp are remotely at odds over this. It's all about strategy. Typical, dirty, Republican strategy.
What is this thing with republicans and stances anyways? Strong stances, wide stances, do they have a strong wide stance?
I'm no fan of the Repubs or McCain - but if you think their strategy is any dirtier than the Clinton strategy vs Obama you have Blue-colored glasses on.
It's about winning.
It's been such a disappointment watching her flounder. I had such high hopes for her.
I'm no fan of the Repubs or McCain - but if you think their strategy is any dirtier than the Clinton strategy vs Obama you have Blue-colored glasses on.
It's about winning. - Dems_Sol
-----------------------------------------------------------------
You're right, it is about winning. But, when someone is doing something wrong, you don't point over to someone else and say "Oh, s/he's doing it too!" The way that Clinton is running her campaign does not excuse the way McCain is running his. I'm not defending Senator Clinton here, I'm just exposing your crappy logic.
This is a Primary where McCain has no standing - I believe the NC GOP is more concerned about who their Governor is going to be than whether or not McCain is Pres. If that means going against McCain's wishes so be it. McCain will not have coat tails in the general.
John McCain: If he can't lead a few hicks in the sticks, how can be the leader of the free world?
Maybe Faux News can run this on their bottom crawl over & over.
But I don't like the hicks part. We debase ourselves and drive away would be converts to our way of thinking by making fun of a person's roots.
Besides, the NC GOP is anything but a group of struggling rural Americans. They are well educated, well funded professional cons with a deadly serious market fundamentalist agenda to push.
I consider myself a hick with more common sense than those dazzling urbanites in N.C. ;-) By the way, I love the state of North Carolina, having spent time there in the late 70's. Both in Raleigh and in Asheville.
Don't know if you saw Col but the NC GOP told McCain to take his "request" and stick it where the sun don't shine.
No No No Both McCain and the NC GOP both win. McCain APPEARS to take the high road and the NC GOP gets free advertising. McCain and the GOP wins.
It may be a win-win for both but I don;t think it's coordinated. NC is fighting for its own future regardless of what happens with McCain. I know I would be if I were them.
Thats the rank and file Rump.
The higher ups are all on board the "Straight Talk Express" he'll get whatever he wants because they want to make sure that it aint a Dem in the white house next year.
how could you tell the difference.
Supreme Court nominees. Yohnny likes Roberts and Scalia....a lot.
Global Warming responses.
The philospophy of personal freedom vs coercion.
Obama sat in the pew for 20 years and listened to and supported Rev. Wright...it's no harm to show them side by side in an ad.
Do I think Rev.Wright is a wild-eyed racist? Nope
Do I think Rev.Wright is a wild-eyed liberal? Yep
If the democrats want to dig up video of McCain's pastor and show them side by side...go for it.
That work for ya?
That would work for me.
I'm still waiting for the more than 20 second clip that keeps getting shown of Wright's sermon, and the 20 years worth of "hatred" and "racism" that he allegedly spews forth on a Sunday basis and all. Could it be true that it just isn't there? Could it be that his sermons are mostly about truth, empowering his community, and "GASP!!" God and Jesus?
Look people, if Wright was such a hard core bigot, racist, and America hater as everyone from the right hand side wants to call him, don't you think we'd see more than the one 20 second clip that we keep seeing? Don't you think O'Reilly, Hannity, and the rest of the scumbags would have dug something else up by now? Curious isn't it how we have this one 20 second clip, out of context I might add, and nothing else from this long 20 year spewing of racism and hatred.. It's because, that's all they have.
And for the moron who said that when Wright said that the government gave AIDS to the black folks, and called that statement racist. How would that be racist? Did he mention race in that statement (I paraphrased of course), unless of course you consider the government (which could be local, state, federal, or other) is ALL WHITE, then it's not racist. It's based on things that happend to black people in the past, but how was it racist again?
You jokers keep calling this man a racist, but not once in his sermon did he talk BAD about white people, or people of any other ethnicity. He talked about bad things that white people did to his certain race of people, but again, not racist. That's called telling the truth.
This ad, being that I live in NC, is a stupid ad. First, it's a stretch at best to try and stick Wright's sermons and comments against Obama. Second, it's a super huge stretch to try and tie Bev Purdue and Richard Moore to Wright, through their endorsement of Obama. Talk about weak sauce folks, really weak sauce.
Here here ML, but you won't convince Pointofview, he only has one.
I'm in NC too, and I've seen the ad at least three times so far. It's definitely an anti-Obama ad put out before the primary to try and rip the Democratic party further apart. The funny thing is, I have yet to see a Hillary bumper sticker, or sign in a yard. But I've seen hundreds of Obama stickers and signs.
Same here. I work with several folks (even in back woods NC) that have Obama stuff all over the place. I haven't seen much in the way of Hillary support around here.
The ad is most definitely an attack on Obama for the primary coming up in a couple of weeks. It's really just kind of stupid. Like I said, it's a huge stretch to try and tag Purdue and Moore with Wright. It's not like they even know the guy. Hell, they don't know Obama either I'm sure. But, standard GOP fare here in NC.
my understanding is that the video came from dvds sold in the church gift shop. do they sell a dvd of every sermon? i check the website, there are lots of dvds for sale, but only a title, no description is given.
there is no doubt, of course, that wright is a toxic rabid racist.
ran across this article. this guy must be a poster here.
April 23, 2008 --
A man heckling First Lady Laura Bush and daughter Jenna outside the 92nd Street Y was arrested after he punched a wheelchair-bound girl whose parents has told him to shut up, authorities said yesterday. German Talis, 22, was shouting obscenities at the Bushes, who were leaving the building Tuesday, when he crossed paths with Wendy and John Lovetro and their daughter Maureen, 18, who has cerebral palsy.
They had been in the audience to hear the Bushes talk about their children's book, "Read All About It."
"He began yelling about Iraq and Iran at Jenna Bush. She was waving at the crowd. I told the guy, 'What are you doing? Shut up. This is about a child and books,' " said John Lovetro. "He was unperturbed. I said, 'Get out of here! You're being a moron!' "
The next thing he knew, Talis was allegedly punching Maureen - a fan of the first lady since meeting her in 2004.
"I heard my daughter hysterical yelling, 'He's hitting me!' " said Wendy Lovetro.
"He punched her on the shoulder blades, but that wasn't enough," she said.
"My husband pushed the wheelchair away from him and he reached beyond my husband and began pounding my daughter in the thigh."
The two men fought as the president's family drove off. Cops broke them up and busted Talis on charges of assault and resisting arrest.
Maureen was not seriously injured.
Rumple, take a look at this:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/excerpts-from-rev-wright_b_98433.html
And then come back and tell me Wright is a toxic rabid racist.
And since you are a poster here, you are equating yourself with that lunatic. Good job.
What has Wright said that was racist?
Tell me. Tell us all. Because, he, in that sermon, said nothing racial at all, but hey, you know, never you mind about what is reality and all.
Guess what? Are you telling me that throughout 20 years of preaching that there is only one sermon of his recorded, and or played? And that one sermon was 20 seconds? You are not only ignorant, but delusional at best. Did you even see the ENTIRE sermon that day on that particular occassion, or did you just see the 20 seconds that Rush and FoxNews keeps playing? I'm thinking, umm, the latter.
Did you purchase the ENTIRE DVD that this one 20 second clip came off of? Again, if he was so bad, and so angry, there must be a gold mine of this stuff out there.
I know what it is really, it's that there is an angry black man, and you're scared of him. That's OK, there are a lot of republicans such as yourself who appear to be afraid of, well, just about everything.
He NEVER said that.
And, even if he did, that would still NOT be racist.
Keep trying though...
Nerzog,
It probably would have the opposite effect that you intend with the right wingers that genrally don't like McCain. They may see it as a plus that McCain got the approval of a man who thinks that God sent in a storm to kill the Blacks and the Gays in one swoop. They are probably just sorry he didn't send one to Vatican City.
Considering Hagee's past comments on Catholics, I don't think it would be out of the question. Of course, you'll ignore those comments and all I'm sure.
Lynn wasn't promoting a hurricane hitting Vatican City, but I'm starting to think reading comprehension is beyond your meager abilities. It's a shame that NCLB is hurting our educational system so much. You could be part of the proof of that.
Mag,
He's just an old troll that keeps recycling through here under new handles, but in case he truly is too dense to understand what I initially wrote I'll just say that I sincerely hope that God only showers blessings down on New Orleans, the Vatican City, and everywhere including over dumbostilskin’s house .I saw this exchange, the blog is right on, Andrea Mitchell is one of the slickest propagandists on Cable media. She will use half truths until she is backed into a corner by a more responsible journalist, then act as if she never meant to imply any bias at all.
It's enough to turn the stomach.
johnsnakecusak