Media Matters - The Situation Room

Media Matters - The Situation Room http://mediamatters.org/tools/syndication/tag_rss/the_situation_room This link is for use by RSS-enabled software to retrieve Media Matters items matching the term: The Situation Room en-US Copyright 2008, Media Matters for America Blitzer failed to challenge Romney's suggestion that he had not attacked McCain's lack of accomplishment "in the world of business" http://mediamatters.org/items/200805090009 CNN's Wolf Blitzer did not challenge Mitt Romney's false suggestion that during the Republican presidential primary campaign he had not attacked Sen. John McCain's lack of accomplishment "in the world of business." In fact, during the primary campaign, CNN had aired a clip of Romney saying, "I think, at a time like this, it makes sense to have a president who's actually had a job in the real economy." http://mediamatters.org/items/200805090009 Fri, 9 May 2008 18:21:45 EST CNN's Blitzer, on-screen text misled on cost of housing bill http://mediamatters.org/items/200805090003 CNN's Wolf Blitzer made the misleading assertion that "the House of Representatives just passed a $300 billion plan to help struggling homeowners." In fact, while the bill to which Blitzer referred would authorize the FHA to insure up to $300 billion in homeownership retention loans for qualified homeowners, the Congressional Budget Office estimated a total cost of $2.7 billion for the program. http://mediamatters.org/items/200805090003 Fri, 9 May 2008 13:46:54 EST CNN's Bash again airs clip of McCain falsely attacking Dems for health care proposals http://mediamatters.org/items/200804300008 On The Situation Room, Dana Bash uncritically aired a clip of Sen. John McCain saying of health care plans put forward by Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama: "This will accomplish one thing only. We will replace the inefficiency, irrationality, and uncontrolled costs of the current system with the inefficiency, irrationality, and uncontrolled costs of a government monopoly." In fact, neither Clinton nor Obama has proposed a "government monopoly" on insurance coverage; rather, both have called for individuals to choose their own insurance. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804300008 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:27:13 EST CNN continues trend of uncritically airing McCain's false attacks on Dems' health care plans http://mediamatters.org/items/200804290008 CNN's Dana Bash, Wolf Blitzer, and Kyra Phillips all uncritically aired video of Sen. John McCain's false attacks on Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton regarding health care, in which McCain suggested that the Democratic candidates favor a "one-size-fits-all, big-government takeover of health care," and that "[t]hey want the government to make the decisions." In fact, neither Obama nor Clinton has proposed a "big-government takeover of health care"; both have called for individuals to choose their own insurance. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804290008 Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:40:49 EST CNN's Bash, Roberts, and Phillips ignored Hagee's comments linking Hurricane Katrina to gay pride parade http://mediamatters.org/items/200804280010 Reporting on a New Orleans campaign event at which Sen. John McCain's "carefully scripted imagery was interrupted by a voter's question about Pastor John Hagee," CNN's Dana Bash aired a clip of Hagee -- who has endorsed McCain -- saying of Hurricane Katrina, "What happened in New Orleans looked like the curse of God." But Bash did not air the portion of Hagee's comments in which he reaffirmed his previous assertion that Hurricane Katrina was at least in part the result of "sin" that Hagee identified as "a massive homosexual rally." CNN's John Roberts and Kyra Phillips similarly noted that Hagee said that "Katrina was God's punishment for sinful behavior in New Orleans" without mentioning that among the "sinful behavior" Hagee referenced was the gay pride parade. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804280010 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:44:59 EST Cable news nets run ad attacking Obama over and over -- even as pundits note win-win for McCain http://mediamatters.org/items/200804240010 Beginning on the afternoon of April 23, MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN aired a controversial ad by the North Carolina Republican Party attacking Sen. Barack Obama and two Democratic gubernatorial candidates at least 22 times combined, in most cases also noting that Sen. John McCain denounced the ad. As media figures on MSNBC and CNN pointed out, the repeated broadcasts benefit the North Carolina Republican Party, which does not have to pay for them, and they presumably benefit McCain, even as he is credited with taking the high road for criticizing the ad. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804240010 Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:13:42 EST Ignoring McCain's inconsistent statements, Blitzer did not challenge Gov. Crist's defense of comparison of Iraq and South Korea http://mediamatters.org/items/200804240005 On The Situation Room, Wolf Blitzer left unchallenged Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's claim that "what Senator [John] McCain talks about" when he said he advocated a long-term military presence in Iraq is "to make sure that those who have lost their lives, that their lives were not lost in vain. I mean, we still maintain troop presence in South Korea." In fact, McCain has made inconsistent statements on the subject of a troop presence in Iraq modeled on South Korea, which Blitzer did not note. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804240005 Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:42:37 EST CNN chart purporting to compare candidates' "wealth" omitted Cindy McCain, who is reportedly worth $100 million http://mediamatters.org/items/200804180013 On The Situation Room, an on-screen chart showed Sen. John McCain's income to be significantly lower than that of Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton when combined with the income of their spouses. However, the chart did not include any income earned by McCain's wife, Cindy. As Dana Bash reported moments earlier of Cindy McCain, "Some estimates actually put her worth at about $100 million." http://mediamatters.org/items/200804180013 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:26:38 EST CNN still promoting the notion that progressives don't vote their values and aren't "pro-family" http://mediamatters.org/items/200804180008 Ed Henry and Jessica Yellin joined the growing list of CNN anchors and reporters who have embraced the lexicon of social conservatives, characterizing Christian conservative voters as "values voters" and equating an opposition to abortion rights with "family values." Henry suggested that support for reproductive choice is not a "family value" and that being pro-choice is inconsistent with being "pro-family," while Yellin suggested that those who are not "white evangelical voters" vote on something other than values. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804180008 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:12:05 EST Blitzer claimed Bush's statement that U.S. "among the most religious" countries "sounded almost like a veiled rebuke" of Obama http://mediamatters.org/items/200804170003 Discussing Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the White House, CNN's Wolf Blitzer stated that President Bush's comment that the United States is "among the most religious" countries in the world "sounded almost like a veiled rebuke of the controversial words that Barack Obama made." Ed Gillespie, counselor to the president, responded: "I think you're reading way too much into it," adding later, "[I]t's not a veiled anything." http://mediamatters.org/items/200804170003 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:33:51 EST CNN's Blitzer asserted Petraeus and Crocker are not "political appointees" -- but Bush appointed both to current positions http://mediamatters.org/items/200804090012 On The Situation Room, Wolf Blitzer said: "General [David] Petraeus is a career military officer. Ambassador [Ryan] Crocker is a career diplomat, a foreign service officer. It's not as if they're political appointees by the Bush administration in which they can sort of, you know, roll up their sleeves and really go after them." In fact, both Petraeus and Crocker were nominated for their current positions by President Bush. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804090012 Wed, 9 Apr 2008 20:57:25 EST CNN, WSJ reported on McCain's Al Qaeda question without noting error http://mediamatters.org/items/200804090003 CNN's The Situation Room and a Wall Street Journal article both noted that, during a Senate hearing, Sen. John McCain asked Gen. David H. Petraeus about whether Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQ-I) is a "major threat," without also noting that McCain went on to ask of Al Qaeda in Iraq: "Certainly not an obscure sect of -- of the Shiites all -- overall?" In fact, AQ-I is a Sunni Muslim, not Shiite, group. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804090003 Wed, 9 Apr 2008 13:56:20 EST CNN finally covers prep school student's question producing McCain's "awkward moment" http://mediamatters.org/items/200804040002 On April 3, CNN finally reported on Episcopal High School student Katelyn Halldorson's question challenging Sen. John McCain to clarify why he was visiting the school if not for political reasons. Media Matters for America previously noted that CNN and MSNBC had failed to report on Halldorson's question despite extensively covering questions posed to Chelsea Clinton about Monica Lewinsky. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804040002 Fri, 4 Apr 2008 13:26:32 EST Following pattern in the media, CNN's King uncritically repeated McCain campaign's false attacks on Democrats http://mediamatters.org/items/200804030007 On The Situation Room, John King uncritically reported that "[i]n a statement, a McCain spokesman took a shot at the other party, saying, 'Americans can't afford the Democrats' liberal agenda to raise taxes, nationalize health care, cut off trade, and crush the economy under big government.' " Following what has become a pattern in the media, King failed to note the significant falsehoods and misleading claims in McCain's statement and simply read it without challenge. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804030007 Thu, 3 Apr 2008 17:33:04 EST CNN's Crowley repeated accusation that Obama "distort[ed]" McCain's "100 years" remark, without reporting what McCain actually said http://mediamatters.org/items/200804020008 On The Situation Room, Candy Crowley stated that Sen. Barack Obama "accus[ed] [Sen. John] McCain of wanting to be in Iraq for another 100 years." She then reported "that is a distortion of what McCain said, and they push back very hard -- the McCain campaign -- when they hear this." In fact, during a January 3 town hall meeting in New Hampshire, McCain said a U.S. military presence in Iraq for the next 100 years would "be fine ... [a]s long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed." http://mediamatters.org/items/200804020008 Wed, 2 Apr 2008 18:49:16 EST