Dobbs cited Obama's “newly painted Boeing 757 aircraft” as an example of hubris, but McCain has a jet too

Written by Meredith Adams

Published

Lou Dobbs pointed to Sen. Barack Obama's “newly painted Boeing 757 aircraft, sprayed with, of course, the Obama campaign slogan” as an example of Obama's alleged “hubris.” But Dobbs neglected to note that in June, Sen. John McCain unveiled his own Boeing 737 jet, with the words “JohnMcCain.com” emblazoned on it.

On the July 30 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, Dobbs repeated a GOP talking point attacking Sen. Barack Obama for his alleged "hubris." In support of his characterization, Dobbs pointed to “Obama's newly painted Boeing 757 aircraft, sprayed with, of course, the Obama campaign slogan.” But Dobbs neglected to note that in June, Sen. John McCain unveiled his own Boeing 737 jet, which, as The Washington Post blog The Trail noted, has “the words 'JohnMcCain.com' emblazoned on it.”

Dobbs quoted a July 30 Washington Post column by Dana Milbank -- which was picked up by the Republican National Committee and the McCain campaign -- in which Milbank wrote that while Obama “has long been his party's presumptive nominee,” "[n]ow he's becoming its presumptuous nominee." As Media Matters for America documented, Milbank misrepresented quotes in his column, neglected to do basic reporting, and advanced the baseless suggestion that actions Obama has reportedly taken are unprecedented for a presidential candidate.

In the same segment, Dobbs cited the latest USA Today/Gallup poll as giving “McCain a four-point lead among likely voters, 49 percent to 45 percent,” but did not report that in the findings among registered voters -- which Gallup editor Frank Newport said " are much more important at the moment" -- Obama leads McCain.

From the July 30 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight:

DOBBS: Well, some in the predominantly liberal national media are beginning to question Senator Obama's presidential style that he has taken on the campaign trail. In fact, Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank today said Obama's long been the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee. Now Milbank is saying that he is really his party's presumptuous nominee.

Milbank saying, quote, “Obama's biggest challenger may not be Republican John McCain ... but rather his own hubris.” Milbank notes that Obama has become what he calls a president in waiting. One example, Obama's use of a presidential-style seal of a campaign event last month, one that neglected to include “E pluribus unum,” by the way. Another example, Obama's newly painted Boeing 757 aircraft, sprayed with, of course, the Obama campaign slogan.

Much of the national media remains strongly biased in favor of Senator Obama. That was clear during Obama's overseas tour last week. The highly respected Project for Excellence in Journalism says coverage of Obama's trip accounted for 51 percent of all campaign stories last week -- 51 percent -- and they also reported that Obama was -- what it called a significant or dominant factor in 81 percent of all campaign reports last week.

By contrast, Senator McCain was a significant or dominant factor in only 53 percent of campaign coverage. Despite all of that, Senator Obama did not achieve a bounce in the polls from his overseas adventure, a bounce that his campaign had hoped for, of course. In point of fact, the latest USA Today/Gallup poll gives McCain a four-point lead among likely voters, 49 percent to 45 percent. Other polls also indicate Obama's grand tour failed to excite voters in this country. Voters telling pollsters that Obama's trip did not help increase his standing with them on foreign policy issues.