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Bob Wall
Senior Member
Username: Brewdudebob
Post Number: 1947
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 12:06 pm: | 
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This, coming from one of the most liberal news anchors in recent history:
Rather: Biden Crisis Remark Shows Media Bias
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 5:00 PM
By: Rick Pedraza
Former CBS anchorman Dan Rather says there is a huge double-standard in the media when it comes to coverage the Barack Obama campaign receives, which is clearly made evident in the lack of scrutiny given to comments Obama’s vice presidential running mate Sen. Joe Biden made earlier this week.
On Sunday, Biden said that electing Obama president will generate "an international crisis" within the first six months of his new administration because America’s enemies will want to test Obama.
"Watch — we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy," Biden assured. “I don’t know what the decision is going to be, but I promise you it will occur. As a student of history, and having served with seven presidents, I guarantee you it is going to happen.”
Rather, speaking today on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe" cable program, told host Joe Scarborough that if Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin had said such a thing about her running mate John McCain, it would be “the top story in every major American paper and on every network.”
Rather says the Obama campaign "can’t be happy" about Biden’s comments and is surprised there haven’t been more political ramifications to Biden’s gaffe.
“Certainly if Sarah Palin had said this, it would be above the fold in most newspapers today," Rather said. "But let me point out that what happens on the Internet may be as important, or more important, than what’s happening in newspapers,” he added, referring to the spotty mainstream media coverage.
“I’ll be surprised if this doesn’t have a run on the Internet, because if Sarah Palin had said this, the newspapers would have jumped all over it, and so would the major television outlets.”
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/rather_biden_crisis/2008/10/21/142669.html |
Dan Listermann
Senior Member
Username: Listermann
Post Number: 6027
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 12:36 pm: |
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The "bias" may have more to do with the fact that Obama and Palin are more interesting than Biden and McCain than it has to a political leaning. Clearly Palin gets far more coverage than Biden for the same reason Obama get more coverage than McCain. The media has to cater to the public's interests or risk losing market share. It is called "capitalism." Most people think that it is a good thing. |
Bob Wall
Senior Member
Username: Brewdudebob
Post Number: 1949
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 12:53 pm: |
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Gimme a colossal break Dan. If Palin had made this remark about McCain, the media would be on it like a rat on a cheeto. Nothing you or anyone can say will change the fact that there is a preponderance of liberal bias in most of today's media. Even Dan Rather, the guy who tried to torpedo George W. Bush's campaign, agrees with this. |
Bill Pierce
Moderator
Username: Billpierce
Post Number: 9377
Registered: 01-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 01:02 pm: |
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I suspect you're both right to some extent, Bob and Dan. The media seems to be waking up to Biden's remarks, however. I expect there will be more discussion of this for at least the next few days (the attention span of both the media and the public is short).
As for the relative amount of coverage each of the candidates receives, it's clear that Obama and Palin are deemed of more general (as opposed to political) interest. There is a significant portion of the public that views them from a tabloid perspective, that is, like athletes, rock stars and celebrities. I'm sure I'll get slammed for this, but to many people (I know some of them) there is not that much difference between Sarah Palin and Britney Spears.  |
Dan Listermann
Senior Member
Username: Listermann
Post Number: 6028
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 01:07 pm: |
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Bob, do you not think that any new president will be tested? Is McCain so wonderful that that can't happen to him? Biden was pointing this out. The biased rightist media is taking this out of context for their own gain. |
Bob Wall
Senior Member
Username: Brewdudebob
Post Number: 1950
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 02:44 pm: |
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Horse Hockey Dan. Biden made it absolutely clear when he said "Watch — we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy," that he feels world leaders are going to poke a stick in our beehive because of Obama's percieved inexperience. He didn't say this about McCain, he said it about Obama.
Whether I think McCain would be tested in his first six months is irrelevant as it was not Palin who illustrated this damning scenario regarding her running mate.
Obama's choice in Biden as a running mate underscores his lack of judement in who he associates with. |
Dan Listermann
Senior Member
Username: Listermann
Post Number: 6029
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 03:23 pm: |
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"
Obama's choice in Biden as a running mate underscores his lack of judement in who he associates with."
I would not cast stones about Obama's judgement in choosing a running mate if I were a McCain supporter. |
Paul Hayslett
Senior Member
Username: Paulhayslett
Post Number: 1846
Registered: 02-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 03:40 pm: |
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I'm afraid I don't see what was so newsworthy about the statement in the first place. Michael Chertoff said pretty much exactly the same thing a couple days ago and it wasn't newsworthy then either.
Yes, somebody, somewhere is going to bet that a new, young President, consumed with the transition and with the domestic economy, will be an easy touch. That person will "poke a stick in our beehive". It's so true that it's boring. Maybe the only thing newsworthy about it was that a political candidate actually said something truthful during the campaign.
The rest of Biden's comment was, basically: 1) Obama is up to the task of dealing with this stuff, and 2) it will require that he does some stuff liberals won't like, but they'll have to hold their noses and back him. The first is standard (i.e., boring) campaign stuff about him being Presidential material. The second is part of the "post-partisan" message the campaign has been preaching for 20 months now.
<snooze>
As for the "liberal bias" in the MSM: I'll bet that's partly due to a "liberal bias" in the general population, at least during this electoral cycle. Dan has a point that the media are, to some extent, giving people what they want. A lot of people want to watch/read/hear coverage with that particular slant.
Many conservatives start from the assumption that the masses are conservative by nature and that the liberal bias is some huge fraud perpetrated on them by a small liberal elite. That's kind of like saying that the masses want full-flavored craft beer and only drink macro-swill due to the huge fraud of BMC advertising. It seems like fraud only because of the starting assumption, and that may not hold up under examination.
I find it easier to believe that the numbers of conservative and liberals in the country roughly match the numbers of people who tune in to the respectively biased media. (Yes, Fox News is biased too. Get over it already.) Market forces have probably generated a pretty accurate picture of who we are as a nation. If there is more "liberal-bias" media on the air, it probably means that more people are liberal at heart.
(Message edited by PaulHayslett on October 22, 2008) |
Denny Conn
Senior Member
Username: Denny
Post Number: 7004
Registered: 01-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 06:23 pm: |
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Bob, maybe it's because you don't pay attention to MSM, but I can assure you that Biden's remark was on every news show I watched yesterday.
And how about conservative media bias? All the conservative news shows went crazy over Edward's $400 haircuts, but I have yet to hear mention of Palin's $150K wardrobe on Fox.
(Message edited by denny on October 22, 2008) |
Keith M Williams
Member
Username: Grok
Post Number: 238
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 08:57 pm: |
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If Obama is elected, there will be an international crisis BEFORE the inauguration. Like Israel doing something drastic while W is still at the helm.
Just dusting off my crystal ball. |
Dan Listermann
Senior Member
Username: Listermann
Post Number: 6040
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 09:02 pm: |
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Do you think it would be different if McCain is elected instead of Obama?
(Message edited by listermann on October 22, 2008) |
Keith M Williams
Member
Username: Grok
Post Number: 240
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 09:10 pm: |
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Magic 8 ball says, Don't know. |
Bob Wall
Senior Member
Username: Brewdudebob
Post Number: 1958
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 09:17 pm: |
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Do you think it would be different is McCain is elected instead of Obama?
No. |
Dan Listermann
Senior Member
Username: Listermann
Post Number: 6041
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 09:53 pm: |
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Hey Bob, I agree with you. Do you think you can convince McCain / Palin of that? |
Bob Wall
Senior Member
Username: Brewdudebob
Post Number: 1960
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 01:12 am: |
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Dan, I could no more convince them of that than to have you open your tiny and narrow mind. |
Dan Listermann
Senior Member
Username: Listermann
Post Number: 6043
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 01:15 am: |
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LOL! You are a gas! |
Chumley
Senior Member
Username: Chumley
Post Number: 5631
Registered: 02-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 03:22 pm: |
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If ultra-liberal and biased Dan Rather says the ultra-liberal media is biased, isn't there some mathematical axiom that would translate that to mean that the media is actually conservative and non-biased?
i.e., (-)*(-)= + |
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