top
|
|
1. MSNBC Blames Voters for Bad NH Polls, If Archie Bunker Called... During MSNBC's live New Hampshire primary night coverage, former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw warned that poll results getting ahead of the voters could turn the public against the media, but then blamed the inaccurate polling on how "people probably are not as honest with pollsters." Chris Matthews, who urged an "inquest" on the polls which all had Barack Obama well ahead of Hillary Clinton in the Granite state when Clinton actually won, saw "an ethnic factor here." Matthews extrapolated on his theory involving "Archie Bunker," the bigoted 1970s TV character: "I've always thought that pollers, people, pollsters who call people up and ask them how they're going to vote, speak in perfect English, and standard English, they speak with a kind of a politically correct manner and it encourages a politically correct answer. I've often thought that if an Archie Bunker voice were to come over the phone, and ask people how they're going to vote, you'd get a more honest answer." 2. Today Brings Aboard Albright to Promote Hillary and Slam Bush On the day of the New Hampshire primary, NBC's Today show booked former Clinton administration Secretary of State and Hillary Clinton supporter Madeleine Albright to praise Hillary's credentials to be "a great commander-in-chief," and slam Bush foreign policy as she declared: "Internationally, I don't think I've ever seen such a mess." Ann Curry cued up Albright: "Bottom line, people feel very hopeless about our being able to improve relations with other nations, of finally being able to restore peace. Through your, through this effort in creating this book is there, is there hope? What would be the most hopeful thing you can say to the American people?" 3. Shipman on Clinton's Crying: 'Unexpected, Spontaneous Emotion' On Tuesday's Good Morning America, reporter Claire Shipman appeared touched by Hillary Clinton's emotional display at a New Hampshire diner on Monday. She exhibited no skepticism about the outpouring, describing it as "unexpected, spontaneous emotion." The ABC reporter rhapsodized: "From this woman in particular, who remains stoic publicly even as her emotional world caved in, who has cultivated such an image of strength and invulnerability, it was a surprise that just might pay off." Much of the segment related to crying in politics and whether it's now thought to be acceptable. However, Shipman clearly appeared to be fascinated with the New York Senator's display of emotion in response to a question from a voter: "And it's so fascinating when you are the first woman to make a serious stab at the presidency, every move, every emotion is fraught and scrutinized." 4. Sawyer Sees Double Standard in Woman v Man Showing 'Emotion' For the second day in a row, Good Morning America provided a gushing forum for Hillary Clinton's spin. On Tuesday's program, co-host Diane Sawyer asked the presidential candidate about her emotional display at a New Hampshire diner on Monday. The ABC journalist sympathetically wondered: "Is it different when a woman shows that kind of emotion and (sic) a man does?" Sawyer certainly never broached the subject of whether Clinton contrived the wavering voice. Instead, she gingerly questioned: "Are you surprised so much is being made this morning?" Regarding the '08 candidate's recent defeat in Iowa, the GMA host carefully asked: "With those numbers coming in, what does President Clinton say to you at night or first thing in the morning? Is there a pep talk?" Sawyer followed up by speculating: "Does Chelsea write you notes and leave them under the door?" 5. On NPR, NH Dems See Hillary as 'Mother Earth,' Cry Over Obama On NPR's evening newscast All Things Considered on Tuesday night, anchor Melissa Block talked to primary voters in Milford, New Hampshire, and the liberal ones were very expressive. One touted Hillary as "Mother Earth...a mother to take care of the country," and another broke down into tears at the similarities in the hopes inspired by Barack Obama and John F. Kennedy. She began with Steven Shaheen, making no effort to confirm or deny whether he was related to former New Hampshire Democratic Governor Jeanne Shaheen: "I just feel the country needs a woman to run this country. I think it needs like a Mother Earth. It needs a mother to take care of the country....That's how I feel, I mean, personally. She struck me as the person with more experience, she seems, you know, with a lot of intelligence, a lot of education, and it's a gut feeling inside -- can't really put words to that." 6. 'Top Ten Signs You're Watching Bad Election Coverage' Letterman's "Top Ten Signs You're Watching Bad Election Coverage."
If Archie Bunker Called... During MSNBC's live New Hampshire primary night coverage, former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw warned that poll results getting ahead of the voters could turn the public against the media, but then blamed the inaccurate polling on how "people probably are not as honest with pollsters." Chris Matthews, who urged an "inquest" on the polls which all had Barack Obama well ahead of Hillary Clinton in the Granite state when Clinton actually won, saw "an ethnic factor here." Matthews extrapolated on his theory involving "Archie Bunker," the bigoted 1970s TV character: "I've always thought that pollers, people, pollsters who call people up and ask them how they're going to vote, speak in perfect English, and standard English, they speak with a kind of a politically correct manner and it encourages a politically correct answer. I've often thought that if an Archie Bunker voice were to come over the phone, and ask people how they're going to vote, you'd get a more honest answer." During the 11pm EST hour, Brokaw warned: "I think that the people out there are going to begin to make judgments about us -- if they haven't already -- if we don't begin to temper that temptation to constantly try to get ahead of what the voters are deciding..." He soon, however, blamed the voters: "I think people probably are not as honest with pollsters when they get called anymore because they're called constantly and they do change their minds. We're in a culture now, Chris, in which attention spans are very short, which people make quick decisions and change them equally quickly." [This item, by the MRC's Brent Baker, was posted Tuesday night on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ] Fuller transcripts of the two sets of comments from Tuesday night, January 8: Tom Brokaw, just after 11pm EST following Barack Obama's concession speech:
"We don't have to get in the business of making judgments before the polls have closed and trying to stampede, in effect, the process. Look, I'm not just picking on us, it's part of the culture in which we live these days. But I think that the people out there are going to begin to make judgments about us -- if they haven't already -- if we don't begin to temper that temptation to constantly try to get ahead of what the voters are deciding in many cases as we learned in New Hampshire when they went into the polling booth today or in the last three days. They were making decisions very late.... Matthews, a few minutes before midnight EST:
"I would like to see an inquest on these polls and the methodology because we have always learned eventually what went wrong with polling. Back in the '36 race, of course, with Alf Landon the underdog against Franklin Roosevelt in his re-election campaign, that was a poll which showed that Alf Landon was going to beat Roosevelt but it turned out it was taken on the telephone and very few people had telephones back then who didn't have any money because nobody had any money. And then of course, the polling that was done in '48 of the infamous Truman-Dewey race. The polling ended like in early October. They just stopped polling way too early.
![]()
Hillary and Slam Bush On the day of the New Hampshire primary, NBC's Today show booked former Clinton administration Secretary of State and Hillary Clinton supporter Madeleine Albright to praise Hillary's credentials to be "a great commander-in-chief," and slam Bush foreign policy as she declared: "Internationally, I don't think I've ever seen such a mess." Ann Curry cued up Albright: "Bottom line, people feel very hopeless about our being able to improve relations with other nations, of finally being able to restore peace. Through your, through this effort in creating this book is there, is there hope? What would be the most hopeful thing you can say to the American people?" [This item, by the MRC's Geoffrey Dickens, was posted Tuesday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ] On to promote her new book, Memo to the President Elect, Albright did receive one skeptical question about whether the Clinton administration had done enough to stop al Qaeda. However that didn't stop Today co-host Ann Curry asking for Albright's foreign policy advice:
ANN CURRY: Bottom line, people feel very hopeless about our being able to improve relations with other nations, of finally being able to restore peace. Through your, through this effort in creating this book is there, is there hope? What would be the most hopeful thing you can say to the American people? The following is the full interview as it occurred on the January 8 Today show:
ANN CURRY: Today the presidential candidates are hoping the voters of New Hampshire will send them on their way to the White House. Well whoever wins will face some major hot spots all around the world, as we all know. Well Madeleine Albright served as Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton from 1992 to 2001. And she is working with Senator Hillary Clinton now. She's also written a new book. It's called Memo To The President Elect: How We Can Restore America's Reputation And Leadership. Madam Secretary, good morning.
![]()
Spontaneous Emotion' On Tuesday's Good Morning America, reporter Claire Shipman appeared touched by Hillary Clinton's emotional display at a New Hampshire diner on Monday. She exhibited no skepticism about the outpouring, describing it as "unexpected, spontaneous emotion." The ABC reporter rhapsodized: "From this woman in particular, who remains stoic publicly even as her emotional world caved in, who has cultivated such an image of strength and invulnerability, it was a surprise that just might pay off." Much of the segment related to crying in politics and whether it's now thought to be acceptable. However, Shipman clearly appeared to be fascinated with the New York Senator's display of emotion in response to a question from a voter: "And it's so fascinating when you are the first woman to make a serious stab at the presidency, every move, every emotion is fraught and scrutinized." [This item, by the MRC's Scott Whitlock, was posted Tuesday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ] Shipman has been one of the more egregious offenders when it comes to gushing over Hillary Clinton. In January of 2007, she wondered how Barack Obama's "fluid poetry" would stand up to the '08 contender's "hot factor." See the January 19, 2007 CyberAlert for more: www.mrc.org A transcript of the segment, which aired at 7:45am on January 8:
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Tears on the campaign trail. That's what everyone was talking about yesterday.
![]()
v Man Showing 'Emotion' For the second day in a row, Good Morning America provided a gushing forum for Hillary Clinton's spin. On Tuesday's program, co-host Diane Sawyer asked the presidential candidate about her emotional display at a New Hampshire diner on Monday. The ABC journalist sympathetically wondered: "Is it different when a woman shows that kind of emotion and (sic) a man does?" Sawyer certainly never broached the subject of whether Clinton contrived the wavering voice. Instead, she gingerly questioned: "Are you surprised so much is being made this morning?" Regarding the '08 candidate's recent defeat in Iowa, the GMA host carefully asked: "With those numbers coming in, what does President Clinton say to you at night or first thing in the morning? Is there a pep talk?" Sawyer followed up by speculating: "Does Chelsea write you notes and leave them under the door?" [This item, by Scott Whitlock, was posted Tuesday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ] Sawyer's tone sounded eerily familiar to another ABC reporter. On December 19, Nightline co-host Cynthia McFadden spent a day with Clinton on the campaign trail. During a fawning interview, she queried: "There's never a night, when you go back to whatever hotel room, whatever city you're in that night, and crawl in a ball and say, 'I just, this just hurts too much?'" For more on this, see the December 21 CyberAlert: www.mrc.org A transcript of the segment, which aired at 7:02am on January 8:
DIANE SAWYER: But let's take a look now at what has become, as of this morning, the emblem of pressure and the passion in this long contest. As you know, yesterday Hillary Clinton welled up with tears while talking to voters at a café. And all night long, people have been talking about the emotion on the campaign trail. Is it different for men? Is it different for women? I had a chance to ask these questions of the senator herself when I talked to her.
![]()
Earth,' Cry Over Obama On NPR's evening newscast All Things Considered on Tuesday night, anchor Melissa Block talked to primary voters in Milford, New Hampshire, and the liberal ones were very expressive. One touted Hillary as "Mother Earth...a mother to take care of the country," and another broke down into tears at the similarities in the hopes inspired by Barack Obama and John F. Kennedy. She began with Steven Shaheen, making no effort to confirm or deny whether he was related to former New Hampshire Democratic Governor Jeanne Shaheen: "I just feel the country needs a woman to run this country. I think it needs like a Mother Earth. It needs a mother to take care of the country....That's how I feel, I mean, personally. She struck me as the person with more experience, she seems, you know, with a lot of intelligence, a lot of education, and it's a gut feeling inside -- can't really put words to that." Block talked to a Romney voter, and a man who chose McCain over Giuliani as he stood in the voting booth. But they were straightforward and unemotional. Block ended with state Rep. Gil Shattuck, who far outdid Hillary Clinton by breaking down into tears as he proudly displayed his Obama button. Obama "represents the hope of real change in Washington that many of us have not felt [starts crying]...since Kennedy." [This item, by the MRC's Tim Graham, was posted Tuesday night on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ] Let's hope Block was carrying Kleenex. Block told her fellow anchors in Washington it was "such a surprising moment for me," with the old pol "getting so emotional there remembering his hopes with the election of JFK, and remembering the tragedy that followed." Audio of the story: www.npr.org
![]()
Coverage' From the January 8 Late Show with David Letterman, the "Top Ten Signs You're Watching Bad Election Coverage." Late Show home page: www.cbs.com For video of Letterman reading this list: www.cbs.com 10. TV reporters seem to be using the word "dude" a lot 9. Because of the writers strike, they show reruns of the Reagan-Mondale election 8. Exit polling question: "Did you have trouble finding the exit?" 7. Three candidates each received 50% of the votes 6. Top half of screen shows election coverage, bottom half is "American Gladiators" 5. Pundit says it's looking unlikely Bush will be re-elected 4. It's 3 hours of Dog the Bounty Hunter yelling racial slurs 3. Correspondent spends most of the evening hitting on Kucinich's hot wife 2. Wolf Blitzer wanders on set screaming, "Top story -- daddy's drunk!" 1. Still haven't projected winner from Iowa
-- Brent Baker ![]()
Home | News Division
| Bozell Columns | CyberAlerts |
|
|
|