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1. NBC and CBS Honor Marine Posthumously Awarded Silver Star Wednesday's NBC and CBS evening newscasts paid tribute to only the third Marine private ever, and the first since Vietnam, to be awarded the Silver Star, for heroism in the battle for Fallujah, who was killed in July during his third tour in Iraq. "At Camp Pendleton today," NBC's Brian Williams reported at the end of his newscast, "a ceremony to honor a fallen U.S. Marine." Williams outlined how "Corporal Sean Stokes was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, accepted by his dad for his heroism during the battle for Fallujah back in '04 when he was a private. Stokes is just the third buck private to receive the Silver Star in the past 40 years of U.S. military history, the first since the Vietnam war." The CBS Evening News concluded with a full story on the award to Stokes. Reporter Ben Tracy explained how Stokes was a "former athlete who chose the Marines over college after 9/11." Noting he was "only a private," Tracy related how "Sean stood out, often volunteering to go in first, directly in the line of fire. Wounded several times, he made it home twice." Interspersed with reflection's from the Marine hero's father, Tracy observed that "this morning, on what would have been his 25th birthday, Sean was awarded the coveted Silver Star for courage in battle." 2. ABC's Shipman on Women Voters: Who is the More 'Appealing' Dem? Continuing the trend of focusing on Democrats and issues important to Democratic voters, Good Morning America reporter Claire Shipman on Wednesday delved into the psyche of women voters. Of course, this meant exclusively examining female voters who are choosing between liberal presidential candidates. Describing the dilemma of a group of women in California, she enthused: "For many of these Democratic women, it was a struggle between two extremely appealing candidates." 3. Vieira's Friends Only Considered Voting for Clinton or Obama Catching up with a revealing comment from Monday morning, the day before the New York primary, Today show co-host Meredith Vieira recalled how over the weekend in her suburban New York town she was "with a group of friends" who "were trying to choose between Clinton and Obama." She then recited how those for both liberal candidates cited the "electability" of their preferred candidate, but Vieira didn't say anything about having any friends struggling between John McCain and Mitt Romney. Could that be because she doesn't have any friends close enough to hang around with on weekends who would consider voting Republican? 4. CBS's Rodriguez: The Impact of the Youth Vote -- for Democrats On Wednesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez reported on the importance of the youth vote in the 2008 election, but seemed unable to find any young people who supported Republican candidates: "Young voters are having a huge impact on this election. Exit polls show 14% of registered Democrats who voted on Super Tuesday were under 30. The majority went for Obama." Rodriguez, who was on assignment in California, made a trip to UCLA and talked solely to young supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton: "22-year-old Natalie Gonzalez is a Clinton supporter. Why are you so excited about this?...Curtis Whatley is supporting Obama." 5. CNN's Martin: Obama Should Emphasize His Liberal Record CNN contributor Roland Martin, commenting on the results of Super Tuesday on Wednesday's American Morning, advised Barack Obama to indirectly play-up his liberal credentials in order to do better in upcoming caucuses and primaries. One such item was Obama's visible support of the pro-illegal immigration marches in 2007: "He has to be able to take the Hispanic supporters and say, look, this is a guy who we are behind....[H]e did make the point that he was only one of two U.S. Senators who actually marched in many of those immigration marches around the country. People probably forget that. If you don't make the point, they don't know." 6. Letterman's 'Top Ten Signs John McCain Is Getting Too Cocky' Letterman's "Top Ten Signs John McCain Is Getting Too Cocky."
Awarded Silver Star Wednesday's NBC and CBS evening newscasts paid tribute to only the third Marine private ever, and the first since Vietnam, to be awarded the Silver Star, for heroism in the battle for Fallujah, who was killed in July during his third tour in Iraq. "At Camp Pendleton today," NBC's Brian Williams reported at the end of his newscast, "a ceremony to honor a fallen U.S. Marine." Williams outlined how "Corporal Sean Stokes was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, accepted by his dad for his heroism during the battle for Fallujah back in '04 when he was a private. Stokes is just the third buck private to receive the Silver Star in the past 40 years of U.S. military history, the first since the Vietnam war." The CBS Evening News concluded with a full story on the award to Stokes. Reporter Ben Tracy explained how Stokes was a "former athlete who chose the Marines over college after 9/11." Noting he was "only a private," Tracy related how "Sean stood out, often volunteering to go in first, directly in the line of fire. Wounded several times, he made it home twice." Interspersed with reflection's from the Marine hero's father, Tracy observed that "this morning, on what would have been his 25th birthday, Sean was awarded the coveted Silver Star for courage in battle." [This item was posted Thursday morning on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ] (Such prominence in the media for a military hero is unusual, a 2006 MRC study discovered. "Touting Military Misdeeds, Hiding Heroes" determined that the ABC, CBS and NBC morning and evening shows gave little attention since 9/11 to those who have earned the military's highest honors.) A February 5 Sacramento Bee article, "Father hopes fallen Marine's heroism will inspire others," online at: www.sacbee.com A Human Events posting from last summer which recounted Stokes' heroism: www.humanevents.com The Sean Andrew Stokes Memorial Organization Web site: www.sasmemorial.org
The short, but respectful, item from Williams at the end of the February 6 NBC Nightly News: The Nightly News Web site has a longer "Web-only" video story from NBC's Peter Alexander: www.msnbc.msn.com The MRC's Brad Wilmouth corrected the closed-captioning against the video to provide this transcript of the final story on the February 6 CBS Evening News: KATIE COURIC: With violence in Iraq down, it's easy to forget that Americans continue to die there. The toll now approaching 4,000. Americans like Sean Stokes of Auburn, California, the only Marine private awarded the Silver Star in this war. Ben Tracy tells his story.
BEN TRACY: This may be one of the proudest moments of Gary Stokes' life, but it's also one he would trade for anything in the world. CBSNews.com video of this story: www.cbsnews.com Video of a story aired on San Diego's Fox affiliate: www.fox6.com And video of a piece run by San Diego's NBC affiliate: video.nbcsandiego.com
the More 'Appealing' Dem? Continuing the trend of focusing on Democrats and issues important to Democratic voters, Good Morning America reporter Claire Shipman on Wednesday delved into the psyche of women voters. Of course, this meant exclusively examining female voters who are choosing between liberal presidential candidates. Describing the dilemma of a group of women in California, she enthused: "For many of these Democratic women, it was a struggle between two extremely appealing candidates." Such flowery language about two liberals White House contenders shouldn't be surprising. In January of 2007, Shipman famously depicted the battle between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as a contest of "fluid poetry" versus "hot factor." See the January 19, 2007 CyberAlert for more: www.mrc.org [This item, by the MRC's Scott Whitlock, was posted Wednesday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ] Recounting the decision making process of five Super Tuesday voters, Shipman discussed the quandary of one woman who, as the ABC reporter put it, "initially felt the tug toward Hillary so many of her contemporaries did." According to voter Laura Chick, "[Women have] struggled against the glass ceiling all their lives. And, to them, having Hillary Clinton elected president is the culmination of their life struggle." It is true that 57 percent of those who voted Democrat on Super Tuesday are women, but GMA has consistently focused on issues and subjects that relate to the Democratic side of the 2008 primaries. For instance, in early January of '08, the day before the New Hampshire primary, Good Morning America devoted 15 minutes to the Democratic race and only 31 seconds for the Republican contest. See the January 8 CyberAlert: www.mrc.org A transcript of the segment, which aired at 7:31am on February 6: ROBIN ROBERTS: But, now more on the race to '08. And from New York, to Alabama, California, to Connecticut, women emerged as the strongest voice on Super Tuesday for the Democrats. They made up a whopping 57 percent of the vote in the Democratic primaries. ABC's senior national correspondent Claire Shipman joins us now from Los Angeles with more on that. Good morning, Claire.
CLAIRE SHIPMAN: Good morning, Robin. They made up the front lines for Hillary Clinton. And we grabbed some of the women who were voting here in California, just after they cast their ballot to talk about it. It was still a difficult decision for a lot of them. And we found differences among the Democratic women we talked to based on age, based on race. But, interestingly, the Hillary supporters say they were not voting for her just because she was a woman. Heavy turnout among female voters gave Hillary Clinton a critical boost.
for Clinton or Obama Catching up with a revealing comment from Monday morning, the day before the New York primary, Today show co-host Meredith Vieira recalled how over the weekend in her suburban New York town she was "with a group of friends" who "were trying to choose between Clinton and Obama." She then recited how those for both liberal candidates cited the "electability" of their preferred candidate, but Vieira didn't say anything about having any friends struggling between John McCain and Mitt Romney. Could that be because she doesn't have any friends close enough to hang around with on weekends who would consider voting Republican?
In the February 4 interview session, with Democratic strategist Paul Begala, Republican operative Mike Murphy and Michele Noris of NPR, Vieira included her weekend activities in a question: Vieira lives in a town in Westchester County, New York. Vieira's blog: meredithtoday.ivillage.com [This item, by the MRC's Brent Baker, was posted Wednesday night on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ] The MRC's Geoffrey Dickens alerted me to Vieira's telling disclosure.
Vote -- for Democrats On Wednesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez reported on the importance of the youth vote in the 2008 election, but seemed unable to find any young people who supported Republican candidates: "Young voters are having a huge impact on this election. Exit polls show 14% of registered Democrats who voted on Super Tuesday were under 30. The majority went for Obama." Rodriguez, who was on assignment in California, made a trip to UCLA and talked solely to young supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton: "22-year-old Natalie Gonzalez is a Clinton supporter. Why are you so excited about this?...Curtis Whatley is supporting Obama." [This item, by Kyle Drennen, was posted Wednesday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ] Rodriguez also discussed the importance of the internet in attracting young voters, once again something only Democrats seem to do: "Call them the Facebook generation. 18 to 29-year-olds who are going face-to-face, chatting on-line, sharing opinions. More than 50 million strong. They're a potential gold mine for the candidate who can connect with them. There are videos like this one [shows a clip of an Obama video on-line] seen and heard by 11 million people in just one week." Rodriguez did make brief mention of young supporters of Republican candidates, their kids: "Also on the rise is the presence of the candidate's kids. Chelsea Clinton, Meagan McCain, Romney's five sons, and Sarah Huckabee." This was quickly followed by highlighting celebrity endorsements for Obama and Clinton: "And the influence of celebrities galvanizing the younger generations. Usher campaigning for Obama. Magic Johnson courting voters with Clinton. So while the field of candidates is winnowing down, the power of the youth vote is growing up." Finally, Rodriguez cited well-known political expert Sean (P Diddy) Combs: "This week rap mogul Sean Combs, who has a huge following, called the young adult vote 'a sleeping giant.'" Full transcript of the February 6 segment aired at 8:30:
MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: This exciting presidential campaign has roused interest among one group of voters normally not known for their participation, young adults. Surveys show the percentage of Americans between 18 and 29 paying attention to the campaign has grown from 13% in 2000 to 42% in 2004 and, get this, 74% this year. What's behind this increase? Last night I met up with some students at UCLA. At colleges across the country young voters like these were glued to the TVs. 22-year-old Natalie Gonzalez is a Clinton supporter. Why are you so excited about this?
His Liberal Record CNN contributor Roland Martin, commenting on the results of Super Tuesday on Wednesday's American Morning, advised Barack Obama to indirectly play-up his liberal credentials in order to do better in upcoming caucuses and primaries. One such item was Obama's visible support of the pro-illegal immigration marches in 2007: "He has to be able to take the Hispanic supporters and say, look, this is a guy who we are behind....[H]e did make the point that he was only one of two U.S. Senators who actually marched in many of those immigration marches around the country. People probably forget that. If you don't make the point, they don't know." Earlier in the segment, which started 45 minutes into the 6am EST hour, Martin, who appeared with American Morning co-host John Roberts, detailed some of the problems Obama might face in the future: "But the problem is this -- in every Democratic primary, women have made up about 57 plus percent of all voters in various primaries. That is a critical voting block, and so, he has to be able to really grab a lion's share." This prompted the question from Roberts: "As we saw in many of the states across the country last night -- the Super Tuesday races, with the exception of Illinois, she won the majority of the Hispanic vote as well. How much of a problem for that?" Martin first brought up Obama's past working in low-income neighborhoods in Chicago: "I think part of the problem here, and I think when it comes to Hispanics, but also dealing with low income voters, is that Obama does not focus more on the community organizing days. If you actually listen to Michelle Obama's speech on Sunday in Los Angeles and UCLA, that's actually the speech that he should be giving. She talked about going to public schools. She talked about being out there, working with steel workers, working in public housing complexes." What Martin said immediately afterwards concerning Obama is puzzling, given Hillary Clinton's own "privileged" background of going to Wellesley and Yale Law School: "The perception is that he is a candidate that went to Harvard University, you know, University of Chicago, Constitutional Law professor. But he has to be able to connect with people saying -- wait a minute, I'm there with you. My mom was on food stamps. I understand what it felt like from being a single parent household. He has to make that case better." The full transcript of the segment on the February 6 American Morning:
JOHN ROBERTS: 45 minutes after the hour. Barack Obama is still playing the role of underdog. But after last night, there is a new feeling of momentum. Here's what he told supporters last night.
Is Getting Too Cocky' From the February 6 Late Show with David Letterman, the "Top Ten Signs John McCain Is Getting Too Cocky." Late Show home page: www.cbs.com 10. Canceled tomorrow's campaign appearances so he doesn't miss "Lost" 9. Spent the afternoon roughing up Romney supporters 8. Last night, he blew half campaign war chest playing internet poker 7. Already working on his 2012 re-election strategy 6. Plans to campaign for the next three days in "Vodkachusetts" 5. Recently told voter "Keep that ugly ass baby away from me" 4. Now refers to Mike Huckabee as "Mike Suckabee" 3. Has started yelling, "Bingo!" when he doesn't even have bingo (come on, folks, he's old!) 2. Renamed his campaign bus the "Bite Me Express" 1. Went to Mexico with Jessica Simpson For video of Letterman reading the list: www.cbs.com
-- Brent Baker
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