Networks Show Little Concern over Kerry Insult
Not as Eager About Kerry’s “Crooked”
Charge as Bush’s “Asshole”
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When microphones in 2000 picked up Republican candidate George W. Bush telling running mate Dick Cheney that he thought New York Times reporter Adam Clymer was “a major league asshole,” the personal remark led that night’s newscasts on ABC, CBS and NBC with all three condemning Bush’s tone. Dan Rather blasted Bush for his “meanness and nastiness.” But on Wednesday night of this week, after Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry was caught charging that, of those in the Bush administration, “these guys are the most crooked, you know, lying group that I’ve ever seen,” a very serious and personal allegation, ABC, CBS and NBC played the clip, but neither ABC or CBS led with it and ABC avoided offering a value judgment about it. (NBC tagged it “harsh” and CBS suggested it displayed the “dark side” of politics.)
Arguably, Kerry’s shot is more newsworthy since it represented an unsubstantiated allegation of criminal wrongdoing by the incumbent administration while in 2000, though Bush’s remark may have been intemperate, it was about someone not on any ballot and did not suggest Clymer did anything criminal.
Bush commented on Clymer on September 4, 2000, which was Labor Day, and it led ABC’s World News Tonight as holiday substitute anchor Kevin Newman warned: “Increasingly, Governor Bush is seen to be falling behind in the polls, which may test his often-stated desire to bring a new tone of civility to politics. Well today he was caught on tape with a decidedly uncivil comment, the kind that could get in the way of what the Bush campaign would rather talk about, which is debates.”
NBC Nightly News anchor John Seigenthaler topped his newscast by pronouncing: “Governor Bush may have stepped on his message of restoring honor and dignity to the White House today when a microphone caught him making an undignified remark about a newspaper reporter.”
Returning to work the day after Labor Day, CBS’s Dan Rather lectured: “On one bit of campaign meanness and nastiness in particular, George Bush now says he’s sorry his gutter language and personal attack was picked up by a microphone at a campaign stop yesterday, but he refuses to apologize for the substance of his comment. Bush’s remark was about Adam Clymer, a New York Times reporter whose coverage he doesn’t like.”
Bush clip from Monday: “There’s Adam Clymer, a major league [bleep]hole from the New York Times.”
Cheney: “Yeah, he is, big time.”
Rather went on with his diatribe: “You may want to note there’s a long history of politicians attacking the press and Bush did not apologize for what he said about the Times reporter.<font size=3> Reactions to Bush’s comment included this one today from Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa [with ellipses as shown on screen]: 'It would be better if no person...spoke about others in that fashion.’ By the way, several major newspapers today quoted the Bush comment directly [Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, USA Today logos on screen.]. The New York Times itself did not, saying only that Bush quote, 'used an obscenity to describe a New York Times correspondent.’”
For more on 2000 coverage of Bush’s “asshole” remark, see the September 5 CyberAlert: www.mediaresearch.org
And the September 6 CyberAlert: www.mediaresearch.org
A rundown of how ABC, CBS and NBC treated Kerry’s remark made Wednesday morning, March 10, to a group of men in a barren-looking building in Chicago. It occurred after Kerry finished speaking by satellite to AFL-CIO leaders in Florida. Kerry had his back to the camera with a technician behind him rounding up cable and un-clipping Kerry as Kerry made his allegation.
-- ABC’s World News Tonight led with Bush trying to address job loss. Jennings teased: “The President contends with angry and worried voters today.”
Jennings opened the broadcast, as taken down by MRC analyst Brad Wilmouth, without any mention of Kerry’s remark: “Good evening, everyone. We begin tonight with the political battle being waged about economic recovery in the country. The presidential campaigns are deep into disagreement about how to deal with the most important issue. Today, the President made his fifteenth visit to Ohio since he was elected. Ohio voted Republican in 2000, but it is every bit a battleground this time.”
After Terry Moran’s piece, ABC ran a contrarian story about how economists think outsourcing is good for the economy. Jennings introduced the piece: “In the next eight months it’s not likely you’ll hear either Mr. Bush or Mr. Kerry acknowledge what many economists believe, that sending some jobs overseas is actually good for the overall economy.” Dean Reynolds began: “Outsourcing: It’s become a dirty word to American workers, but the fact is that most economists see it as a good thing.”
For the third story of the night, Jennings introduced a look, by George Stephanopoulos, at the new use of “527" groups to get around McCain-Feingold: “Now, we turn back to politics and money and legal loopholes. Last year, Congress barred the national parties from spending huge amounts of money to help their presidential candidates. But as many people thought would happen, a slew of political groups sprouted to take advantage of a loophole. And they are largely critical of President Bush. And they have unleashed an expensive advertising campaign to beat him.”
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Then, in the fourth place slot, Jennings got to Kerry’s comment: “As George knows, in our campaign notebook today, some unguarded remarks by Senator Kerry. He was talking to some supporters in Chicago.”
With the words on screen matching the audio, ABC showed the video of Kerry: “Oh yeah, don’t worry, man. Thank you. We’re gonna keep pounding, let me tell you. We’re just beginning to fight here. These guys are, these guys are the most crooked, you know, lying group that I’ve ever seen.”
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Jennings: “One of Kerry’s aides said he was referring to, quote, 'the Republican attack machine.’ A spokesman for the President said it was part of Kerry’s relentlessly negative campaign.”
-- The CBS Evening News, with Dan Rather in Baghdad, led with the killing in Iraq of a civilian U.S. DOD woman, Fern Holland.
Second, Bill Plante took up how Bush and Kerry are addressing the jobs issue with Bush playing offense in Ohio which has had “huge job losses.”
<font size=4>Third<font size=3>, anchor John Roberts set up a story about “a new onslaught of nasty advertisements the campaigns aren’t paying for” -- the same “527" phenomenon looked at by ABC.
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Within that story, Byron Pitts ran the Kerry video.<font size=3>
Pitts began: “With the Democratic nomination safely in his pocket, John Kerry promised supporters in Chicago last night:”
Kerry: “Change is coming to America.”
Pitts: “That’s the sunny side of American politics. Today the dark side showed up. Listen to this conversation we overheard between Kerry and a union voter-”
Man at front of small group, to Kerry as two shake hands: “Keep smiling.”
Pitts: “-discussing the Republican quote, 'attack machine.’”
Kerry: “We’re going to keep pounding, let me tell you. We’re just beginning to fight here. These guys are, these guys are the most crooked, you know, lying group that I’ve ever seen.”
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Pitts then moved on:<font size=3> “Voters in 18 battleground states will now see an increasing number of attack ads starting today.. Democrats have taken the leading in using campaign finance laws that allow surrogate organizations, like MoveOn, to finance attack ads.”
Ad clip on how “George Bush’s priorities are eroding the American dream.”
Pitts proceeded to note how Republicans also have a surrogate group, Citizens United, doing an ad and he played a clip of it in which the announcer described Kerry as “another rich liberal elitist from Massachusetts.”
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-- NBC Nightly News. Unlike ABC, and CBS, Brokaw noted Kerry’s outburst in his tease: “Decision 2004: President Bush’s prescription for an ailing job market and Senator Kerry’s harsh words in this unguarded moment.”
David Gregory began his lead story by focusing on how Bush went to Ohio<font size=3> because “the President knows well that Ohio has become Ground Zero in this campaign for America’s vanishing jobs, a political reality that brought him to Cleveland today where he tried to convince voters here that he gets it.”
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Gregory then got to Kerry: “For his part, Kerry accused the President of exporting jobs rather than creating them. Perhaps forgetting that he was still wearing a microphone after a satellite speech, he was even harsher.”
Kerry, with words on screen: “We’re just beginning to fight here. These guys are, these guys are the most crooked, you know, lying group that I’ve ever seen.”
Gregory: “Tonight the Bush team dismisses that remark from Senator Kerry as a smear. Still, the jobs issue remains a major political liability for this President in an election year.<font size=3> As a result, the White House will soon name a manufacturing czar whose job it will be to concentrate on how to reverse job losses in key states like Ohio.”
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