The RNC goes after Matthews. They also released a video version.
DEMOCRAT CHRIS MATTHEWS’ SELECTIVE “ANALYSIS”
Matthews Pinch Hits For Edwards
And Strikes Out The Truth
________________________________________________
MSNBC’S CHRIS MATTHEWS CLAIMS: “Last night, we showed a tape on our show, on MSNBC, establishing the fact in no uncertain terms that the Vice President had asserted on ‘Meet The Press’ that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11.” (NBC’s “Today,” 10/6/04)
THE TRUTH: VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY NEVER
SAID IRAQ WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR 9/11
Asked By NBC’s Tim Russert If U.S. Could Sustain Effort In Iraq, Vice President Made Clear That Terrorists “Understand What’s At Stake” There And That Establishing Peaceful Democracy In Iraq Would Strike “Major Blow” For Freedom In Terrorist’s “Geographical Base,” The Middle East. NBC’S TIM RUSSERT: “Can we keep 150,000 troops [in Iraq]beyond next spring without, in effect, breaking the Army?” VICE PRESIDENT RICHARD CHENEY: “Tim, we can do what we have to do to prevail in this conflict. Failure’s not an option. And go back again and think about what’s involved here. This is not just about Iraq or just about the difficulties we might encounter in any one part of the country in terms of restoring security and stability. This is about a continuing operation on the war on terror. And it’s very, very important we get it right. If we’re successful in Iraq, if we can stand up a good representative government in Iraq, that secures the region so that it never again becomes a threat to its neighbors or to the United States, so it’s not pursuing weapons of mass destruction, so that it’s not a safe haven for terrorists, now we will have struck a major blow right at the heart of the base, if you will, the geographic base of the terrorists who have had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11. They understand what’s at stake here. That’s one of the reasons they’re putting up as much of a struggle as they have, is because they know if we succeed here, that that’s going to strike a major blow at their capabilities.” (NBC’s “Meet The Press,” 9/14/03)
Russert Followed Up On Vice President’s Response To Clarify Whether Vice President Was Suggesting Those “Responsible For 9/11” Were In Iraq, To Which Vice President Responded, “No, I Was Careful Not To Say That.” RUSSERT: “So the resistance in Iraq is coming from those who were responsible for 9/11?” CHENEY: “No, I was careful not to say that. With respect to 9/11, 9/11, as I said at the beginning of the show, changed everything. And one of the things it changed is we recognized that time was not on our side, that in this part of the world, in particular, given the problems we’ve encountered in Afghanistan, which forced us to go in and take action there, as well as in Iraq, that we, in fact, had to move on it. The relevance for 9/11 is that what 9/11 marked was the beginning of a struggle in which the terrorists come at us and strike us here on our home territory. And it’s a global operation. It doesn’t know national boundaries or national borders. And the commitment of the United States going into Afghanistan and take down the Taliban and stand up a new government, to go into Iraq and take down the Saddam Hussein regime and stand up a new government is a vital part of our long-term strategy to win the war on terror. America’s going to be safer and more secure in the years ahead when we complete the task in Iraq successfully, and we will complete it successfully.” (NBC’s “Meet The Press,” 9/14/03)
MATTHEWS IGNORES FACTS TO
FOLLOW KERRY CAMPAIGN LEAD
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Claims Truth “Should Matter” And There Is “Absolute Contradiction” Between Vice President’s Comments In Debate And What He Said In September On “Meet The Press.” CURRY: “So will the truth matter, do you think, in that regard?” MATTHEWS: “Well, I think if we get it out, it will.” CURRY: “We get it out?” MATTHEWS: “It should matter. Our responsibility is to let people know what actually was said last night. That is our reporting responsibility. It is also our responsibility to let them know what the truth is, and here you have an absolute contradiction between a tape we've got from ‘Meet The Press,’ where he said this was the heart of terrorism and what happened to us on 9/11, and then we have him last night saying that is not the case. Well, we have the record from ‘Meet The Press,’ thank God, to base the truth on. To find the truth. Last night was an argument. The evidence suggests, it states, in fact, that the Vice President wasn't telling the truth.” (NBC’s “Today,” 10/6/04)
Matthews Claims “NBC Did Its Reporting Last Night And Dug Up The Tape” Proving Vice President “Misinformed” Public. MATTHEWS: “The fact is, Ann, the only reason we know that the vice president asserted a connection between Saddam Hussein and 9/11 is because NBC did its reporting last night and dug up the tape from ‘Meet The Press.’ Had we relied on the statement of the Vice President, we would have been misinformed. That is the problem we have to deal with here. These politicians will say what benefits them politically. They will be cosmetic. The irony here is the Senator for North Carolina is a good-looking, young-looking guy, and we call that cosmetics. When the Vice President uses a different kind of cosmetics, the serious, trustworthy, middle of the road moderate that he comes across as, that is also a contradiction to the facts. Dick Cheney is a conservative, in fact, an archconservative, on many issues, particularly on war issues, and he comes across totally differently, and I think we have to be careful not to let the cosmetics sell the story.” (NBC’s “Today,” 10/6/04)
In Fact, Kerry Campaign Posted Misleading Excerpt Of Vice President’s Comments. At 9:35pm, Kerry campaign posted this quote to its Rapid Response webpage: “Cheney: ‘If we're successful in Iraq, if we can stand up a good representative government in Iraq, that secures the region so that it never again becomes a threat to its neighbors or to the United States, so it's not pursuing weapons of mass destruction, so that it's not a safe haven for terrorists, now we will have struck a major blow right at the heart of the base, if you will, the geographic base of the terrorists who have had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11.’ [NBC, Meet the Press, 11/14/03]” (John Kerry For President Website, “CHENEY TONIGHT: ‘I have not suggested there's a connection between Iraq and 9/11,’” blog.johnkerry.com, 10/5/04)
Hour And Half Later, NBC Shows Tape Of Quote Kerry Campaign Posted. At 10:50pm, NBC’s Brian Williams reported, “Vice President Dick Cheney, who Senator Edwards charged tonight has repeatedly linked Iraq to the 9/11 attacks. This was the Vice President tonight in his own defense.” CHENEY (in Debate): “The Senator has got his facts wrong. I have not suggested there's a connection between Iraq and 9/11.” WILLIAMS: “But here is the Vice President on ‘Meet The Press,’ one year ago. September 14, 2003. He was asked to define success in Iraq.” CHENEY: “We will have struck a major blow right at the heart of the base, if you will, the geographic base of the terrorists, who have had us under assault many years, but most especially 9/11.” WILLIAMS: “So Vice President Cheney from tonight's debate and from ‘Meet The Press,’ just over a year ago.” (NBC’s “Vice Presidential Debate,” 10/5/04
rnc.org |
