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Politics : Politics & Broadcast News Media - Nightly -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jimpit who wrote (111)	12/17/1999 7:02:00 AM
From: jimpit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 165

NewsMax.com newsmax.com Press Fumbles Gore's Fumble NewsMax.com December 17, 1999 Like a duck on a June bug, critics pounced upon Al Gore's stammering response to a televised question about a rape accusation against President Clinton. But much of the mainstream news media blacked out coverage of the vice president's painful performance at a "town hall" meeting that his campaign for the 2000 Democratic presidential nomination had set up for him in Derry, New Hampshire. The Wednesday morning-after news coverage by major newspapers, television networks and cable channels wasn't interested in Gore's grilling by a persistent female questioner from the audience. It wasn't until a day later that some, by no means all, of the press began to wake up to the realization they had a hot news story in their hands. In Friday's issue, Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz, in an article headed "GOP Pounces on Gore's, Um, Response to Clinton Scandal Query," recounted how it came about. It seems that Mike Collins, press secretary for the Republican National Committee, was in the New Hampshire hall, watching what the opposition was doing, and recognized a story when he saw it unfolding in front of him. Kurtz said Collins stayed up till 4 a.m. transcribing his tape of the session. "Within hours," Kurtz wrote, "GOP aides were blast-faxing the exchange around the media world." How was that received by the scribes who usually let no stumble or slip of the tongue by a presidential candidate go unreported? Kurtz quoted RNC communications chief Clifford May as saying, "Matt Drudge, Rush Limbaugh and Fox were all interested in it. "Dan Rather, Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw were not." Here's what they weren't interested in reporting: Back in February, Juanita Broaddrick, who ran an Arkansas retirement home, told the press that Clinton had raped and bitten her in 1978. The president had his lawyer issue a statement of denial, and the subject seemed to vanish from the news-media screen. Then Katherine Prudhomme, a questioner from the audience at the Gore town hall meeting, resurrected it from the burial the press had given it. She wanted to know what Gore had to say about that charge. What did he tell his family when he heard about it? Stilted and hesitant, Gore's response, with a little laugh, was, "Well, I don't know what to make of her claim, because I don't know how to evaluate that story, I really don't . . . I didn't see the interview. No. Uh-uh. . . ." He didn't let it go at that, nor did his questioner, and Gore continued to ramble. "There have been so many personal allegations and such a nonstop series of attacks," he explained. "I guess I'm like a lot of people in that, I think that enough is enough." Apparently endeavoring to clarify, Gore continued, " . . . I'm taught in my religious tradition to hate the sin but love the sinner. I'm taught that all of us are heirs to the mistakes that are prone to the mistakes that flesh is heir to." His only critical words were that he had felt "anger and disappointment" toward his 1996 running mate, whom he described at the time of Clinton's impeachment as one of the best presidents. When Kurtz asked the RNC communications chief for his take on why major news organizations had ignored this story, May said, "The charitable explanation would be Clinton fatigue. The uncharitable explanation would be Clinton protection." ----------------------------------- To refresh your memory on the "Clinton Scandals," visit NewsMax.com's Hot Topics. All Rights Reserved ¸ NewsMax.com newsmax.com