Media Matters - Barack Obama

Media Matters - Barack Obama http://mediamatters.org/tools/syndication/tag_rss/barack_obama This link is for use by RSS-enabled software to retrieve Media Matters items matching the term: Barack Obama en-US Copyright 2008, Media Matters for America Media quote GOP claim that Obama reversed Iraq policy, without noting Obama's prior statements http://mediamatters.org/items/200807030014 In covering Sen. Barack Obama's comments, "When I go to Iraq and have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I'm sure I'll have more information and will continue to refine my policies," the media have reported Republican claims that Obama reversed himself. In fact, Obama has said for months that he would set Iraq war policy in consultation with military commanders. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807030014 Thu, 3 Jul 2008 20:47:45 EST Novak falsely asserted Clark attacked McCain's "credentials as a war hero" as part of "conscious effort" by Obama campaign http://mediamatters.org/items/200807030013 On The Radio Factor, Robert Novak falsely asserted that Wesley Clark joined a group of "Obama surrogates who have been questioning and attacking [Sen.] John McCain's credentials as a war hero" and suggested that Clark's comments were part of "a really conscious effort to downgrade [McCain] as a war hero." In fact, Clark praised McCain as a "hero" for "his service as a prisoner of war," while, as CJR's Zachary Roth wrote, "question[ing] the relevance of McCain's combat experience as a qualification to be president of the United States" -- an argument Clark has been making for months. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807030013 Thu, 3 Jul 2008 19:27:53 EST In Politico, TNR's Kirchick falsely claimed Clark's comments were part of a "pattern of attacks" on McCain as "psychologically unfit for presidential office" http://mediamatters.org/items/200807030011 In a Politico op-ed, The New Republic's James Kirchick cited Wesley Clark's comments about Sen. John McCain on CBS' Face the Nation as part of a "pattern of attacks meant to insinuate that McCain's Vietnam experience not only shouldn't count as meaningful 'experience,' but rendered him psychologically unfit for presidential office." In fact, Clark did not "attack[]" McCain's Vietnam experience or suggest that it "rendered him psychologically unfit for presidential office." Kirchick also asserted that "one would be foolish not to at least consider the possibility they [the "attacks"] were coordinated by the Obama campaign." But Clark has been saying for months that McCain's military service alone does not make him qualified to be president, including while he was speaking on behalf of Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807030011 Thu, 3 Jul 2008 19:08:23 EST Echoing right-wing smears, ABC's The Note falsely suggested a link between Obama and Colombian rebels http://mediamatters.org/items/200807030009 ABCNews.com's The Note, after linking to reports on Sen. John McCain's recent trip to Colombia, stated: "(And the RNC may want you to remember that it was Obama's name -- not McCain's -- that popped up on a seized FARC laptop.)" ABC offered no explanation for its reference to a report that Obama's name "popped up" in a computer seized from "FARC," the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Several right-wing groups and media outlets have used a letter from a FARC spokesman that reportedly mentioned Obama to falsely allege "contacts" and other connections between FARC and Obama. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807030009 Thu, 3 Jul 2008 18:26:53 EST On This Week, Huffington confronted Hewitt about Ohio State-USC football game comment http://mediamatters.org/items/200807030008 On This Week, Hugh Hewitt claimed that a comment he made during the June 25 edition of his show -- that the September 13 Ohio State-USC football game will "probably [be] the last football game we'll ever get to see before the United States gets blown up by the Islamists under Obama" -- was distorted by Arianna Huffington. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807030008 Thu, 3 Jul 2008 18:13:00 EST In WSJ op-ed, Rove misled about Obama ad http://mediamatters.org/items/200807030007 In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Karl Rove stated that an ad for Barack Obama "says he was raised with 'values straight from the Kansas heartland,' though he grew up in Hawaii." But Obama does not suggest in the ad that he was raised in Kansas; rather, he explicitly notes his mother and grandparents "grew up" there. Rove also asserted that Obama claims in the ad "to have passed three bills, but fails to mention that two were in the Illinois state Senate." However, Obama does not suggest that the bills referenced in the ad were passed by the U.S. Senate, and the ad displays the years in which the bills were passed. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807030007 Thu, 3 Jul 2008 16:32:07 EST NBC's Mitchell misrepresented sequence of Clark's remarks, suggesting Clark only "subsequently ... honored" McCain's service http://mediamatters.org/items/200807020010 On MSNBC's Hardball, Andrea Mitchell stated, "We know what he said on Face the Nation. He took issue with the qualification of John McCain, saying that being a fighter pilot and getting shot down over Vietnam doesn't qualify you to be commander in chief. He said subsequently that he honored his service." In fact, Clark praised McCain earlier in his Face the Nation interview, saying, "I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war." http://mediamatters.org/items/200807020010 Wed, 2 Jul 2008 18:12:21 EST Wash. Post baselessly suggested preferential treatment in home loan interest rate Obama received http://mediamatters.org/items/200807020003 The Washington Post baselessly suggested that Sen. Barack Obama was given preferential treatment in the interest rate he received on his $1.32 million mortgage from Northern Trust for the purchase of his Chicago home in June 2005. But the article did not cite any evidence that the interest rate Obama received was in any way out of the ordinary or in any way the result of preferential treatment. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807020003 Wed, 2 Jul 2008 14:48:55 EST CBS Evening News aired portion of Floyd Brown's anti-Obama attack ad, failing to report Obama is not a Muslim http://mediamatters.org/items/200807010012 The CBS Evening News aired a clip of an attack ad against Sen. Barack Obama in which the narrator says, "Obama was enrolled in school as a Muslim while living in Indonesia." Nowhere did the report note that Obama is in fact not a Muslim but, rather, a practicing Christian. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807010012 Tue, 1 Jul 2008 20:01:44 EST MSNBC's Barnicle misrepresented Obama's comments about gas tax holiday, overstated savings http://mediamatters.org/items/200807010006 On Hardball, Mike Barnicle said of Sen. Barack Obama's reaction to Sen. John McCain's proposal for a summer gas-tax holiday: "[P]oliticians have got to be very, very careful when they tell people living right at the margin, right at the edge, that $30 a week isn't a whole lot of money." But what Obama has said of McCain's proposal is that "[i]t would save you a total of about $28 for the entire year" -- not "$30 a week" -- and several analyses support Obama's claim. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807010006 Tue, 1 Jul 2008 16:44:03 EST Drudge, Lowry revived falsehood that Obama didn't vote to condemn MoveOn Petraeus ad http://mediamatters.org/items/200807010003 The Drudge Report and the National Review's Rich Lowry falsely claimed that Sen. Barack Obama didn't vote to condemn MoveOn.org's 2007 newspaper advertisement critical of Gen. David Petraeus. In fact, Obama did vote for an amendment by Sen. Barbara Boxer that condemned the ad, as well as other attacks on past and present members of the armed forces, as the USA Today blog post to which the Drudge Report linked points out. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807010003 Tue, 1 Jul 2008 14:29:03 EST Time's Carney is latest media figure to cite National Journal ranking of Obama without noting rankings' subjectivity http://mediamatters.org/items/200806300003 Time's James Carney wrote: "As any Republican will tell you, the National Journal ranked [Sen. Barack] Obama the most liberal member of the Senate." But Carney did not note that the National Journal's rankings are based on subjective criteria. http://mediamatters.org/items/200806300003 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:01:50 EST Media figures continue to cite National Journal ranking of Obama as "most liberal" senator in '07 without noting subjectivity http://mediamatters.org/items/200806270010 NPR's Renée Montagne, MSNBC's Pat Buchanan, and CNN's Bill Bennett all referred to the National Journal's 2007 Vote Ratings, which ranked Sen. Barack Obama the most liberal senator that year, without noting the subjectivity of the ratings. The National Journal based its rankings not on all votes cast by senators in 2007, but on "99 key Senate votes, selected by NJ reporters and editors, to place every senator on a liberal-to-conservative scale." http://mediamatters.org/items/200806270010 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:21:07 EST Crowley falsely claimed Obama "stole" Ahmadinejad's campaign slogan http://mediamatters.org/items/200806270007 On The Laura Ingraham Show, Monica Crowley claimed that Sen. Barack Obama "lifted his campaign line 'Yes, we can' from the recent presidential campaign of the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." Crowley claimed that Ahmadinejad used the slogan "We can." In fact, Obama reportedly used the phrase "Yes, we can" during his 2004 Senate campaign -- a full year before Ahmadinejad was elected in 2005. http://mediamatters.org/items/200806270007 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:30:05 EST Blitzer lets Graham off hook on how McCain would "pay for $300 billion in new tax cuts" http://mediamatters.org/items/200806270004 On The Situation Room, Wolf Blitzer asked Sen. Lindsey Graham how Sen. John McCain would "pay for $300 billion in new tax cuts" and said, "But there's no waste -- with all due respect, Senator ... you're going to find $300 billion in waste, are you?" But when Graham replied, "No, no, $35 billion from earmarks, but there are other programs up here that can be reined in, including the Department of Defense," Blitzer did not press Graham to identify which specific "programs" McCain would "rein[] in" to "pay for $300 billion in new tax cuts." http://mediamatters.org/items/200806270004 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:50:27 EST