McCain camp accuses media of using facts against them
WASHINGTON — In the latest escalation of the battle between Republican Presidential nominee John McCain and the mainstream media, John McCain’s campaign lobbyist Rick Davis has distributed a lengthy letter that he recently sent to all media outlets demanding they “cease and desist from using facts” against his candidate.
“The usage of facts in this election creates a natural bias toward John McCain. John McCain proudly served the United States and was a Prisoner of War for five-and-a-half years. He is a Maverick reformer. He is his own man. He has been married nearly 30 years. He is ready for the job on Day One. And he’s a Maverick. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is a hockey mom, a Maverick reformer, fought the Bridge to Nowhere and stood up to Republicans in government.
These are the issues that matter to Americans. These are the issues that count - character, personality, heroism. Trying to sully these issues with facts is not just dangerous to National Security, it’s un-American. This is what we mean by ‘Putting Country First,’ ” read the statement in part.
At least one media outlet responded quickly and forcefully to the charges. NBC immediately fired lead news anchor Brian Williams, replacing him with Meghan McCain. “We trust she understands how to separate family loyalties from true journalism,” said an NBC insider. NBC also announced that it’s nightly news program will now be aired only at 4 a.m. The 7 p.m. hour will now be occupied by reruns of older, popular NBC shows like “Friends,” “Seinfeld,” and “Fibber McGee and Molly.”
At MSNBC, “The Rachel Maddow Show” will continue, but the liberal Maddow will be balanced with new co-hosts, including Karl Rove, Bill Kristol, Charles Krauthammer and G. Gordon Liddy. John McCain and Sarah Palin will also be on the show, reading prepared messages, ala Andy Rooney on “60 Minutes.”
“The McCain campaign was assertive,” said an MSNBC spokesperson. “We have no choice but to respond.”
While CBS and CNN have yet to respond, Rupert Murdoch of Fox News Channel said he agreed with the McCain camp completely.
“This changes nothing for us,” said Murdoch. “Nothing at all.”
–WKW
September 10th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
They had no choice, from what I can tell.
It was either fire Brian Williams or run the risk of being called * shudders * liberal. Or * shudders * unpatriotic. Which is really the same thing, right?
Murdoch is a true patriot. He loves America. He also loves Australia. He also loves China. He wanted to love the UK, but they told him to go ‘bloody screw himself’ and said he was full of ‘bollocks’.