Is there any doubt that the media is in the bag for McCain? Maybe I should say—at his barbeques? McCain was profiled on 60 Minutes Sunday night and it was the type of softball profile we’re used to seeing for Republicans, but when they brought up waterboarding—-well then, it’s time to at least be serious. McCain unequivocally says it’s torture and brings up the prosecution of the Japanese and their use of it in WWII to make his point.
Download | Play 
Download | Play (h/t Bill W)
Pelley asked him about American interrogation methods today. Asked if water boarding is torture, McCain said, “Sure. Yes. Without a doubt.”
“So the United States has been torturing POWs?” Pelley asked.
“Yes. Scott, we prosecuted Japanese war criminals after World War II.
And one of the charges brought against them, for which they were convicted, was that they water-boarded Americans,” McCain said.“How did we lose our way?” Pelley asked.
“I don’t know the answer to that. I think one of the failures maybe was not to listen more to our military leadership, including people like General Colin Powell, on this issue,” McCain said.
How then did John McCain lose HIS way on torture? Why didn’t he ask him the reason he flip flopped and voted in favor of waterboarding if in fact McCain believes it’s torture? Isn’t that the type of question that America needs an answer to? Howard Kurtz even brought it up on his show and criticized the media over their treatment of it a few weeks ago.
KURTZ: But another Senator McCain was on display this week, one who seemed to differ from the former prisoner of war who has made his signature issue out of opposing torture tactics by American interrogators. McCain voted against the bill to ban tactics such as waterboarding, saying he felt agencies like the CIA needed flexibility in terror investigations. Why has this received so little media attention?
“The New York Times” today has a story about this five days after the vote. “The Washington Post” did it yesterday. But most of the establishment media kissed it off.
McCain closes by saying he can win in November because he’s a conservative Republican, but Pelley had nothing in the piece about the contempt held for him by conservatives—especially the talk show hosts that skewer him constantly. And what about the Hagee endorsement? Can’t mention that either? Contact Scott Pelley/ 60 Minutes and ask them why these most important issues were either purposefully left out of the segment and why journalistic malpractice was committed.
ADDRESS:
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EMAIL: 60m@cbsnews.com
PHONE: (212) 975-3247
Filed Under: CBS, CBS Evening News, John McCain, Media Bias, Media Criticism
Tags: John McCain, Torture
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Journalism seems to be a thing of the past. Infotainment is the order of the day.
SCOTT pos PELLEY? NO WAY, MAN!
Sucking off Republicans is all they know.
Was this the same “journalist” who did the lovey-dovey profile of the new Pentagon Human Microwave?
this is the same POS that called the democratic party the ‘democrat’ party. fuck p(os)elley!
Hey, it’s a perfect example of why I quit watching 60 minutes ages ago. Media whores.
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So, yet again, our so called media lets another slimy politician slip away. You would think this is Faux News. Why are our press so differencial to these jerks. I guess it is the money, and not patriotism. Sad.
This is what happens when you hire Communication Majors to do a Journalist job.
These are not interviews, these are PR displays.
Informercials at 3 am, with their staged Q&A and canned laugh track, have more in depth questioning than some of these so-called journalistic pieces.
The media’s new mantra…”Better to be onboard, then on the water board.”
Pelley also fed GOP talking points to Ahmadinejad.
I watched this last night in the hopes there may be some important direct questions posed. No such luck. Nothing new or important was presented by this 20 minute free campaign ad.
Our media is pathetic. Get that British guy in there who will keep asking the question over and over and over until he gets the answer or a direct refusal.
“Conservative Republican.” Let’s pretend that means something for a moment.
At base, what’s the problem with conservatism? Answer: for the vast majority alive in this world today, life is disease, pain, starvation, poverty, and utter powerlessness — you want to “conserve” that?
No, of course not — only the relatively tiny minority with wealth and power want to conserve such a horiffying status quo. Conservatism is greed, conservatism is disdain, conservatism is suffering for everyone but conservatives.
Conservatism is a boot stomping on a human face — forever.
The Dude @ 8:
Please don’t generalize. I’m a Comm Major.
I went to school before the explosion of cable…my genius doctorate professor…this IS a true story…asked in class if there were 100 channels what would they look like. I said, there would be specialized channels for individual interests. That GENIUS said…no…you’re wrong…because of the desire to maintain diversity and service a cross section of people…ALL those channels would like like the ABC, NBC and CBS networks of that day.
This was over 25 years ago.
Those that can’t simply teach.
It’s March. Who cares? They got him on the record saying waterboarding is torture after his vote in the senate. I’d just as soon tuck this away for October than let him test different ways to get around it now while most people are busy concentrating on what the Democratic Party of the future should look like.
A nice soft pillow for you, old man?
Imagine the events of 9-11 seen through the eyes of an 18-year-old Millennial, 30-year-old Xer, 50-year-old Boomer, 65-year-old Silent and a 85-year old GI.
The Millennial thinks, “I hope I don’t get drafted. But if I do, I hope my friends are with me. If they’re with me we can do this together.”
The Xer thinks, “See. We’ve been telling the boomers to wake up and focus their attention to the outer world and stop looking inward. We told you the government was a bunch of idiots, but you wouldn’t listen because you were all to busy putting us in jail for the crimes you committed, while society looked on, when you were our age. You were all to busy telling us that we must live by your values and values are what makes the human being, nothing else. “You guys are retarded!”
A Boomer thinks, “We must talk about why everyone ‘suddenly’ hates us. Perhaps we should change our values. We need to meditate on this for a while and come to some sort of decision.” While the other half of the boomers are thinking, “These people truly do not know how to worship a God correctly, let’s teach them how, by invading their country. It’s the moral, righteous thing to do.”
The Silent think, “Oh these poor poor kids. These poor families and what about these Muslims? We need to get the UN in on this and form some committees to talk this out. We must listen to every side of the story and get some research done to recommend some ‘fair’ solutions that will help and please everyone. There’s still so much work to be done, we aren’t going anywhere.”
The GI thinks, “Now they’ll know what patriotism is all about. The ungrateful little bastards got what was a comin’ to ‘em. But, now they’ll now what it’s like to be a team and be united as one. We’ll show those towel-heads what this effin’ country is made of! Nuke ‘em all!”
He wants Katie Couric’s job when sh gets canned. Replace one air head for another.
Pelley is much more concerned about how pretty he looks in front of the camera instead of actually practicing real journalism.
Pretty is as pretty does.
The Washington beltway reporters know they have another potential Daddy-protector in John McCain. He will protect them from terrorists, and from having to ask those hard questions.
The Dude @ 8:
I’m a Communication Major. As you might gather from my comments around here, I’m not just an empty hat with no journalistic ability. And the station I work at is currently blessed with a news director who believes in journalism (he started as a newspaper guy).
We’ve had worse in the past.
It’s not so much Pelley as the management who decided Katie Couric was the best choice for anchoring the CBS Evening News.
Dan @ 14:
You can bet that it is filed away for the appropriate time. Nobody wants to upset the apple cart until the right time and that time is in a few more months. McCain is a good candidate for the Democrats. The Repulics don’t like him and he is a loose cannon and he is way old and he supports the war like he is Bush’s right hand man and knows nothing about the economy.
Waiting waiting waiting waiting for a few more months. Let McCain stew and he will be a cooked goose.
Shadow Hussein GM @ 20:
Many Comm. majors posting today. I’m a Mass Comm. grad, emphasis in print media. Started with a daily, got disgusted with the biz and quit. Now, 25 years later I’m back working for a daily. Still disgusted. Reporters seem lazy and uninquisitive. Bottom line: same as it ever was- sell advertising.
goatsage @ 22:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMCiT97EYxo
Perhaps Mr. Pelley remembers what happened to Dan Rather when he questioned some of the republican statements.
We need change in the media also!
Hillary can’t win without JIFFY RULES!
All I see is them(msm) squirming and stopping at nothing to ensure SAME OLD SAME OLD politics as usual OVER THROWS the will of the people.
Since when is it **Hillary/MSM ‘08**
Hillary SOMEHOW won the support of the MSM to the point they refuse to addmit SHE HAS BEEN BEHIND NEARLY THE WHOLE TIME!
She DID NOT WIN TEXAS!
She DID NOT WIN TEXAS!
She DID NOT WIN TEXAS!
WHY is MSM getting away with trying to steal TEXAS for CLINTON??? .
Do they think we have no way of knowing or researching the outcome??
They tell US the proscess is sooo complicated…. WE GET IT weather fossilized remains of what used to be journalists get it or not.
I just hope when MSM does finally go extinct and decompose they leave behind a vast fresh batch of crude to solve our energy crisis!
Captain Hussein Kangaroo @ 21:
Couldn’t have said it better myself Captain.
After spending the weekend celebrating Bill Foster’s victory in Illinois’ 14th district special election I can’t wait for the general election to begin.
“journalistic malpractice” - quite redundant, don’t you think?
In that clip McCain never says he is against torture. So I see no flip-flopping.
McCain voted for torture. He has demonstrated through his actions that he believes that POWs must be tortured in order to defeat terrorism.
McCain argues that we made mistakes in not listening to our military leaders and McCain has shown his support for mistakes, again and again.
1. McCain believes that POWs must be tortured or the terrorists win.
2. McCain is pro-Mistakes. He is old and admits he makes a lot of mistakes due to age.
So where is the flip-flopping?
Let us not forget the MSM screed: IOKIYAR
This was like the perfect pitch I mean McCain strongly says yes it’s torture, why would the guy even ask the question unless he knew about what McCain acctualy votes for. I think maybe the interviewer was thrown off by how blatant an answer John gave, I know I would of expected him to start digging a hole by saying things like well we have to protect and and and we need the help and it just seems like we would want all the help we could get and it has helped in the past and and and but a straight up Yes. I don’t think anyone could prepare for that fully, however that does not excuse the ignorance of the reporter, for all we know he might of asked and that was simply edited out avoid having to watch the John McCain angry nervous chuckle of death, or is it rattle?
OT: The House Juidicary Committee filed a contempt suit against H. Miers and Bolten
in a Fed Court within last hour. Both claimed “executive privilege” and ignored House
subpeonas, so this appears to be only action remaining for Rep. Coyners and his
committee members.
Pelley is consistently uncritical of, or just sucks up to, people in authority, but particularly conservatives. Oh, and did you notice the “surge” was working? How pathetic.
23 L.A. Confidential Says:
Thanks for the Headroom- notice how much he sounds like Joe Scarborough?
- Goat Hussein Sage
the fact that a dem won hastert’s seat in ill., which is a hard core repub district tells me more about the direction of the country, than some asshole on 60 minutes who tongue fucks mccain’s asshole for 15 minutes. the msm is irrelevant.
Hussein AND Proud @ 13:
StevePam @ 25:
Did you take math in school? Hillary DID win Texas, so suggest you try and
refresh your math calculations.
Bush Endorsement = MCCAIN, ROMNEY
Bush + Cheney = 0 % CREDIBILITY:
UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR TORTURE. HIGH CRIMES AGAINST THE NATION
Bush Appointments and Endorsements = MORE OF THE SAME: CRIMINAL COVERUP
OBAMA’S stand on Torture:
http://www.barackobama.com/200.....y_betr.php
HILLARY on Torture:
still searching…. http://www.hillaryclinton.com
but saw this page has been taken down….
http://www.nydailynews.com/blo.....rture.html
All the press-arazzi want is a good photo and a usable quote to sell.
bshock @ 12:
Thank you, I have nothing to add to this.
It is worth repeating over and over.
Doggiebobo @ 36:
Do some research before you respond to ME you MORON!
I STAND BY WHAT I SAID! YOU ARE WRONG!
It’s a two step proscess and is NOT OVER!!!
Sunday’s McAKA’s
McNoob – still doesn’t get it that reporters can’t aaallways resist actual investigation and the ‘gotcha’ questions.
McBlind – even a blind man could see that chimpy and the turd can only hurt his chances with the swingers that’d get him close enough to steal another one, but not this idiot, cuz he’s ‘repuglicken blind’, where ya see whatcha wanna see, like a spoiled rotten child imagining he’s a superhero who’s just vanquished his enemy instead of the 6yr old who just beat his 2yr old adopted sister to a bloody pulp.
McCaint
McFuckYou- the msmotherfuckers love it when he talks dirty to them. If he gits ‘em hot enough they might even admit they’re stinkophants by accident.
McClinton – If Hillary is going to draw favorable comparisons between herself and McSame in attempts to denigrate Obama’s readiness, that’s a sword that cuts both ways…and if she keeps cuttin’ herself, she’s gonna bleed out. Let’s just hope she doesn’t get it all over the place and spoil our party in January.
McPillsburyDoughMan – boy!
Don’t worry; it’s not just you that noticed
that he looks like some pasty white, sickly ghoul
with pinpoints for eyes.
McScaryface bitches out reporter, Tee hee…
Other reporters annoyed inta actual reporting,
PRICELESS.
McClown - claimed chimpinomics was a wonderful part
of the Bushco show.
Mcinomics’ll just be the same act