Meet The Press: Brokaw's "Fairness" Facts Pulled Out Of Thin Air To Make McCain Look Better
By Nicole Belle Saturday Sep 27, 2008 9:00pm
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We've shown before that since his naming as Tim Russert's interim replacement how completely one-sided Tom Brokaw has been in terms of Republican framing. But this truly takes the cake. After letting McCain spokesman (and Official WATB) Steve Schmidt let loose with a bunch of lies (more on that later) against Obama that campaign manager David Axelrod easily shows for the crap it is, Tom Brokaw in the interest of fairness cites an NBC/WSJ poll that says that more Americans think McCain is "best equipped" to be Commander in Chief.
AXELROD: What has happened is, as Sen. Obama predicted from the beginning, that we got distracted in Iraq and now Osama bin Laden, who is the person who attacked the United States, killed 3,000 American citizens is now resurgent. He is stronger and that is the result of the misbegotten decisions of John McCain and he stubbornly wants to continue, even as the Iraqis won't take responsibility, sitting on $79 billion of their own surplus, while we spend $10 billion a month. It doesn't make sense. We can't take more of the same, Steve.
BROKAW: In fairness to everybody here, I'm just going to end on one note and that is that we continue to poll on who is best equipped to be Commander in Chief, John McCain continues to lead in that category, despite the criticism from Barack Obama by a factor of 53 to 42 percent in our latest NBC/WSJ poll.
See, here's the problem, Tom. I have the latest NBC/WSJ poll (.pdf) taken September 19-22. Guess what? THOSE NUMBERS AREN'T IN THERE. Pulled out of thin air, or an orifice of your choice. In fact, in the MSNBC.com political coverage of this poll, the headline read: Obama Up 2 in NBC/WSJ Poll. So where exactly are these numbers, Tom? If you go to Gallup, the lead is even stronger (50 to 42%), which is pretty close to the numbers you attributed to McCain.
So Tom Brokaw -- in the interest of fairness to whom exactly, I'm unclear, since he is deliberately MISinforming the public -- tries to mitigate Axelrod's deft defense of Obama's judgment by lying and saying that most people believe McCain is still better equipped to be Commander in Chief. You can leave a comment at the Meet The Press Comment Form on Brokaw's campaigning on behalf of McCain.
And by the way, Schmidt's assertion that McCain called for Rumsfeld's resignation? Big fat, stinking lie. From the Obama campaign:
2008: McCain spokesman admits he never called for the resignation of Rumsfeld. "A McCain spokesman acknowledged this week that that was not correct. 'He did not call for his resignation,' said the campaign's Brian Rogers." [Washington Post, 2/16/08]
2006: McCain Refused to Join Calls For Rumsfeld's Resignation, Said He Would Work With Rumsfeld. "But the president has the right and earned the right as the president of the United States to appoint his team--and he has confidence in Secretary Rumsfeld. I will continue to work with Secretary Rumsfeld as much as I can as long as he is secretary of Defense. We have to, because we need to win this war." [East Valley Tribune, 4/15/2006]
2004: McCain Refused To Call For Secretary Rumsfeld's Resignation. McCain would not call for Donald Rumsfeld's resignation, saying that the President "can have the team that he wants around him." McCain said that he respected Bush's decision to keep Rumsfeld around. McCain said, "I respect the president. The president of the United States was re-elected by a majority of the American people, and I respect his right. And I will work with the president obviously and with the secretary of defense." [MSNBC.com, 12/15/04; CNN.com, 12/5/04]
2001: McCain Echoed Rumsfeld on Case for War. During a November 2001 episode of ABC's Nightline Bush's Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, former CIA Director James Woolsey and Senator John McCain all made the case for invading Iraq, using the same misleading rhetoric. Rumsfeld said, "there is no question but that there has been a good deal of interaction between the terrorists in the Philippines and the al-Qaeda and people in Iraq." Woolsey agreed, saying "there's good evidence that [Iraq] has been involved in terrorist acts against the United States since--and quite possibly--September 11th and even possibly the anthrax." Given a chance to oppose Rumsfeld's strategy at the start, McCain echoed the Administration line: "There has been significant involvement on the part of the Iraqis and Saddam Hussein in the acts of terror that have been committed in the past." [Nightline, 11/28/01]
Lying liars and the media people who enable them.
Full transcript:
BROKAW: I'm going to end on two notes here, if I can, very quickly. We have a crowded agenda this morning. Let's go back to this business of winning in Iraq if we can. In fact, a number of people in the Republican side have said we're winning, but in an interview with the BBC, Gen. David Petraeus said he did not know that he would ever use the word "victory" about Iraq.
This is not the sort of struggle where you take a hill, plant the flag and go home to a victory parade, it's not war with a simple slogan.
So isn't it misleading in many ways for Sen. McCain to say we are winning, we'll come home when we have declared victory?
SCHMIDT: Well, absolutely not. Here's what victory means in Iraq: it means an Iraqi government that is able to protect its borders and it means an Iraqi government that is able to protect its people that moves forward on its path towards democracy. This country was losing this war. Sen. McCain stood up to the Bush administration, called for the firing of Don Rumsfeld with his political career to advocate a strategy almost by himself that has led us to the edge of victory there. Sen. Obama opposed that strategy. In that debate, you heard not one time from Sen. Obama the words (sic) victory. We must win this war. This country doesn't have a choice. Sen. Obama's judgment on issues of security to this country, whether it is in Iraq or calling Iran a tiny threat or saying that...
AXELROD: Tom...
SCHMIDT: ...he would sit down unconditionally with the Iranian President, without preconditions make the world more dangerous. It is a fundamental consideration for the American people.
AXELROD: It is...it is...it is ludicrous to assert after four years of mistake after mistake after mistake, when he didn't challenge Mr. Rumsfeld, when he didn't challenge the Bush policy, when he cheerleaded for it to then say that he was a critic of ...[crosstalk]...just a, just a, just a second, just a second, Steve...
SCHMIDT: He did challenge Secretary Rumsfeld...
AXELROD: ...I let you speak, let me finish.
SCHMIDT: Not true...
AXELROD: What has happened is, as Sen. Obama predicted from the beginning, that we got distracted in Iraq and now Osama bin Laden, who is the person who attacked the United States, killed 3,000 American citizens is now resurgent. He is stronger and that is the result of the misbegotten decisions of John McCain and he stubbornly wants to continue, even as the Iraqis won't take responsibility, sitting on $79 billion of their own surplus, while we spend $10 billion a month. It doesn't make sense. We can't take more of the same, Steve.
BROKAW: In fairness to everybody here, I'm just going to end on one note and that is that we continue to poll on who is best equipped to be Commander in Chief, John McCain continues to lead in that category, despite the criticism from Barack Obama by a factor of 53 to 42 percent in our latest NBC/WSJ poll.
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It's getting very tiresome to see Brokaw every week force some Democrat to admit that the surge worked. He never misses an opportunity. What a hack.
In fairness to everybody here in the US , I'm just going to state something that everyone already probably knows : Tom Brokaw is a douchebag.................
BROKAW IS A LYING ASSED SHILL.
phucque Brokass!
tom brokaw is an orifice.
Where is the fucking proof that the surge worked? It worked because it was to accomplish what? Did it accomplish it? When? At what cost did it work?
this douche bag panned gore and tolds us boosh looked more presidential than gore and that boosh won the debate - when anyone with ears knew boosh was a lying smirking piece of shit.
bitch-assed brokaw basically said boos was the candidate that you'd "want to have a beer with".
After the show Brokaw polished Steve Schmidt's bald head.
chicano2nd @ 5:
HERE'S THE PROOF!
Proof once and for all just how right McKeatingFiveLyingAssedPustule has always been.
Obama needs to use the words "Senator McCain does not understand" or "Once again Senator McCain does not understand." In the economy debate Obama will be able to show how much McMelanoma does not understand the economy and "Middle America" independents have to be told that McSenile does not understand.
Brokaw said "we continue to poll on who is best equipped to be Commander in Chief"
He wasn't talking about general polls asking who people would vote for. He was talking about a specific category that McCain lead Obama on.
C&L,you knownthe real truth.You just wont allow it.That makes you the ultimate in DOUCHBAGS.
[Hahah-Sitemonitor]
Oh by the way, I am horribly disappointed in Tom Brokow as the replacement for Russert. He has really let me down because i always thought of him a better than this. I trusted him. NOT ANYMORE!! Not since he started doing Meet The Press and his right wing slant is so obvious.
billb @ 11:
Care to elaborate on that, genius?
Brokaw is a member of the CFR like Rather like Charlie Rose, like McSame, like Cheney, like Rice, Rumsfeld, Bush, Daddy Bush, and probably Obama however this hasnt been verified. However, noticing how quickly Obamarama and McSame jumped on the opportunity to steal 700 more billion from the US taxpayer for the banks/fed I would have to say this election is much like the last with Kerry (CFR) running agains the idiot prince(CFR). Anyone who looks for change to come from this pit of vipers hasnt read their history. Nothing short of a work strike and tax strike will stop this syndicate of gangsters... WAKE UP!
I'm not a big fan of GE/MIC owned businesses but it's time for Brokaw to retire and NBC to install some younger, fairer blood on "Meet the press".
bmw 528 @ 13:
Probably be better if the chucklehead didn't .....................
Remember he will be 'moderating' a debate so a little pressure wouldn't hurt
MCMetal @ 16:
Good point---Never Mind!
John @ 10:
As opposed to all the other specific categories in which Obama leads McCain, I'm guessin'.
I no longer watch Meet the Press. Brokaw's bias has forever destroyed any credibility he may once have had. Better to watch Face the Nation or This Week or BBC America or Sunrise Earth on the Discovery Channel or any one of the bazillion variations of Home Shopping Network which Brokaw's MTP has become.
And I actually used to think that Tom Broken had some integrity. Ugh.
snackmaster @ 15:
Brokaw is too well off financially to care about things like journalistic integrity and honesty. His predecessors like Walter Cronkite, Chet Huntley, and David Brinkley thought differently. Too bad Brokaw is such a weakling. He is symptomatic of the serious decline of his profession.
Tom is just like McGrampa. Old and worthless. Depends, anyone?
Best not to watch Meet the Press, but do watch SpongeBob Square Pants instead.
"Some people say" Brokaw is "fair and balanced."
The surge worked? Oh goody. It must be so nice for all the surge troops to be at home with their families instead of coming home in bags. Those endless rotations were getting a little hard to take for them I hear.
McCain did a poor job of doing something he signed up for. That doesn't make him a hero. I prefer a commander in chief that has never been captured by the enemy.
the best short video explaination of the mcSurge. it's reveals the real sound bites..that explain the politics
and the surge
http://www.veracifier.com/episode/TPM_20080723
Taarak @ 24:
Now we know he is fairly unbalanced.
bmw 528 @ 18:
I coulda used the laugh.
Taarak @ 24:
Yeah , but they don't say anything close to that when they sober up ..........
Tom Brokeoff is a legend in his mind,just like his P.O.S. McCain "hero". Its obvious there's a mancrush going on here, and its not only offensive,its insulting to the viewers-who just happen to be voters,also. And for a little reality check,Tommy Boy,the air waves are supposed to belong to the PUBLIC,Tom-NOT just the RePUBLICans!
Tom Brokaw is just another old white liar.
Doesn't the term "Commander in Chief" mean head of your army? That's what you Americans use the term for, right?
So what's the big deal about Brokaw stating that the poll numbers favour McCain as the better candidate to deal with your national security?
I've seen such polls - I don't agree with them - but what in the world is such a big deal about Brokaw making the statement that he did?? It was true, as far as I can tell.
CoIntelPro for Pronktastic Victory Over SCLM, DIEBOLD, ESS and SEQUOIA! @ 29:
It's not nice to laugh at the retarded .....................
winston @ 14:
true.
it's sad to say that even at the risk of winning (and probably by a landslide), neither campaign will stand up to this 700 billion dollar (and counting) giveaway. the funny thing is, they could stand up to it fiercely, it could still pass and they'd still reap the benefit of having stood up to it.
but in my mind this really is only the first of two steps they should be taking. because of course standing up to this rediculous bailout is one thing, but doing something better with 700 billion is another. and here again, neither campaign is talking about using that money (or some similar slab of money) for green industry incentives, universal health care etc.... because they're backing the bill and so a discussion of better uses never even enters the debate.
Attacks In Baghdad Kill At Least 32
the results of the surge speak for themselves.
I was expecting the Corporate Media to be fair.
What happened?
he can't help it.........it's the way they did things for years. i bet he doesn't like blogs either.
he is a CRONY.
BROKAW: In fairness to everybody here, I’m just going to end on one note and that is that we continue to poll on who is best equipped to be Commander in Chief, John McCain continues to lead in that category, despite the criticism from Barack Obama by a factor of 53 to 42 percent in our latest NBC/WSJ poll.
In fairness to everyone? In fairness to everyone, people think McCain is the better Commander in Chief?
Ok, then . . . . . . .
In fairness to Tom Broken, I'm just going to post that C&L and other blogs think Meet the Press sucks with him at the helm.
One thing to remember is, back in 2002-2003, Brokaw was part of the media that marketed getting into the war in the 1st place.
Brokejaw is unfair and unbalanced.
Somebody should turn up the heat on that mug.
This is why I dread Brokaw moderating a debate between Obama and McStupid. Russert's son, Luke, would have been a far better replacement than Brokaw.
All of MSM is in the bag for the Repugs. These people make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. With the Repugs, they don't have to pay their fair share of taxes. It's that simple.
xoites defends Constitution @ 37:
BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How r u, x?
I think this is OT, tho it could be catagorized as how our media fail us. In Dayton OH, someone sprayed a "chemical irritant" into the nursery section of a Mosque.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/09/27/...
P.D. @ 43:
the owners of the media are few and powerful. THAT's the reason.
Look, Brokaw isn't a journalist, he's a news reader. And news readers are opportunists.
He's obviously jockeying for a slot on Fox News. What better way to do that than show Rupert that you'll make up BS to protect the Republicans?
For every poll that show people think McCain is "better equipped to be Commander in Chief" there are five or six that say people think Obama would "make a better president." THAT'S WHY POLLS SHOULDN'T BE REPORTED BY NEWS ORGANIZATIONS AS IF THEY'RE FACT. THEY ARE OBVIOUSLY DESIGNED AND WRITTEN TO GET THE RESPONSE THE POLLSTERS WANT IN ORDER TO BOLSTER THEIR ARGUMENT.
Somebody really ought to get the guy fired, quickly.
How does one get the sponsor list of Meet the Press. I have few choice words about my buying anything from them. I want Brokaw off that stupid show. He defames what it was.
Dave
Viet Vet
MCMetal @ 34:
:<[)
CoIntelPro for Pronktastic Victory Over SCLM, DIEBOLD, ESS and SEQUOIA! @ 44:
I am fine, thank you. :)
How are you?
i only checked in a few times, during commercial breaks of my sundaymorning routine...
it was maddening. and totally disappointing.
tom brokaw is NO moderator.
Tom Brokaw is a master of the corporate elite. He serves them. Not the American people. So fuck him. Too bad though he is hosting the next debate. He'll probably do to Barack what Stephy and Gibson did to him earlier in the primaries.
xoites defends Constitution @ 37:
Recent brain trauma x?
Peter G @ 54:
Funny thing...
At least i thought so at the time...
:)
Where've you been x? You've been missed.
bmw 528 @ 21:
That depends on your definition of "Fairer". To the corporate media fair means you have to have the opposite view on all subjects no matter that most of the time one side is lying through their teeth and will quote statistics and facts pulled completely through their collective asses. You have someone on that says the world is a ball that orbits around the sun you must have someone on that will say that no the world is a flat square and the universe revolves around the earth. The truth and facts are all a matter of opinion and to be fair you must include all opinions.
Dave @ 49:
It's probably GE or Boeing or something like that. I mean who's going to buy a Boeing. It's for corporate control and war support.
I believe that during the Democratic convention, Brokaw stated that Clinton had to be careful criticizing McCain because the latter had been a POW.
That was a million times worse than what he said this morning.
Canuknotusa @ 33:
The problem here is that he made that "poll" story up. As referenced above, there is no such poll:
www.msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/080924_NBC-WSJ_released.pdf
There is no excuse for not checking your facts to make sure they are right. Brokaw apparently is arrogant enough to believe that he is above such trivialities and has a license to make up things that suit him.
I am SO old that I remember when the ship of state called "America" was steered by a "President", instead of a "Commander In Chief". How about we cut the sophistry and bullshit and just use the name "Fuehrer"...
Keep it close, then toss a few hundred thousand votes.
Brokaw's just doing what he's told, so as to maintain the lifestyle to which he has become accustomed.
Ignoring contrary evidence, Schieffer asserted McCain "suspended his campaign" because of Wall Street crisis
On CBS' Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer asserted that Sen. John McCain "suspended his campaign" to deal with the Wall Street crisis, ignoring evidence that after McCain announced he was going to suspend his campaign, his ads continued to run; his advisers repeatedly attacked Sen. Barack Obama on cable news networks; and he gave interviews with the three broadcast networks the following day. Read more
NBC is owned by GE-what should that tell you about that militaristic mindset? GE is heavily involved in the miltary industrial complex-and subprime loans overseas,too.Don't forget that Tom penned those books about WWII-he's playing to a lot of older Repubes who buy his books and probably believe that they can trust Brokaw and McCain-SAD!
What seems out of sync here to me is you go from a statement of judgment (or lack thereof) shown by the two men and Brokaw throws in (correct or not) something about the perception of the polled public.
It’s apples and oranges. One is about leadership and judgment, the other is about how well the advertising is working.
The advice to Brokaw is less is more.
xoites defends Constitution @ 51:
stressed as hell and relieving it here.
Dave @ 49:
Damned good idea.
Jo
wife of Viet Vet
The Republicans have advocated that letting the "free" market run the media means it will regulate itself just like Wallstreet has regulated itself. That "greed" wouldn't cause any problems. The "greed" of media freaks such as Tom Brokaw show just what he will do for his money masters.
Renell @ 64:
Under the radar: trillion dollar pentagon budget approved.
Renell @ 64:
Correctomundo... AND Chase Manhattan/Bank of America owns GE and much much more.
Phylter @ 61:
If you call the guy (or gal) the President it conveys the idea that you have to be smart to be one, however if you call the President the Commander in Chief instead you declare that he or she needs to be a megalomaniac and not a wimpy intellectual.
Its all a matter of owning the language.
The surge? will shit if you pay the bad guys $100 a day not to fight what did bush think they were going to do. More American money down the drain. hey brokaw, why don't you start telling the American people the "TRUTH". I thought you were a good guy, now all I think of you as just a "DICK". Iraq will not even sign to keep Americans in Iraq, as of the first of the year, the American military will be breaking the LAW. Iraq want the American Military "OUT". Now if "WE" get out, what will bushes buds do. they will not be making there billions of dollars. That is what is keeping this ENDLESS war going.............
Brokaw is such a poser, he talks about Montana in such quaint terms, and how wonderfull a people we all are. They are just too polite down by Bozeman to tell Brokaw to his face that he is a clown. Of course there are the usual celebrity suck ups that are too busy sticking their noses up his crack that they dont even realize that Brokaw is a complete fraud
http://massmediacontrol.blogspot.com/2008/10/...
Jo @ 67:
Jesus, I meant to say wife of another Viet Vet, not this Viet Vet, sorry.
and the scrubbing continues!
Norah O'Donnell aired cropped "John is right" clips, but in nearly all instances, Obama was criticizing McCain
On MSNBC, Norah O'Donnell aired a montage of what she described as "the multiple times that Barack Obama said 'John [McCain] is right' " during the first presidential debate. Following the montage, O'Donnell commented, "I thought this was a debate." In fact, in nearly all instances, Obama was actually criticizing McCain after first noting a point of agreement on the topic Obama was discussing.
NY Times uncritically reported McCain ad and "talking point" that Obama "said [during debate] he agreed with his rival's positions"
John @ 10:
- exactly, John. You obviously didn't look at the poll. Or you would know that this questionn was not asked. See, he completely fabricated that statistic. Get it now?
You know it's interesting, I was reading much the same in the Dallas Morning Nudes this morning in the section called Points. No not under sarah palin's blouse when she's in a room with the thermostat down low. We Texans don't want to deal with polysyllabic words like Letters To the Editor.
Anywho, they were saying more people though mcgramps looked stronger on foreign policy than Obama during the debates, but they cited no polls. I thought they had to be kidding, all I saw was condescention, "What my opponent fails to understand..." At one point Obama was talking about lower level discussions without conditions, and that confirmed what I thought he meant about no conditions talk, but may be more than the average viewer might understand of diplomatic levels of talk, they're not all summits. mcgramps kept saying that was with Obama meeting with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without pre-conditions, although it had already been successfully refuted. Then mcgramps progressed to mangle Ahmadeinejad's name so bad, that it looked like he tried to salvage himself by making it look like he was making fun of the name. Whether it was an old-age moment or bad taste sarcasm, in either case it was not appropriated for someone seeking to be a world leader.
A whole lot of damage control going on...
What does "Your comment is awaiting moderation." suppose to mean?
This is so amusing. All the press is biased to the left. Let one of them do anything to the right and you all have a hizzy!
kerplunk @ 77:
It could mean you put too many links into a comment, as one for instance.
kerplunk @ 77:
you tripped the mine. please be still and await detonation.
Karyn @ 78:
what's this? a drive by?
All of you should be sending these comments to NBC comment page. They read what people have to say. You will make a differen