MSNBC Gets It Right: McCain Attack Ad Is False

[Hope And Change]

MSNBC Gets It Right: McCain Attack Ad Is False

By http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/profile/sargent">Greg Sargent - July 28, 2008, 10:33AM

MSNBC does the impossible, http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/07/28/1228137.aspx">pointing out that the McCain attack ad's claim that Obama canceled the visit to the troops because he couldn't bring "the cameras" is false:

NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports that there was never a plan for Obama to take the press to Landstuhl, despite the claim by McCain folks and others. The plan was to go with his military aide, retired General Scott Gration. The Pentagon said Gration was off-limits because he had joined the campaign -- violating rules that it not be a political stop.
Obama had gone to see wounded troops in Iraq earlier in the week, without even confirming he'd been there. No press, no pictures. He has done the same when he goes to Walter Reed -- never any press.

This is rather relevant info, to put it mildly, and it's unclear why it's http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/07/big_news_orgs_fail_to_label_mc.php">missing from most of the other reporting about this ad.


http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/07/msnbc_gets_it_right_mccain_att.php#comments">Link

[stray cat]

1. Factual reporting for a change.

[cliffordu]

13. Andrea must have the vapors or something. I'm glad she got it right.

Can't wait for Olberman.

[grantcart]

25. Bad Andrea had to nap and let good Andrea out for a while

[ErinBerin84]

2. good for them, but sometimes MSNBC (ABC too, on their blog)

tuck away the truth and fact-checking on their blogs (first read or the Jake Tapper blog), while the actual on air viewing shows little fact checking. Has anyone been watching the coverage today to see how that's been? Though the times Andrea Mitchell has been on, she's been surprisingly good on this issue...her whining about lack of media cameras at the events last week has paid off somehow.

[jenmito]

17. I saw Andrea Mitchell saying this on tv this morning. Richard Wolffe ALSO said the ad was false,

pointing out all the reasons why. (And Olbermann called it false FRIDAY-not the ad that hadn't come out yet at the time but the charge).

[liberal N proud]

3. McGoo lies so big that not all the M$M will support it

Hopefully it will put pressure on the others to follow suit. I am sure FAUX will not regardless.

[Leeny]

6. Maybe it's because

Mr. Magoo can't see without his glasses
:-)

[liberal N proud]

8. That is my new nickname for him Mr McGoo

Take off from Mr Magoo

[Leeny]

23. I love it

I'm just embarassed to admit that I remember Mr. Magoo. It's a perfect nickname for him.

[dkf]

4. Goodness, John McCain jumped to false conclusions

and he advertises them throughout the media.

What a complete loser.

[janet118]

21. Hi . . . I'm John McCain . . .

and I approved these lies. :+

[babylonsister]

5. Someone needs to inform Joe Scarborough of this, stat! nt

[jenmito]

18. It doesn't matter. He won't report the truth anyway. n/t

[Frustratedlady]

7. I'm glad to see this, although it took a while for them to come forward.

The MSM needs to be pounced on every time they misrepresent Obama and pounced on immediately. Allowing this to simmer on the rumor burner over the weekend just cooked up another RW talking point. Once they have it in their brains for longer than 5 minutes, it's impossible to persuade them they are wrong.

I thought that maybe Obama was letting McCain dig himself deeper into a hole before he brought out proof that this was a false report.

[glarius]

9. I saw Andrea live reporting this fact (re the German visit) on MSNBC

and waited for her report to be repeated. It never was. The station kept quiet about it and never mentioned it again when they were doing so-called analysis of Obama's overseas trip. I remember her saying that she had had to do some real sleuthing to dig out the fact that he had visited the troops in Iraq because he wouldn't use them for his own purposes. McCain is slime. I'm sure he knew this.

[CrispyQ]

12. CNN had Bill Schneider on who explained the whole situation in detail & accurately.

Sadly, they only had him on once & since then I've heard Wolf & others push the meme that Obama didn't visit the troops -- without reporting the entire story.

It's shameful what passes for journalism these days.

[Orsino]

10. And Mitchell is admitting this on the air?

Amazing.

[progressoid]

11. I haven't seen the ad but I'm not surprised.

I saw another McLoser ad that was pretty bad. I can assume this one doesn't get any better.

[hootinholler]

15. The ad is so bad, it's funny.

The footage used in the ad isn't from the press corpse who didn't follow Obama onto bases, but from AFRTS coverage. The Armed Forces Radio and Television Service provided the footage of Obama 'in the gym'. Note that they had to work hard to block out the troops he was shooting around with in the commercial.

-Hoot

[hootinholler]

14. Someone should have mentioned that on Morning Joe where the No Camera No Visit meme was rampant.

:grr:

-Hoot

[Fleshdancer]

16. Andrea Mitchell? Are we sure that's not a typo??

Wow. Ok, then...um, good for her for reporting the truth.

[jenmito]

19. I think ever since she got to ask the first question(s) in Jordan, she changed her tune a little...

I think she was really impressed with his answers (and his trip to Israel).

[glarius]

20. She reported live from Europe but her report was never repeated again.

I saw her when she was reporting. She was quite definite about the fact that Obama was doing everything he could not to exploit the troops. She said he hid the fact that he secretly visited the troops in Iraq and she did some digging on her own to find it out.

[Bake]

22. Gee, I wonder how KKKatie Couric will report the story?

Gotta prop up Gramps some more, you know.

Bake

[depakid]

24. If I had a buck for the number of times I heard this about swiftboat ads 4 years ago..

[lebkuchen]

26. It's so blatantly false that MSNBC is forced to finally speak up and denounce the falsehood

Even MSNBC has its limits of tolerance for a bald-faced lie.