Why They Did It

[Uncle Joe]

"WHY THEY DID IT: In September 2000, Gore was pulling away in the polls; the experts said the campaign was over. And then, out of nowhere, the press corps struck twice! First, that idiot doggy-pill tale. Then, the union lullaby scandal—sadly, an obvious joke

<snip>

So why in the world did the national press corps push those idiot tales in September? On September 21, 2000, Howard Fineman answered that question for Brian Williams, Jack Welch’s “Lost Boy.” Given the history that has unfolded, this was one of the most remarkable statements any journalist ever made on any TV program.

Why did the national press pretend that Gore had lied about that lullaby? Why did they pretend that he had lied about those doggy-pills? Here’s what Fineman told Williams that night. This is truly a tale for the ages:

FINEMAN (9/21/00): I don’t think the media was going to allow, just by its nature, the next seven weeks, the last seven or eight weeks of the campaign, to be all about Al Gore’s relentless, triumphant march to the presidency. We want a race, I suppose. If we have a bias of any kind, it’s that we like to see a contest and we like to see it down to the end if we can.


According to Fineman, the national press corps turned on Gore that week because they wanted to keep the race close."


http://dailyhowler.com/

[fooj]

1. What a bunch of lying weasels.

[tridim]

2. Even so, Gore still won. nt

[Lex]

3. The media has the blood of every dead soldier in Iraq on its hands.

nt

[unpossibles]

4. "if it bleeds it leads"

they don't care as long as they still sell their propaganda.

[Uncle Joe]

24. And if it thinks, it stinks, that's their motto.

Thanks for the post unpossibles

[unpossibles]

26. np. Honestly, I wish it were not true

but it is. I wonder how many journalists get hardons for war coverage so they can prove how awesome they are.

This is not to say that many of them working in the field do not put themselves in danger every day, or that I don't appreciate it, but I think you know what I mean: the desk general pundits who want to be manly by cheerleading just like their Fearless Leader.

Plus, keep in mind that companies like GE make money from war in more than one way - through TV ratings and through arms dealing. No wonder the MSM is so far in bed with the Chickenhawk Neocons.

[Uncle Joe]

27. I agree with your assessment n/t

[madokie]

8. and that statement can be taken to the bank

the m$m is complicit in this irregardless of what they might say now.

[yardwork]

17. Lex, you said it!

And I agree.

[barbtries]

5. i don't believe it

they did it cause they're bushie whores

[glitch]

6. I don't think that's why they did it Uncle Joe. I think that's Howard's spin on it

Why they did has more to do with who owns the corporate media and who they want in power. Or perhaps that is how his owners spun it to him and he bought it. Whatever.
They have a lot of tools, the corporate media is only one of them. The USSC is another. If the Supreme Court had stayed true to precedent and voted to not hear Bush v. Gore perhaps I'd buy Howard's spin. They didn't, so I don't.

[Uncle Joe]

10. I agree, this is just Fineman's attempt at B.S.

My own beliefs are the owners of the mass corporate media became intimidated by Al Gore because he empowered us when he championed the Internet and they see the Internet as threatening their monopoly on information, information = power, influence and money and they saw all this as slipping away, especially if Al Gore came to power.

I believe they want people in charge who would neutralize the net or allow them to take it over by killing net neutrality.

I despise the Supreme Court's decision, there was no justification to it and the felonious five knew it, however Bush vs Gore wouldn't exist without our "fourth estate watchdog guardians of democracy" selling out the American People first. Even during the election dispute the MCM was vastly one sided in their coverage, and I believe this socially approved disenfranchisement of the American People set the atmosphere for the Supreme Court to make one the worst decisions in history.

[glitch]

19. I agree with you about the Supreme Court and the media atmosphere.

But I also think the corporate media was only partially threatened by the Net at that time. I think the real reason is they haven't been a media for a long time, not even a shallow tabloid one, they're more like the Public Relations arm of the multinationals that own them.

And the PR expense of the parent company's purchase and consolidation of the media has more than paid off for them in tax cuts, regulations cuts, and even direct govt contracts and subsidies to them (or if not directly to them then to the companies their board members are also board members of).

To paraphrase what barbtries said above, they really are simply whoring for their corporate owners.

Al Gore was never one of them, they called him a boy scout, sneered at his honesty and idealism. Definitely not the corporate puppet they needed. I doubt very much they'll allow him to win the Presidency, ever.

If he runs, when he wins it will be in spite of them. Best turn your tv off in that event, for the wailing and gnashing of teeth will be a horror for the innocent to see. :evilgrin:

[Uncle Joe]

21. I believe the partially threatened aspect was concentrated at the top,

not all their puppets were threatened at the time, they were too busy getting their hair blown. However they got the message from their owners and CEOs who were awake as to what the internet could become, basically a new town hall with two way communication eventually replacing their one way megaphones and they didn't want this.

So their owners/CEOs passed down the message; Al Gore was not their man, find a reason to trash him.

[glitch]

22. You're probably right. I imagine they have a whole slew of reasons not to want Al Gore in charge. nt

[AtomicKitten]

7. the MSM stepped on Gore's campaign in 2000 at every opportunity

a-holes

CNN's Reliable Sources August 10, 2002 was a genuine eye-opener. Guest Josh Marshall, webmaster of Talking Points, stated, "... I think deep down most reporters just have contempt for Al Gore. I don't even think it's dislike. It's more like disdain and contempt." None of the talking heads disagreed.

Guest Dana Milbank, White House reporter for the Washington Post offered, "You know what it is? I think that Gore is sanctimonious and that's sort of the worst thing in the eyes of the press. And he has been disliked all along and it was because he gives a sense that he is better than us ... as reporters."

[Uncle Joe]

13. I agree, whenever Al Gore's momentum built up to much for them,

they turned on him. They literally enabled Bush to power and I am convinced it's largely due because Al empowered us; the American People when he championed the Internet.

[FloridaJudy]

9. That link is broken nt

[Uncle Joe]

18. I just tried it, I was able to get through. n/t

[FloridaJudy]

23. works now

odd. An hour ago I got an "expired domain" page.

[The Backlash Cometh]

11. Fucking A! What did they do to us?

They weren't journalist. They were marketing salesmen.

Oh my God, Why is that old guard still given airtime?

[Bake]

12. They wanted to keep it close ... enough TO STEAL!

Complicit with the GOP theft of America.

Bake

[annabanana]

14. (and we have a winner). . . . n/t

[Hamlette]

15. Lyons has a column today along those lines

Nobody knows who next year's presidential candidates will be.

This column has no particular favorite and will make no predictions. Even
so, it's not necessary to be a prophet to know how Beltway pundits will
handle the so-called character issue. The Republican nominee will be a
virile, decisive straight-shooter who's 100 percent "authentic" and
"comfortable in his own skin." The Democrat will be an indecisive phony,
uncertain of his/her identity, but willing to strike any pose or pander to
any constituency in a self-serving bid for power. That was the basic script
for the media's astonishing "War on Gore" in 2000, the campaign of falsehood
and vilification that helped elevate George W. Bush, an ex-preppie
cheerleader and bicycling enthusiast dressed up in rugged "Texas Rancher"
costumes, to the presidency over then-Vice President Al Gore.

If truth-telling matters, Bush must rank among the least "authentic"
presidents in U.S. history.....

In short, there's no evidence that the "Sabbath Gasbags," in Calvin Trillin's
immortal phrase, have any more insight into the candidates' character than a
trailerpark palm reader and somewhat less than my basset hound Fred, who
could at least sniff their hands and figure out whose ears they'd been
scratching.

Washington TV political chat appears increasingly disconnected from reality.
Here's how the sages on "Hardball," MSNBC's answer to junior high school,
sum up the GOP hopefuls:

"What's appealing about Rudy Giuliani," thinks Newsweek's Howard Fineman,
"is not the generous side. What's appealing about him is the tough cop
side."

"Right," adds excitable host Chris Matthews. "You just wait until Daddy gets
home."
....

The brilliant blogger "Digby"
asks a penetrating question: "Why do so many male Washington courtiers have
giggling mancrushes on... Republican politicians?" Personally, I blame
"heterosexual panic." Half the insulting e-mails and all the anonymous phone
calls this column generates deal in sexual insult. Whether it's fear of
terrorism, uneasiness at the prospect of a woman president or cultural
change generally, the GOP base responds like trained seals to tough-guy
poses. It follows that Democrats must play the foil:

http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Editorial/192900/

[dogday]

16. But --- But Bush's Brother told him he won Florida????

I have a feeling that there were many spoons stirring the Election 2000 pot... Media played it's part as well....

[Uncle Joe]

20. I agree, there were many spoons, however no spoon

was so large and omnipresent as the MCM. I believe Al Gore would've won in a landslide without this continuous drumbeat of slander over a two year period prior to the selection of 2000.

It simply wouldn't have been close enough for Jeb Bush, Katherine Harris and the felonious five to have made a difference.

[1620rock]

25. I believe Al Gore did win in a landslide,but the election was rigged.