Don't get fooled by Tweety and be prepared for the big letdown

[NNN0LHI]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/351977_joel20.html

McCain held to different standard by media

Out of the 2006 midterm election, from the pen of Andrew Ferguson at Bloomberg News, came a deliciously accurate, disturbingly close-to-home account of press courtship.

"I never saw Heifetz play the violin, or Hogan hit a five-iron, or Pavlova do a pirouette," he wrote. "But I've seen John McCain work a reporter. And I know I was seeing a master at the peak of his form."

"Annoy the Media: Re-elect Bush!" reads a bumper sticker souvenir from the 1992 presidential campaign.

It sums up what's been a longstanding antipathy for the "mainstream media," manipulated by radio and TV mouthpieces of the Republican right. Bill O'Reilly goes into nightly, repetitive rants about how newspapers hate THIS Bush.

How will these folks, and their salivate-on-demand followers, reconcile to the fact that the Republicans' presumptive 2008 nominee is the darling of the nation's news media?

"The press loves McCain. We're his base," MSNBC loudmouth Chris Matthews declared during the 2006 elections.

[aquart]

1. You mean Tweety is gonna suck John's dick instead of Barry's?

I don't believe it. I think he's gonna try to suck both.

After all, they're both men.

[leftofcool]

2. Yep, he will swap back and forth

depending on which way the wind is blowing that day

[Buzz Clik]

8. Why don't you take this transparent bullshit back to GD-P.

Christ, what a whiner.

[Buzz Clik]

9. ..

[Buzz Clik]

6. Bitter much?

[aquart]

12. Yes.

And neither embarrassed nor ashamed of it. I have good cause.

[Buzz Clik]

15. Thanks for clearing that up.

I really couldn't care about your conscience. Take you bitterness to the grave -- it will mean nothing to anyone.

[davidinalameda]

13. upset because he's not sucking Hill's dick?

[Buzz Clik]

16. As Hillary Cartman would say:

"Suck my balls, Tweety"

[OnyxCollie]

3. McCain is the most popular Sunday morning talk show guest.

http://mediamatters.org/static/pdf/MMFA_Sunday_Show_Report.pdf

As any viewer of the Sunday-morning talk shows knows, a few political figures appear with remarkable frequency. Some -- like the secretary of state -- are newsmakers intimately involved with both current and future policies critical to the nation. Others seem to be invited back for no apparent reason other than that they have been on so many times before. The list of most frequent guests for recent years shows dominance by a few figures: former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE), and most particularly Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). McCain made 124 appearances on the Sunday shows during this period -- over 50 percent more than his next closest competitor.

~snip~

Though Biden has narrowly outpaced McCain over the last three years, there is one way in which the Delaware Democrat is unlikely to ever approach the Arizona Republican: Biden usually appears alongside a Republican senator. McCain, on the other hand, is more likely to be offered a privilege normally reserved for high administration officials and those who have just done something particularly newsworthy: the solo interview.

When a guest is interviewed alone by the host of a Sunday show, the networks send a message that what this person says is so important that it can’t be cluttered up with someone from the other party weighing in. But in McCain’s case, it’s something more. McCain was given a total of 86 solo interviews (14 in 1999, 19 in 2000, 14 in 2001, 9 in 2002, 7 in 2003, 7 in 2004, and 12 in 2005). No other elected official comes close; the senator with the next-highest total of solo interviews (45) is former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD).

In fact, fully 69 percent (86 out of 124) of McCain’s Sunday-show appearances have been solo interviews. While a few administration officials (e.g. Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice) are nearly always interviewed alone, elected officials are far more likely to be interviewed with other elected officials. The runner-up in total appearances, Biden, was interviewed by himself only 31 percent of the time (25 out of 80 appearances). The only elected official among those with a substantial number of interviews who exceeded McCain’s proportion of solo interviews is Daschle, who was interviewed alone in 76 percent of his appearances (45 out of 59). Daschle, as Senate Majority Leader, was the highestranking elected Democrat in America at the time of many of his appearances.

[kentuck]

4. But he was Chairman of the Commerce Committee during much of this time..

which had control over the FCC and licensing and purchasing of radio and TV stations and newspapers. So he was more important then.

[Frustratedlady]

5. If you call Tweety on it, he will back down.

Chris has a pretty good memory on a lot of incidents that have happened in the past and isn't afraid to hound someone on them until they finally remember or fess up. I never liked Tweety, because he wouldn't let his guests talk. Why have them? But I watched a quiet, one-on-one show, several months ago, and he just visited with the host (can't remember who it was...old age), but I was impressed and have changed my way of viewing Tweety.

I didn't say I always agree or enjoy his rantings, but I changed my view and give him a little more space when pursuing a subject. I get the feeling he, or someone on his staff, check out DU, as I've heard him mention discussions we've had and he has expressed similar views and made similar comments. Oh, well! Maybe DU is just so good, everyone steals from us? :bounce:

[IsItJustMe]

7. You are right on the money. Seen it too many times before with him. He will turn big time at some

point in the future. It's almost as if he is schizophrenic. I think it is a ratings thing.

[Buzz Clik]

10. Matthews sole motivation for hammer Clinton these days is to move on the GE.

He's desperate for the attention he gets from the left when he stabs them in the back.

[butterfly77]

11. That just about sums him up...

I think after this week we will begin to see his mccain man love...

[Honeycombe8]

14. I like Matthews okay. Tweety is pretty fair and balanced...most of the time.

More than I can say for some.

Lots of folks here seem to like Keith Olbermann. I do, too. But he's far from fair and balanced. He is unashamedly left and does not even pretend to offer an opposing viewpoint. That's fine, as long as you agree with his positions.

Matthews is more of a political talk show that tries to analyze and present all points of view. It's not a 100% possible thing to do, but the show makes an effort. Hardball is a great political talk show.

Fox News is...well, we know what it is.

Meet the Press/Tim Russert - he's a little nicey nicey to all of the politicians, but he DOES get around to some uncomfortable questions and doesn't back off. The McLaughlin Group - excellent show that really DOES present all points of view. Stephanopolis - don't watch it.

Those are the top ones, and Tweety is up there at the top. He does good work. I don't always like what he says, but overall, he's good.

[KharmaTrain]

17. Tweety Looks Confused...

I don't know if Tweety's still on the Bullshit Express, but I wouldn't be surprised if he starts into his man-love for Gramps. It's more along the lines that this dude views politics like a sporting competition...whose hot, whose not, whose a hero, whose a bum...it's all surface and is only affected by non-political things like Pledge Pins and screaming reverends and guilt by association...the typical beltway gotcha game. This guy always reminds me of a 10 year old...short attention span and always wanting a fight or other distraction that calls attention to him. I think we have another term for that around here...(starts with a Media and ends with a Whore)

Tweety's situation is a bit different this time around. M$NBC has found ratings with skewing to Democrats and Liberals (yes, they have and so be it!) and Tweety has seen that the shit he's gotten away with in the past...the name calling and over-the-top crap, is getting a lot closer look than it had in the past. Seeing him with Rachel Maddow the other night, you could see, this is a guy who loves the game, hates the players.

Trust me, Tweety is no hero here...just another talking head on the TV...and he travels that road at his peril. Play a shill for an unpopular regime or back the wrong horse, and he'll be on the outside looking in when his contract expires next year. That NYTimes Magazine article on him was a shot over the bow...I'm sure the message has been delivered. But Tweety, being the 10 year old he is...won't be able to control himself.