I really encourage you to watch this clip in which a very patient and polite Democrat named Coleen Rowley is basically ganged up on by MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell (who calls anyone who opposes the war "anti-war extremists") and some conservative pundit (who calls Rowley and Cindy Sheehan "pathetic creatures").
To her credit, Rowley maintains her composure througbout the ordeal, but where is the balance in this garbage?!?
The transcript is here, but to really get a sense of how bias and one-sided Norah O'Donnell is, and how vitriolic this pundit is, I really encourage you to watch it on video.
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Here are some highlights:
O'DONNELL: You're a Democrat running for Congress. It was reported that Republican leaders in your state were just thrilled that you had decided to align yourself with anti-war extremists. Do you think that this could affect your race for Congress?
ROWLEY: Well, I will quickly correct the record, that they are not anti-war extremists. The majority of the people I saw down in Crawford were actually veterans groups.
O'DONNELL: But, Coleen, they do oppose the war in Iraq, do they not?
...
MARK WILLIAMS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, the pontifications of a self-serving Democrat political candidate notwithstanding, this tour is neither anti-Cindy Sheehan, nor is it pro-war.
I have not spoken with a single individual in the last three years who is pro-war, nor anybody who is anti-Cindy Sheehan. What we are against is the damage she is causing. I just got back from Iraq, talking with the troops, talking with the Iraqis. And I see the damage that's done by pathetic creatures like the woman I'm talking to and Cindy Sheehan.
...
WILLIAMS: She is aiding and abetting the enemies of this country and the people who killed her son. Right now, Casey Sheehan is spinning in his grave.
...
O'DONNELL: Coleen, you may respond, but, also, what is the alternative? The president saying again a policy of retreat and isolationism will not bring us safety. What is the policy of the Democratic Party? You're a Democrat. What is it? Cindy Sheehan seems to be advocating cut and run. Is that what you embrace?
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Personally, I do not agree with the Sheehan position, but the level of discourse here is almost satirical in its absurdity.
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2 comments:
http://www.coleenrowley.com/
Cram, the example you cite may be extreme, but I gave up on the idea of objectivity in the media a long time ago. The gift of true objectivity is generally wasted if not combined with a great intellect with which to put it to use. How anyone who followed the sleaze trail of every oh so scintilating, unfolding detail on Clinton's zippergate, could have thought the media was elevating the level of informed discussion in American society is beyond me. On the other extreme we have journalists "balancing" the intelligent interior design "debate" by presenting the Discovery Institute - and the intellectual equivalent of bird droppings it offers us - as something other than a cog in an obstinate political machine, destined to have some significant impact on the institution of science or its perception, when it is destined to do neither.
I guess people like Keith Olberman think they have standards. The rest of us, both inside and outside journalism, have embraced the downfall of the MSM to the point where we don't mind the obvious fracturing of journalistic forums and standards that have taken off in its wake. In the end, the ability to check facts has also become more accessible, so all's good.
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