CNN Puff Piece Appears to Challenge, But Really Covers Up for McCain
CNN just ran a piece that on the surface seemed to go after McCain for the recent lobbyist story, but wound up being a puff piece that seemed almost eager to clear his name. After first going over the charges, they repeated again and again how he denied, denied, and denied the charges. Played video of him denying the charges. Then emphasized how he denied the charges, repeating how he said they just weren’t true.
But no mention was made about the documented facts that the lobbyist had urged McCain to send a letter to the FCC to press them to quickly approve a TV deal for the lobbyist’s clients–and McCain fired off two letters quickly thereafter doing exactly what the lobbyist asked for, letters which were so ethically questionable that they drew a rebuke from the FCC chairman.
Then CNN did a bit on McCain’s history as a reformer, going over bills he passed that were supposed to clean up campaign finance. Why they did this was unclear to me, but they gave the impression that McCain was above reproach on this issue.
What they did not mention was that McCain became a ‘reformer’ only after being implicated in a campaign finance scandal, where he became known as one of the “Keating Five,” for being a paid stooge of a man whose S&L was one of the biggest to fail in the collapse of that industry in the 80’s. Nor did CNN report on the many ties McCain has had with lobbyists or the times he hedged on or even broke with the campaign finance reform he is the poster boy for.
If CNN keeps going this way, they might find themselves being “fair and balanced” some day.
By the way, McCain announced:
At no time have I ever done anything that would betray the public trust.
Apparently, in McCain’s world, the Keating scandal never took place. Or, in his eyes, did not constitute a betrayal of the public trust.
Update: Okay, CNN apparently just remembered the Keating Scandal–they mentioned it briefly before again lauding McCain’s “reformer” persona. Still no mention of all the other questionables aside from simply airing McCain’s press conference.
Luis I am not a commentator on this piece of your writing, and am not computer savvy, but the joy of the internet is that one can float around and land at interesting places….in my artwork I call these things “happy accidents”. I landed at your blog. Luis I am a cartoonist who cartoons about Japanese sumo. I work (for free…just something I love doing) for http://www.sumofanmag.com You live in Japan and are interested in all sorts of things, and whether or not you or your readership like sumo, I would like to perhaps brighten your day by offering my cartoons for you to view. Otherwise they would remain buried in a sort of “visual commentary” on an aspect of Japanese life that few would see outside of a (mainly foreigner) bunch of people interested in sumo more than the Nationals who seem to have flocked to baseball! And I am not a sport person. I just like drawing. I’m British, living in Thailand doing art teaching and drawing about Japanese sumo! Two or more years now and, like you, I regard doing it as a sort of discipline…to come up with a range of good cartoons (from an artistic point of view) and effective jokes / text to go with them every two months. So…the offer is there if you would like to connect with something different about Japan. If you do, may they be an enjoyment for you. Did you ever write anything about sumo? I should go and look. I put a link to the last batch of cartoons above in the URL section. The latest are due out in a week or so. Best to you. Stephen.
If you look at McCain’s comments on his behavior, from the Keating Five to the affair, he’s never once to my knowledge admitted he’s done something wrong. He’s admitted that he’s done things which “appear shady” or some words along those lines, but it’s always been some sidestepping bullshit about how what he’s done LOOKED bad and so he regrets doing it. Never “I did something bad”. So our choice is between someone who share’s Bill Clinton’s intelligence (Obama), someone who shares his bed (Hillary), and someone who shares his lying mouth. Gee, there’s a tough one.