This time it’s in the form of air time. Yes, Bush enjoys the advantages of incumbency, which also means that he gets to make important announcements, have White House press conferences and the like. But according to the Washington Post, it is becoming clear that even minor Bush administration events and interviews are being given far more air time than major Kerry events.

“When President Bush delivered a routine stump speech to a group of New Mexico homeowners on March 26, CNN and Fox News each carried his appearance for 35 minutes, and MSNBC for 33 minutes.

When John Kerry gave what was billed as a major address on national security at George Washington University on March 17, he was knocked off the screen by a large explosion in Baghdad. CNN and Fox each dropped Kerry (who had been reduced to small box) after three minutes, and MSNBC never picked him up. But as the Iraq coverage continued, all three networks carried Vice President Cheney in California attacking Kerry as weak on national security — Fox for 28 minutes, MSNBC for 23 and CNN for 13.”

The networks claim that it’s because the president has a greater effect on world politics, that he speaks for the country, Kerry isn’t out there saying very much, yadda yadda yadda–read the article. But the example above makes it clear: the vice president delivering a political attack on Kerry warranted more air time than Kerry making an address on national security. No excuse can explain that away.