Is the media not so subtly pushing Howard Dean as the nominee ?

[kentuck]

I just heard Tweety mention that he had pulled ahead in either NH or Iowa? Of course, he was on Tweety show the other night and came across pretty good. And now, Peggy Noonan is building him...I am starting to worry. They want him as the candidate, it appears. Anybody else thought about this?

[wryter2000]

1. Not sure it's pushing

I think they're assuming that the candidate who raises the most money will win the nomination. That's been true historically, no?

[DUreader]

10. Right, and the media love to report scandals

they would never pass up an opportunity to hype a scandal right...

Oops, I just now remembered a whole shitload of bush* scandals that

they mentioned in passing and never touched again.

Let me see now, ...hmm....... what do we know about the media?

[MessiahRp]

39. By that logic

Steve Forbes would have kicked ass running as the nominee of the Republican Party!

Rp

[WhosNext]

2. What did Reagan's stalker (Noonan) say about Dean?

I'm wondering...

[kentuck]

5. She was complimentary.

That he had not changed. That he was an outsider running against the establishment-type of candidate...

[bearfartinthewoods]

48. i saw her do the same thing after the last debate

she is spooky..........

[xultar]

3. Yes, they are pushing...it's not a bad thing...it will help the Dem party

But, the country would be at a disadvantage as a whole because they are being denied a fair look @ Clark.

[Demobrat]

15. How are they being denied?

He's on the the talk shows constantly. He's on Tweety next week. Clark gets as much exposure as anybody else, and more than some.

[Jerseycoa]

37. Stories in November

But somebody posted this the other day:

Lexis-Nexis Academic

Search in: General News/Major Papers/Headline, Lead
Paragraph(s), Terms/11/01/2003 to 11/30/2003:

Howard Dean: 606; Wesley Clark: 144

[Octafish]

52. Media largely GOP organs, got worse under Poppy & Pruneface...

It's not a figment of anyone's imagination. There's a reason the GOP likes Dean. He's getting set up to get clobbered.

Here's some background for those who may not know about the changes the news media have gone through over the past two decades ... largely under the direction of former CIA Director and President George Herbert Walker Bush, aka Poppy:

excerpts from the book

On Bended Knee

The Press and the Reagan Presidency

by Mark Hertsgaard

Farrar Straus Giroux, 1988
p3

We have been kinder to President Reagan than any President that I can remember since I've been at the Post."

So said Benjamin C. Bradlee, executive editor of The Washington Post, some four months before the November 1984 re-election of Ronald Reagan. Three years later, after the Iran-Contra affair had shattered Mr. Reagan's previous image of invincibility, I asked the legendary editor if he still stood by his statement. He did. Stressing that this was "all totally subconscious," Bradlee explained that when Ronald Reagan came to Washington in 1980, journalists at the Post sensed that "here comes a really true conservative.... And we are known-though I don't think justifiably-as the great liberals. So, we've got to really behave ourselves here. We've got to not be arrogant, make every effort to be informed, be mannerly, be fair. And we did this. I suspect in the process that this paper and probably a good deal of the press gave Reagan not a free ride, but they didn't use the same standards on him that they used on Carter and on Nixon."

Even with all that eventually went wrong-the Iran-contra scandal, the stock-market crash, the seemingly endless series of criminal investigations of former top White House officials-the overall press coverage of the Reagan administration was extraordinarily positive. It is rare indeed for public officials to express satisfaction with their press coverage-in the words of NBC News White House correspondent Andrea Mitchell, "Politicians always say they want a fair press, when what they really want is a positive press"-but the men in charge of media and public relations in the Reagan White House were, almost unanimously, quite pleased with how their President was treated.

James Baker, White House chief of staff during the first term and Secretary of the Treasury during the second, told me, "There were days and times and events we might have some complaint about, on balance and generally speaking, I don't think we had anything to complain about in terms of first-term press coverage. "

David Gergen, former White House director of communications, confirmed shortly after leaving the administration in January 1984 that President Reagan and most of his advisers had come to believe that the basic goal of their approach to the news media-"to correct the imbalance of power with the press so that the White House will once again achieve a 'margin of safety' "- had finally been attained.

CONTINUED...

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Ronald_Reagan/On_Bended_Knee.html

[killbotfactory]

4. He's earned it

He's the best fundraiser, has the most supporters, and is ahead or close to first in most polls.

This despite the media calling him the next McGovern, unelectable because he opposed the war, peaked too soon (every month it seems), was "destroyed" by Russert, the confederate flag nonsense, and being called a rookie waffler by Geppy and Kerry.

edit:

Almost forgot about the forbidden sealed documents of mystery.

[AntiCoup2K4]

6. If they are, it's only because KKKarl Rove has assured them that

...Dean is "unelectable".

Just like Clinton was in 1991. (and sadly, the jellybean brain in 1980)

[eissa]

7. I don't see how

tearing down a candidate can be called "pushing." Dean gets lots of limelight, yeah, but he gets most of the criticism as well. While his record is getting microscoped, the other candidates are under no such scrutiny. So it works both ways.

[blm]

8. Frank Luntz praises Dean and that should say it all.

Luntz is the chief crafter for GOP propaganda.

[pruner]

14. if that says it all…

why did Ed gillespie (RNC chair) feel the need to travel to Vermont yesterday for the express purpose of attacking Dean?

[blm]

16. Having Frank Luntz pushing a Dem for months means nothing to you?

How interesting.

[NNN0LHI]

9. Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan and Republican pollster Frank Luntz...

...both said Dean is the man Kentuck. Why the hell am I so worried?

Don

[RevolutionStartsNow]

18. He IS the man

He's ahead in the polls, especially in the first 2 states to vote.

He's ahead in fundraising. Way ahead, if you consider he has opted out.

He appears to be very well organized with a devoted and growing group of supporters.

He scored key union endorsements last month, despite a major flap about a comment he made, and also some key congressional endorsements.

Maybe they are saying Howard is the man because he IS the man.
Why does everything have to be a conspiracy?

I would be a lot more suspicious if they were constantly telling us that Joe Lieberman was the candidate to beat, when there is very little evidence of his campaign success.

[frank frankly]

11. Look, Dean earned his status

He was not given this.

I agree that the media is more scared of Clark and Kerry, but Dean fought for his place right now.

[Killarney]

13. I definitely think Dean gets most of the media attention

out of all the candidates right now. That's both positive and negative attention. Whether it's just because he has the most in the campaign bank or if there's another reason, I don't know.

[HuckleB]

12. The media is pushing him as the frontrunner, I suppose.

Which makes it easier on them. They really don't like to pound more than one candidate at a time.

[unfrigginreal]

17. Please tell me what you think they should be saying?

Dean is leading the polls in the first 2 primaries.
Dean has the largest grass roots support base.
Dean has the most money.
Dean has larger campaign staffs in the primary states.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

19. Hey that's what I just said!

:)

Ssssh...maybe there's NO CONSPIRACY. Maybe it's just TRUE.

But then again, Peggy Noonan? Eeeeek.

[Fleshdancer]

26. No conspiracy???

Well if there's no conspiracy, then how do you explain posting the same thing as unfrigginreal around the SAME TIME???!!! The two of you must be secret members of the gop who work for the Dean campaign and infiltrate DU while also telling all the political journalists what to write and say! Coincidence??? I think NOT! I'm on to you Amerikav...I'm on to you. :tinfoilhat:

[unfrigginreal]

29. LOL

SHHH...don't let everybody in on it.

Chat at you later...I have to go cash that Freerepublic paycheck that Trippi sent me.:hi:

[grasswire]

20. Republicans are pushing Dean

The gooper on crossfire today said that he's "for Dean." I'm sorry, Deanies, but they want Dean. Probably because of his bait-ability. He can be baited into making mistakes.

[eissa]

23. I don't go by what "they" want

"They" should be careful what they wish for. Remember, the Carter administration wanted Reagan. Bush1's administration wanted Clinton. Sometimes the thing you really want comes and bites you in the ass.

[Upfront]

25. Bull Shit

hasn't happened yet. Five term Governer and it did not happen. Take you and your rethug candidate bashing some where else, you won't be missed!

[Eloriel]

21. I don't think so -- At MeetUp tonight

I was at a small, unofficial MeetUp where they played a tape of a Dean talk for MeetUps and then Trippi from the MeetUp 2 months ago (oct). Trippi made it very clear that the difference in the polls in NH and IA was due to the letters. He went on a bit how they'd tracked the numbers and that's how influential the handwritten letters were.

Eloriel

[cryofan]

22. does a wild bear defecate in the shubbery?

Ummm....yeah. Glad you noticed.....

[Upfront]

24. I Hope so

If it is true then i can at last agree with the neo-cons. we both want Dean. lol They Repubs are crapping in there pants. Dean is there worst night mare. Go Dr. Dean!

[cryofan]

27. Yes, Dean is the neocon nightmare--they would rather run against a LIBERAL

And Dean is no liberal--he is a conservative. THey are afraid because Dean is actually more conservative than Bush!

[remfan]

28. Think like Rove and then ask yourself

Who do I want * to be running against?

[poskonig]

30. Al Sharpton?

:shrug:

[remfan]

34. That would explain Tucker Carlson always rooting for Sharpton

a few months ago, wouldn't it? :-)

[Octafish]

41. Tucker is a crypto-NAZI.

It may be he mentions Al Sharpton in order to associate the Democrats with the party of Tawana Bradley, the minorities, and the poor. Real subtlety, his.

When Al Franken was co-host last summer, Tucker made a point of calling him "Al Sharpton" during the intro and closing sections. A real fine turd, that Tucker.

Remember what Gore Vidal said to him? "What exactly is a 'Tucker'?" That shut his wug.

Hee ha ha ha ha (maniacal Democratic Donkey laugh)!!!!

[LoZoccolo]

31. John Kerry?

Someone who'll take his time responding to attacks? Like Michael Dukakis?

[killbotfactory]

35. Obviously the financial powerhouse candidate

with the most effecient campaign machine, and the most supporters.

Obviously.

[AmericanDem]

32. Yes , Go here

http://www.hermes-press.com/HDean/dean_republican.htm

[KittyWampus]

33. Did Gray Davis Want To Run Against Riordan Or Simon?

Did Gray Davis win relection by influencing the primary in CA?

Did Arnold Schwartzenegger get 24/7 positive coverage from the press during the recall?

[unfrigginreal]

40. You mean when he attacked Riordan in the primaries

so that he could face Simon in the general? Sort of like this:

Bush's Party Takes Direct Aim at Howard Dean

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush's Republican Party took direct aim at former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean on Wednesday in one of the party's strongest attacks on an individual Democratic candidate for president this campaign season.

<snip>

The attack on Dean suggested a sharpening Republican focus on the former Vermont governor, who is leading in the polls over eight rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination. In New Hampshire, Dean has a double-digit poll lead over Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry in the run-up to the state's first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 27.

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=803654&tw=wn_wire_story

[KittyWampus]

44. No, Like Kristol Praised Dean Even After Kerry Kicked Dean's Ass

In a debate. 'Dean makes a stupid comment about his lack of Foreign Policy Experience is acceptable because Junior made it to President.

Kerry a few minutes later says, We elect a President not a staff.

And Big Freaking Deal about the link you provided! There's nothing more than a statement by the RNC head and the CHARACTERISATION BY THE MEDIA that the Republican Party is "attacking Dean".

The two sentences Gillespie gave about Dean are right here and they are HARDLY scathing. Nice try though!


"This is the same critic who earlier in the year told Americans that we should prepare for the day when the United States 'won't always have the strongest military' -- former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean," Gillespie said in a speech at St. Anselm College in Manchester.

"He is wrong about our military and his charge that the president was going to cut the combat pay for soldiers in Iraq and
Afghanistan is completely at odds with all facts," Gillespie said."

[Nazgul35]

36. No...

the media wants a horse race....

Right now they have Dean, they're just looking for the anti-Dean to come along....and until that happens, the media is only going to talk about the frontrunner and who will emerge as the main opponent....

Expect this to go on until Iowa...then it will all be about the top three...and after NH it will be about the top two and whomever may be able to knock off number two in the new primaries....

Expect money to dry up and candidates to bleed and drop out....the race will be over by mid Feb.....when 85%+ of the delegates have been awarded...

[arewethereyet]

38. they much prefer to have a leader, always have

remember McGuire and Sosa ? supposedly neck and neck but McGuire was always the leader. it gives them the option of bandwagoning or sniping as the mood dictates.

[Myra]

42. I've felt all along like Dean was being rammed down my throat by media.

And since I'll get flamed for saying that I'll
add that I'm trying to judge Dean as a candidate
independent of my perception that he's the media's choice.

But it's a little hard.
The Media has earned my deep mistrust, and since they're
constantly chanting that he's too liberal too liberal too
liberal...It's hard not to automatically assume the opposite
to be true.
Esp since his record in Vermont makes him appear to be a rather
conservative Dem in many ways.

I see a lot of things in his record and platform and demeanor
that I like, and consider him one of the three best candidates.
But the media factor is a negative (which may be totally unfair
to him.)

[Terwilliger]

43. They're largely focused on Dean

whether that's intentional or not, I can't tell

Seems like they desperately want Dean to be seen as a "liberal" While I find it offensive to think of a Democrat as any less, they certainly talk about him as if he's the one they want.

No, I don't think they're that clever...they seem to think that Clark is the one that can beat them, and they're playing Dean to the hilt.

[Octafish]

45. Obviously.

As measured by the number of stories or the volume of editorial space devoted to the stories in print and broadcast, Dean's got the lion's share of coverage from the beginning when he was a broke nobody.

And when it comes to advertising, free publicity is good — even when it's "negative." Free editorial publicity is best — even if it misses the point. The reason? The press mentions add up in the public mind, making it difficult for the other candidates to get a thought in edgewise.

It’s heartening that more than a few DUers noticed this phenomenon over the past year and a half. Real insidious, that GOP. They’re not fooling everybody, thank Goodness.

[cryofan]

46. Dean is the corporate lobby's "Plan B"

If Bush cannot win, it won't make much matter if he loses to Dean, seeing as how Dean is just as good for them as Bush.

[slinkerwink]

47. oh please......

this is usually the last cry of a dying campaign because their candidate isn't getting much spotlight.

[Marines for Clark]

50. Karl Rove wants Dean

The media wants him and also Karl Rove

[bpilgrim]

49. hey is getting a LOT of 'air time' ;-)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=821349
peace

[mmonk]

51. Not subtle at all.

Something that obvious doesn't qualify as subtle.