C-Span call re Bush going AWOL

[Eric J in MN]

Wall St. Journal reporter Jeanne Cummings was a guest today.

A caller said, "I'm a marine, and I served in Vietnam, and if I had gone AWOL I'd have gone to prison. Why isn't the press talking more about Bush going AWOL during his second year in the National Guard?"

Jeanne Cummings said there was an article on the subject in 2000. The Gore campaign could have made an issue of it, but chose not to. It's not up to the press to turn something into an issue.

[gmoney]

1. "It's not up to the press to turn something into an issue."

ROFLMAO

[Eric J in MN]

2. The Daily Howler has implied that during the 2000 campaign

The Daily Howler has implied that during the 2000 campaign, whenever Al Gore released a new campaign commercial or wore a different outfit, the press would announce "Al Gore is re-inventing himself again!"

Apparently, they can make something an issue if they want to, even if it makes no sense.

[GreenPartyVoter]

15. Frickin' unreal

What's the press FOR, then??

[JailBush]

3. So what's the punch line, the press or Al Gore? N/T

[kentuck]

4. Most of them believe that it is not their job to "turn it into an issue"..

They can report it but if the Democrats do not want to pursue it or show no interest in it, it will not be an issue. How do we resolve that little problem? Pretty self explanatory, I think.

[Jawja]

19. The Democrats tried to make it an issue before the selection

with a press conference by 2 Senators (Kerry may have been one of them; I think Inoue may have been the other) on the very same day that the DUI story broke from a Faux News affiliate in Maine.

As the press was given another stick to chase, the AWOL story got buried by the DUI story.

So yes, the press does choose which issues should be brought to the consciousness of the American public. On that day, they chose the DUI story over the AWOL story. This was deliberate.

[Military Brat]

5. Damn straight. It's up to the press to bury the issue.

Unless of course it's about Bill Clinton, and then it's all "issue" all the time.

:evilgrin:

[grasswire]

6. not exactly

Her recollection was that the AWOL matter was generally covered. She didn't say "one story" -- she implied that it was generally covered in the press during the presidential campaign of 2000.

All day I've been meaning to find someone with Nexis to check to see if the Wall Street Journal ever covered the AWOL matter. I'd like to shove that down her neck.

Brian Lamb is always ticked by those questions. He says he gets one "every day."

[Eric J in MN]

7. I don't think she said the Wall St. J covered it, just a newspaper (nt)

nt

[librechik]

16. It was the Boston Globe--and nobody else

no tv, nobody know

here are some facts
http://www.awolbush.com/

[leesa]

17. You would think getting one everyday would make it an issue to cover

[TacticalPeek]

18. Paul Begala did a Nexis search in 2001: 13,641 vs 49

stories cf. Clinton 'draft dodging' vs aWol National Guard. I doubt the WSJ was one of the 49, except 'he continued to fly for several years' official story bs.

She should be ashamed.


edit: add link - http://www.uaw.org/cap/01/news/day3media.html
.

[caledesi]

8. Where was Bush* from 1971-1972? Why can't anyone answer this

question? And they talk about Dean and "sealed records." Bullshit.

[DiverDave]

9. "It's not up to the press to turn something into an issue."

Oh My ACHING ASS!!

Hey Jeanne Cummings, how about MONICA!?!, How about Vince Foster? how about Whitewater??

You are a whore like the rest of them.

It aint over bitch, you and yours will scurry like roaches when the light shines on your traitorous "reporting".
I'd laugh if this wasn't so sickening.

[Q]

10. It's perfectly legitimate to cover a story...

...with the implication of wrongdoing or illegality.

- Like Robin Willians said about pedophiles: it's not just a sin...it's a felony...and we have to keep track.

- It should be obvious to any reporter that going 'AWOL' is against the law. They wouldn't have hesitated to report such a story about a Democratic candidate...which shows a bias at the WSJ.

- The American media is running out of excuses for why they won't report the crimes of GWB*.

[joanski01]

11. I didn't even turn on

the television yesterday morning. I know that Friday morning on Washington Journal is All Republican Day. Especially when I saw that they were broadcasting from the Wall Street Journal offices.

[rman]

12. bless the independent press

Where would we be if they wouldn't keep an eye on the powers that be and make an issue out of wrong doings?

Oh wait. They are with the powers that be. My bad.


"The Gore campaign could have made an issue of it.. It's not up to the press to turn something into an issue."

They'r actually saying that politicians are the ones to make an issue, and for the press to follow the politicians lead.
This is an admission that they are a propaganda machine.

[NewJeffCT]

13. Making it a story

The problem is that if the Reich Wing wants to make something a story, they have Faux News, Limbaugh, Hannity, etc to pound away at a story day and night, and then their listeners start phoning, faxing and emailing more legit news sources asking why this story isn't being covered, and pretty soon the legit news bends to the will of the Reich.

[msmcghee]

14. I think you got it.

The RW figured this out 12 years ago - at least. And the "smart" dem leadership figured that the voters would not be swayed by a constant stream of bad press coming from the RW PR machine and eventually appearing in the mainstream media.

What were they thinking? (What are they thinking?)

[Ksec]

20. let her know how you feel

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