Margaret Carlson Distorted Hillary's 60 Minutes Comments: (McCamy Taylor)

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Forum Name General Discussion: Primaries
Topic subject Margaret Carlson Distorted Hillary's 60 Minutes Comments: This Madness Must Stop
Topic URL http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5045762#5045762
5045762, Margaret Carlson Distorted Hillary's 60 Minutes Comments: This Madness Must Stop
Posted by McCamy Taylor on Wed Mar-12-08 05:00 PM

I am working on the last of my three part series about the press versus the three main Democratic contenders. I have already done "The Press v. John Edwards", "The Press v. Hillary Clinton" (it took four parts since the lies are so numerous and varied). I have about 50 pages of notes on Obama now and I hope to start writing soon.

I was thoroughly dismayed to discover that one of our own, Margaret Carlson equivocated about what Hillary said on 60 Minutes when she was asked if Obama was a Muslim. We all know that Drudge edited her comments, snipping out a little piece of what she said in the middle to make it sound like it was her stand alone answer. A bunch of people who support McCain and who want to see Obama and Hillary engage in bloody fighting all the way to the convention then publicized the story. However, to see a liberal journalist peddling the same splitter lies is too much. What did she have to gain? Does she enjoy watching a fight? Is it more fun for her, a journalist to cover a close contest? Is she an Obama supporter who felt that by accusing Clinton of making a Bitch-like comment, she was helping her candidate?

Here is the article from Media Matters:

http://mediamatters.org/items/200803040012

Here is what Carlson said immediately after watching the first portion of the interview (Tweety conveniently left off the last part in which Hillary described how she had been the victim of smears and sympathized with Obama, I guess because that part didn't make Hillary look like a Bitch). Note that Carlson had seen it before, because she knew about the last part that she did not get to see, so this was not the first time she was being exposed to the clip:

CARLSON: Well, she did say, "I'm the victim of scurrilous rumors, and so, I have sympathy." But she doesn't have enough sympathy to say: Of course he's not a Muslim. This is rumors.


But here is what Hillary really said:

CLINTON: Of course not. I mean, that's -- you know, there is no basis for that. You know, I take him on the basis of what he says. And, you know, there isn't any reason to doubt that.


I think maybe the other guest's remarks could have applied to Carlson much better than they applied to Hillary:

SIMON: I think it was exceptional what she said. I think it was a bad way to put it. You can say things on television that we all regret, as we all know, but this was the last thing she said. She could have made her answer more clear and less divisive, but instead she went the other way.


Basically, Carlson chose to fault Hillary for not saying it one way, and yet, Hillary said it almost exactly the way that Carlson claims she wanted Hillary to say it. The result is that Carlson gives the impression that what she really wants---and the reason that she is smiling---is because this kind of controversy delights her.

Again, I do not know if it is simply a journalist crowing over a bloody contest that will give her more to write about or if she is glad to see Hillary look bad---either way, it bothers me, because I am seeing this kind of behavior from more and more journalists.

If the press is playing agent provocateur in order to turn the Democratic primary into a monster truck contest for its own amusement, it must stop, otherwise, we will be defeated this fall.

If the press is playing tit for tat---one blow in exchange for a blow from the other side--it must stop, because most of the "blows" that I am seeing are coming from right wing sources like Drudge, Moonie papers, Fox, anonymous internet sites, Chris Matthews and the like. Whenever there is a cease-fire--as there was a couple of days ago---someone in the press will find a five or six day old interview or they will reprint an old story as if it is new--and the war is back on again. In my research I have seen this pattern over and over again ever since the primaries started.

I'll be watching KO's special comment tonight. I am hoping that he uses the time to bring Democrats to their senses. The real enemy is the GOP. They have already outlined their battle strategy here

http://thepage.time.com/halperin%E2%80%99s-take-ways-mccain-can-beat-obama-that-clinton-cannot /

And lord help us, while we have been attacking each other, they are already up to 11.

........and a comment following*********

Forum Name General Discussion: Primaries
Topic subject Everyone who hasn't watched the full 60 Minutes interview question do so, Its linked
Topic URL http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5045762#5046378
5046378, Everyone who hasn't watched the full 60 Minutes interview question do so, Its linked
Posted by McCamy Taylor on Wed Mar-12-08 05:35 PM

in the Media Matters link. It is very helpful. I did not see the interview and I only read it in the paper, and I thought her answer sounded weird---but it sounded fishy for Hillary who is usually so careful, so I looked it up.

Moral is only you know whats get their news from Drudge. And if KO cites this as one of Hillary's crimes tonight, then he deserves a worst person. But he wouldn't. Would he? Naw. Not KO. Not after all the times he has debunked Drudge.

Except we know from the O'Donnel "Edwards is a loser" mini-scandal that Olbermann does not always keep up with the media news so he may forget where some of the Obama smears originated and he may believe the Huffington Post when it claims that the madrassa story orginated with Hillary (instead of Insight--a Moonie rag) or that 3 Clinton staffers went on a mad rampage spewing about Obama and cocaine (Tweety made up that lie) or any of a number of other lies I have seen in Arianna's mag recently.

And lord help him with the KO estrogen brigade if he goes on a rant with misinformation.