The attack ads by Vietnam vets who say John Kerry didn’t earn his medals have run in only three states. Yet, Americans across the country know about the charges, thanks to the accommodating “free” media.
Last night, I was casually watching Gwen Ifill on the PBS News Hour program. She asked the New York Times’ Adam Nagourny, a print reporter who doubles as so many of them do as a broadcast media pundit, if the flip-flopping charge against Kerry is sticking. Yes, Nagourney opined. He never mentioned that the “I voted for it before I voted against it” comment about the Iraq War made sense in context. But the GOP has used it to suggest Kerry flip flops. Of course the charge has stuck because reporters like Ifill can’t think of any more intelligent questions other than “do people think it’s true?” Isn’t the role of reporters to shed the light of truth on charges?
The Washington Post tried to correct the record on the medals story today in a front page story that showed one of the critics, Larry Thurlow, has contradicted himself.
Thurlow’s military records, portions of which were released yesterday to The Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act, contain several references to “enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire” directed at “all units” of the five-boat flotilla. Thurlow won his own Bronze Star that day, and the citation praises him for providing assistance to a damaged Swift boat “despite enemy bullets flying about him.”
But by this afternoon, the story had disappeared from the home page of The Post and was replaced by one of Kerry attacking Bush for letting such groups do his “dirty work.”
Then “All Things Considered” on NPR began today with three stories. The first was about Kerry lashing out at Bush. I came in towards the end of it. (Full audio will be available at 7:30 p.m. EDT here). In the 5:00 news round-up, reporter Juan Williams’s summary is immediately followed by a Bush spokesman repeating a claim that Bush wants Kerry to join him to repudiate all ads by independent groups like the Swift Boat men and MoveOn.org. Neither Williams’s full story (the part I heard) or the news brief points out that Bush has refused to repudiate the ad, whereas Kerry did repudiate the MoveOn ad that attacked Bush’s service – or lack thereof.
The second story was by John McChesney and began with an acknowledgement that the ad has aired in only three state but that it has gotten legs from incessant reporting of it. Keep in mind, about the only news has been:
1. The charge
2. Revelations of the group’s funding
3. John McCain’s condemnation and his demand that Bush renounce it.
4. Bush’s refusal to do so.
Following that, about the only news has been that which discredits the ad, including one critic’s recantation and now Thurlow’s inconsistency, dare I say, his flip-flopping.
But the media, and not just the shout matches on cable TV, keep repeating the charges, and every little comment or development gives the media the chance to rehash, indeed to provide free advertising for the charges. See more http://mediamatters.org/ and here.
I agree this isn’t an easy call. You have to give The Post credit for pointing out the inconsistencies and distortions of the scurrilous campaign. But in a search for “balance” the media reports every development that discredits the ad and includes comments supporting it, but most importantly, keeps repeating the charges.
Reportedly, the Swift Boat group has collected nearly a half million dollars since the ad broke from people and organizations that want to keep the charges alive.
Want to learn more? Well, you could watch any one of the many cable news/talk shows tonight. But how much you’ll learn is highly debatable. However, those talk fests and stories will help the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth keep raking in the money yet be no more closer to the truth. All courtesy of your favorite reporters.
Josh Marshall has his take today.
Finally, there’s a Virginia connection. Of course, the fact that Bush won’t refute the ad is the last sentence.