Mc Cains' ties with Pastor Hagee

[ladyinred]

http://mediamattersaction.org/freeride/addendum Also an email I received:

In the months since Paul Waldman and I completed Free Ride: John McCain and the Media, not much has changed in the media's ongoing love affair with the Arizona senator. To combat the seemingly never-ending barrage of fawning, uncritical coverage the media bestow upon McCain, Paul and I have updated our book with an exclusive online chapter covering the time that has passed since Free Ride went to press.

>> Read the New Chapter - How the media has covered McCain since Free Ride went to press.

While the news media couldn't stop talking about Rev. Jeremiah Wright, McCain's ties to Rev. John Hagee -- who claimed that Hurricane Katrina was "the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans" for its "level of sin" and who advocates an American attack on Iran, which he says is part of God's plan for Armageddon -- have generated little coverage. NBC Washington bureau chief Tim Russert even recently acknowledged: "I don't think -- the Hagee thing, McCain has not been questioned ... scrutinized about that."

When The New York Times broke a story about McCain that suggested McCain may have done favors for Paxson Communications -- a company that has donated tens of thousands of dollars to McCain and flew him around the country on its corporate jet -- the story disappeared almost immediately.

Rather than subjecting John McCain to the kind of scrutiny any presumptive major-party nominee should expect to receive, the media have continued to act as John McCain's protector and defender, excusing his misstatements, like when he wrongly said---more than once---that Al Qaeda in Iraq was being trained in Iran and ignoring potentially damaging comments, like when he implied the Iraq war was fought to secure oil supplies. And still, we continue to hear that McCain is a "maverick" (a word used to refer to him more than 700 times in January and February alone) who delivers "straight talk" (used 650 times in the same two months).

>> Read the New Chapter - How the media has covered McCain since Free Ride went to press.

"The media does seem to be ready to will John McCain out of Iowa," said NBC political director Chuck Todd just before the voting began -- and so they did, declaring his distant fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses a comeback and propelling McCain into New Hampshire and the primaries that followed.

Since then, the media has routinely, uncritically aired McCain's attacks on his Democratic rivals and blatant distortions of their positions. The media are acting more like McCain's primary surrogates every day. Much as they have been for the last decade, the rules are just different for John McCain.

I hope you'll read our new chapter and use it to help us change the rules. It's time for the media to start treating John McCain like they would any other politician.

Sincerely,



David Brock

P.S. -- If you haven't yet read Free Ride: John McCain and the Media, pick up a copy from your local bookstore or order it online from Amazon. http://McCainsFreeRide.com/amazon

Helpful Links:

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