November 1, 2007

But They're Unaffiliated, Of Course

Media Matters insists that it has no intention of supporting a candidate, but it's hard to tell that from its content. As Jonah Goldberg noted, the site went into a full-throated defense of Hillary Clinton by attacking Tim Russert for ... well, asking questions about issues:

After the October 30 Democratic presidential debate, numerous media figures commented that co-moderator Tim Russert had acted as, in the words of The New York Times, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (NY) "third toughest opponent on the stage." During the debate, Russert asked a total of 30 distinct questions (not including follow-up questions). Fourteen were either questions directed to Clinton or questions directed to other candidates about Clinton. Many media outlets took note of Russert's focus on Clinton. Russert has received media attention for his conduct toward Clinton in previous debates as well, including criticism following a debate he moderated in 2000, when Clinton was running for Senate against then-Rep. Rick Lazio (R-NY).

What's so unusual about challenging a front-runner? Media Matters seems especially incensed that Russert and Williams challenged her on inconsistencies, such as raising the Social Security tax. They even go so far as to complain about Russert's performance in the Senatorial debate seven years ago between Hillary and Rick Lazio.

Of course, Russert and Williams also fired questions at the other candidates, all Democrats and most more overtly liberal than Hillary. Media Matters doesn't devote any time in defending those candidates from the meanies at MSNBC who dared to ask Hillary about immigration and about releasing her White House papers from the Clinton presidential library.

That shouldn't surprise anyone. In looking at their front page today, Media Matters complains about Clinton's media coverage in ten separate links. In contrast, they defend Obama twice and mention no other Democratic candidate at all on the front page. (I've cached it here.) While one can argue that Hillary gets more coverage than Barack Obama, she doesn't get five times the coverage, and other candidates get a bit of media attention as well. Media Matters seems more or less disinterested in rebutting supposedly misleading reporting on their campaigns.

I expect that Media Matters will fire back at this post, but at least in doing so, it will have managed to find something else to do besides being Hillary's spin team.

Posted by Ed Morrissey on November 1, 2007 2:58 PM | Comments () | TrackBacks (2)

Sphere It - Email this post Print Posts

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/tabhartas.cgi/15778

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference But They're Unaffiliated, Of Course:

» Questions For The Woman from Ed Driscoll.com
He's nowhere near the eeeevil conservative biased media polemicist that Tim Russert is, but Jonah Goldberg has a few questions of his own for the woman who would be king...... [Read More]

Tracked on November 2, 2007 1:50 AM

» The Italian Magazine Subsciption from The Italian Magazine Subsciption
Early in his career, the Italian architect worked fo [Read More]

Tracked on December 1, 2007 8:31 AM

Comments

About

Captain Ed is a father and grandfather living in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, a native Californian who moved to the North Star State because of the weather. He lives with his wife Marcia, also known as the First Mate, their two dogs, and frequently watch their granddaughter Kayla, whom Captain Ed calls The Little Admiral.

Read More

My Other Blog

The Crows Nest

No Libel In The Blogosphere?

Picking up on a paper written by Glenn "Instapundit" Reynolds, Shaun Mullen talks about libel in the blogosphere, and why almost no legal action has ever been attempted against bloggers. Shaun has personal experience in this regard, and he has an excellent take on Glenn's piece. My first thought -- how many lawyers would take a case for the kind of money one would expect to get from a blogger?

The Tyrant Is Not Amused

So says Michael Stickings of The Reaction, one of the few liberal bloggers to see the threat from Hugo Chavez to liberty and regional security. His referendum on dictatorship has proven rather unpopular, threatening an embarrassing loss at the polls for the man who declares his commitment to socialism in the most dire terms possible. Read all of Michael's excellent update on the December 2nd poll.

Watcher's Council Nominations

It feels like years since I've linked to the Watcher of Weasels nominations for the best blog posts of the week on national security -- and it probably has been years, now that I think about it. Check it out this week, as the Council has been kind enough to nominate one of my posts.

The Old Woman

Pat Buchanan has a new book out, Day of Reckoning, which I have not yet had a chance to review. According to Rick Moran, I needn't bother. Buchanan informs his readers that America has passed into twilight. Moran refers to Buchanan as an "old woman". Don't miss this post.

Norman Podhoretz Responds

Accused of using a manufactured quote by Andrew Sullivan, Norman Podhoretz responds rather forcefully at Commentary's blog, Contentions. Podhoretz notes that Sullivan and The Economist both seem to miss the fact that the Iranians often edit Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's speeches for their own political benefit. Amir Taheri, who published the quote on which Podhoretz relied, produces the source material for the remarks by Khomeini eschewing Iranian nationalism for Islamist triumphalism. Will Sullivan apologize?

Fred Thompson On The War

Pajamas Media has a great interview with Fred Thompson as the first of its conversations with Republican candidates on the war. Thompson has one of his best web appearances in this entry -- sharp, engaged, articulate, and resolute. He talks about the fallacy of believing a nation at war can have both guns and butter, and what it takes to win a war. Don't miss it!

New Pajamas Media Podcast On BlogWorld Expo!

Don't miss Pajamas Media's new XM show, PJM Political, now available for podcast and download at PJM's site. I'm one of the featured segments, as well as Glenn Reynolds, Hugh Hewitt, James Lileks, Ed Driscoll, and more. Be sure to check it out!

Captain's Quarters Makes The Finals -- Twice!

I've been honored to be named a finalist in two different categories of the 2007 Weblog Awards -- Best Blog and Best Conservative Blog! Be sure to cast your votes in all catgories, and to use the opportunity to discover some new and worthy voices ....

UPDATE: We finished in third place for Best Conservative Blog and fourth in the overall Best Blog competition. Thanks to everyone who voted for Captain's Quarters, and I hope you enjoyed a new blog or two during the effort!

Help Project Valour-IT Make Us All Winners!

The Navy team at Soldier's Angels can use your help to make everyone a winner! Donate to the Project Valour-IT fundraiser for the Navy team and help us give our wounded warriors an opportunity to shine.

Crow's Nest Mostly Unmanned

Yes, I know the Crow's Nest has mostly been moribund since the site's relaunch. I do plan on using it more often in the future, I promise. I'll be spending a little more time on these posts as a way to link out to the blogosphere. Keep an eye on this space.

Also, please note that I've put the Amazon search bar on the main page, in the right sidebar. If you want to do some shopping at Amazon -- and who doesn't? -- be sure to shop through Captain's Quarters. Amazon does pay a small percentage of the sale to me, and it helps pay for a few sundries related to the blog. Much appreciated!

OpenCongress Web Widget

Ever wanted to announce your support or opposition to Congressional legislation? OpenCongress now has a web widget that allows bloggers to do exactly that. Take a look at this, and check out how easily you can build your own.

Maybe They're Flotation Devices?

The Australian Navy foots the bill for breast augmentations. The Labour Party would like to know why, and probably so would most of the voters in Australia.

The Thinking Blogger

Congrats to Fausta, who won a Thinking Blogger award. She thanks me for my friendship, but the truth is that Fausta makes it easy to be her friend. She's always positive and energetic, and she epitomizes the notion of a thinking blogger. Make sure to put her on your must-read list!

Ensign Calls For Return Of MoveOn Money

NRSC chair Senator John Ensign calls for Democrats to return all campaign funds donated by MoveOn, after their despicable New York Times ad today accusing David Petraeus of treason. "If Senate Democrats are serious about moving our country forward, they will denounce this outrageous ad and return the campaign funds MoveOn.org has lavished on them as well as the donations made through MoveOn.org -- the choice is theirs." Ensign's right, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the refund ...

Support The Al-Dura Petition

Roger Simon at Pajamas Media is circulating a petition to demand accountability for the discredited al-Dura report from France's Channel 2. This is, as Roger calls it, the "Father of all Fauxtography," and C-2 has never acknowledged its fault in airing the supposed murder of a Palestinian child. He wants C-2 to show all of the unedited footage of the incident in order to show that C-2 faked the murder. If they're resisting the demand, I'd say they have something to hide ....

Archives

Subscription


blog advertising
Blogroll

Captain's Quarters features an authoritative blogroll, listing many websites that feature the top political thinking on the Internet. In order to make the list easier to navigate, it has been divided into a number of sections.

Click on the section title to expand the list.

Northern Alliance
Hugh Hewitt
Captain's Quarters
Fraters Libertas
Lileks
Power Line
SCSU Scholars
Shot In The Dark
Northern Alliance Radio Network
101st Fighting Keyboardist
Blogs for Bush
Sister Ships
Recent Comments