Media Matters Daily Summary

Here are today's news items from Media Matters for America, click on the title or 'read more' to read the entirety of each story. Hannity falsely claimed Bill Clinton wrote op-ed criticizing Bush days before 2001 inauguration Sean Hannity falsely claimed that President Clinton "had an op-ed in January 15th, before George Bush was sworn in, criticizing George Bush." In fact, Clinton referred to the incoming Bush administration in his op-ed only when he urged it "to appoint a nonpartisan presidential commission on electoral reform." Read More Why should we listen to these conservatives on foreign policy? When considering what kind of platform to offer conservative commentators' criticism of President Obama's reaction to events in Iran, the media should remember these commentators' previous discredited claims, predictions, and analysis about other foreign policy issues, particularly the Iraq war. Read More Progressive economists' critiques missing from coverage of "compromise" health co-op plan Media figures and outlets have characterized Sen. Kent Conrad's cooperative health insurance proposal as a "compromise," "hybrid," or bipartisan "alternative" to a public insurance option without noting the argument by progressive economists that a public option is necessary for health care reform to be successful. Read More Hayes misrepresented Obama comments to suggest excessive deference to Ahmadinejad In a June 18 blog post, Stephen Hayes claimed that President Obama "has gone to great lengths to avoid saying anything casting doubt on the legitimacy of the Ahmadinejad government" and said that during a CNBC interview, Obama repeatedly referred to the "Iranian government." In fact, Obama noted challenges to Ahmadinejad's legitimacy and did not refer to the "Iranian government" in that interview. Read More Since when is a 63 percent approval rating a bad thing? It's generally accepted that the news media obsess over horse-race political coverage at the expense of serious examinations of important issues. Media critics on the left, right, and in the middle tend to agree that there is too much focus on polling and not enough on policy, while many reporters seem proud of their focus on the game rather than the stakes. (Politico is, after all, called "Politico," not "Policy-o," and features blogs "on Politics," "on Hill intrigue," "on Gossip," and "on Campaigns" -- but not "on Policy." ABC News' senior White House correspondent calls his blog "Political Punch." And so on.) Read More Morning Joe obscures Gibbs', Bush's remarks to attack Gibbs, defend Bush Joe Scarborough and Pat Buchanan criticized the Obama White House as -- in Buchanan's words -- "smug" and "arrogant" while discussing Robert Gibbs' response to a question about comments made by former President Bush without airing the actual question Gibbs was asked or Bush's comments. Read More You can help support our work; become a volunteer media monitor, or donate to Media Matters for America.