The Campaign Against Bush -- Election 2004 Coverage -- Media Research Center

Election 2004 Coverage

The Campaign Against President Bush

The Democrats have campaigned against President Bush while campaigning against each other. The media have eagerly relayed Democratic charges and even forwarded a few attack lines of their own.

The Democrats' AWOL Charge | According to the Polls
Dem Press vs. '00 GOP | Liberals Good, Republicans Bad
Preemptive Media Attacks | Miscellaneous

The Democrats' AWOL Charge

AWOL Charge Just Payback
Time’s Joe Klein saw the unproven AWOL charge as payback for supposed Republican “dirty tricks” in past elections.
(Notable Quotables, March 1, 2004)

Moran Condemns Mrs. Bush’s Harsh Words About McAuliffe
DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe, without a single shred of evidence, accused President Bush of being AWOL in 1972 and the media repeated the story for the next two weeks. When the First Lady said McAuliffe had lied about her husband, ABC White House reporter Terry Moran quickly rushed to the Democrat’s defense.
(CyberAlert, February 19, 2004)
Also: ABC re-aired Moran’s defense of McAuliffe the next night.
(CyberAlert, February 20, 2004)

Kerry’s Partisan Partners in Smearing Bush
The broadcast networks ran 25 stories on the unproven AWOL charge from February 1-16. In 1992, they ran a total of 10 stories during the entire campaign on the documented draft-dodging of candidate Bill Clinton.
(Media Reality Check, February 17, 2004)

Partisan Tools, Not Objective Reporters
The networks pounded President Bush over the unproven AWOL allegations but were protective of Democratic candidate Bill Clinton during the 1992 draft-dodging scandal.
(Media Reality Check, February 11, 2004)

Schieffer Surprised National Guard Story Still Going…
…But that didn’t stop the CBS host of Face the Nation from leading a discussion on the subject with the Time reporter Karen Tumulty and Walter Robinson of the Boston Globe.
(CyberAlert, February 16, 2004)

Friday Records Release Leaves Media Upset
On Friday, February 12, the White House released additional records about President Bush’s National Guard service but that didn’t quiet the media, who found more “unanswered questions” and complained about the timing.
(CyberAlert, February 16, 2004)

CNN’s Schneider Trumpets AWOL Charge
CNN’s Bill Schneider called the Democrats unproven AWOL charge the “Political Play of the Week.” This time around, “it’s not the Democrats who have to feel defensive about the Sixties.”
(CyberAlert, February 16, 2004)

Networks Continue to Feature Bush Critics
Author James Moore and former Texas National Guard Lt. Col. Bill Burkett were featured on the morning shows but there was no explanation that the two were strident Bush critics. Moore has written an anti-Bush book and Burkett is a member of a left-wing veterans organization and has been on an anti-Bush vendetta for years.
(CyberAlert, February 16, 2004)

ABC Poll Finds Most Think National Guard Story “Not a Legitimate Issue”
Peter Jennings highlighted an ABC News/Washington Post poll that found President Bush’s approval ratings at a new low and a belief that he exaggerated WMD intelligence. Jennings didn’t mention that most voters think the National Guard story was a non-issue and that most believe the war in Iraq has contributed to the long-term security of the U.S.
(CyberAlert, February 13, 2004)

CBS Highlights Bush Bashers
The CBS Evening News gave less than one sentence to dental records that prove President Bush was on an Alabama base in 1973 but followed it with an entire story from a left-wing Bush basher who claimed Texas National Guard commanders purged Bush’s service record in 1997.
(CyberAlert, February 13, 2004)

CNN Dedicates Hour to National Guard
CNN dedicated the entire hour of its 8pm EST Paula Zahn Now to “Two Men, Two Choices,” a title which appeared beneath old black and white photos of John Kerry and George Bush in military uniforms. But in 1992, well more than a week after news broke about Bill Clinton’s underhanded efforts to avoid the draft by misleading the chief of his local draft board, CNN aired a profile of Clinton during a prime time special on the candidates, yet failed to mention his draft avoidance.
(CyberAlert, February 13, 2004)

Time’s Joe Klein Claims Republicans Are Getting What They Deserved
When it comes to the baseless and now completely disproved allegation by Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe that President Bush was “AWOL”, Time columnist and CNN contributor Joe Klein is happy that Bush is on the receiving end of a sleazy campaign stunt. “It’s kind of fun to watch Republicans respond to the kind of politics that they’ve been practicing for the last 20 years, especially the Bush family in 1988,” he rationalized on CNN’s Paula Zahn Now.
(CyberAlert, February 13, 2004)

Matthews Notes That Clinton’s Draft-Avoidance Was Never Revisited
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews wondered aloud why Bush’s National Guard service is such an issue after three years of his presidency when Bill Clinton’s avoidance of any Vietnam-era service “never got revisited again after that first campaign, despite the fact that he wrote the letter admitting he got help in dodging the draft, despite the fact that everybody knew he lied, basically, to Colonel Holmes.”
(CyberAlert, February 13, 2004)

Media Obsess Over National Guard Story
Instead of castigating those leveling unsubstantiated “AWOL” charges, and demanding that the accusers provide proof, the network morning shows presumed Bush is guilty until proven innocent. With “Was He AWOL?” plastered on screen over video of present day Bush next to a black-and-white still shot of Bush in uniform during his National Guard days, ABC’s Charles Gibson asserted: “President Bush still in the hot seat after releasing his military records. Was he AWOL as his critics charge?”
(CyberAlert, February 12, 2004)

Media Saw Nothing Wrong With Clinton’s Draft-Dodging
Back in 1992 the Washington press corps saw nothing wrong with Bill Clinton’s avoidance of any military service and came to his defense. Al Hunt, for example, argued: "Bill Clinton did not do anything illegal. There were, most young Americans at that time that were in his income and educational background did exactly what he did. They tried to find some way to avoid service."
(CyberAlert, February 12, 2004)

Networks Dissatisfied With Bush National Guard Records
The White House on Tuesday released pay records which disproved the unsubstantiated allegation of DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe that President George W. Bush was AWOL from his Air National Guard duties for a year in 1972-73. But instead of rebuking McAuliffe and other liberals for such scurrilous tactics, the networks avoided castigating McAuliffe and moved the goal posts on the subject as they assumed Bush is guilty until the White House proves him innocent by accounting for his activities for every week 30-plus years ago.
(CyberAlert, February 11, 2004)

White House Press Corps Attacks McClellan
The initial White House press briefing after DNC chair Terry McAuliffe’s claim was quite contentious, with the press corps pounding away at Press Secretary Scott McClellan for nearly 30 straight minutes over their dissatisfaction with the 1972-'73 pay records proving George W. Bush’s service in the Air National Guard.
(CyberAlert, February 11, 2004)

Olbermann Dismisses Democrat Hypocrisy on AWOL Charges
In 1992, Sen. John Kerry took the floor of the U.S. Senate to defend Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton’s draft-dodging shenanigans but that doesn’t make Democrats hypocrites for hurling unsubstantiated charges at Bill Clinton.
(CyberAlert, February 6, 2004)

Woodruff Treats Bush as Guilty of AWOL Charges
George W. Bush has an honorable discharge from the Air National Guard but when DNC chair Terry McAuliffe accused him of being AWOL she didn’t challenge him and failed to mention Democratic hypocrisy. A day later, though, she pounded away at a Bush spokesman to prove that the President wasn’t AWOL.
(CyberAlert, February 6, 2004)

Media Calls AWOL Charges “Feisty” Not Dirty
Bring up Bill Clinton draft-dodging ways was mean, but the unfounded charges that George W. Bush was AWOL while in the National Guard was greeted with enthusiasm by the media, who said it was a sign that Dems were willing to hit back.
(Media Reality Check, February 5, 2004)

Rather Forwards AWOL Charges; Calls Them “New Questions”
CBS’s Dan Rather acted as if the AWOL charges against President Bush were new. Rather repeated the charges of DNC chair Terry McAuliffe and ignored the hypocrisy of Democrats like Sen. John Kerry who defended Bill Clinton’s draft-dodging ways in 1992.
(CyberAlert, February 5, 2004)

Jennings Passes on AWOL Attacks
ABC’s Peter Jennings may have disliked Michael Moore’s use of the word “deserter” in reference to President Bush but when Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe and other Democrats started using the word “AWOL,” Jennings dutifully passed the charge on.
(CyberAlert, February 4, 2003)

Michael Moore Calls Bush “Deserter” But Networks Undermine Charge
Left-wing filmmaker Michael Moore appeared at a Wesley Clark for President rally and called President Bush a “deserter.” At the January 22 Democratic presidential debate Jennings asked Clark about the “reckless” charge and both CBS and ABC ran stories debunking the notion. Moore later attacked Jennings for being soft on Bush.
(CyberAlert, February 3, 2004)

According to the Polls

News Flash: Democratic Exit Polls Show That Dems Don’t Like Bush
That was news to CBS’ Bob Schieffer and to NBC’s Tim Russert, who argued that exit polls of Democratic primary voters meant trouble for President Bush. Russert even called the uniformity of Democratic hostility to the President “amazing.”
(CyberAlert, February 4, 2004)

Democrat Exit Polls Are Bad News for Bush
CBS’ Bob Schieffer claimed exit polls from the New Hampshire Democratic Primary was bad news for the President and Newsweek’s Howard Fineman claimed the Bush campaign should be worried.
(CyberAlert, January 28, 2004)

MSNBC.com Plays Down Bush Lead
NBC’s Tim Russert made note of a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that found President Bush’s lead over his Democratic rivals to be anywhere from 17 to 21 points, but MSNBC.com’s web site played down the numbers. The MSNBC.com headline declared: “Poll: No groundswell for Bush.”
(CyberAlert, January 15, 2004)

Dems Get More and Better Press than 2000 GOP Candidates

Morning Show Comparison: Dems Get Lot More Air Time than GOP
The Monday of the Iowa caucuses, Howard Dean, John Kerry, John Edwards and Dick Gephardt received 26 minutes of air time. Four years earlier, Steve Forbes was the only Republican candidate to appear the networks the day of the Iowa caucuses.
(CyberAlert, January 20, 2004)

Bias Flashback: Networks Were Hostile to Forbes Four Years Ago
Steve Forbes managed to get on the air the day of the Iowa caucuses four years ago and he got nothing but grief from Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer and Bryant Gumbel.
(CyberAlert, January 20, 2004)

Bias Flashback: Bush was too Conservative
Four years earlier, the networks contended that George W. Bush had been pulled far to the right during the Iowa caucus. NBC’s Brian Williams even remarked that “Bush had to run with Jesus Christ.” Tim Russert, Williams’ colleague at NBC, also worried that Steve Forbes had forced Bush into favoring a big tax cut.
(CyberAlert, January 20, 2004)

Bias Flashback: Very Few Liberal Labels Applied
The networks applied the very few liberal labels during their coverage of the Iowa caucuses. In 2000, conservative labels were everywhere. The weekend before the Iowa caucuses, CBS Evening News alone applied the labels “hard right,” “right” or “conservative” an incredible 20 times.
(CyberAlert, January 20, 2004)

MRC Study: ’03 Dems Get More Airtime than ’99 Republicans
An MRC study morning show coverage found that Democratic presidential hopefuls got nearly twice as much airtime last year as the Republicans had in 1999. The questions posed by network interviewers in 2003 also reflected a pro-liberal, anti-Bush agenda, while GOP candidates four years earlier were rarely indulged with pro-conservative, anti-Clinton questions from their network hosts.
(Media Reality Check, January 7, 2004)

Liberals Good, Republicans Bad

CBS Features Anti-Bush MoveOn.org Ad
CBS refused to run an anti-Bush ad from the left-wing group MoveOn.org during the Super Bowl but that didn’t stop CBS News from giving free air time to the ad.
(CyberAlert, February 2, 2004)

PBS: Republican Gaines in South Tied to Racism
PBS’s Bill Moyers delivered the usual liberal spin on the two parties in the South. The Democrats lost the South because of their support for civil rights and Republicans gained it by appealing to white resentment.
(CyberAlert, February 2, 2004)

Muller Hypes Left-Wing MoveOn.org
ABC reporter Judy Muller spent five minutes praising the work of left-wing MoveOn.org. Muller referred to them as a “burgeoning Internet group” and gushed about how they wanted to “re-engage people in the democratic process.”
(CyberAlert, January 29, 2004)

Brokaw: Bush Represents “Corporate Interests”
And poor Howard Dean just can’t keep up with him, the NBC anchor claimed on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show.
(CyberAlert, January 7, 2004)

MoveOn.org Ad Compares Bush to Hitler
MoveOn.org has used their Internet space to show ads comparing President Bush to Adolf Hitler, and the media, so quick to condemn any negative ads produced by Republicans, gave them a free ride. Two 30-second Hitler spots were among more than 1,500 entries for a contest MoveOn.org sponsored to find one that “tells the truth about George Bush's policies.”
(Bozell's News Column, January 7, 2003)

Journalists View “Crony Capitalism” as Anti-Bush Issue
Liberal journalists on The Chris Matthews Show clearly viewed corporate corruption as a Republican issue. Time’s Joe Klein led the charge, claiming that “crony capitalism is gonna be a big issue. All of the connections between the Bush White House and companies like Haliburton and the deals on energy and the environment and so on, I think the Democrats are gonna use that.”
(CyberAlert, January 6, 2004)

Preemptive Media Attacks

Will Jane Fonda be Kerry’s “Willie Horton?”
After noting the existence of a photo showing Kerry and Jane Fonda at a 1970 anti-Vietnam war protest, CBS’s David Axelrod showcased an expert who declared in a sound bite: “Remember Willie Horton? Well Willie Horton has been retired. Jane is taking his place.” In the same story, CBS’s Byron Pitts gave equal credence to two views of Kerry’s ideology: “Democrats say he’s George Bush; Republicans say he’s Ted Kennedy.”
(CyberAlert, February 12, 2004)

CBS’s Roberts Claims Bush Too Mainstream and Too Extreme on Gay Marriage
CBS’s John Roberts noted that Bush’s position against gay marriage “puts him solidly in the mainstream,” as a CBS News poll found that by 61 percent to 34 percent most “Americans oppose legalizing gay marriage.” Seconds later, Roberts warned that “even some members of the President’s own party worry that he’s getting too far out in front of this controversy just to satisfy conservative family groups.”
(CyberAlert, February 12, 2004)

Russert Worries About Tax Cuts in Bush Interview
NBC's Tim Russert noted that some conservatives are upset with President Bush's spending but the Meet the Press host didn't pursue that story line. Instead, Russert pressed the President on tax cuts and suggested that there should be no more tax cuts until the budget is balanced.
(CyberAlert, February 9, 2004)

CBS Disappointed that McCain Believes Bush
Sen. John McCain is usually the media’s hero, but CBS’s Bill Plante was apparently upset by his belief that President Bush did not manipulate intelligence regarding Iraq. McCain is usually seen as an independent but even “he seemed ready to give the president a pass,” Plante claimed.
(CyberAlert, February 9, 2004)

CNN’s Morton Claims Kerry’s War Record Preempts Liberal Claims
CNN’s Bruce Morton argued that some Vietnam veterans support John Kerry and that makes it impossible for Republicans to cast him as some sort of “effete Eastern liberal.”
(CyberAlert, February 2, 2004)

Woodruff Worries That State of the Union Will Steal Spotlight from Dems
CNN’s Judy Woodruff complained of President Bush’s scheduled State of the Union address being given the day after the Iowa caucuses. President Bush, Woodruff told Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, had “dominated” the news for the last three years. “Don’t the Democrats deserve a few days in the sunshine, if you will,” she asked.
(CyberAlert, January 20, 2004)

Miscellaneous

ABC New Political Director Concedes Media Are Biased Against Bush
Without explicitly using the term “liberal bias,” ABC’s “The Note” daily Web report, produced by the political team at ABC News, made a pretty amazing admission on as they conceded that the Washington press corps hold liberal views on all the key issues separating President George W. Bush and Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, thus giving an advantage to Kerry and a disadvantage to Bush.
(CyberAlert, February 12, 2004)

Gore Rant Makes News
Al Gore delivered a yelling, screaming anti-Bush rant that included scenes that were reminiscent of Howard Dean’s primal yell, but none of the networks ridiculed the former Vice President.
(CyberAlert, February 10, 2004)

Couric Hypes NY Times Anti-Bush Editorial, Ignores Positive Story
In an interview with Bush-Cheney campaign adviser Mary Matalin, Today host Katie Couric cited a New York Times editorial critical of President Bush but ignored, as did the rest of Today, a story the Times ran on the front page about a captured al Qaeda ally who said the U.S. was winning the war in Iraq.
(CyberAlert, February 10, 2004)