By April MacIntyre Jul 16, 2008, 15:37 GMT
The talk of TCA at the Bonnie Hunt Show-sponsored lunch yesterday was the snippy reaction of Chris Wallace to the press assembled regarding the right-leaning slant of Fox news, and the appearance on the assembled panel of Bush's brain Karl Rove and his boss at Fox News Channel, John Moody.
ex White House adviser Karl Rove participating in a meeting on Health Savings Accounts in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC. EPA/STEFAN ZAKLIN
The men were hit with tons of questions until Wallace hit back:
"I think sometimes there's a double standard here. MSNBC and its coverage of this campaign went so far over the line in terms of being in the tank to Barack Obama that it lost a lot of credibility.
For all the criticisms we sometimes get for allowing our politics to infuse our journalism, the fact is that there is something of a firewall on Fox, where you had straight news reporters anchoring the election coverage week after week. (On MSNBC) you've got someone like Keith Olbermann delivering 10-minute screeds against President Bush, telling him to shut the hell up, telling Hillary Clinton to get out of the campaign, which I think is fine if he wants to say those things.
It's an interesting show. Sometimes I watch it myself. But then he goes on and anchors coverage as a so-called objective anchor, whether it's primary nights or debate coverage.
There's a reason Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity don't anchor the election coverage at Fox and won't be anchoring on Election Night. Our feeling is the opinion-makers should deliver their opinions and the journalists should cover the news."
Reacting to TCA press, Wallace took issue with some of the questions asked of Rove.
"Maybe somebody can explain to me why it is that if Congress and the White House are having a fight over executive power that should in any way constrain an independent news organization's decision as to who it's going to have on its payroll?
Wallace continued. "I question whether if it were a conservative Congress that subpoenaed James Carville, let's say, who was in a fight with Congress about testifying and he were under subpoena whether you'd be asking CNN why they're trafficking with James Carville?"
Rove was jovial and took the TCA in stride, and spoke about his love of political news and machinations. "It's actually a sickness," Rove said. "You know how some people can name the 1954 starting lineup for the Cleveland Indians? I can give you precinct returns. It's a very sad thing."
He was pragmatic about how he is treated in print. "A lot of people beat up on me," Rove responded. "I read The New York Times every day. Have you read some of the ugly things they say about me. Who cares? Actually, my attitude is, 'I know who I am. I'm not the myth that I've been developed into. I'm like Grendel and Beowulf...Harry Truman said, 'If you live in Washington and want to have a friend, have a dog.' I've got two."
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SP4: Look at the new moderatesJul 16th, 2008 - 17:11:07
Their network attracts new listners every day while Obermann and his band of libnazis couldn't get people to watch if they gave away free beer...
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