What's the Segment About Again?
Reported by Melanie - July 23, 2004 -
Today (July 23, 2004) on Your World w/Neil Cavuto, Cavuto held one of his very regular round table discussions. It's my opinion that these discussions are chock full of people (usually four or five, counting Cavuto) essentially to have a rapid-fire exchange such that the only thing left with the viewer is an overall impression or flavor about what was said.
Today the alleged topic of Cavuto's round table discussion was what stocks to own if Kerry wins the election.
Poor guest Marilyn Holt-Smith. She seemed to think she was actually supposed to take the issue seriously, and she recommended Kohls department stores.
Then came Gary Kaltbaum who said, "first of all, I don't think he's going to lower taxes on anyone," Kerry's "gonna take your money and decide how to spend it" and he's going to "roll back everything that has worked for the past two years." I don't believe I heard Mr. Kaltbaum recommend any stocks though I'm sure someone will fill me in if I'm wrong, as I hope they do.
Then came Tobin Smith, a regular on Fox, who said if Kerry gets elected, gas and oil prices will "skyrocket" and then something about how Democrats will deplete the US oil supply because they'll drill for oil in places were there isn't any.
Then came Tom Atkins who said the "Democrats are attacking Haliburton for no good reason" other than that Dick Cheney worked there. I don't recall Atkins recommending any stocks either.
Then, poor Holt-Smith again, still thinking the reason she was at the Fox studios was to recommend stocks, said "Consumers, they're not going away just because Kerry becomes president." Then she said something like, just buy good stocks.
COMMENT: Fox regularly "sets up" a segment as being about one thing, and then permits it to degenerate into a bashing of someone or another. While the announced topic of this segment was what stocks to own during a Kerry presidency, that topic was hardly what a viewer would take away from the segment. A viewer would leave the segment thinking Kerry was going to raise taxes, leave the country without oil, and trash the economy overall.
