If It's Fox, The Topic Must Be Swift Boats (Unless It's Scott Peterson)
Reported by Ellen - August 20, 2004 -
My not so swift boat evening: Approximately half of Hannity & Colmes was devoted to the Swift Boat Vets. John O'Neill, author of "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry" joined forces with Sean Hannity to deliver a nearly non-stop attack on Kerry and Democrats. Colmes got in some excellent points when he could but he was outnumbered. Apparently, a Kerry spokesperson had been invited but declined to appear.
However, I was quite chagrined to note that Colmes' refusal earlier in the week to address the candidates' service records (which just happened to have occurred during the hour his radio show devoted to the MoveOn.org "answer" ad about Bush's service record) became "People should have all sides of the story" tonight on TV (9:18 pm ET) when the topic was all about Kerry's record.
Two more hours of swift boat doldrums followed on Fox News Live with Alan Colmes (his radio show). I never thought I'd say this, but thank goodness for Scott Peterson! If it weren't for him, the third hour of the show might have been devoted to the swift boat "controversy" too.
To his credit, Colmes spent a lot of time lamenting that we should be focusing on the real issues facing the country today instead of this trumped-up diversion. And it was great to hear the intelligent and insightful David Corn as a guest on Fox, even if he was part of the perpetuation. It's pretty obvious that the non-stop coverage of this topic is a decision made higher up than any of the on-air talent. How long can it be before John O'Neill has his own Fox show, "Fair and Balanced Swift Boat Vets?"
It's enough to make you wish Ronald Reagan could die again!
