If It Hurts Kerry, Air It
Reported by Melanie - September 1, 2004 -
"Liberal" Democrat Susan Estrich appeared today (September 1, 2004) on Dayside w/Linda Vester. She painted a picture of prominent Democrats and "liberal" media-types having a cat fight amongst themselves, and at the heart of it a faultering Kerry campaign, embroiled in petty backbiting.
Vester and Estrich discussed "some rumors" of a shakeup in the Kerry campaign. According to Estrich, "people who were smart enough to watch Fox News yesterday, as opposed to that other news network which begins with a 'C' and ends with an 'N'," and who listened to Brit Hume, didn't hear about the rumor because Estrich made some phone calls and found out it was a rumor, and not true.
(COMMENT: So here's Estrich, on Dayside, to talk about an untrue rumor, which she kept Brit Hume from reporting last night.)
Never being clear precisely what the rumor was about, Estrich said that she read a quote from James Carvelle saying he told senior Kerry aides that they "badly need someone who can drive a communications message." James does happen "to work for CNN" and that a "lotta people" say his partner, Paul Begala, "wants to work for the Kerry campaign." So, Estrich asked, could it "possibly be that James and his best friend, Al Hunt," who wrote the story that said there was going be a big shakeup and who's married to "Judy Woodruff, who happened to be the one who asked on the air" was there "going to be this major shakeup" in which Mary Beth Cahill (Kerry's campaign manager) was going to be fired. Vester and Estrich then said the rumor also involved possible firings of Stephanie Cutler (sp?) and Bob Shrum (Kerry's top campaign adviser). Estrich wondered of the people putting out this rumor were trying to "get some of their friends into this campaign," and why, if the campaign "were in such trouble." Estrich said "fortunately for Fox News viewers," she kept this rumor off Hume's show yesterday after making some phone calls.
After Vester asked whether the Kerry campaign responded to the "attacks by the Swift Boat Veterans sufficiently," Estrich said a lot of people thought the "campaign should have come out sooner or come out harder," but that any campaign that "goes from primaries to generals" needs to bring in more people and the Kerry camp has added Joe Lockhard. "He's a terrific guy." She said there will be additions at the middle and senior levels and, by the way, "these are also all the girls who are getting fired," but "nah, that has nothing to do with the price of tea in China." Then Estrich said: "Stay watching Fox and you'll find out the truth."
COMMENT: Here we have a whole segment built around a rumor. In telling the story, a picture is painted of a Kerry campaign in shambles. Estrich herself said she confirmed the rumor as untrue, yet Fox built a segment around the story, because by airing it, it can add yet another notch to the burning bedpost it's hoping to make of the Kerry campaign.
