Spinning Common Sense
Reported by Eleanor - September 13, 2004 -
Special Report with Brit Hume (Sept. 13, 6:00 p.m.) covered the two campaigns on health care and guns.
The Bush campaign was reported by Wendall Goler in Michigan where Bush faces an "uphill battle" with a sluggish economy and organized labor. Bush claims Kerry is "vulnerable" on health care, accusing Kerry of supporting a government takeover of health care decision making like the European and Canadian system that will cost $1.5 trillion. Bush is pushing a health care savings account. A million people lack health care in Michigan, and Bush is blasting trial lawyers as the reason for that.
Major Garrett focused his coverage of the Kerry campaign on the gun issue. Kerry blames Bush for not extending the gun ban. Kerry says that Al Qaeda is encouraged to buy assault weapons in America. Police officers are begging to keep the ban in place. The expiration of the ban is blamed on the gun lobby. Peter Hamm said the ban could be stronger, but the old ban reduced crime by 56%. Garrett said that the gun ban hurt Al Gore in 2000; the crime rate is at a 30 year low; and he cited a number of other reasons for the reduction in the crime rate.
Comment: As usual, both reports end on a Bush high note, but on health care and taking restrictions off assault guns, the reporters had a hard time spinning common sense. People who live paycheck to paycheck or no paycheck can't contribute to health savings accounts, and assault rifles intended for killing as many people as possible at one time aren't very useful for protecting your home or for hunting, but they're extremely useful for terrorism, street crime and war.
