Free Bush Ad Time Courtesy Rupert Murdoch
Reported by Melanie - October 5, 2004 -
Fox delivered reports from both the Edwards and Cheney camps today (October 5, 2004) on Dayside w/Linda Vester. The contrast between the two could be called shocking. Here's how they went.
Molly Henneberg was first from the Edwards camp, reporting from Parma, Ohio. Henneberg was live, standing in the audience at an Edwards campaign stop. Edwards was on stage. Fox had the audio from Edwards and Henneberg at roughly the same decibel level so it was hard to hear what either of them were saying. Henneberg opened by saying that Edwards entered to the tune of Bruce Springsteen's song, "No Retreat, No Surrender." (The actual title is "No Surrender."). Henneberg said Edwards was in Parma with his wife; his advisers say "this is really the warm-up" for the "main event tonight." She said he'd just made a short speech and was now taking questions. She said one woman prefaced her question by addressing Edwards as Mr. Vice President. She said the audience had asked about things such as gas prices and education.
Henneberg then stopped talking and Fox went live to Edwards. A veteran was speaking, saying he and his group were very concerned about the inadequate medical treatment soldiers returning from Iraq were receiving. Edwards responded, telling the crowd you need to do more than fly in for photo ops, you have to "walk the walk" and stand with our veterans.
Back to Henneberg who said tonight Edwards is expected to question Cheney "about the quote mess in Iraq."
Next came James Rosen reporting from the Cheney camp or, "covering team Cheney" as Vester said when she introduced him.
Rosen said Cheney's aides say tonight we can expect to see what we've seen for the last 30 years, a "no nonsense defender of the conservative faith on issues of defense and taxation." He said Cheney's aides are "bracing" for what they call "demonstrably false attacks by his opponent Senator Edwards," which are the "now disputed" Cheney assertions of WMD and Al Qaeda in Iraq. Rosen said Cheney will emphasize his service as a "White House chief of staff, war time defense secretary and extraordinarily influential wartimes vice president." Rosen, quoting Cheney adviser Mary Matlin, said the "the man thinks in 40, 50, 60 year blocks," and he's "a historian, a scholar, he takes the long view."
Fox then cut to a clip of Mary Matlin appearing this morning on Fox & Friends. She said Kerry didn't pick Edwards for his record or his experience, but because he's a "silver tongued, golden tongued" trial lawyer (the words "trial lawyer" were mentioned approximately nine times during the Dayside hour) who won "tens of millions of dollars" and could persuade people "whether or not the facts were correct, but being very persuasive."
Rosen said the Bush/Cheney campaign released two new TV ads today - as clips aired in the background - "initiating a new thrust in its favorite line of attack" against Edwards. Rosen said the ads, titled Medical Malpractice and Tort Reform include testimony from a Pennsylvania physican who argues that "plaintiff's attorneys, like Mr. Edwards himself used to be, are driving malpractice insurance rates up and doctors out."
Rosen concluded: "We can expect the Bush/Cheney campaign to try and tap into the widespread fear and loathing of trial lawyers Linda, as it tries to frame tonight's debate."
COMMENT: Isn't this incredible? Henneberg's report was flat and uninformative. Rosen talked the Bush/Cheney talk. More free campaign ad time for Bush/Cheney, courtesy Rupert Murdoch.
