Hannity, In All Out Push For McCain In Final Week, Calls Obama “Senator Redistribution”
Reported by Ellen - October 29, 2008 -
Just as chrish posted earlier in the day about FOX & Friends, this last week before the election is shaping up to be a no-holds-barred FOX News Obama smearathon for Sean Hannity, too. Hannity spent the first half of Hannity & Colmes last night (10/28/08) interviewing John and Cindy McCain, without any pesky questions from liberal Alan Colmes. It was a half hour of almost non-stop GOP talking points with the exception of Cindy McCain's occasional refusal to step into the cesspool. Hannity even adopted McCain's nickname for Obama, “Senator Redistribution.” He all but wore a "Vote McCain" button. With video.
“Clearly there's been a tightening in the polls,” Hannity said early on in the interview, then claimed it was due to the issue of “redistribution of wealth.” Hannity helpfully emphasized that point again and again during the interview. He said to Senator McCain, “You've used the term 'Senator Redistribution.' Explain what do you mean by that?”
McCain answered that Obama wants to take money away from those “who have through hard work, through spending all their lives in building up some wealth so they can give to their kids but more importantly create jobs.”
Throughout the interview, banners on the lower third of the screen sympathetically highlighted McCain's talking points. At this point, the banner read: Sen McCain: He has a clear record of being the most liberal senator.
Without any irony at all, McCain said, “If anybody in the media asks a tough question, then they're boycotted.” He was referring to the ridiculous interview “questions” foisted on Joe Biden by a Florida reporter who, it just so happens, was a guest on FOX & Friends earlier. There was no discussion about Sarah Palin dodging tough questions. Nor was there any discussion about the fact that McCain was avoiding (or else FOX News had arranged for him to avoid) any questions from Colmes. This, one night after Hannity's similarly cozy interview with Sarah Palin, also without Colmes. And that was not the first time that either of them had avoided Colmes on the show.
Without Colmes on hand, Hannity was free to discuss without encumbrance the false report that Obama said, “It's a tragedy, quote that redistribution of wealth was not pursued by the Supreme Court.” In reality, as Media Matters has pointed out, the “tragedy” Obama spoke of was that the civil rights' movement had become too court-focused in trying to bring about political and economic justice.
“That's what's scary,” McCain said.
It wasn't until much later in the show that Colmes countered that assertion with its correct context. But it was after the McCain interview had ended.
Then, as if that wasn't enough of a McCain campaign commercial, Hannity adopted McCain's slogan as his own. “Let me ask you a couple of simple questions about this redistribution of wealth from Senator Redistribution. Is it socialism?”
“It's part of the socialist creed,” McCain answered. In a jiffy, there was a banner saying, “Sen McCain: It's part of socialist creed, philosophy to share the wealth.”
Part 1 of the interview is below. Parts two and three are available on the web.
