Conservative pundits made wildly wrong claims about how Iraq would turn out -- what are they saying now about the Middle East?
Numerous conservative pundits offered highly optimistic predictions about the U.S. invasion of Iraq regarding the conflict's duration, difficulty, and human and financial costs -- nearly all of which have proven to be wrong. But rather than hold these "Pollyanna pundits" accountable for their past misjudgments, the media have again provided a platform for their views about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. And echoing their rhetoric on Iraq, these conservative pundits have advocated further military action by the United States and its allies.
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On MSNBC, Coulter called Gore a "total fag," while Matthews said "we'd love to have her back"
Chris Matthews asked pundit Ann Coulter, "How do you know that Bill Clinton is gay?" -- referring to her comment the night before on CNBC's The Big Idea that Clinton "show[s] some level of latent homosexuality." Coulter responded, "I don't know if he's gay. But Al Gore -- total fag." In concluding the interview, Matthews said of Coulter, "We'd love to have her back."
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Fox & Friends hyped "real success story" in Afghanistan, ignored real difficulties
Fox News host Steve Doocy repeatedly touted Operation Mountain Thrust, in which coalition forces killed 600 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, as "a real success story," adding that the operation's purported success is "going to allow U.S. forces to withdraw in some measure." At no point during the segment did Doocy mention why the operation might have been necessary -- according to recent reports by USA Today and Reuters, the Afghan insurgency is a greater threat than at any point since the U.S.-led effort to expel the Taliban in 2001.
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"Kidding" O'Reilly on consequences of trying Maliki protester in "Factor tribunal": "She'll be swimming with the fishes"
Discussing Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin's vocal protest during Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki's July 26 address to Congress, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly suggested that if it were up to him to administer Benjamin's punishment for "disrupting Congress," "[s]he'll be swimming with the fishes." While O'Reilly immediately added that he was "just kidding," he had earlier asked Fox News correspondent Major Garrett: "Can we send her to Guantánamo?"
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Hardball, Fox & Friends hosted "Middle East analyst" whose chief experience is in "prophecy"
The July 25 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, as well as the July 24 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, hosted self-identified "Middle East analyst" Michael Evans to discuss the current conflict in the Middle East. Evans's chief experience appears to be in the area of biblical prophecy.
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LA Times, networks, Fox News ignored ABA conclusion that Bush signing statements "weaken our cherished system of checks and balances and separation of powers"
A Media Matters for America review has found that a July 24 report from a task force of the American Bar Association (ABA) on President Bush's use of so-called "signing statements" has been ignored by several media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, all three television networks, and Fox News prime-time shows. The ABA report concluded that Bush's practice of attaching signing statements to congressional legislation "weaken[s] our cherished system of checks and balances and separation of powers."
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