Newsweek Veteran: GOP Candidates Are 'Advertising Their Ignorance'

Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Thursday November 03, 2011 @ 10:18 AM ET

1. Ex Newsweek Editor: GOP Candidates Are 'Advertising Their Ignorance'
Former Newsweek editor Howard Fineman appeared on Wednesday's Hardball to mock Republican presidential candidates as simplistic. He exclaimed, "But, they're advertising their ignorance, is what I'm saying!" Fineman, who now is the political editor at the more overtly liberal Huffington Post, dripped with condescension as he described the potential GOP nominees. The journalist mocked, "What I find fascinating about [Cain's] candidacy, and really the tenor of a lot of what the Republican candidates are saying, including Rick Perry, is they are saying, 'We don't need to know all those fancy facts.'"

2. Networks Continue to Hype Herman Cain 'Firestorm'; 12 More Stories in 24 Hours
The network evening newscasts on Tuesday and the morning shows on Wednesday continued to hype the Herman Cain "firestorm," creating 12 more stories in less than 24 hours. Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos led the show on Wednesday by trumpeting, " Republican front-runner Herman Cain changes his story again as one of his accusers now says she wants to go public on charges of sexual harassment." On NBC's Today, Matt Lauer hyperbolically announced, "Struggling to move beyond the firestorm that is engulfing his candidacy, Herman Cain again denied he sexually harassed anyone." On that same program, guest Chris Matthews recklessly speculated that the Republican harassed women while drunk.

3. Chris Matthews Speculates Herman Cain Sexually Harassed Women While Drunk
Appearing on Wednesday's NBC Today, MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews urged Herman Cain to admit to sexually harassing women and even predicted what the Republican front-runner might say: "I think even if it's really bad he has to put the context to it. He has to say, 'It was an extraordinary night, I had too many drinks, I normally don't act like that, this is not me.'" Matthews earlier argued: "I think he's struggling to come up with some rationale why he's not talking....At some point we're going to find out, maybe by the end of the week, what he actually did that caused all of this trouble. He clearly did something wrong."

4. Jan Brewer Slams Media for Using 'Race Card' to 'Shut Down the Debate' on Illegal Immigration
While being grilled by co-host Ann Curry on Wednesday's NBC Today on Arizona's illegal immigration law causing racial discrimination, Governor Jan Brewer hit back and declared: "I believe truly that the media and others have tried to throw out that race card to shut down the debate. It's not about that. It's about illegal immigration." Earlier, Curry fretted: "Now what would justify such a law that required people, essentially, to carry papers, identification, something that proved that they're American citizens?" Brewer replied: "...it's under reasonable suspicion, it's no different than what law enforcement actually does today....So it's a simple issue, and the press, the liberal media tried to blow that completely totally out of perspective."