Iowa Waitress Slams Media as "Nuts" Over Focus on Trivial Non-Story
Latest Frivolous Media Obsession: Edwards' Haircut, Obama's Flag Pin/Middle Name, Clinton's Laugh/Clapping/Cleavage, etc.
Washington, DC - In today's New York Times, reporter Jim Rutenberg quotes waitress Anita Esterday on the media firestorm stirred up by flawed reporting about whether Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) campaign left a tip after a recent stop at a Maid-Rite restaurant in Iowa, during which Esterday waited on Clinton. According to the Times, when asked about the media-fueled controversy, Esterday said:
"You people are really nuts," she told a reporter during a phone interview. "There's kids dying in the war, the price of oil right now -- there's better things in this world to be thinking about than who served Hillary Clinton at Maid-Rite and who got a tip and who didn't get a tip."
Media Matters for America has documented numerous story lines in media coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign that focus on similarly trivial matters:
More "News" From the 2008 Campaign Trail
Clinton & the Tip
Drudge promotes story about Clinton's alleged failure to tip, but includes only campaign's refutation -- not restaurant's
http://www.mediamatters.org/items/200711080010
On the front page of the Drudge Report on November 8, Internet gossip Matt Drudge linked to ABC News and National Public Radio (NPR) articles that reported Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) presidential campaign did not leave a tip after a stop at a Maid-Rite Restaurant in Marshalltown, Iowa. Accompanying the two links was a line of text reading: "**Clinton campaign official: 'The campaign spent $157 and left a $100 tip at the Maid-Rite Restaurant' ..." In fact, it was not just the Clinton campaign that rebutted the claim, as Drudge suggested; the restaurant itself affirmed that the campaign had left a tip.
Edwards & the Haircut
ABCNews.com, Hume join in the Edwards "Coif Controversy"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200704190006
An April 18 entry on ABCNews.com's Political Radar weblog, titled "Edwards Flattens Coif Controversy," noted that a "report filed with the Federal Election Commission last weekend revealed that former Sen. John Edwards' D-N.C., presidential campaign twice shelled out $400 for haircuts he received from a Beverly Hills salon," adding, "ABC News has learned the money will be returned." The blog post went on to say that the "hair cut revelation did little to minimize what some call Edwards' 'Breck Girl' image."
Hannity suggested Edwards' "primping" is evidence that he does not "understand[] the nature of the battle in the war that's being waged against us"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200705250008
On the May 24 broadcast of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, co-host Sean Hannity asserted that Democratic presidential candidate and former Sen. John Edwards (NC) -- whom he referred to as the "$400 haircut man" -- is "not really viewed as somebody that is up to the task of understanding the nature in the battle in the war that's being waged against us." As evidence, Hannity pointed to a video of Edwards fixing his hair prior to a televised interview and the fact that Edwards recently spent $400 on a haircut. Hannity then asked executive director of Young Voter PAC Jane Fleming: "You don't see inherent weaknesses here in this campaign?"
Politico largely ignored Giuliani-ISG story, still flogging Edwards' haircuts
http://mediamatters.org/items/200706200002
The Politico, which purports to cover "the politics of Capitol Hill and of the presidential campaign ... with enterprise, style, and impact," largely ignored a June 19 Newsday article reporting that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's (R) "membership on" the Iraq Study Group (ISG) "came to an abrupt end last spring after he failed to show up for a single official meeting of the group." By contrast, The Politico continues to report on former Sen. John Edwards' (D-NC) $400 haircuts and their effect on his presidential campaign.
Clinton & Clapping
MSNBC's Matthews still obsessed with Clinton's "Chinese" clapping
http://mediamatters.org/items/200711080001
On the November 6 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, discussing presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), host Chris Matthews said, "[W]ell, there she is clapping again," and asked his panel of Washington Post editorial writer Jonathan Capehart, Houston Chronicle White House correspondent Julie Mason, and Weekly Standard staff writer Matthew Continetti, "[W]ould somebody please tell me why she claps every time she goes somewhere?" Capehart postulated that Clinton was "responding to the crowd," and Mason speculated that "[i]t's an affirmation," to which Matthews replied: "No, I think it's bizarre behavior. Anyway, I think it has something to do with -- men don't know what to do with their hands. I guess she's like us. Anyway, we'll be right back with more of the roundtable. I want an answer. Why is she clapping?"
Obama & the Flag Pin
So where is Sean Hannity's flag lapel pin?
http://mediamatters.org/items/200710050012
Discussing a recent interview with a reporter in Iowa in which Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) said that he had stopped wearing an American flag pin on his lapel during the lead-up to the Iraq war, Fox News host Sean Hannity said on the October 4 broadcast of his radio show: "[W]hy do we wear pins? Because our country was under attack." He continued: "And to politicize once again the war to this extent. Well, who cares about the war? Are you proud of your country? Do you believe in America? Do you believe that America has been, continues to be the greatest force for good in this world?" Hannity later stated: "I think it's, you know, the greatest gift God gave us and continues to be a force for good." Yet while criticizing Obama for not wearing a flag pin, Hannity himself has not worn an American flag lapel pin on a number of recent occasions.
Following Drudge, media outlets seize on Obama decision -- years ago -- to stop wearing flag pin
http://mediamatters.org/items/200710060001
During an October 3 interview with ABC-affiliate KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) was asked why he was not wearing an American flag pin on his lapel. Obama responded, "[R]ight after 9-11, I had a pin," adding: "Shortly after 9-11, particularly because as we're talking about the Iraq war, that became a substitute for, I think, true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security." Obama also said: "I decided I won't wear that pin on my chest. Instead, I'm going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great and, hopefully, that will be a testimony to my patriotism." However, several media outlets -- following the lead of Internet gossip Matt Drudge -- have presented Obama's comments as a recent decision made by the candidate, and not an explanation of something he chose to do several years ago. CNN, ABC, and Fox News have reported on the "controversy," providing a platform for several conservatives to attack Obama's patriotism. As NBC News political director Chuck Todd put it, "this was the media getting a classic case of the Drudges."
Obama & the National Anthem
Regarding national anthem "controversy," Hannity asks: "Is this another statement" by Obama?
http://mediamatters.org/items/200710240006
On the October 23 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, during a discussion of Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) purported failure to place his hand over his heart during the national anthem at an Iowa campaign event, co-host Alan Colmes said to Fox News contributor and nationally syndicated columnist Dick Morris, "Just as long as conservatives are going after Obama, let me put up on the screen another person during the national anthem." An on-screen image of President Bush appeared in which Bush's hand is resting on his midsection as the national anthem is reportedly being played. Later, co-host Sean Hannity said: "[F]irst of all, at least the president wasn't making a statement, and he did have his hand over his heart in the right place, Alan," adding: "That was a cheap shot. That was one little, you know, freeze-framed picture from one second." After Colmes said "Obama is a cheap shot," Hannity replied: "No. Obama -- but the difference here is Barack Obama made a statement about the Iraq war with the flag pin. And to not do it here, people are raising questions about why. Is this another statement?"
Clinton & the "Cackle"
From cleavage to "cackle"? Media find new focus in coverage of Hillary Clinton
http://mediamatters.org/items/200710040003
Following her appearance on all five Sunday political talk shows on September 23 -- NBC's Meet the Press, CBS' Face the Nation, ABC's This Week, Fox News Sunday and CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer -- political reporters and other media personalities have seized on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) laugh as a new subject of attention. In his October 2 column -- headlined "Chucklegate" -- Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz contended that "Jon Stewart is now setting the agenda for presidential campaign coverage," suggesting that the media flap over Clinton's laughter began with a September 25 segment on Comedy Central's The Daily Show. Similarly, Kurtz stated in his column in the October 3 print edition of The Washington Post that "Jon Stewart, setting the pace for political journalism, kicked things off last week by assembling a grab bag of giggling and guffawing when the senator appeared on all five Sunday talk shows." In fact, before the Daily Show segment aired, audio and video clips of Clinton's laughter had already been highlighted by the Republican National Committee, the Drudge Report, and the radio shows of conservatives Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, as well as such cable news programs as MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews and Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor.
Fox & Friends aired "Dean scream" and "Clinton cackle" to show purported similarities
http://mediamatters.org/items/200710090005
During the October 9 edition of Fox & Friends, co-host Steve Doocy asked Republican pollster Frank Luntz: "What do you think of [Democratic presidential candidate] John Edwards -- the guy with the $400 haircut -- yesterday, saying, 'Hey, don't be so fast to pick [Sen.] Hillary [Rodham Clinton (D-NY)]. Remember [former Vermont Gov.] Howard Dean [D].' " As Luntz responded, "[Y]es, remember how Howard Dean went up, and remember how Howard Dean came down," Fox News aired an audio clip of Dean's exclamation during his 2004 concession speech after the Iowa Democratic presidential primary. After Doocy replied, "That's like a cackle," Fox News aired part of an audio clip of Clinton laughing during a September 23 interview on Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday.
Clinton & the Cleavage
NRO's Lopez predicted a Givhan cleavage article a year ago
http://mediamatters.org/items/200707200006
In a July 20 Washington Post Style section article, headlined "Hillary Clinton's Tentative Dip Into New Neckline Territory," staff writer and Pulitzer Prize winner Robin Givhan wrote that "There was cleavage on display Wednesday afternoon on C-SPAN2. It belonged to Sen. Hillary Clinton." Givhan added that it was a "startling" display for Clinton, "someone who has been so publicly ambivalent about style, image and the burdens of both," called Clinton's look "unnerving," and asserted "[t]he last time Clinton wore anything that was remotely sexy in a public setting surely must have been more than a decade ago." Givhan wrote, "[I]t was more like catching a man with his fly unzipped. Just look away!" More than a year ago, on June 8, 2006, National Review Online editor Kathryn Jean Lopez, "better known as 'K-Lo,' " wrote in a post for the National Review Online blog The Corner: "Senator Clinton's blazer is a bit lowcut today (I have C-SPAN 2 on). UPDATE: Here's a screenshot. Prediction: Washington Post Style section piece by a Pulitzer Prize winner about Hillary's sex-appeal advantage."
Cleavage within Wash. Post over Givhan's Clinton neckline coverage
http://mediamatters.org/items/200707270001
In a July 25 column, The Washington Post's Ruth Marcus criticized Pulitzer Prize winner Robin Givhan's July 20 Washington Post Style section article in which Givhan wrote that the "cleavage on display" during Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) July 18 speech on the Senate floor was "startling" in the case of Clinton, "someone who has been so publicly ambivalent about style, image and the burdens of both." Another Post columnist, Dana Milbank, also seemed to distance himself from the Givhan article during a July 26 appearance on MSNBC News Live.
On MSNBC, Wash. Post's Argetsinger claimed Clinton cleavage article "was actually very complimentary"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200707300004
On the July 30 edition of MSNBC Live, during a discussion of Pulitzer Prize winner Robin Givhan's July 20 Washington Post Style section article that referred to the "cleavage on display" during Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) July 18 speech on the Senate floor, Post "Reliable Source" columnist Amy Argetsinger claimed that Givhan "was actually very complimentary of the clavicle display." Argetsinger added, "She said that it shows that Hillary Clinton is more comfortable in her own skin." But while Givhan did write that "[s]howing cleavage ... does suggest a certain confidence and physical ease," she also described Clinton's appearance as "unnerving" and wrote that "it was more like catching a man with his fly unzipped. Just look away!" Later on the program, MSNBC compared the "cleavage" purportedly displayed by both Clinton and British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith -- a comparison originally made in Givhan's article -- by airing a split screen of the two speaking for approximately 25 seconds.
Obama & the Middle Name
Coulter: "I do think anyone named B. Hussein Obama should avoid using 'hijack' and 'religion' in the same sentence"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200706260004?f=s_search
On the June 25 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, discussing Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) June 23 speech at a church in Hartford, Connecticut, co-host Alan Colmes asked right-wing pundit Ann Coulter if "[o]nly Republicans can talk in churches." Coulter responded: "No, but I do think anyone named B. Hussein Obama should avoid using 'hijack' and 'religion' in the same sentence." Colmes replied: "I see. So, in other words, you want to paint him as a terrorist by continuing to highlight that his middle name is Hussein?" Coulter stated: "Just avoid those two together. ... Avoid 'hijack and 'religion.' "
Tapper again referred to 'Barack Hussein Obama'
http://mediamatters.org/items/200702090018?f=s_search
ABC News senior national correspondent Jake Tapper ended a February 9 post on his ABC News weblog Political Punch by asking: "What do you all think of Mr. Barack Hussein Obama?" Previously, as Media Matters for America has noted, on the January 16 edition of ABC's Nightline, during a report on the Illinois senator's decision to form a presidential exploratory committee, Tapper referred to Obama as "Barack Hussein Obama" and asked: "Just who the hell is Barack Obama? And why, in these dangerous times, should he be entrusted with the most powerful job on Earth?"
Limbaugh called "Barack Hussein Obama" a "half-minority"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200701170010?f=s_search
On the January 16 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh called Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) a "half-minority" and said that "the media ... are in the midst of Obama-gasms" because "Barack Hussein Obama" has formed a presidential exploratory committee. Limbaugh called Obama "a half-minority" in the context of criticizing Obama for supporting his hometown Chicago Bears over the New Orleans Saints in the upcoming January 21 National Football Conference championship game.
Schlussel: Should Barack Hussein Obama be president "when we are fighting the war of our lives against Islam"?
http://mediamatters.org/items/200612200005?f=s_search
In a December 18 column headlined "Barack Hussein Obama: Once a Muslim, Always A Muslim" and posted on her website, right-wing pundit Debbie Schlussel argued that because Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) middle name is Hussein, his late, estranged father was of Muslim descent, and he has shown interest in his father's Kenyan heritage, Obama's "loyalties" must be called into question as he emerges as a possible Democratic presidential candidate. In the column, Schlussel asked: "So, even if he identifies strongly as a Christian ... is a man who Muslims think is a Muslim, who feels some sort of psychological need to prove himself to his absent Muslim father, and who is now moving in the direction of his father's heritage, a man we want as President when we are fighting the war of our lives against Islam? Where will his loyalties be?" She ended her column by asking if Obama becoming vice president instead would be acceptable. Answering her own question, she wrote: "NO WAY, JOSE ... Or, is that, HUSSEIN?"
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