Print media uncritically quoted McCain claim that "negative campaigns don't work," ignored his own negative ads

Summary: Numerous print media outlets reported on Sen. John McCain's assertion following the Iowa caucuses that "[t]he lesson of this election in Iowa is that ... negative campaigns don't work." But none of those articles noted that McCain has run negative TV and Web ads against Mitt Romney.

Articles by the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, the Politico, The Washington Post, and USA Today quoted or paraphrased Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain's (AZ) assertion following the January 3 Iowa caucuses that "[t]he lesson of this election in Iowa is that, one, you can't buy an election in Iowa, and, two, negative campaigns don't work. They don't work there, and they don't work here in New Hampshire." But none of those articles noted that McCain has run negative TV ads in New Hampshire against one of his Republican rivals, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. McCain's campaign has also produced negative Web ads targeting Romney.

In a December 28 press release, McCain's campaign announced the release of its TV ad "Consider," which quotes a Concord Monitor editorial asserting, "If a candidate is a phony... we'll know it. Mitt Romney is such a candidate." Time magazine senior political analyst Mark Halperin reported on his Time.com blog The Page that the ad was the "first negative ad by any candidate besides Romney." In a December 28 post on ABC News' blog Political Radar, Matt Stuart reported that Romney responded to the ad, saying: "It's an attack ad. It attacks me personally. It's nasty. It's mean spirited. Frankly, it tells you more about Sen. McCain than it does about me that he would run an ad like that."

McCain has also criticized Romney in two Web ads, "Experience," released January 1, and "Foreign Policy Alert," released January 2. "Experience" opens with footage of a bomb blast and its aftermath, then cuts to footage of what appears to be a terrorist training camp. A narrator states, "Mitt Romney says the next president doesn't need foreign policy experience." In "Foreign Policy Alert," the narrator asserts that "Mitt Romney says the next president doesn't need foreign policy experience. Here he is in his own words." The ad features a clip of Romney asserting: "Well, if we want somebody who has a lot of experience in foreign policy we can simply go to the State Department." The announcer continues, "Is he serious? We live in a dangerous world. And these are serious times. America needs a president who is serious about foreign policy. John McCain is the one man prepared to lead America in a time of crisis."

Media Matters for America identified numerous instances of the media reporting McCain's statement that the "lesson of this election in Iowa" is that "negative campaigns don't work," but in none of those instances did the media outlet also note that McCain is currently running these negative ads against Romney. In fact, the January 4 New York Times article, giving a slightly different version of the McCain quote -- "negative campaigning doesn't work" -- reported that the "Republican fight here [in New Hampshire] has been much more pointed -- as reflected in cutting advertisements, with Mr. Romney... blanketing the airwaves," but did not note McCain's own "cutting advertisements." Instead, the article's sole description of McCain's ads in the state reported that New Hampshire "is friendly territory for Mr. McCain -- a point he is making in a new advertisement released Thursday recalling his victory here in 2000." From the New York Times article:

While the spotlight has been away from New Hampshire in recent weeks, the competition here has been heating up as Senator John McCain of Arizona has gained ground on the longtime Republican front-runner, Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts. Mr. McCain did not compete seriously in Iowa, but the campaign was obviously thrilled to learn that Mr. Romney had been beaten in the caucuses by Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas. While not commenting on what that outcome meant for his chances, Mr. McCain noted that it proved that "negative campaigning doesn't work."

[...]

The Republican fight here has been much more pointed -- as reflected in cutting advertisements, with Mr. Romney, who has had to spend more time in Iowa sparring with Mr. Huckabee, blanketing the airwaves.

Here, Mr. Romney has focused on two main lines of attack on Mr. McCain, noting his opposition to the Bush tax cuts -- while not mentioning Mr. McCain's stated reason, that there was no corresponding cut in spending -- and Mr. McCain's support for immigration reform.

[...]

New Hampshire, whose voters pride themselves on their independence from party orthodoxy and who are interested in an array of issues not on the agenda in Iowa, is friendly territory for Mr. McCain -- a point he is making in a new advertisement released Thursday recalling his victory here in 2000.

Similarly, the AP, the Los Angeles Times, the Politico, and USA Today all reported McCain's statement that "negative campaigns don't work" without noting that he has run negative ads of his own.

From the January 3 AP article:

Sen. John McCain congratulated rival Mike Huckabee on winning Iowa's presidential caucuses Thursday and said it shows that negative campaigns -- such as opponent Mitt Romney's -- are doomed to fail.

Romney spent the final few weeks before Iowa cast the first votes of the 2008 presidential election engaged in an aggressive contest with Huckabee, a Baptist pastor turned politician. Huckabee resisted the temptation to respond in kind, instead relying on his wit and humor. McCain said civility is one of the lessons to take from Iowa's results.

"One, you can't buy an election in Iowa," said McCain, whose own financial woes have affected his campaign. "And two, negative campaigns don't work. They don't work there and they don't work here in New Hampshire."

From the January 4 Los Angeles Times article:

About half an hour after Huckabee's victory became apparent, McCain and his wife walked beaming into a Manchester, N.H., meeting room to the cheers of about 40 supporters.

"I think that the lesson of this election in Iowa is that: one, you can't buy an election in Iowa; and two, that negative campaigns don't work. They don't work there, and they don't work here in New Hampshire," he said.

He flatly predicted: "We are going to win New Hampshire."

From the January 4 Politico article:

But that's not to say the Arizona senator didn't take something away from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's resounding victory over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is McCain's chief rival in New Hampshire.

"The lesson of this election in Iowa is that, one, you can't buy an election in Iowa and two, negative campaigns don't work," McCain said. "They don't work there, and they don't work here in New Hampshire."

In Iowa, Romney aired negative ads against Huckabee and targeted McCain with similarly unflattering commercials in New Hampshire, where the two are locked in a fierce primary battle.

From the January 4 USA Today article:

In New Hampshire, McCain said the lesson is that "you can't buy an election in Iowa" and that "negative campaigns don't work. They don't work there, and they don't work here in New Hampshire."

The Washington Post also reported McCain's comments without mentioning McCain's negative ads in the same article. From the January 4 Post article:

Speaking in New Hampshire, McCain offered an assessment of the Iowa campaign and an implicit warning to Romney, who has been running negative ads against him for weeks. "The lesson of this election in Iowa is that, one, you can't buy an election in Iowa, and, two, negative ads don't work," McCain said on CNN. "They don't work there, and they don't work here in New Hampshire."

But another Post article that day reported that McCain is "questioning the former governor's [Romney] consistency on a variety of issues and lack of foreign policy experience" in "harsh ads."

—M.G.