Pity future historians puzzling the cause of what seems
to be the inevitable release of Bush Presidency II. Was
it the "Nader Factor"? That voters trusted George W.'s leadership
abilities? Scholars hoping to glean answers by studying
the media coverage will be frustrated. After all, one of
the vital topics discussed in the weeks before the election
was whether
Rolling Stone magazine had airbrushed
Al Gore's crotch.
It's not been a proud year for the American media--and
we're talking about events before election night.
Reporting was superficial; candidates completely defined
the agenda. Nader and his questions about corporate influence
were shut out of the debates. Where do Bush or Gore stand
on the $1.3 billion aid package given to Colombia to fight
the Drug War? We don't know--it's one of many issues the
press never raised.
With the election so close, any question of media bias
is magnified. Two studies, the most recent one released
two weeks ago by the Committee of Concerned Journalists,
found that stories about Gore were far more likely to
be negative as those about Bush--and that's before giggling
about the sexy Rolling Stone cover and Gore's "national
endowment."
Besides continuing a yearlong trend critical of Gore,
the studies show the press avoided the issue key to the
Bush candidacy--his character. Here are three examples:
1. Where's W?
There are several odd gaps in Dubya's past, but there
is no more fuzzy period than the year from May 1972 to
May 1973. In April of '72 he began drifting away from
military service, although there were still two years
remaining in his National Guard hitch. Bush apparently
didn't report once for duty for over seven months, even
skipping his mandatory annual physical. Supposedly, he
transferred to the Alabama National Guard in mid-1972
after Jimmy Allison, a drinking buddy, recruited him to
help in a political campaign in that state. Bush worked
on the campaign, but there's no evidence of him at the
Alabama air base. A group of veterans is currently offering
a $3,500 reward for anyone who can verify his presence
there.
He apparently returned to the Texas National Guard in
early 1973, but his immediate superiors filed a report
in late April stating that they thought he was still in
Alabama.
Although these charges are far more serious than Clinton's
"draft dodging," the press showed only tepid interest.
The Boston Globe first raised questions five months
before the election, but no one else seemed inclined to
follow. Then, just before election day, The Chicago
Tribune picked up the story, and new articles questioning
his service record appeared in both The New York Times
and Washington Post. But then the DUI story
hit the press.
2. 1,000 Pints of Lite
The way that now-famous drunken-driving story was uncovered
should dispel any doubts about the media's kid-glove handling
of Dubya. Here was a 24-year-old story that any cub reporter
could have uncovered by walking into the courthouse at
Kennebunkport, home to the famous Bush family compound--but
not one member of the press had bothered to ask a clerk.
The DUI story invited the press to raise a very significant
issue: Is George W. Bush an alcoholic? Bush had always
excused his drinking with the now famous "young and irresponsible"
shrug and wink. The 1976 DUI didn't change his behavior.
He continued drinking heavily for another decade, including
a two-month binge after his failed congressional bid in
1978.
Press reaction to the DUI story was mixed. According
to a Poynter Institute analysis that week, newspapers
downplayed it on the first day. Many, such as The Oregonian,
buried smallish items inside the paper with other campaign
news. Others, such as The Washington Post and San
Francisco Chronicle, placed it on the front page,
but not as a lead story.
Well-trained to stay on-message, Bush held a brief press
conference that night. No fewer than five times in the
quick Q&A he noted that it was "interesting" that
his arrest was being exposed less than a week before the
vote. By the end of the day, two soundbites dominated
the news: Bush admitting again that he had made "some
mistakes" and Gore denying that his campaign had anything
to do with the story. By the next day, both print and
broadcast pundits were suggesting that the story would
"backfire" on the Democrats.
Not only had Bush managed to hide his boozy past, but
he also effectively killed interest in the holes in his
military record.
3. Our Man Flynt
Someday there will be a dictionary with an entry for
"loose cannon" that contains a grinning picture of Larry
Flynt.
It's easy to see why the producers of CNN's Crossfire
invited Hustler magazine publisher Flynt to the
Oct. 20 show: The topic that night was Internet pornography.
But at the end of the live TV show, Flynt said he wanted
to talk about the election. He then declared that anti-abortion
Bush played a part in a girlfriend's abortion back in
the '70s. Or did he? By Oct. 25, his accusations had disappeared
from the transcript of the show posted on CNN's website
and have been edited out of rebroadcasts and videotapes
of the show.
Flynt claims to have four affidavits from girlfriends
of the woman and says he knows the name of the doctor
who performed the procedure--but won't publish them unless
the woman herself is willing to go public. It sounds like
a dodge, but remember that last year Flynt also exposed
sexual peccadilloes of House impeachment manager Bob Barr
and Almost-Speaker Bob Livingston. Give this to Larry
Flynt: Once the man starts waving his affidavits, he ain't
been wrong yet.
The merits of Flynt's claim aside, it was an extraordinary
act of censorship by CNN. After San Francisco talk-radio
host Bernie Ward picked up the story, columnists for both
The San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle
ran items. The Chronicle quoted a CNN rep saying
the program disappeared because Flynt's allegations were
"unsubstantiated and harmful."
What a difference eight years makes. In the final three-week
stretch of the 1992 campaign, hundreds of newspaper, magazine
and wire service stories routinely dropped the name of
Gennifer Flowers, the supposed ex-mistress of candidate
Bill Clinton.
