The Progress Report

by Judd Legum, Faiz Shakir, Nico Pitney, and Christy Harvey

August 24, 2005
IRAQ
Demonizing Dissent
MEDIA
Networks Reject Ad Criticizing Their Coverage
UNDER THE RADAR
Go Beyond The Headlines
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IRAQ
Demonizing Dissent

As dissatisfaction with the administration's Iraq policy mounts, President Bush's approval ratings have plummeted to just 36 percent -- three points lower than President Nixon's approval ratings during the height of the Watergate scandal in the summer of 1973. According to Gallup, "Americans have become negative about the war in Iraq more quickly than they did for the Vietnam War." The most recent quarterly data found "50% say it was a mistake to send troops. ... In the comparable quarter for the Vietnam War, Gallup found 41% saying the conflict was a mistake." On the surface, Bush claims to respect people who disagree with him. On Monday, a White House spokesperson said Bush "believes that Americans, obviously, have a right to express their views. That’s part of being American. That’s one of the things we’re fighting for.” In actuality, the administration has launched an effort to demonize Bush's critics. It's an underreported aspect of a coordinated public relations campaign by President Bush and his allies to rebuild support for the war. Real leadership means accepting real debate.

BUSH SPOKESMAN SAYS CRITICS WANT TERRORISTS TO WIN: Aboard Air Force One Monday, "Trent Duffy, a White House spokesman ... said that President Bush believes that those who want the U.S. to begin to change course in Iraq do not want America to win the overall 'war on terror.'" Duffy said that Bush "can understand that people don't share his view that we must win the war on terror ... but he just has a different view."

RUMSFELD COMPARES CRITICS TO COMMUNISTS, STALINISTS: In a press briefing yesterday Donald Rumsfeld, referring to Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), noted that "it's been alleged that we're not winning" in Iraq. Rumsfeld made it clear that he has no respect for people who question his policies or progress in Iraq. He noted that "[t]hroughout history there have always been those who predict America's failure just around every corner. At the height of World War II ... [m]any Western intellectuals praised Stalin ... [f]or a time, Communism was very much in vogue." Rumsfeld added, "those being tossed about by the winds of concern should recall that Americans are a tough lot and will see their commitments through." Apparently, our most important commitment is a reflexive acceptance of Rumsfeld's policies.

BUSH SAYS SHEEHAN DOESN'T SPEAK FOR MOST FAMILIES: The White House touts the "private meetings" President Bush has with the families of fallen soldiers. Yesterday, at a resort in Donnelly, Idaho, Bush dispensed with confidentiality to score political points. Speaking with reporters, Bush claimed Cindy Sheehan -- a war critic who lost her son in Iraq -- "doesn't represent the view of a lot of the families I have met with." Bush was met in Donnelly, a town of 130 people, by more than 200 protesters.


MEDIA
Networks Reject Ad Criticizing Their Coverage

Apparently you can’t even pay TV networks to cover genocide. American Progress and the Genocide Intervention Fund have created a television advertisement for BeAWitness.org, our netroots campaign that calls out the television news media for their deplorable coverage of the genocide in Darfur. In the last few days, three Washington, DC television affiliates, NBC-4, CBS-9, and ABC-7, informed us that they refuse to air the ad. For months, these networks (as well as their cable counterparts) have closed their eyes to the ultimate crime against humanity. Now they won’t allow people to purchase 30 seconds of air time urging better coverage of the genocide. Send a message to NBC, CBS and ABC demanding that the stations air the ad.

STATIONS EFFECTIVELY IGNORE DARFUR: Since the major networks seem to have their hands full covering stories like Michael Jackson and the Runaway Bride, the ad does what the media won’t -- puts the spotlight on Darfur, and suggests that genocide warrants increased coverage. ABC News broadcast just 18 minutes of Darfur coverage in its nightly newscasts in all of 2004 -- “and that turns out to be a credit to Peter Jennings,” as NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof points out. NBC News featured five minutes, and CBS only had three, “about a minute of coverage for every 100,000 deaths.” This past June, the three networks combined aired 15 segments on Darfur. During the same period, they aired 863 segments on Tom Cruise.

STILL WAITING FOR AN EXPLANATION: Not only did the networks refuse to air the ad, but they did so without offering any explanation for their decisions. All three responded in terse, one- or two-line e-mails. NBC wrote, "WRC-TV has chosen not to accept the submitted commercial advertisement, 'Genocide is News,' sponsored by BeAWitness.org." The CBS affiliate said, "Management did not approve the airing of the “Beawitness.org” spot." An official at ABC told us, "I just got word that WJLA-TV will not be able to accept the creative for Be a Witness.org. Please let me know if there may be any alternative creative that we may run."

EVER HEAR OF GLASS HOUSES?: If only cable news networks would be as critical of their own coverage as they are of others'. Earlier this month, CNN anchor Andersen Cooper launched an on-air critique of his “cable competitors” for their “downright ridiculous” obsession with the Natalee Holloway kidnapping case in Aruba. MSNBC host Dan Abrams hit back the next night, slamming Cooper for trying "to jump on the journalistic high horse," and noting that Cooper himself had run numerous segments on the "disappearance of the newlywed on a cruise ship ... women who love killers and the Jackson jurors.” Today, CNN President Jonathan Klein also lashed out, this time at cable ratings leader Fox News. "Fourteen Americans dead, and they have Natalee Holloway on," Klein said of the Fox program hosted by Greta van Susteren. "There are an awful lot of things you can cover if you don't have people tied up with this meaningless nonsense." Note to Kline: one of those things is genocide.


Under the Radar

MILITARY -- CONFIDENCE RETREATS: A McCormick Tribune/Gallup poll scheduled for release today reveals startling information about Americans' confidence in military news. According to the poll, 54 percent of Americans say the military keeps them well informed, down from 77 percent in 1999. Perhaps more surprising, the survey also found that three quarters of Americans believe that the military occasionally provides false or inaccurate information to the media. Sixty percent of the public said they did not receive enough information from the military to make informed decisions about such affairs.

ETHICS -- BUSH ADMINISTRATION DEMOTES CAREER EMPLOYEE FOR TELLING THE TRUTH: In yet another example of the Bush administration acting with retribution against those who don't toe the party line, the New York Times reports that the administration has demoted the Justice Department's director of Justice Statistics, Lawrence Greenfeld. His crime? Complaining that senior political officials were downplaying data on the aggressive police treatment of black and Hispanic drivers. Four months ago, political supervisors in the Office of Justice Programs ordered Greenfeld to delete references to statistical data showing that once they were stopped by police Hispanics were searched 11.4 percent of the time and blacks were searched 10.2 percent of time, compared to only 3.5 percent for white drivers. Greenfeld refused to delete the references from the news release, so the DoJ attempted to bury the report by not issuing a release of the report's findings. A source familiar with the dispute said, "Larry wanted to ensure that the integrity of the data was not compromised, and that's what's causing a lot of anxiety. We've seen a desire for more control over B.J.S. [Bureau of Justice Statistics] from the powers that be, and that's what seemed to get Larry in trouble."

WAR ON TERROR -- REST IN OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM: President Bush often appears to use troops as props for photo opportunities; now he’s figured out a way to use them as propaganda even after death. In a break from precedent, the Pentagon is inscribing headstones at Arlington National Cemetery with more than the traditional name, rank and date of death. Now the Defense Department is including its ad slogan operation names --“Operation Enduring Freedom,” “Operation Iraqi Freedom.” Many families were upset that the grave of their loved one was given the “special inscription” even when the family did not want it. Others were simply taken aback by the Pentagon’s willingness to put PR slogans on graves. "It just seems a little brazen that that's put on stones," said Jeff Martell, who makes headstones for the cemetery. "It seems like it might be connected to politics.”

HEALTH CARE: FAMILY CAREGIVERS IN NEED OF EXPANDED GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE: According to a new report by the Commonwealth Fund, family members caring for sick or disabled relatives (approximately 16 million working-age adults) need assistance from expanded U.S. government health care. "Allowing Medicare buy-in for caregivers of Medicare beneficiaries, or tax credits for caregivers' medical expenses, could ease their financial burden," said Sara Collins, senior program officer at the Commonwealth Fund and co-author of the study. Caregivers are more likely than non-caregivers to stop work, to miss days of work if they are employed, and to lack health-insurance coverage. Kathleen Stoll, director of health policy at Families USA, said, "Right now we have $10 billion in cuts on the table for the Medicare program in the U.S. Congress ... so we're moving in the wrong direction."