Sanford Got Himself In Scandal … Media Is An Easy Scapegoat

In reading an article on News Busters I read from a writer who is upset about coverage of the controversy surrounding Republican Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina. Now, the media coverage on this has been big (for a lot of reasons … reasons that have nothing to do with political parties). The writer, Rich Noyes, articulates a few controversial cases involving Democrats he asserts have not garnered as much coverage as Sanford’s crazy tales. But, the writer seems to have omitted a couple of things that caught my eye as I read over the story: (1) I saw no mention of how the media beat up and beat down former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards (and, actually, continues to go after him) and (2) I saw no mention of the affair controversy involving a Republican, Sen. John Ensign of Nevada (an affair that is not getting much coverage all things considered). The writer also seems to ignore that Gov. Sanford disappeared, few people seemed to know where he was, he is responsible for the people of South Carolina, there was dishonesty about his whereabouts, Republicans have portrayed themselves as the party of family values, he was missing around Father’s Day and … on and on it goes.

Here is the News Busters article:

In the week since South Carolina’s Republican Governor announced he had flown to Argentina to carry on an extra-marital affair, the broadcast morning and evening news shows have gone full bore on the scandal, cranking out 49 stories even in the midst of other major stories like Michael Jackson’s death and the continuing repression in Iran.

The morning after Sanford announced his affair, on the June 25 Good Morning America, longtime correspondent Sam Donaldson used the scandal to broadly charge Republicanswith being “sanctimonious. They thump the Bible. They condemn everyone else, and when they [act] human, they don’t have much credit in the bank for forgiveness.” Unlike when New York Democratic Governor Eliot Spitzer was caught consorting with a prostitute in March 2008, all three broadcast networks immediately identified Sanford’s party ID.

A number of top Democrats are enmeshed in embarrassment or facing allegations of wrongdoing, but the networks have far less interest in publicizing those cases.A rundown of ABC, CBS and NBC morning and evening coverage so far this year [ talks about Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN), Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) and Ex-Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA).]

I am not saying those are not scandals, but to imply bias seems off base.

Noyes’ headline: Heavy Coverage of Sanford’s Woes, But Where Are Democratic Scandals?

Noyes must have been asleep during the presidential primaries.

Ask John Edwards if his affair got far less interest.

Michael Savage … Savages Common Sense

In the news, recently, we’ve seen two individuals Sen. John Ensign (downplayedby the talkers on right-wing media outlets like Fox News) and Gov. Mark Sanford go down to marital infidelity. So, what does right-wing talk show nut Michael Savage do … he finds some way to make their infidelity out to be something that is President Obama’s fault. If you listen to Savage, he seems to be indicating that this is some kind of plot from Obama to take down two of his potential rivals for the 2012 presidential election. Savage, the Republicans need very little help destroying themselves for 2012. Sanford and Ensign join others (like Gov. Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich) who are perfectly capable of destroying their own candidacies.

Here is what Savage said: ”Obama’s team is taking out potential rivals one after another.”

Again, the Republicans are doing a good job of taking themselves out. In these cases, their problems are self-inflicted wounds.

Media Matters for America:
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906260012

Savage on Ensign, Sanford scandals: “Obama’s team is taking out potential rivals one after another”

Will O’Reilly, Others On Fox Point Out Sanford Being Harsh On Clinton?

It will be interesting to see if the media (particularly Fox News) points out how tough Gov, Mark Sanford once was on former President Bill Clinton.

This is from an AP story posted by Yahoo News:

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina’s governor once cited “moral legitimacy” when he was a congressman voting for President Bill Clinton’s impeachment. He became a darling of fiscal conservatives over his ideological opposition to federal stimulus cash.

I wonder if Bill O’Reilly will mention this on his show or if he will just proceed with an one-sided attack (joined by Karl Rove and Bernie Goldberg) on the so-called liberal press.

I wonder if Bill O’Reilly and others will call out that “moral legitimacy” hypocrisy.

This also is a good example of why we shouldn’t put politicians on a pedestal.

As For Gov. Mark Sanford’s Lofty Political Ambitions: It A Wrap

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford can kiss goodbye any chance he had at securing the Republican nomination for president of the United States of America.

Frankly, this is a sad story:

COLUMBIA, S.C. – During a Wednesday news conference at his office in Columbia, Gov. Mark Sanford admitted to having an extramarital affair — information that surfaced after his recent, secret trip to Argentina.

The married father of four emotionally apologized to his wife and staff, saying, “I’ve let down a lot of people.”

Sanford said he met the woman almost eight years ago, but “about a year ago, it sparked into something more than that.”

The governor said his wife and family have known about it for the past five months.

He also announced that he was resigning as chairman of the Republican Governors’ Association.

Earlier, the South Carolina governor told a newspaper he was in South America, not hiking the Appalachian Trail as his staff had told the public to explain his sudden absence. He said he “wanted to do something exotic” to unwind after losing a fight over federal stimulus money.

Gov. Sanford is already ducking calls for his resignation as governor of South Carolina. Some people are even talking impeachment.

Crooks and Liars:
http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/sanford-admits-he-has-been-unfaithfu