Media ignore McCain's finances after obsessing over Dems'
Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 7:45 pm
DAR
Personally I don't give a flip about this issue, other than the curious double standard. I had heard all of the racket about Hillary, not a peep about McCain. Thank goodness for Media Matters.
***
Media ignore McCain's finances after obsessing over Dems'
If you've been watching MSNBC lately, you've probably heard that Hillary Clinton hasn't made her tax returns public.
Here's Andrea Mitchell: "I mean, where are the tax returns?" And Dan Abrams: "Not releasing tax returns does beg the question, 'Is there something to hide?' " Chris Matthews: "Will you commit ... to release her tax returns before the election in Pennsylvania which is so pivotal for you? ... So we'll get the results before we vote." And Tucker Carlson: "I'm still baffled as to why Senator Clinton hasn't released her tax returns."
Carlson, the soon-to-be-former host of the eponymous (and, as of tomorrow morning, defunct) show Tucker, has not only been baffled, he has been positively obsessed:
* CARLSON, MARCH 6: "Senator Clinton claims she's too busy to release her tax returns. ... The reality is she wants to keep this information hidden from the voters of Wyoming, Mississippi and Pennsylvania. And they ought to wonder why."
* CARLSON, FEBRUARY 25: "Frank Rich makes the point, if we are that biased against Hillary Clinton, we'd be asking to see her tax returns."
* CARLSON, FEBRUARY 22: "It has never made sense to me why Mrs. Clinton doesn't release her tax returns."
* CARLSON, FEBRUARY 13: "I want to see her tax returns. I want specific tax returns. ... I want to see specific tax returns. ... And we always see them. Why can't we see her? ... I want to see her tax return. ... Is there a reason she's not -- we're not seeing it? ... n order to know where the money is coming from, I think it's fair to see her tax return. That's why Obama has released his. That's why every candidate has and she hasn't."
Tucker's assertion that "every candidate" other than Clinton has released his tax returns isn't quite right. John McCain hasn't released his tax returns, either.
Not that you would know that from watching MSNBC. According to Nexis, there hasn't been a single mention on MSNBC this year of the fact that McCain hasn't released his tax returns. No indication that McCain might even pay taxes, much less that he hasn't released his returns.
Even when Republican strategists appear as guests on MSNBC, they get asked about the fact that Clinton hasn't released her returns -- but not about the fact that McCain hasn't, either.
On March 1, Tim Russert asked Mary Matalin about Clinton: "Mary Matalin, I asked Hillary Clinton about her $5 million loan to her campaign. And I said because of that, would she release her tax returns? She and her husband have a joint return. He's had a lot of overseas dealings. And isn't it fair for voters to know exactly where he got his money from? So, I mean, she said, well, we're going to put them out if I'm the nominee, maybe before. But clearly doesn't want to release her tax return." Matalin -- quite predictably -- responded by saying that Clinton "will not be able to get away with this" and that "it is emblematic of her candidacy and what people don't like about her and what they are done with. They want transparency."
The rest...
Personally I don't give a flip about this issue, other than the curious double standard. I had heard all of the racket about Hillary, not a peep about McCain. Thank goodness for Media Matters.
***
Media ignore McCain's finances after obsessing over Dems'
If you've been watching MSNBC lately, you've probably heard that Hillary Clinton hasn't made her tax returns public.
Here's Andrea Mitchell: "I mean, where are the tax returns?" And Dan Abrams: "Not releasing tax returns does beg the question, 'Is there something to hide?' " Chris Matthews: "Will you commit ... to release her tax returns before the election in Pennsylvania which is so pivotal for you? ... So we'll get the results before we vote." And Tucker Carlson: "I'm still baffled as to why Senator Clinton hasn't released her tax returns."
Carlson, the soon-to-be-former host of the eponymous (and, as of tomorrow morning, defunct) show Tucker, has not only been baffled, he has been positively obsessed:
* CARLSON, MARCH 6: "Senator Clinton claims she's too busy to release her tax returns. ... The reality is she wants to keep this information hidden from the voters of Wyoming, Mississippi and Pennsylvania. And they ought to wonder why."
* CARLSON, FEBRUARY 25: "Frank Rich makes the point, if we are that biased against Hillary Clinton, we'd be asking to see her tax returns."
* CARLSON, FEBRUARY 22: "It has never made sense to me why Mrs. Clinton doesn't release her tax returns."
* CARLSON, FEBRUARY 13: "I want to see her tax returns. I want specific tax returns. ... I want to see specific tax returns. ... And we always see them. Why can't we see her
Tucker's assertion that "every candidate" other than Clinton has released his tax returns isn't quite right. John McCain hasn't released his tax returns, either.
Not that you would know that from watching MSNBC. According to Nexis, there hasn't been a single mention on MSNBC this year of the fact that McCain hasn't released his tax returns. No indication that McCain might even pay taxes, much less that he hasn't released his returns.
Even when Republican strategists appear as guests on MSNBC, they get asked about the fact that Clinton hasn't released her returns -- but not about the fact that McCain hasn't, either.
On March 1, Tim Russert asked Mary Matalin about Clinton: "Mary Matalin, I asked Hillary Clinton about her $5 million loan to her campaign. And I said because of that, would she release her tax returns? She and her husband have a joint return. He's had a lot of overseas dealings. And isn't it fair for voters to know exactly where he got his money from? So, I mean, she said, well, we're going to put them out if I'm the nominee, maybe before. But clearly doesn't want to release her tax return." Matalin -- quite predictably -- responded by saying that Clinton "will not be able to get away with this" and that "it is emblematic of her candidacy and what people don't like about her and what they are done with. They want transparency."
The rest...