Cokie on Letterman: I'm SO sick of this blame game

The Name Game
Shirley Ellis

The name game!

Shirley!
Shirley, Shirley bo Birley Bonana fanna fo Firley
Fee fy mo Mirley, Shirley!

Lincoln!
Lincoln, Lincoln bo Bincoln Bonana fanna fo Fincoln
Fee fy mo Mincoln, Lincoln!......

THEY NEVER STOP TELLING THESE STORIES: Many readers complained about Cokie Roberts’ appearance on yesterday’s Morning Edition. She had said it again, we were told—she had said that Al Gore was the first person to bring up Willie Horton, during the 1988 primaries. It’s been RNC cant since 1992, as we’ve incomparably explained in the past (links below). And, of course, it’s blatantly bogus: Though Gore criticized the Massachusetts furlough program at one Dem debate in 1988, he never mentioned Horton (or anyone else) by name; he never mentioned Horton’s crime; he never ran any ads on the subject; and he never said anything at all about race. The racializing of the issue—and the introduction of Horton—occurred in the general election.

But readers, you know how those pundits can be! We checked to see what Cokie had said—and Cokie had been very slick. She spoke with Renee Montaigne:

MONTAIGNE (1/12/04): How bad is it for the Democrats to participate in all these debates where quite often they attack each other as we just heard?
ROBERTS: Well, there are two problems with it. One is, as you say, the attacks on each other really do provide sound-bites for ads in the general election. Now remember, it was Al Gore in primary debates who was the first person to bring up the issue of Willie Horton, that released criminal against Michael Dukakis, which then the first George Bush used so effectively in the general election.

We thought we’d explained this in the past, but now it seems that we haven’t. Readers, spinners like Roberts never say that Gore brought up Willie Horton himself. Instead, they refer to “the Horton issue,” just as Cokie did with Montaigne. This way, they get to slime Gore with Horton’s name—and they get to say that their comment is technically accurate. Gore did bring up “the Horton issue” (the furlough program). He just didn’t mention Horton when he did so, as Candidate Bush endlessly did.

I Lost My Brother on 9-11; Does He Matter?
David Potorti, AlterNet October 10, 2001
James worked on the 96th Floor of the first tower for a company called Marsh & McLennan.]

On October 8th, as most Americans rose concerned and curious about the military action taking place
on the other side of the globe, NPR's Morning Edition host Bob Edwards asked Cokie Roberts to weigh in.
"Leaders of Congress were quick to issue a statement in support of the military action in Afghanistan," he said.
"Were there any dissenters?"

"None that matter," she replied.

It's a jaw-dropping statement when you think about it, one that says nothing and yet says everything.
There was opposition to the bombing. But how much? From whom? But before you go demanding
simple facts or objective reportage, let's cut to the chase: it doesn't matter.

It's an opinion unlikely to be shared by California Representative Barbara Lee, the only member
of Congress brave enough to vote her conscience in declining to authorize the use of military force.
Or to other members of Congress who expressed similar concerns.
Do they matter?
To countless Americans who share their concerns, they do.

But in a larger sense, of course, Roberts is right. In a media universe where you're likely to find right-wing
conservatives on ABC, Fox, or NPR, the facts don't matter; only the framing. And in the hands of biased
pundits posing as objective journalists, the framing is always going to be the same: pro-military,
pro-government, and pro-war.

Still, Roberts may have done us a favor with her comment. Those three little words tell us worlds about the
values informing the operation of U.S. intelligence, the State Department, and the Pentagon. Understanding
those words may bring us some much-needed clarity on U.S. policies seemingly at odds with U.S. values.

Have sanctions against Iraq have killed more than 500,000 innocent children?
None that matter.
Did bombing Yugoslavia kill more civilians than soldiers?
None that matter.
Did lobbing cruise missiles at a Sudanese pharmaceutical factory result in the deaths of medicine-starved civilians?
None that matter.