Clinton, context, and coverage — a case study

[ProSense]

Clinton, context, and coverage — a case study

By Steve Benen

If you perused the headlines on several prominent political news sites yesterday, you were led to believe that former President Clinton, in an interview with Newsmax, expressed his opposition to President Obama’s debt-reduction plan, or at least the provisions related to tax fairness.

Newsmax’s own headline: “Ex-President Clinton to Newsmax: Raising Taxes Won’t Work”

Politico headline: “Bill Clinton: No more taxes now”

Business Insider headline: “Bill Clinton Breaks With Obama, Says No To New Tax Hikes”

USA Today headline: “Clinton: No new (Obama) taxes?”

Perhaps the most egregious was Time’s Mark Halperin, who ran this as the lead political story yesterday afternoon. The headline, referring to Clinton as the nation’s 42nd president, read, “42: No Tax Hikes.” The blurb told readers, “In Newsmax interview, Clinton says, ‘I personally don’t believe we ought to be raising taxes … This has been a dead flat economy.’”

What did Clinton actually say? The quote from the former president is pretty straightforward: “I personally don’t believe we ought to be raising taxes or cutting spending until we get this economy off the ground.”

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Good grief! Of course the MSM will jump on this comment.

[Robb]

1. "Please."

I could make this post a thousand times: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x163797

[ProSense]

4. Holy cripes! Check out this Reuters headline

Special report: Crunch time at America's richest union

(Reuters) - Bob King, the president of the United Auto Workers, has a problem: the labor union that credits itself with creating the American middle class has glimpsed the end of the line.

Two years after the wrenching restructuring of the U.S. auto industry and the bankruptcies that remade General Motors and Chrysler, the UAW is facing its own financial reckoning. America's richest union has been living beyond its means and running down its savings, an analysis of its financial records shows.

Unless King and other officials succeed with a turnaround plan still taking shape, the next financial crisis in Detroit may not be at one of the automakers but at the UAW itself.

That picture of the growing financial pressure on the 76-year-old union emerges from a Reuters analysis of a decade of UAW financial filings and interviews with dozens of current and former union officials and people close to the union.

<...>

Classic hit piece! It's just in time for the union negotiations.

[flpoljunkie]

2. Clinton was just on Morning Joe and made a point to clarify his positions

He specifically said Obama's tax increases would not take effect until 2013--which he had neglected to point out in his Newsmax interview. As for tax increases for millionaires, he pointed out that, of course, they 'won't solve the whole problem' and further explained President Obama's top rate would be no more than his top rate of 39.6%.

Clinton also made it a point to emphasize Moody's Mark Zandi's projections for the American Jobs Act--that it would create one to two million jobs and boost economic output by 1.5 to 2%.

Thank you, President Clinton, for these points and clarifications. I knew Newsman and Halperin would try and distort what he said.

[flpoljunkie]

3. Chuck Todd played Clinton's Newsmax comments with no context with a panel designed not to clarify

Specifically the part about not raising taxes, of course. Thus, confirming your characterization about the main stream media. They are not worth spit!

[Phx_Dem]

5. I wonder if Halprin thinks Clinton is a dick too.