LAT claimed Dems "came to count on Imus," but obscured his attacks on Clinton and support for McCain

[NNN0LHI]

http://mediamatters.org/items/200704140004

In an April 13 article about the cancellation of Don Imus' radio show by CBS Radio and its simulcast by MSNBC, the Los Angeles Times reported that "over the years, Democrats such as (former Rep. Harold) Ford (TN) came to count on Imus for the kind of sympathetic treatment that Republicans got from Rush Limbaugh or (Fox News host) Sean Hannity." It was not until near the end of the article that the Times noted that not all Democrats could "count on" such "sympathetic treatment" from Imus: The paper informed readers that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), whom Imus vowed never to allow on his show, was "a frequent target of Imus' jokes." Moreover, while the Times noted that Republicans, such as Sen. John McCain (AZ), have also appeared on Imus in the Morning, it did not note that Imus said in January, "I'm going to vote for McCain at this point," or that he subsequently expressed support for former New York City Mayor and Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani.

In addition, the Times offered only thin evidence for its assertion that "some Democratic strategists are worried about how to fill the void" left by Imus. Of the two strategists the Times quoted suggesting that Imus' firing posed a problem for Democrats, one -- Dan Gerstein -- worked for Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (CT) in 2006 when Lieberman ran as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to challenger Ned Lamont:

With Imus' show canceled indefinitely because of his remarks about the Rutgers University women's basketball team, some Democratic strategists are worried about how to fill the void. For a national radio audience of white men, Democrats see few if any alternatives.

"This is a real bind for Democrats," said Dan Gerstein, an advisor to one of Imus' favorite regulars, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.). "Talk radio has become primarily the province of the right, and the blogosphere is largely the province of the left. If Imus loses his microphone, there aren't many other venues like it around."

Not until the 11th paragraph of the 15-paragraph article did the Times acknowledge:

Not all high-level Democrats were drawn to the self-styled "I-Man." Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), a party presidential front-runner and a frequent target of Imus' jokes, said she never had the desire to appear.

[SoCalDem]

1. Suck up to the the kid with the playhouse, and he'll let you in.

It was all just a good ole boy's playhouse..and it lasted a long time.. longer than I ever though it would :)

[Alexander]

2. The idea that he helped Dems is a myth.

I'm not surprised the usual DLC crew came out to spout that nonsense over in GD : P.

[mtnsnake]

4. Still running around spreading divisiveness I see

No wonder those people are all upset with you who you've been accusing as DLC'ers as if they're some kind of monsters. Those people are Democrats just like you are...at least I hope you are. Lighten up

[BlueManDude]

3. He was neither a Democrat nor a liberal. Gerstein STFU

ohh a "real bind" for Dems. We're better off without Imus.

[Garbo 2004]

5. Imus supported Lieberman rather than the Dem candidate. Supported Bush 2000.

Supporter of McCain. Praises Guiliani as a "great mayor."

Trashes the Clintons. Trashes Gore still, recently called Gore "Satan" and "a horrid human being." Supported Kerry in 2004 when he wasn't trashing him as I recall.

Hardly can compare Imus to Rushbo in terms of party/candidate support.

[nam78_two]

6. Huh?

The one time I ever saw that guy back in 2004 he was tearing into Kerry with the usual craptacular, content-free media psycho-babble....

Flip-flopper blah blah...