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Times Watch for March 11, 2004

Cutting Kerry Slack On His Bush Attack

     Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry made a personal attack on George Bush and his administration at a Chicago campaign rally Wednesday, saying to a group of union workers after a speech: "These guys are the most crooked, you know, lying group that I've ever seen." But the Times front-page story on the Kerry campaign chooses to emphasize the positive--from the Kerry point of view, anyway.

     Jodi Wilgoren and David Halbfinger wait until the eighth paragraph to refer to Kerry's harshly negative attack on Bush: "The unity tour began on a day when Mr. Kerry denounced his Republican critics in unusually harsh terms during a conversation with supporters in Chicago when he apparently did not realize he was still wearing a live microphone. 'These are the most crooked, you know, lying group I've ever seen, it's scary,' Mr. Kerry said as his supporters urged him to 'tell it like it is' and 'keep smiling.'"

     Instead, the Times story (as indicated by its headline, "Kerry and Dean, All Forgiven, Join to Unseat a Common Foe") emphasizes Democratic unity, focusing on the meet-up between Kerry and Howard Dean (remember him?), an image reinforced with a large front-page picture of the former rivals clutching their hands above their heads in solidarity.

     In contrast, the Washington Post (which tends to be more balanced than the Times on national politics) leads with Kerry's comment. The Post headline also plays up Kerry's comment: "Kerry Decries GOP as 'Crooked' and 'Lying.'"

     Post reporter Dan Balz argues that "the uproar threatened to overshadow two other events yesterday, Kerry's first face-to-face meeting with former Vermont governor Howard Dean since effectively wrapping up the nomination and a flurry of speculation about whether Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) might entertain the idea of joining Kerry on the Democratic ticket."

     There was no risk of such "overshadowing" at the Times, which just yesterday went to great lengths to portray the Bush administration as the early aggressors in Campaign 2004.

For the rest of the Times story on the Kerry-Dean meet-up (and, eventually, Kerry's attack), click here.

• Campaign 2004 | Howard Dean | David Halbfinger | Sen. John Kerry | Jodi Wilgoren

"Strident" Spanish PM "Dragged His Country" Into War

     Can the Times ever forgive the European leaders who had the gall to back Bush during the Iraq war? First there was Frank Bruni's long list of gripes against Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. On Thursday Elaine Sciolino files a contentious profile of Spanish prime minister José María Aznar, which opens with this less-than-glorious appraisal: "Years ago, Prime Minister José María Aznar of Spain was called Mr. Nobody because he seemed so pinched and boring. More recently, opponents have branded him a 'vassal' of President Bush for embracing and defending the American-led war in Iraq."

     Sciolino proceeds to mock Anzar: "To hear Mr. Aznar talk about himself, he is a modern-day Winston Churchill who decided to wage war in Iraq in the face of overwhelming domestic opposition, a miracle man who turned his country into the world's eighth-largest economy, and a firm believer in the need to promote Europe's Christian heritage and a sex symbol with a sense of humor….Even less charismatic than Mr. Aznar, [candidate Mariano Rajoy] nevertheless has benefited from the extraordinarily well-disciplined machine of his center-right Popular Party and the country's strong economic performance."

     We do learn that Anzar's handpicked successor, Mariano Rajoy, is leading the polls, so perhaps Anzar isn't as low on charisma as Sciolino assumes.

     Then she accuses Anzar of "dragging his country" into war--a decision Anzar defends in "strident" tones: "Even though Spain's involvement in the Iraq war was opposed by 90 percent of the population, Mr. Aznar stridently defends his decision to drag his country into it." In the very next sentence, Sciolino parrots the long-discredited "imminent threat" boilerplate: "He forgives the United States for the intelligence reports that said Saddam Hussein's unconventional weapons programs posed an imminent threat to the world's security, claims that have not been substantiated."

     Sciolino continues with more criticism of Aznar's "autocratic" rule: "Mr. Aznar has been criticized for turning more autocratic during his tenure. He made the decision to join the American-led war effort and chose Mr. Rajoy to run as his successor almost without consultation. [Socialist candidate] Zapatero has pledged that if elected, he will usher in 'a government of dialogue and not of arrogance.'"

For the rest of Sciolino's interview with Anzar, click here.

• José María Aznar | Iraq War | Elaine Sciolino | Spain

E-mail TimesWatch Director, Clay Waters, with TimesWatch feedback at cwaters@mediaresearch.org