The Media Research Center just can’t stop perpetuating the idea that the CNBC Republican presidential debate was filled with “liberal bias,” despite the fact that it’s unable to objectively prove it.
In thair Nov. 4 column, Tim Graham and Brent Bozell whined that “liberal journalists asked one too many deliberately snide and hostile “gotcha” questions attacking the GOP candidates and the candidates exploded in anger,” declaring that “The RNC’s action to drop NBC and Telemundo and whole Comcast brand from debates is long, long overdue.”
Then they write this:
You have to go back to April 2008 to find a debate where Democrats were faced with hostile questions, when ABC hosts George Stephanopoulos and Charlie Gibson dared to ask Barack Obama one question about his ties to ex-terrorist Bill Ayers.
Actually, that’s a complete lie — Anderson Cooper asked tough questions at the Oct. 13 CNN-hosted Democratic presidential debate. How do we know? Because Bozell himself said so. And he even sent out a press release praising Cooper’s “tough, probing questions”:
During last night’s Democratic debate, Anderson Cooper in large measure did exactly what a debate moderator is supposed to do. He asked tough, probing questions of all the candidates. Better yet, he did what most moderators won’t do: when given an evasive or untrue answer, he pounced in a follow-up question, exposing the evasion or untruth. It was a breath of fresh air to see such professionalism. Give him an A- for a job well done.
Yeah, we know the “liberal bias” mantra is how the MRC makes its bread and butter, but are Graham and Bozell really so stupid as to forget a statement Bozell made just three weeks ago?