Liberal Media Strikes Again

The latest from Media Matters:

Media repeated Gonzales's false claim that Gore speech was "inconsistent" with Clinton administration policies
Numerous media outlets echoed Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales's criticisms of former Vice President Al Gore's January 16 speech, which was highly critical of President Bush's authorization of warrantless domestic espionage in apparent violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Gonzales argued that Gore was being "inconsistent" because the Clinton administration did the same thing; in fact, Clinton's use of warrantless physical searches, which Gonzales cited, did not violate FISA because at the time FISA did not address physical searches.

Post's Kurtz on ombudsman Howell's false Abramoff claims: "inartfully worded," could "have been more accurate"
In an online chat, The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz acknowledged that Post ombudsman Deborah Howell's false claims that Democrats received campaign contributions from Jack Abramoff were "inartfully worded" and could "have been more accurate."

Time's Allen and Bacon wrongly stated that funding for "Bridge to Nowhere" was eliminated
A Time magazine article wrongly stated that Congress eliminated funding once earmarked for a mile-long, 200-foot-high bridge connecting Ketchikan, Alaska, to a sparsely populated island and regional airport. In fact, while the earmark was removed from the budget, the money remained, now available for use by the state of Alaska for any reason state officials deem fit -- including for the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere."

CNN photojournalist declares, "That's a nice feeling" to get a wink from Bush
CNN's Mark Walz declared, "That's a nice feeling" when President Bush "gives you a wink."

Following ABC's Stephanopoulos, NBC's Williams used partial Alito response to suggest Alito rejected strong executive power
Covering the nomination hearing of Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr., NBC News correspondent Pete Williams asserted that "Alito himself told the senators this week that a president does not have the power to disregard a law." But Williams based this on only a part of a response Alito gave on the issue of presidential power. In fact, Alito's entire response on the issue constitutes a legal truism that tells senators nothing about his views on presidential power versus congressional power -- that the president cannot disregard a law that is constitutional. Simply put, Alito told the committee that the president has to follow the law except when he doesn't have to.

Hewitt accused CNN of ignoring criticism of Dems in Alito coverage -- but CNN guest lineup and coverage say otherwise
On CNN's On the Story, conservative blogger and radio host Hugh Hewitt accused CNN of ignoring conservative criticism of Democratic senators' performance during the nomination hearing for Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. In fact, CNN featured six solo appearances by non-senators who criticized Senate Democrats over their questioning of Alito, and no solo appearances by non-elected progressive critics of Alito. Moreover, CNN offered no opposing viewpoint to counter Hewitt's baseless accusation.