The Republican Media- No. 18

Did you hear the one about technology-averse John McCain inventing the Blackberry? No, he didn't say he invented it, but top policy advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin said he helped create it. Holding a Blackberry, Holtz-Eakin (as quoted in startribune.com, Minneapolis) boasted on September 16 "He did this. Telecommunications in the United States, the premiere innovation in the past 15 years, comes right through the Commerce Committee. So you're looking at the miracle that John McCain helped create."

You might not have heard about it, because it didn't get nearly the play that Al Gore's remark about the Internet has, even today. On CNN's "Late Edition" on 3/9/99, Gore stated

During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.

Snopes.com drew this apt analogy in May, 2005:

If President Eisenhower had said in the mid-1960s that he, while President, "created" the Interstate Highway System, we would not have seen dozens and dozens of editorials lampooning him for claiming he "invented" the concept of highways or implying that he personally went out and dug ditches across the country to help build the roadway. Everyone would have understood that Ike meant he was a driving force behind the legislation that created the highway system, and this was the very same concept Al Gore was expressing about himself with his Internet statement.

Even the startribune.com article noting the McCain campaign's statement couldn't resist the cheap shot against the former Vice-President, quipping "Move over, Al Gore. You may lay claim to the Internet, but John McCain's campaign is laying claim to the BlackBerry."

And then there was this comment on 9/4/08 from North Carolina Republican Rick Goddard, seeking a U.S. House seat, about black MSNBC reporter Ron Allen:

I’ll tell you one thing, I think we’re going to have a very, very strong, capable president in John McCain. Last night, Newt Gingrich disarmed a very uppity newscaster who tried to question him on the capabilities and leadership of Governor Palin. There’s simply no comparison between a governor and a community organizer….

.... which followed by only a few hours this comment by another Republican from North Carolina, U.S. Representative Lynn Westmoreland, about Barack Obama:

Just from what little I’ve seen of her and Mr. Obama, Sen. Obama, they’re a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they’re uppity.

You've probably not heard of these comments, which have been virtually ignored by the mainstream media. If, say, a Democratic legislator and aspiring Democratic legislator had made a parallel remark about Sarah Palin's gender, the attention would have eclipsed the "lipstick on a pig" furor.

And so it goes, in the land of the mythical "liberal media."

Saint McCain

Did you hear the one about Al Gore inventing the Internet?

Of course you did, probably several times- although the former Tennessee Senator never claimed credit for founding the Internet. It all started with an interview on CNN's "Late Edition" on March 9, 1999 when Gore responded to Wolf Blitzer's query as to why Democrats should support him over challenger Bill Bradley:

During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.

Gore did spearhead Congressional efforts to advance the Internet and never did claim to create it. But did you hear the one about John McCain creating the "Do Not Call " telemarketing registry?

He did invent the DNC (I couldn't resist using the initials) list, according to his policy paper, "Ensuring the Personal Security and Privacy of Americans in the Digital Age," released on August 14, 2008. In it we read of the claim

2003 – McCain led in creating the FTC's “Do-Not-Call” telemarketing registry to allow consumers to opt out of receiving telemarketing calls. And, when the law was challenged in court, McCain led the effort to ensure that it was upheld.

But as Peter Swire, blogging at the wonk room of think progress.org, points out:

This claim is hilarious for those of us who work on these issues. FTC Chairman Tim Muris announced in October, 2001 that the FTC was going to do the Do Not Call list. Yet somehow McCain magically caused the Do Not Call list in 2003. And, given the independent agency status of the FTC, it is a stretch to say that “McCain led the effort to ensure that it was upheld.”

The presumptive Repub presidential nominee makes in this technology paper other claims which are at best very misleading. But have you ever heard any of this from the mainstream media? Hardly, and for only one reason- it's John McCain, he of the mythical, yet legendary, "Straight Talk Express."

Quote Of The Week

"Anyway, dot-communism? The Xinhua News Agency reports that, in China now, there are 221 million Internet users, tying the United States for the most web users in any country. The trouble is, it means that China is growing and advancing, but, let‘s not forget, our Internet users have access to the entire Internet.

In China, sites that show protest videos in Tibet, like YouTube, are blocked by the government. Glasnost has yet to hit China, and the First Amendment is nowhere in sight."

-Chris Matthews, MSNBC's "Hardball," April 24, 2008