Caught Outside Of The Crossfire
Are we as a culture so caught up in a “Crossfire” mentality that anything other than a knock-down, drag-out screaming match garners criticism in political programming? After Sunday’s “Face the Nation,” complaints started circulating about the fact that the show aired a segment featuring three Republican members of Congress and no Democrats. The three guests: Rep. David Drier (R-CA), Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) and Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA). Here’s what Media Matters thought about it and host Bob Schieffer’s performance:
As Media Matters points out, Schieffer did address the segment’s make-up during the broadcast, noting: “Let me just point out, I didn’t invite any Democrats to be on this morning because I thought this was a Republican problem and wanted to give you a chance to talk about it.” The group also notes that Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz, who was asked about it in an online chat, concluded it was “not unreasonable” given the issues surrounding the Republican Party. But that was clearly not enough for critics.
Schieffer's failure to provide balance or critical questioning allowed the Republican guests to make unchallenged claims about the motivations of the prosecutor in the conspiracy charges against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), attack congressional Democrats, and provide partisan analysis in areas unrelated to recent GOP ethics problems, such as President Bush's tax cuts.
As Media Matters points out, Schieffer did address the segment’s make-up during the broadcast, noting: “Let me just point out, I didn’t invite any Democrats to be on this morning because I thought this was a Republican problem and wanted to give you a chance to talk about it.” The group also notes that Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz, who was asked about it in an online chat, concluded it was “not unreasonable” given the issues surrounding the Republican Party. But that was clearly not enough for critics.
