Nothing like a little objectivity from a press corps scornful of the idea that they lean leftward. On April 19, the Democratic National Committee’s Communications Office faxed talking points to “interested parties” with the headline, “Bob Dole’s Attacks On President Clinton’s Judges: Playing Cynical Politics With The Issue Of Crime.” The following day, columnist and TV commentator A1 Hunt offered his “outrage” of the week on CNN’s Capital Gang. His outrage: Bob Dole’s attack on Clinton’s judicial appointments. “Here are three salient facts,” said Hunt. “One, independent studies suggest that Clinton’s judicial appointments have been rather mainstream . . . two, Bob Dole has supported 98 percent of these appointments, and three, the presumptive Republican nominee is trailing in the polls and feverishly is looking for any helpful issue.”
Al’s outrage is rather similar to the DNC talking points. His “salient fact” #1 mirrors the sixth point on the DNC list, “President Clinton’s Judges Are Moderate.” which offers selected quotes to bolster their case that Clinton’s not a judicial lefiie.
“Salient facts” 2 and 3 track with DNC point 3: “Attack Is Poll Driven. Dole Is Attacking Judges He Voted To Confirm 98.4% Of The Time.” The same DNC talking points Hunt parroted on national television also have a quote from a Hunt Wall Street Journal column attacking the GOP’s relationship to the National Rifle Association. And why not? When you have a columnist “on message,” surely you can take some time out to give him a pat on the back.
