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February 08, 2005

Those Brave Moderates

Given the underwhelming response to the behavior of Democrats at the State of the Union speech last month, I thought this particular blast from the past was quite funny.

The Washington Post January 20, 1999 Clinton Address Elicits Varied Responses in GOP; While a Few Snub President, Response Overall Is Coolly Polite

To applaud or not to applaud: that was the question for Republicans watching President Clinton's State of the Union speech.

For many, it appeared to be an easy decision. House Majority Leader Richard K. Armey (R-Tex.) and Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) sat stiffly and clapped for the bomber pilot, Sammy Sosa and Rosa Parks, and that was about it. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) applauded for Hillary Rodham Clinton and equal pay for men and women.

Sen. Robert C. Smith (R-N.H.), who had decided earlier in the day not to attend, changed his mind and showed up "because it would be an affront to the presidency not to go," his spokeswoman said. He sat with a vacant look on his face and his arms crossed.

A handful of House Republicans skipped the speech out of protest, but for the most part congressional Republicans were polite, if cool, in their response to Clinton last night. While their Democratic colleagues interrupted the president with applause more than 100 times, at times extravagantly, Republicans largely watched the 77-minute speech with studied detachment.

Also,

The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA) January 20, 1999 Lawmakers from Mass. like speech

Moakley criticized Republicans who "sat on their hands," refusing to applaud even popular proposals such as one to shore up the Social Security system. "They don't want to do anything to make him look good."

In contrast, The Washington Post this year ran an article by Dana Milbank that begins “Pity the Republican moderates who sat in the chamber last night for President Bush's State of the Union address,” The article then goes on to praise those brave moderates who refused to clap for "Bush's rhetoric" and barely mentions the behavior of the Democrats. I didn't see any other articles in The Washington Post mentioning the issue.

Liberal media? No way!

What people often don't seem to realize is that the bias of media outlets is shown clearly by what stories they choose to report on, the quotes that they use, and the focus that they give to their stories.

Posted by illuminaria at February 8, 2005 04:18 PM

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