MoveOn attacks AP writer for biased analysis of Biden pick Andrew McLemore

Published: Sunday August 24, 2008





Print This Email This MoveOn.org, a political action group, has denounced an Associated Press analysis of Barack Obama's vice presidential pick, saying the article is more similar to "FOX than an unbiased news organization."



A statement from MoveOn.org asks its readers to email AP and demand the writer be fired.



The piece, titled "Analysis: Biden pick shows lack of confidence", suggests that Obama's choice of Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate is the "next logistical step in an Obama campaign that has become more negative."



The following is an excerpt from the article:



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The candidate of change went with the status quo. In picking Sen. Joe Biden to be his running mate, Barack Obama sought to shore up his weakness--inexperience in office and on foreign policy.



...He picked a 35-year veteran of the Senate--the ultimate insider.



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The author, Ron Fournier, has several connections to conservative leaders.



Politico reported that before returning to the Associated Press in March 2007, the writer considered working for the John McCain presidential campaign, frequently talking about the possibility to coworkers.



Media Matters has written that Fournier has "consistently smeared Democrats and favored John McCain" and tied him to Karl Rove.



Rove and Fournier exchanged a series of emails after the 2004 death of Cpl. Pat Tillman, a former football player who regarded as a hero by the White House until it was discovered that he had actually been killed by friendly fire.



In one email, Rove asked, "How does our country continue to produce men and women like this?" Fournier responded: "The Lord creates men and women like this all over the world. But only the great and free countries allow them to flourish. Keep up the fight."



Fournier was named chief of the AP's Washington bureau on August 1, effectively making him responsible for directing the wire service's coverage of the presidential campaign.



"There are few places in all of journalism more respected or closely watched than the Washington bureau of the Associated Press. And there are few moments in history when the AP's coverage of Washington has mattered more," said Mike Oreskes, the AP's managing editor for U.S. news. "Fortunately, we have the perfect candidate at hand."



The article criticizing Obama's VP choice is not the first time Fournier has been accused of a conservative bias in his writing.



The following is a list compiled by MoveOn.org of other examples of his work during the election cycle that have drawn negative attention.



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Headline: "Sen. Hillary Clinton an Artful Dodger" Excerpt: "Slick Hillary? Former President Clinton earned the nickname 'Slick Willy' for his mastery in the political arts of ducking and dodging...His wife may not be as smooth, but Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is doing a passable impression of the ever-parsing former president."



Headline: "Obama walks arrogance line" Excerpt: "There's a line smart politicians don't cross--somewhere between "I'm qualified to be president" and "I'm born to be president." Wherever it lies, Barack Obama better watch his step. He's bordering on arrogance."



Headline: "Clinton's Politics of Pity" Excerpt: "Poor Hillary. After trying to save her sinking candidacy with awkward turns of flattery and sarcasm, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton resorted to a new tactic in Tuesday night's debate: self-pity."



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Fournier has covered politics for the Associated Press for 20 years, but Media Matters found only one negative piece about Republicans written by him.



The main point of the article was slamming Mitt Romney for having beaten John McCain in Michigan, calling McCain's loss "a defeat for authenticity in politics" and McCain a "man who spoke hard truths."



