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George Stephanopoulos
Boy George Becomes the Lone Anchor at This Week

Political partisan. Liberal presidential aide. Sunday news show anchor.

Former Clinton aide George Stephanopoulos will become the sole host of the Sunday news show This Week in September. If it seems strange that the post once held by broadcasting icon David Brinkley will be occupied by a former Democratic operative with limited media experience, it should. Stephanopoulos was a no-holds barred partisan during his political days and even liberal editors had issues with him. The Wall Street Journal’s Al Hunt, in a discussion about Stephanopoulos’s 1999 book on CNN's Capital Gang, recalled how the news host operated less than ethically in 1992: “For those of us that knew George before he was a virgin, I want to tell you something, this book is a shocker. I’ll give you one example. In 1992 we broke the story about Clinton evading the draft. James Carville and Paul Begala called me up directly. We had a fight over it to no avail because the story was right. George went behind our back and told everyone that we were had by right-wing Republicans. That was a lie and he knew it.”

ABC News insists the former political partisan is a fair and even-handed journalist. Good Morning America host Diane Sawyer even claimed that Stephanopoulos had been “completely non-partisan” during his time at ABC. Plus, Peter Jennings vouched for his fairness on The O'Reilly Factor last May 15. Stephanopoulos’s comments over the last five years, however, don’t support either claim.

To read about Stephanopoulos's coverage of Campaign 2000, click on Go Gore! Also see the June 12 Media Reality Check for selected excerpts from his book, All Too Human.

Old Habits Die Hard: Slipping in Liberal Talking Points

Cokie Roberts characterized the use of Social Security as an issue in the Congressional elections as “pretty pathetic” during a discussion on This Week. Stephanopoulos responded with “it’s worked before.”

In response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, Stephanopoulos said he wanted a national debate to find out “why some people in the world who do hate us and the effect of our policies on them.”

Stephanopoulos perpetuated the idea of a Social Security “lockbox” in interview with White House economic adviser Larry Lindsey when he asked if the administration was willing to delay or repeal the tax cut to avoid dipping into the mythical lockbox.

A Media Reality Check recalled when Stephanopoulos, in a This Week discussion, labeled Republican Senator Jesse Helms “a terrorist.”

In response to a Cokie Roberts comment that “most Americans have a gun in the house,” Stephanopoulos muttered “unfortunately, yeah.”

Stephanopoulos used This Week to campaign against Solicitor General-select Ted Olson, citing the attorney’s partisan past and “legalistic parsing” as a reason to defeat his nomination.

Analyzing the Bill Bradley-Al Gore Democratic presidential contest, Stephanopoulos called the Bradley plan to allow gays to serve openly in the military “right.”

Bashing Bush

Stephanopoulos, a former Clinton spin coordinator, accused the Bush administration of not lying "for the most part" in its response on what the President knew about terrorist threats prior to September 11. “…But there was a misimpression left,” he said.

An EPA official left government and criticized Bush environmental policies. Stephanopoulos praised the move as a “principled resignation.”

President Bush created a “deeply incoherent” concept of an “axis of evil” – the grouping of Iran, Iraq and North Korea – to justify National Missile Defense, Stephanopoulos argued.

Stephanopoulos claimed Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party because "his pride was at stake."

The crew of the Navy surveillance plane that was forced down in China might have been released sooner if the President hadn’t been so “hard line.”

Fighting Tax Cuts

Stephanopoulos contrasted the “cost” of suggested tax cuts with that of the recent “emergency spending proposal” that President Bush vetoed. But Stephanopoulos listed only the most beneficial-sounding spending items (“firefighting grants, nuclear plant security, cargo inspection and the emergency funds for New York City”)...

Stephanopoulos urged Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to fight the Bush tax cuts: “If it’s the right thing to do, if you believe it’s the right thing to do, why not make the case, take it to the country and put pressure on the President?”

Stephanopoulos worried that the "huge" Bush tax cuts would "cost" the government too much money.

Stephanopoulos said Bush would only be able to unify the country by compromising on the “big issues” such as taxes, education and health care.

Defending the Clintons

When former President Bill Clinton opened his office in Harlem, ABC allowed Stephanopoulos to interview Clinton press secretary Joe Lockhart about the move. Stephanopoulos asked Lockhart about Clinton’s mood during the pardon controversy.

Stephanopoulos claimed former President Clinton’s pardons were no worse than former President Bush’s pardon of Cap Weinberger.

In discussion with Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America, Stephanopoulos explained how Hillary Clinton should run her New York Senate campaign and offered a sympathetic description of President Clinton’s “struggles” over the last year-and-a-half. “We’re all mixes of light and dark,” he suggested.

Stephanopoulos didn’t discuss ethical issues involved in donor-guaranteed Clinton house in Chappaqua, New York but focused on the amenities of the home instead. “…Finally they’ve got a swimming pool,” Stephanopoulos gloated.

Shortly after a stiff, less-than-contrite apology for the Lewinsky affair, Clinton ordered missile strikes against terror camps in Afghanistan and Sudan. Stephanopoulos insisted the President didn’t provide a more elaborate apology because “he was afraid of projecting weakness to the terrorists.”

Liberals Like Stephanopoulos Are OK, But No Conservatives!

Stephanopoulos’s role on This Week was expanded amid controversy in late 1999. William Kristol, former Chief of Staff for Dan Quayle, and ABC executive producer Dorrance Smith, former official in the first George Bush administration, were forced out while Stephanopoulos was promoted.

Stephanopoulos served as co-host of Good Morning America in 1999 and no journalists complained, but when former New York Republican Representative Susan Molinari hosted a CBS Saturday morning show in 1997 media criticism was intense.

A Contrast: Tough Coverage of Cuba’s Dictatorial Government

Stephanopoulos interviewed a Cuban dissident for Good Morning America and referred to the nation as “a tightly-controlled island.” Still labeled Bush as “hard line” in his approach to Cuba.

In response to Jimmy Carter’s denial, Stephanopoulos noted how the U.S. government stood behind a State Department contention that Cuba has offensive biological research capability. Stephanopoulos also highlighted Carter’s visit with the leaders of the Varela Project, a political reform movement in Cuba.

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