1. CBS Admits Support Up for Iraq Action, UN Not Trusted, But...
CBS’s Bill Plante on Monday night acknowledged how a new CBS News poll found “support for taking military action soon has risen by nine points since last week” and Dan Rather followed up by pointing out how the poll found “58 percent now say the UN is doing a poor job of handling Iraq.” But, while Plante emphasized how “a majority still favors giving UN inspectors more time,” he skipped over how the poll determined that 55 percent would approve of military action against Iraq even if the UN did not support it and, once again, CBS refused to tell viewers that military action against Iraq is favored by 66 to 30 percent.

2. Klein Complains Bush is Causing France to be “Humiliated”
Time columnist Joe Klein fumed on Monday’s Today that President Bush is forcing a vote at the UN “which will either result in...France being humiliated or the United States being humiliated.” Klein also claimed that Bush “doesn't seem to have much of a style of diplomacy and was too much of a “cowboy” during his press conference.

3. “Coalition of the Coerced” & Tax Cuts Contradict War on Terror
The coalition behind Bush’s Iraq policy is only “a coalition of the coerced,” Time’s John Dickerson asserted on Sunday’s Chris Matthews Show while CBS’s Bob Schieffer blamed Bush’s opposition to Kyoto for losing the Germans before he admonished that “you can’t tell people one day that we gotta defeat terrorism and that it poses this grave threat to us but then the next day tell us, 'well we can do it with business as usual and cut taxes.'”

4. Lange “Resents” Equating of “Being Anti-War and Anti-American”
Jessica Lange who, upset by President Bush's Iraq policy, charged during a press conference at a film festival in Spain last September that “it is an embarrassing time to be an American.... it's humiliating,” complained on Monday's Late Show that “the thing I resent most is...some kind of equation between being anti-war and anti-American.”

5. Vaughn & Grammer Show Not All Actors Enjoy Bashing America
Not all Hollywood celebrities are as embarrassed about U.S. policy toward Iraq as Lange. Asked outside of the Screen Actors Guild Awards Sunday night about the war, Kelsey Grammer professed support for it and Vince Vaughn, who is scheduled to be the guest host of the Late Show with David Letterman on Tuesday night (tonight), had a regular comeback when he was in England, USA Today disclosed, for those who denounced America: “I'd ask folks to think about the Marshall Plan a bit and get back to me."

     >>> “2003 Dishonor Awards: Roasting the Most Outrageously Biased Liberal Reporters.” CyberAlert subscribers can get tickets for $150, $25 off the regular price, for the Thursday, March 27 event in Washington, DC. For all the info and how to buy tickets:
http://archive.mrc.org/notablequotables/dishonor/03/info.asp
     Cal Thomas will serve as Master of Ceremonies with Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham amongst those helping to present awards. 
     Rush Limbaugh was one of the judges who picked the winners, along with Lawrence Kudlow, Steve Forbes, Lucianne Goldberg, Michael Reagan and Kate O’Beirne. 
     Plus, the Charlie Daniels Band will sing some songs. The award titles:
Ozzy Osbourne Award (for the Wackiest Comment of the Year)
I Hate You Conservatives Award
Ashamed of the Red, White, and Blue Award
And They Called It Puppy Love Award
The I’m Not a Geopolitical Genius But I Play One on TV Award
     Come to the dinner to watch the winning quotes, see who wins and learn which conservatives will accept each award in jest. It will be a lot of media bashing fun. <<<

CBS Admits Support Up for Iraq Action, UN Not Trusted, But...

     CyberAlert reports, CBS adjusts. Monday’s CyberAlert noted how CBS's Bill Plante maintained on Thursday night that “the nation remains almost equally divided on whether the administration has made the case for war” and “a solid majority of Americans...still thinks the President should get UN approval before taking military action,” but that Plante ignored how that very same CBS News poll discovered respondents favored taking “military action to remove Saddam Hussein” by 69 to 26 percent and it found significant reductions from the previous week in the percentage of people who think the U.S. should “wait for UN approval” or “take allies' views into account,” and hikes in the percentage who want the U.S. to take action “without UN approval” or “do whatever it thinks is right.” See: http://archive.mrc.org/cyberalerts/2003/cyb20030310.asp#6

     Fast forward to Monday night, and Plante returned to the CBS Evening News to relay numbers from a fresh CBS poll taken over the weekend. This time he acknowledged how “support for taking military action soon has risen by nine points since last week” and Dan Rather followed up by pointing out how the poll found “Americans losing patience with the United Nations -- 58 percent now say the UN is doing a poor job of handling Iraq.”

     But, old habits die hard. Plante emphasized how “a majority still favors giving UN inspectors more time,” yet skipped over how the poll determined, as reported on the CBS New Web site, that “55 percent would still approve of military action against Iraq even if the UN did not support a U.S.-sponsored resolution to take such action.” Plus, once again, CBS refused to tell viewers that its respondents favor military action against Iraq by 66 to 30 percent and a majority “are confident Bush will make the right decisions” on Iraq.

     Plante announced on the March 10 CBS Evening News that the new CBS News poll taken over weekend found “support for taking military action soon has risen by nine points since last week [on screen: from 35 up to 44 percent], though a majority still favors giving UN inspectors more time [52 percent, down from 60 percent]. Half the nation now sees Iraq as an immediate threat to the U.S., one which requires military action [50 percent]. But a majority would be more comfortable if the administration took the allies’ views into account [60 percent.]”

     Rather followed up: "That CBS News/New York Times poll Bill mentioned finds Americans losing patience with the United Nations -- 58 percent now say the UN is doing a poor job of handling Iraq. That is up 10 points in the past month. As for the impact of a war with Iraq, 40 percent of Americans believe it will hurt the U.S. economy. 55 percent believe it will lead to more terror attacks against the United States."

     A check of the CBS News Web site uncovered some interesting pro-war findings the Evening News skipped over:

-- “Military Action Against Iraq:
Approve: 66%
Disapprove: 30%

Without UN approval:
Approve: 55%
Disapprove: 41%”

-- “Are You Confident Bush Will Make the Right Decisions...
On Iraq:
Yes, confident: 52%
No, uneasy: 46%”

     For the rundown of the poll results:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/03/10/opinion/polls/main543446.shtml

Klein Complains Bush is Causing France to be “Humiliated”

     Time columnist Joe Klein fumed on Monday’s Today that President Bush is forcing a vote at the UN “which will either result in...France being humiliated or the United States being humiliated. I can't recall another time that the President of the United States...has forced a situation like this. It's really remarkable." Indeed it is remarkable that anyone thinks France is being “humiliated” by Bush. France has shown itself plenty capable of self-humiliation.

     Klein also claimed, during a discussion with Matt Lauer which MRC analyst Geoffrey Dickens observed, that Bush “doesn't seem to have much of a style of diplomacy.”

     Klein appeared to discuss his piece in the latest Time, “The Poker Player in Chief: Joe Klein argues that the strength of Bush's confidence could be his undoing.” It’s online at: 
http://www.time.com/time/columnist/klein/article/0,9565,430984,00.html

     Lauer introduced Klein on the March 10 Today: "In his prime time news conference last week President Bush dared some of America's allies at the UN to vote against a new resolution authorizing force saying, 'it's time for them to show their cards.' Time magazine columnist Joe Klein calls the President the 'Poker Player-In- Chief,' in the current issue of Time magazine. Joe, good to see you, good morning."
     Klein: "Good to see you."
     Lauer: "You listen to Governor Richardson there saying he would like to see the U.S. put off the vote in the UN for at least a week or so, you're shaking your head saying, 'not gonna happen.'"
     Klein: "I don't think it's going to happen. I think it's really remarkable what we're doing here, forcing a vote which will either result in, you know, France being humiliated or the United States being humiliated. I can't recall another time that the President of the United States, you know, has, has forced a situation like this. It's really remarkable."
     Lauer: "What does it tell us about his style of diplomacy?"
     Klein: "Well he doesn't seem to have much of a style of diplomacy. I think that, that what we've seen here is crisis motivation. You know not very much respect for the international code of etiquette that is, that is diplomacy."
     Lauer: "You write in the article that during his primetime news conference the attention of the country, perhaps the world, on him that he quote, 'abandoned his studied air of mild sedation only once,' end quote. What do you mean by that?"
     Klein: "Well I mean there was a very, very low-key tone to this. And it was, and it really was studied. It's not his natural tone. And then when he was asked about this UN vote, he went you know, his inner cowboy came out and he and he said time for folks to show their cards. And, and as I said this is shocking. And you know short-term the administration looks at this, at, at this situation they say, 'if we can get past this war, it's gonna be a quick, easy war, people are saying and then after it happens the French and the Russians and everybody are gonna be, you know, lined-up, you know, hoping to help us out, you know in reconstruction-'"
     Lauer: "You have a startling view of what is going on in the inner-circle of the Bush administration. In your opinion-"
     Klein: "Total optimism!"
     Lauer: "And let me read you what you say and it's a long quote so bear with me, this is from your article, 'His confidence is understandable. The war against terrorism is going gangbusters. There is optimism about a quick and successful campaign in Iraq. When the President and his advisers peer a month or so into the future, they see only good news: the world a safer and better place without Saddam; the French and Russians, hat in hand, hoping to become part of the post-war reconstruction; the Democrats, suitably daunted, ready to do the President's bidding in Congress; the stock market heading toward the stratosphere; businesses investing and consumers spending; and the thugs of the world cowering, having absorbed a lesson about American resolve.' You really think that's the way they're feeling at the White House?"
     Klein: "Oh, I, I think that you talk to, to Bushies these days and it's all giddiness. If you talk to Democrats it's, you know, the end of human life as we know it. And I think that what we're looking at here is a very short-term strategy and a really kind of shocking thing that's going on in the long-term. Because here we are the most powerful country in the history of the world with the strongest economy, the strongest military, the best ideas and it's becoming harder and harder and harder for us to get our way in the world in part because of the way we're going about it. Because of the lack of respect for diplomacy that you're seeing not only in the United Nations but also with Korea.”

“Coalition of the Coerced” & Tax Cuts
Contradict War on Terror

     The coalition behind Bush’s Iraq policy is only “a coalition of the coerced,” Time’s John Dickerson asserted on Sunday’s Chris Matthews Show while CBS’s Bob Schieffer blamed Bush’s opposition to Kyoto for losing the Germans before he admonished that “you can’t tell people one day that we gotta defeat terrorism and that it poses this grave threat to us but then the next day tell us, 'well we can do it with business as usual and cut taxes.'”

     MRC analyst Geoffrey Dickens caught the comments on the half-hour syndicated Sunday show hosted by Matthews.

     Time's Dickerson insisted: “One thing where it may have slipped up a little bit is the President believed if he put his chest forward they would be able to bring more people on and there’s been a bit of a failure in that regard that they should have a larger coalition of the willing. To the extent they have a coalition it’s a coalition of the coerced.”

     Schieffer soon opined: “Well I, I, I think that, that he might have done a better job with the Germans. I think he may be by, you know, not stressing this unilateral actions, like with the Kyoto Treaty and things like that. But frankly I’m not sure he could have done anything that would change the French from being the French.”

     Schieffer also saw a disconnect between fighting terrorism and cutting taxes, but naturally did not suggest cutting any spending:
     “Well the point I was trying to make, I’m no economist, I don’t know whether tax cuts help or hurt the economy but the point I was trying to make is you can’t tell people one day that we gotta defeat terrorism and that it poses this grave threat to us but then the next day tell us, 'well we can do it with business as usual and cut taxes,’ that just makes no sense. I’m one of those who believes Saddam Hussein does pose a grave threat. I’m one of those who believes that 9-11 was one of the worst things that happened to this country. But to tell one people one day all of those things are serious and we gotta take care of them but then the next day say, 'you can also cut taxes-’”
     Matthews: “Is that smart politics?”
     Schieffer: “Well it just hurts the message.”

     As if Schieffer's main concern is Bush's “message.”

Lange “Resents” Equating of “Being
Anti-War and Anti-American”

     Jessica Lange who, upset by President Bush's Iraq policy, charged during a press conference at a film festival in Spain last September that “it is an embarrassing time to be an American.... it's humiliating,” complained on Monday's Late Show that “the thing I resent most is...some kind of equation between being anti-war and anti-American.”

     Lange's concern for being considered “unpatriotic” came during an interview with Late Show guest host Whoopi Goldberg, who was filling in for David Letterman who remains at home because of shingles.

     Goldberg revealed that she shares Lange's worldview. Goldberg praised Lange for participating in anti-liberation of Iraq protest: “I saw you this morning in front of the UN. I was really proud to see you doing this press conference.” Goldberg assured Lange: “I believe a lot of people are listening, more people than the polls say.”

     MRC analyst Brad Wilmouth took down the discussion, on the March 10 Late Show on CBS, about Lange's anti-war political activities and public reaction to it:

     Goldberg: “I saw you this morning in front of the UN. I was really proud to see you doing this press conference. Now, it’s funny, because whenever you watch things, whenever you watch famous people talking about things that are near and dear to their heart, we always see these polls that come out, you know, they’re so and so, and they poll immediately. And why do you think that whenever famous people get involved in things like anti-war movements or things that mean something in the world, people start to get nervous about it? Because they use us to sell cars and stuff.”
     Lange: “Yeah, you can sell cars, you can sell cosmetics, but God forbid you should speak of something that’s important to you. You know, I actually think that, you know, people lack a certain amount of imagination, so if they see you one way, that’s the only way they want to see you. And they kind of deny you credibility to, you know, and I think everybody’s point is if you are given the forum, then you better, you better take it, because there are an awful lot of people out there who don’t have the voice, who aren’t given the opportunity to speak out. So for me, it’s never been a question of, 'Should I do it, should I not do it?’ It’s always been, 'You want me, okay, I’ll be there. I’ll be there, I’ll be there early.”
     Goldberg: “Well, I was glad to see you, I was glad to see you, and I believe a lot of people are listening, more people than the polls say.”
     Lange: “A lot more people than the polls say and a lot more people than are being accounted for, you know, I mean, there is that thing of diminishing the numbers. But they are growing. And it’s pretty powerful, and it’s across the board. So, so everybody has to speak out for peace whenever they can.”
     Goldberg: “Well, I like that.”
     Lange: “Because I’ll tell you, the thing I resent most is this making some kind of analogy, some kind of equation between being anti-war and anti-American.”
     Goldberg: “Yes, I find this interesting on the news, they’re always sort of, this is a new sort of wrinkle.”
     Lange: “Yes. That if you are for peace, you are unpatriotic. Which then kind of indicates, what are we to assume from that, that there is some kind of basic tenet in our democracy that says we have to wage war, you know?”
     Goldberg: “You know what it is? I think sometimes people get mixed up about what the Constitution actually means here, you know, when you can have an opinion, one of the great things about living in this country is you can have an opinion that’s different from everyone else’s and it does move.”
     Lange: “Yes, and you should question your government.”
     Goldberg: “You can question government.”
     Lange: “Absolutely have to question it. We are not a nation of sheep, after all.”
     Goldberg: “No, we’re not, thank goodness.”

     Lange's concern for being seen as “anti-American” comes six months after, from abroad, she denounced U.S. policy and declared “it is an embarrassing time to be an American.” She made her comments during a September 25 press conference at the San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain where she received a lifetime achievement award.

     A week or so later, the syndicated program Inside Edition played video soundbites of her pronouncements:

     -- On George W. Bush: “I despise him. I despise his administration and everything they stand for.”
     -- “To my mind the election was stolen by George Bush and we have been suffering ever since under this man's leadership.”
     -- “And I think this latest thing with Iraq is absolute madness and I'm stunned that there is not opposition on a much more global scale to what he's talking about.”
     -- “There has to be a movement now to really oppose what he is proposing because it's unconstitutional, it's immoral and basically illegal.”
     -- “It is an embarrassing time to be an American. It really is. It's humiliating.”

     For more about that piece, including a RealPlayer clip of part of the Inside Edition story, as well as summaries and links to other stories at the time about her comments, see the October 7 CyberAlert: http://archive.mrc.org/cyberalerts/2002/cyb20021007.asp#5

     For a rundown of Lange's career, see her Internet Movie Database page: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Lange,+Jessica

     She's presently making the media rounds (she also appeared Monday night on CNN's NewsNight) to plug her new HBO movie set to debut this Sunday, Normal, in which she plays the wife of a man who decides to become a woman. HBO's summary of the movie:

An official selection at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, this HBO Films production adapted by Jane Anderson from her acclaimed play mixes humor, drama, and tenderness in telling the story of a seemingly “normal” Midwestern factory worker who stuns his family and community by revealing he wants a sex change operation.

Roy Applewood's outrageous news shocks and angers Irma, his wife of 25 years. Despite his insistence that he wants the family to stay together, she kicks him out of the house.

Their adolescent daughter, Patty Ann, takes the news more in stride as she is discovering the awkwardness of her own burgeoning sexuality.

However, nothing in his career as a rock roadie has prepared the couple's grown son, Wayne, for dealing with his father's decision.

As Roy begins exploring the accoutrements of being a woman (from perfume to breasts) he faces ostracism within the community and ridicule on the job. But, he also finds compassion from unlikely sources, such as his boss, who is beginning to take an interest in Irma.

Ultimately, the family struggles to understand Roy's decision and he and Irma discover that love can transcend both the genders we're born with and the ones we choose....

     END Excerpt from HBO Web site

     That's at: http://www.hbo.com/films/normal/synopsis/

     The main page for Normal, which premieres Sunday, March 16 at 10pm EST/PST: http://www.hbo.com/films/normal/

     My advice to Lange: If you don't want people to consider you “anti-American,” don't say “it is a humiliating time to be an American.”

     Pretty simple.

Vaughn & Grammer Show Not All Actors
Enjoy Bashing America

     Not all Hollywood celebrities are as embarrassed about U.S. policy toward Iraq as Lange. Asked outside of the Screen Actors Guild Awards Sunday night about the war, Kelsey Grammer professed support for it and Vince Vaughn, who is scheduled to be the guest host of the Late Show with David Letterman on Tuesday night (tonight), had a regular comeback when he was in England, USA Today disclosed, for those who denounced America: “I'd ask folks to think about the Marshall Plan a bit and get back to me."

     Even Rob Lowe, who has been a co-star with Martin Sheen on NBC's The West Wing, said on FNC last week that you must support “those amazing men and women” deployed to the Persian Gulf and that “the best way you can do that is to get behind the most visible embodiment of them, and that's the Commander-in-Chief."

     -- Monday's Access Hollywood ran very brief clips from actors walking into the Screen Actors Guild Award event on Sunday night. One was pro, three were anti:

     # Kelsey Grammer, star of NBC's Frasier: “I’m pro, that simple.”

     # Nicholas Cage: “I’m not happy about the possibility of people dying.”

     # Jennifer Anniston, of NBC's Friends: “Seems like there’s a big fight to not have that happen, which is good.”

     # Bradley Whitford, who plays “Josh Lyman” on NBC's The West Wing: “I think it’s important when the drums of war are beating to remind people that peace is an option.”

     Inside Edition showed video of Martin Sheen sporting a dove of peace on his lapel.

     -- Whitford is out of step with Lowe who, MRC analyst Patrick Gregory noticed, said he would stand by the President in a time of war, stating on the March 3 Fox and Friends on FNC:
     "Listen, my feeling is this, is I love this country, I love the debate. Every time I see it, I think it's what this country's about. But whatever side of the issue you're on, when it gets to be 'go time,' and it's obviously pretty close to 'go time,' I think you gotta support those amazing men and women who are over there about to execute whatever we do, and I think the best way you can do that is to get behind the most visible embodiment of them, and that's the Commander-in-Chief."

     For a picture of Lowe, who played “Sam Seaborn” on The West Wing: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Lowe,+Rob

     -- “Ugly sentiments sting American tourists,” read the headline over March 3 USA Today front page story which included a pro-American retort from actor Vince Vaughn. An excerpt from the story by Marco R. della Cava:

As an A-list celebrity, actor Vince Vaughn employs an array of weapons to cope with hecklers, from a Saharan wit to a waiting limo.

But during a movie shoot recently in England, Vaughn found himself repeatedly reaching for the same comeback. Three totemic words from the attic of history: the Marshall Plan.

"I'd say one in three conversations wound up the same way, basically that 'America is the devil.' So I'd ask folks to think about the Marshall Plan a bit and get back to me," says Vaughn, 32, referring to the Allied blueprint for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. "In the end, though, I just had to tell people, 'I'm not having this discussion anymore.'"

But if you're heading overseas, be prepared to have it. Again and again. If the past 100 years were widely considered the American Century, this new one is fast shaping up as the Anti-American Century.

Just ask tourist Colleen Frost, 33, who hopped into a cab recently on her first day in Berlin. An English-speaking driver demanded an explanation for what he called "America's megalomania."...

During Vaughn's stay in England, he found himself criticized on all those levels. Like a boxer countering each blow, he shot back with the best responses he could.

Sometimes the complaints left him speechless, like the time he was told "'America had no culture' by a kid wearing a Kobe Bryant T-shirt and listening to rapper DMX."

But one incident really stung.

"Man, it was bad," says the Rat Pack-y star of Swingers. "These girls saw us and were kind of flirting, and they kept asking us if we were American. Finally we said, 'Yes,' and they just took off.

"One girl turns and says, 'We were hoping you were Canadian.' Canadian? Since when was it cooler to be Canadian?"

     END of Excerpt

     For the story in its entirety: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2003/2003-03-04-overseas.htm

     For a picture of Vaughn and a listing of his acting credits, see his Internet Movie Database page: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Vaughn,+Vince

     He's a co-star of the currently-playing movie, Old School.

     The guests scheduled for the Tuesday, March 11 Late Show guest-hosted by Vaughn: Angie Harmon, Geri Halliwell and Paul Simon.

     Too bad the scheduling didn't work out so that Vaughn was the host on Lange's night. -- Brent Baker