Fox's Wallace Attacks Bill Moyers On-Air To Defend Rove

Think Progress:

On Friday August 17, PBS's Bill Moyers criticized Karl Rove for cynically invoking God and Christianity for political purposes while telling others that he is an agnostic, calling him "a skeptic, a secular manipulator."

Two days later, when Rove appeared on Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace asked him to take on Moyers' criticism. "I'm a Christian. I go to church. I'm an Episcopalian," responded Rove. "You know, Mr. Moyers ought to do a little bit better research before he does another drive-by slander."

Earlier this week, Moyers argued that Wallace shouldn't have taken Rove's "every word as gospel," but instead, should have challenged Rove's assertion with other sources who report that he is an agnostic. On Fox News Sunday this morning, Wallace responded to Moyers' rebuke, saying Moyers failed to do "reporting 101.″

Read the whole story: Think Progress

Comments

[zenman]

10:04 PM on 09/02/2007

While taking Rove’s “word as gospel,” Wallace completely disregards the numerous contradictory reports that justify Moyers’ claims:
1) “The White House will miss his indubitable political acumen. What other agnostic could have mobilized hundreds of thousands of conservative Christians behind a political banner?” - San Antonio Express News, [8/14/07]
2) “I could be wrong here, but I distinctly recall conversations with Rove friends who’ve told me that his struggles with faith did not lead him to Jesus Christ. Yet he knew and understood how to interact with (and manipulate, at times) the standard-bearers of the evangelical Right and the Catholic conservative intellectual elite…..” - The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder, [8/13/07]
3) “[Rove] told his friend Bill Israel years ago that he was agnostic and that ‘he wished he could believe, but he cannot.’” - James Moore, co-author of Rove bio, Bush’s Brain, [8/13/07]
4) “Rove once told a colleague that he had no religious affiliation and was ‘not a Christian.’” - James Moore and Wayne Slater in Bush’s Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential
From PBS website

Rick Byrne, Director of Communications, BILL MOYERS JOURNAL:
The PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler posted another column This week regarding "My Fellow Texan.” In that column, he includes the letter below from a viewer. For the record, Bill Moyers did ask Karl Rove to come on BILL MOYERS JOURNAL, by fax and by mail. These requests were made before Chris Wallace responded on-air on Fox News Sunday to Bill Moyers' letter, and we still haven't heard from Karl Rove.
As usual Conservatives can’t handle the truth. Reporting 101 Wallace did not contact Moyers’ to confirm his story. Fox News is not news, but simply republican propaganda.

[Grulg]

09:31 PM on 08/27/2007

Rove prob. is an agnostic, just uses the religious right for votes/classic wedge issue scenario. Didn't work in '06-THANK GOD.

[Grannysue]

02:49 PM on 08/27/2007

Karl Rove will use any means, including religion to pretend to be holier then thou in order to make certain that all those good little neocons get into office. That's his job, he could care less about religion. I love Repubs who claim to be OH so religious! They love to call themselves the "party of life". No, your the party that claims to care about life,but after birth that's where it ends. As long as you can keep women on a short leash and make certain you control what happens to their bodies, that's what they care about. After the birth, they could care less, if those babies are mistreated, fed, clothed, educated, or have the basic necessity's of life. They could care less if the woman or teen was raped or it was from incest, because they are all knowing,and don't they just love WAR, kill kill kill, invade Iraq, invade Iran, ooh the boggy man is gonna get us. Listen to it took Al Qaeda ten years of planning to pull off 9-11. and when Clinton attempted to bomb Bin laden you all howled how he was using that as a distraction and then after 9-11, it was Clinton's fault for not getting him.
Seems to me they should be called the party of double standards, what's OK for Repubs is not o.k. for the rest of America. so Rove can claim to be as religious as he wants, it's his actions that show the true man, same with Bush, Cheney, Gonzo and the rest of the neocrats. They all spew their religious speak and pimp their churches for endorsements and money for their campaigns. The same goes for many Dems who are speaking out of both sides of their mouths it's an epidemic in politics and I highly doubt it will end anytime soon.
It's what have you done for us lately? After the election it's WHO?

[Gabrielle]

10:49 AM on 08/27/2007

THIS MAN (ROVE) HAS NO SOUL...
IT'S OBVIOUS BY HIS DOINGS....
A MAN CAN BELIEVE IN SOME KIND OF GOD BUT DOESN'T LOOK AT "IT" AS A TOOL FOR PUNISHMENT FOR EVIL....
SO IT DOESN'T MATTER....
HE HAS NO KINDNESS, COULD CARE LESS THAT ALL HE'S DONE HAS BROUGHT MYSERY, CHAOS, DISATERS TO THE HUMAN RACE AND THE PLANET...
OF COURSE HE ALSO HAS NO SHAME...
RELIGION IS SUPERSTITION, MADE BY MAN, EACH INDIVIDUAL HAS IT'S OWN INTERPRETATION OF GOD.

[BPCentrisAmerican]

10:41 AM on 08/27/2007

I watched a debate between Chris Wallace and his father Mike Wallace on C-Span. His own father insinuated that he was sell out when he commented that he was wasting his ability at Fox. I differ on the ability part. Chris Wallace practically amented that he had little staying power with a real news organization and I use that term with tribulation, when he admitted to being 62 years old and Roger Ailes offered him a fat contract and job security. All he had to do was bend over and say thank you as Brit Hume did.

[JScott]

10:35 AM on 08/27/2007

Isn't Mike appalled at son Chris' job, he should be. Guess the journalistic integrity gene skips a generation.

[dezzertguy]

10:33 AM on 08/27/2007

Attacking ones political beliefs is one thing. Pointing out corruption and lies is one thing. But to attack religious beliefs is quite another. Even James Dobson, Pat Robertson and that crowd should not have their faith attacked. Bill Moyers, a Dem hack and father of modern attack ads (LBJ mushroom cloud ad) is not a journalist. He does advocate his position like Rush, Thom Hartmann, Ann Coulter, Randi, etc. Maybe Wallace held him to a higher standard than needed.

[Amunaka]

12:22 PM on 08/27/2007

That was silly ...

[wheelskeepturning]

10:32 AM on 08/27/2007

I just have to say one more thing about Wallace. With all the things going on in the world I wonder why he thinks protecting the "image" of Rove is one of such importance?

[wheelskeepturning]

10:22 AM on 08/27/2007

To Mr. Wallace. Sir as YOU know actions speak louder than words. I happen to catch your little upcommance to Mr Moyers and once again you had that look of glee on your face. Why don't you get on the other side of the fence for a change. I bet you couldn't hold your own as a politician. All you are good at is trying to make other people squirm.

[hydenorhare]

10:10 AM on 08/27/2007

Moyers does all his hit pieces the same way.

Start with the conclusion you want and get what you can that supports it.

Anything to the contrary is not welcome and will not be used.

[BlueInArizona]

10:36 AM on 08/27/2007

Wow, that's exactly how Bushco got us into Iraq!

[Amunaka]

12:20 PM on 08/27/2007

That was silly ...thats faux news' MO...

[Hughsie]

10:10 AM on 08/27/2007

I see .Ask the subject and what he says is the truth! That's reporting? Like when O.J. said,"Now I'm going after the real killers!" Are you sure a great journalist is your father? Nepotism has given us W. and YOU!

[hootie1fan]

10:09 AM on 08/27/2007

Since when has writing the occasional check, having your picture taken with a minister ans writing Episcopalian (or various other faiths) on your political resume automatically made one a Christian?

[GiveMeStrength]

10:01 AM on 08/27/2007

Wallace's whole rebuttal is based solely on the assumption that Moyer’s should have asked Karl Rove for his view on religion. Oh, I see, we should take the word of this lying rat's ass bastard; a man who would tell you that the earth is flat and resolves around the moon if it served his self interests, rather then the comments from 4 associates who have said that Rove admitted that he played the evangelicals for fools.

Heil Bush!

[Nyla785]

09:49 AM on 08/27/2007

Evidently this is yet another demonstration of the joke of Fox's 'fair & balanced' coverage of the news. Wallace does get amazingly 'smirky' when talking about and with Demcrats. Someone should explain to him--and Fox--exactly what fair & balanced means.

[hootie1fan]

09:21 AM on 08/27/2007

Since when has cutting a weekly check, having your picture taken with a minister and writing Episcopalian on your political resume ever made you a Christian?