CBS4, Rocky published "Reality Check" claiming accuracy of McCain "maverick" ad but omitting evidence contradicting it

Summary: KCNC CBS4's Raj Chohan, in an online "Reality Check" of a campaign ad by Sen. John McCain, stated that McCain has "taken unpopular positions" and "gone against conservative interests in his own party," but failed to mention analyses that concluded McCain "almost never thwarted his party's objectives" or that he voted with the Bush administration 95 percent of the time in 2007. Moreover, the article, which the Rocky Mountain News published in shortened form, did not mention that McCain has stated he "would not" vote for the immigration reform bill he co-sponsored.

In a July 15 online "Reality Check" of a recent campaign ad released by Sen. John McCain, KCNC CBS4's Raj Chohan stated, "McCain correctly points out that he's taken unpopular positions, and he has gone against conservative interests in his own party on campaign finance reform, global warming and immigration." However, the article omitted contrary evidence such as an analysis by The Arizona Republic of McCain's record on highly contested votes, which showed McCain "almost never thwarted his party's objectives," as Colorado Media Matters has noted.

The article also omitted that according to Congressional Quarterly, a nonpartisan publication that tracks legislators' votes, McCain was the Bush administration's most reliable supporter in the Senate in 2007, voting with the Republican president 95 percent of the time, as Media Matters for America has pointed out.

Additionally, the "Reality Check" article -- which the Rocky Mountain News published in shortened form on July 17 -- failed to point out that McCain switched his position on immigration reform to more closely conform to the views of the GOP base. For example, he stated in January that he "would not" vote for the immigration reform bill he co-sponsored with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) if it came to a vote on the Senate floor.

Further, in response to the ad's characterization of McCain as a "maverick" on "campaign reform, military reform, [and] spending reform," Chohan stated, "These claims are also true," adding in CBS4's version of the article that "[a]ccording to the campaign, the ad's claim about military reform refers to McCain's efforts to pressure the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld."

In fact, as Media Matters for America repeatedly has documented, McCain did not call for Rumsfeld's resignation. According to a February 16 Washington Post article, "[D]uring a debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., aired on CNN, McCain said, 'I'm the only one that said that Rumsfeld had to go.' A McCain spokesman acknowledged this week that that was not correct. 'He did not call for his resignation,' said the campaign's Brian Rogers. 'He always said that's the president's prerogative.' " The article also noted that "McCain's false account has been unwittingly incorporated into the narrative he is selling by some news organizations, including The Washington Post."

Moreover, MSNBC chief Washington correspondent Norah O'Donnell issued a "clarification" after falsely claiming in March that McCain "called for Don Rumsfeld's resignation." While McCain expressed "no confidence" in Rumsfeld in 2004, the Associated Press reported at the time that McCain "said his comments were not a call for Rumsfeld's resignation." Further, when Fox News host Shepard Smith specifically asked McCain, "Does Donald Rumsfeld need to step down?" on November 8, 2006 -- hours before President Bush announced Rumsfeld's resignation -- McCain responded that it was "a decision to be made by the president."

Chohan's "Reality Check" began, "Republican presidential candidate John McCain has a political ad that reinforces his brand as a war hero and a man of experience." Chohan then commented on the veracity of claims in the ad, concluding that it was accurate and "an effective ad for John McCain." According to the CBS4 version:

Ad: A maverick, John McCain tackled campaign reform, military reform, spending reform.

These claims are also true. Senator McCain was a key sponsor of the 2002 law known as McCain-Feingold, aimed at getting soft money out of political campaigns. The unintended consequence has been the rise of the soft money monster known as the 527 group. McCain's critics in the GOP remain bitter about the senator's adventures into campaign finance reform. As for spending reform, the claim refers to McCain's work against congressional earmarks. According to the campaign, the ad's claim about military reform refers to McCain's efforts to pressure the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Ad: John McCain doesn't always tell us what we "hope" to hear.

McCain correctly points out that he's taken unpopular positions, and he has gone against conservative interests in his own party on campaign finance reform, global warming and immigration. But it's not the whole story. The reference to "hope" is clearly a knock on Barack Obama's campaign themes of hope and change.

Ad: Don't hope for a better life, vote for one, McCain.

Bottom line, it's an effective ad for John McCain. Experience and patriotism are among his biggest political strengths. This ad showcases both.

In saying that McCain "correctly" pointed out that he "has gone against conservative interests of his own party," Chohan failed to reference contrary evidence such as the Republic's conclusion from an analysis of McCain's voting record that "on the most divided issues in the past decade," McCain "almost never thwarted his party's objectives." The Republic further reported:

The presumptive Republican nominee arguably cast the decisive vote 14 times since 1999 to ensure Republicans got their way, and he had five other close cases where his vote may have made a difference, Senate records show. By comparison, McCain effectively handed Democrats a win on roll-call votes four times in the same period. On one of those occasions, Republicans could still have won if Vice President Dick Cheney had cast a tie-breaking vote.

The numbers are based on a review of Senate roll-call votes since 1999 that ended in a tie or were settled by one vote. The closest votes in that period included momentous, partisan-charged legislation, such as President Bush's tax cuts. More often, they were procedural votes on deal-breaking amendments to bills that would otherwise pass.

[...]

The voting pattern seems at odds with the popular narrative that McCain's maverick tendencies make him an unreliable conservative.

Additionally, in a sidebar to a February 5 article, The Washington Post listed as "Top McCain Flip-Flops" his shifts toward more conservative positions on such issues as taxes, the religious right, and immigration, which have more closely aligned him with the mainstream of the Republican Party.

—C.H.