“There’s no reason [the governor] couldn’t have been booked after the election rather than before.”
— Los Angeles Times
First it was ABC/Disney trashing Democratic officials including former Pres. Bill Clinton and Sec. of State Madeline Albright in The Path to 9/11. Now NBC has jumped on the GOP bandwagon by giving Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a free five-minute national advertisement for his reelection campaign on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
It is clear that NBC, which is owned by defense contractor General Electric, never planned to give equal time to Schwarzenegger’s Democratic opponent, State Treasurer Phil Angelides — and continues to have no plans to do so in the future.
Angelides, the California Democratic Party and its allies are outraged:
Leno has so far declined to extend an invitation to Democrat Phil Angelides. A spokesman for Angelides, the state’s Treasurer, said that move violates federal rules that generally require broadcast outlets to give opposing candidates equal time.
“The governor has spent $35 million in launching negative attack ads against Phil Angelides, and now NBC is just giving him further free time on national network TV to campaign,” the spokesman, Brian Brokaw, told Reuters.
Rallying to Angelides’ cause in Washington, U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra, a California Democrat, lodged a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, saying that an exclusive appearance by the governor on Leno’s show would “constitute a clear violation of the equal time rule.”
A Los Angeles Times editorial this morning says the governor’s appearance may not have broken fairness laws but it was nonetheless fundamentally unfair, especially because the governor took a political swipe at his opponent:
llegal or not, Schwarzenegger’s appearance was clearly inappropriate. Leno at one point asked his friend the governor about the attack ads from Angelides that have sought to tie Schwarzenegger to President Bush, who is deeply unpopular in California. “To link me to George Bush is like linking me to an Oscar,” Schwarzenegger replied.
And:
Booking guests on shows like Leno’s is all about timing; celebrities appear when they want to promote their newest movie or album, not necessarily when Leno’s schedulers want them. The problem is, Schwarzenegger still acts like a movie star rather than a public official, and NBC still treats him that way.
There’s no reason he couldn’t have been booked after the election rather than before. But just as he made the TV circuit when he wanted to promote his latest “Terminator” movie, now he’s doing it to promote himself as governor. Yet different rules apply.
This is really outrageous — and if anger over NBC’s move continues to agitate — and energize — Democrats and independents in California, it just might backfire on the governor and his cronies at NBC like Jay Leno.
THAT IS OK! I DO NOT WATCH THAT PRICK DICK LENO SHOW ANY WAY! HE IS SUCH A WUSS AND PRICK!!!!!!