Somebody let out the Outfoxed hounds again. They're off and running, distorting yet another Fox interview.

Some days Jon Scott can't do anything right. Wait, we're talking about the newshounds. Let's make that every day. Their latest tirade finds them as dishonest as ever:

Scott began the triple header (9:02 a.m.) by replaying former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's earlier appearance on Fox and Friends...

That's the first falsehood: Jon Scott showed a clip from his appearance to intro the debate to follow. But maybe it was a long, long clip. Yeah, sure it was. All of seven seconds. This small point assumes more importance later, as will be seen; now, on to the next distortion:

After some blather on the missing Utah woman, Scott went to Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Unlike Giuliani, who was on alone, Cornyn appeared alongside Democratic Senator Frank Lauterberg of New Jersey. Cornyn commented (9:05 a.m. EDT) that he has "difficulty with his concept of two Americas." Scott then asked Lautenberg a question dealing with job creation, rather than asking him to respond to Cornyn's claim....Scott could have asked Lauterberg to respond to the same issue, even asking him to back up his position with some figures. He didn't do that, either. Instead, Scott tried to change the subject and leave the no two Americas theme echoing in the audience's ears. That's how Fox is able to provide a partisan advantage to Republicans while seeming to be fair and balanced in questioning a Democrat and a Republican.

Perhaps the reason why Lautenberg didn't rebut Cornyn (and wasn't asked to) is because, contrary to what the yorkies say, Lautenberg actually spoke first (a fact they hide from their readers):

CLIP: from John Edwards Speech
SCOTT: A strong message about the fight against terrorism, but do the Democrats have what it takes to compete with the Bush Administration on that issue? Let's ask NJ Senator Frank Lautenberg, he is a member of the Governmental Affairs Committee, and Texas Senator John Cornyn, he is a member of the Armed Services Committee. Senators, welcome. Senator Lautenberg, what did you think?
LAUTENBERG: Well, I think things are pretty good. We had inspiring speeches, very directed targets in terms of what we think the American people need and want. The response has been incredible... [continues for several more sentences]

What Cornyn said was a rebuttal to Lautenberg--not the other way around. Scott did change the subject with his next question because Lautenberg already had his say on it. One comment from the left, one from the right, on to subject #2. Is this really so difficult to understand?

In fact, Lautenberg got almost twice as much time as Cornyn did, since he spoke both first and last and Cornyn only spoke once. How about that, another relevant fact that somehow slipped by the ever-vigilant newshounds. (One might well ask why Scott didn't give Cornyn a chance to reply to Lautenberg's unchallenged statements about job creation. Oh, just another attempt to promote the GOP agenda!)

On an elementary level, it's unbalanced because Scott had three Republicans and two Democrats on his show.

Let's see, the hounds count Corzyn and Lautenberg, they later mention Galen and Kamarck--doesn't that make two Republicans and two Democrats? Oh wait, the hounds are counting that seven-second clip of Rudy as one of the Republican "guests"! Masterful! Inspired! Unless of course they were to count every clip used in the hour as someone Jon Scott "had on his show"; then that would includes Edwards, Sharpton...no, we'd better not go there. So it looks like the newshound count of three republicans/two democrats is just a little wrong.

But wait, there's more! Somehow it totally escaped the hounds that later in the hour Jon Scott had Bill Kristol (R) and Don Baer (D). Oops, the count in the article is even more wrong. Then the newshounds have a fascinating suggestion for Scott:

Scott could have asked Giuliani for information on disparities in income, property values, school achievement, and so on in New York to back up his claim of no two Americas. He didn't.

Now that would be a neat trick. Scott came on the air at 9:00 am. Giuliani's interview was from Fox & Friends an hour earlier. They showed a 7-second clip of it on Scott's broadcast. It was on tape (this is the second time we've had to explain to the newspups that when something is on tape, that means it isn't live). What was Scott supposed to do, freeze frame the clip and ask it questions? Or do they suggest that he stroll into the Time Tunnel, catapult himself back to an hour earlier, and pop up in the interview asking questions?

What we really had during Scott's hour was three interviews, each with one Democrat and one Republican. In one case the Democrat got twice the air time of the Republican. "Unfair!" "Unbalanced!"

Unbelieveable.