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August 14, 2005
JSII: The Press Coverage, Round 1

We just wrapped up Judicial Sunday II, and already the reviews have come in. In fact, one review apparently had already been written by Reuters, seeing as how it got posted at 6:48 PM CT, when we had just about hit the half-way mark of the event. The reporter doesn't offer anythihg terribly substantial, except to note that no one specifically endorsed John Roberts -- which was incorrect:

Christian conservative leaders used a "Justice Sunday" rally on Sunday to criticize activist judges but chose not to endorse U.S. President George W. Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court, John Roberts.

Organizers of the rally, which was co-sponsored by the prominent Christian conservative groups Family Research Center and Focus on the Family, denounced "judicial tyranny" and said they hoped to use the gathering as a "launching pad" to mobilize Christians against judges they say are overriding the Constitution with their decisions.

One of the leaders, Cathy Cleaver Ruse of the Family Research Center, called for emphasis on three issues -- a procedure that its critics call "partial-birth" abortion, abortion in general and euthanasia.

Actually, John Roberts got prominent mention during the actual event, but the Reuters reporter probably didn't hang around long enough to know that. Roberts may or may not have received a specific endorsement, but his picture got displayed while more than one speaker talked about the need to support judicial conservatives like Roberts. James Dobson told the audience that Roberts is a judicial conservative and originalist. He didn't literally say, "I endorse him", but the meaning was clear to everyone but Reuters.

Actually, we saw the Reuters reporter. She got testy when Tom DeLay didn't make it in time for the press conference before the event, and I suspect she left before seeing any of the actual speeches. This article reads as though she took the information from the press conference, even though the article gives the impression that she wrote it from the event itself.

UPDATE: It was James Dobson, not Chuck Colson, who mentioned Roberts so prominently. The other bloggers had better notes on the subject.

UPDATE II: Here's Reuters' second stab at it, filed at 10:21 PM:

Christian conservative leaders and U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay rallied on Sunday to condemn activist judges and heap praise on U.S. President George W. Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court, John Roberts.

This reporter must have graduated from the John Kerry School of Journalism. The JSII failed to endorse John Roberts before they heaped praise on him. That's what having all those levels of editors will do for you...

Sphere It Digg! View blog reactions
Posted by Ed Morrissey at August 14, 2005 8:53 PM

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» Judicial Sunday II from CommonSenseDesk
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