Fox News' Hill: Sen. Kennedy "is" the "hate speech and the partisanship that you've seen in Washington"

Summary: On Fox News, E.D. Hill, commenting on Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama, said: "[T]his is Barack Obama, who has -- I mean on his website, you look at it and sort of the whole thing is devoted to 'I'm a man of change because I want to get away from all that -- the hate speech and the partisanship that you've seen in Washington.' Ted Kennedy, you know, is that." Hill, however, offered no examples or evidence of Kennedy's alleged "hate speech," and Google and Nexis searches turned up no examples of Obama using the term "hate speech" to describe the political climate or discourse in Washington.

On the January 28 edition of Fox News' America's Pulse, host E.D. Hill, commenting on Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's (D-MA) endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (IL) earlier that day, said: "Yeah, but at the same time, you know, this is Barack Obama, who has -- I mean, on his website, you look at it and sort of the whole thing is devoted to 'I'm a man of change because I want to get away from all that -- the hate speech and the partisanship that you've seen in Washington.' Ted Kennedy, you know, is that." Hill, however, offered no examples or evidence of Kennedy's alleged "hate speech," and a Google search of Obama's campaign website for the phrase "hate speech" yielded no examples of the phrase being used to characterize the rhetoric or climate in Washington. Further, a search* of the Nexis database also turned up no examples of Obama using the term "hate speech" to describe the political climate or discourse in Washington. Hill also asserted: "You know, if you talk about the people of have sort of gone to the farthest wings, Kennedy certainly represents that. So it seems like an odd coming together, unless that's the direction Barack Obama is headed."

From the January 28 edition of Fox News' America's Pulse:

HILL: Well, John Edwards had been most aligned with liberals, but with his chances, a lot of folks think, all but gone, it looks like their allegiance is now shifting to Obama. Kennedy's niece, and daughter of former president John F. Kennedy, Caroline, is also endorsing Obama, as is Ted's son, Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy. Now the question is, does lining up with the liberal wing help or hurt Obama? Major Garrett is following that side for us. So what does that endorsement do?

MAJOR GARRETT (congressional correspondent): Well, you know, E.D., a lot of endorsements really mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. Some endorsements are symbolic and some are tactical. A tactical endorsement, for example, would be Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa endorsing Hillary Clinton. Tactically, that matters in Los Angeles, site of a huge Latino vote on February 5 in California. That's going to be crucial to Hillary Clinton. Ted Kennedy is much more of a symbolic endorsement. He's probably not going to move a whole lot of votes in Massachusetts that Barack Obama would not get anyway. But what he does suggest is a couple of things that are important as far as the Obama campaign is concerned. First and foremost, Ted Kennedy is an authoritative voice within Democratic circles on the question of universal health care. Hillary Clinton has attacked Barack Obama's plan. Ted Kennedy's endorsement there gives him some strength on that issue. Also, Ted Kennedy talks about experience and the idea that politics can be changed by a dynamic, visionary leader like his brother John Kennedy was. On all three of those scores, symbolically the endorsement carries considerable weight.

HILL: Yeah, but at the same time, you know, this is Barack Obama, who has -- I mean, on his website, you look at it and sort of the whole thing is devoted to "I'm a man of change because I want to get away from all that -- the hate speech and the partisanship that you've seen in Washington." Ted Kennedy, you know, is that. You know, if you talk about the people of have sort of gone to the farthest wings, Kennedy certainly represents that. So it seems like an odd coming together, unless that's the direction Barack Obama is headed.

*Media Matters searched "All News" over the previous two years for: (Obama w/30 hate speech).

—S.S.M.