visits to syria

oh, that "liberal media" is at it again! house speaker nancy pelosi's visit to syria has received resounding condemnation. she's undercutting the troops, she's undercutting this president's diplomatic efforts (!), and so on. the white house took the lead on the attacks: on march 30, white house deputy press secretary dana perino attacked pelosi's trip: "I know that Assad probably really wants people to come and have a photo opportunity and have tea with him, and have discussions about where they're coming from, but we do think that's a really bad idea."

naturally we'd expect the right to follow with an uproar. glenn beck calls the trip "a little sun and sand and an unauthorized negotiation with our enemies" and also referred to it as "Nancy's little play date in the Middle East." on the april 2 edition of fox & friends, co-host steve doocy asked: "What the heck is she doing in the Middle East?" adding, "This has got the White House flummoxed." on his april 1 fox show, sean hannity said that pelosi "decid[ed] to spend her spring break frolicking with Tehran's terrorist minions." bill kristol on the april 1 fox news sunday claims that "Pelosi, having undercut our troops in the field, is now going off to see -- to Syria to pay her respects to Bashar Assad, who's allowing terrorists to come across the [Iraqi] border to kill American troops."

but it's not just the right, but the entire "liberal media" that has gone nearly altogether silent in neglecting the fact that a delegation of three house republicans -- frank wolf (r-va), joseph pitts (r-pa) and robert aderholt (r-al) -- met with syrian president bashar al-assad in damascus on april 1.

lexis-nexis search results prove it. search the previous month for "wolf" and "pitts" and "aderholt" and "syria" anywhere in the body text and you get only five hits:

1. The Nation; Bush faults Pelosi over trip to Syria; He says the House speaker may undermine policy. A weekend visit by GOP lawmakers drew no comment., Los Angeles Times, April 4, 2007, Johanna Neuman
2. Both sides say other supports 'failure' in Iraq; Bush prods Congress to pass a timetable so he can veto it and 'business of funding our troops' can begin, USA TODAY, April 4, 2007, David Jackson
3. PELOSI REJECTS CRITICISM OF TRIP, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 3, 2007
4. AROUND THE GLOBE, The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey), April 3, 2007
5. Planned Visit to Syria by Pelosi Is Under Fire From White House, The New York Times, March 31, 2007, JEFF ZELENY

search instead for "pelosi" appearing within ten words of "syria" anywhere in the body text, however, and you get 35 hits

1. White House condemns Pelosi on Damascus visit, The Australian (Australia),April 4, 2007,
2. White House condemns Speaker's Syria visit, The Australian (Australia), April 4, 2007
3. SUN NEWS DIGEST, The Baltimore Sun, April 4, 2007,
4. Bush attacks Pelosi over talks with Syrian president, The Daily Telegraph , April 4, 2007, by Toby Harnden
5. Inside Today, The Gazette (Montreal), April 4, 2007,
6. United States: Bush hits out at House Speaker's visit to Syria, The Guardian, April 4, 2007
7. Controversy over Pelosi's tour; World News IN BRIEF, The Independent, April 4, 2007
8. The Nation; Bush faults Pelosi over trip to Syria; He says the House speaker may undermine policy. A weekend visit by GOP lawmakers drew no comment., Los Angeles Times, April 4, 2007, by Johanna Neuman
9. On speaking terms; Bush's criticism of Pelosi's visit to Syria is off-base. It's time someone from the U.S. broke the ice., Los Angeles Times, April 4, 2007
10. News Summary, The New York Times, April 4, 2007
11. Pelosi, Warmly Greeted in Syria, Is Criticized by White House, The New York Times, April 4, 2007, by HASSAN M. FATTAH
12. Pelosi diplomacy, THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, April 4, 2007, EDITORIAL
13. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, April 4, 2007,
14. Bush talks tough in struggle over war funds; With Congress on break, he makes use of news vacuum, THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, April 4, 2007, by Edward Epstein
15. International, South China Morning Post, April 4, 2007
16. Both sides say other supports 'failure' in Iraq; Bush prods Congress to pass a timetable so he can veto it and 'business of funding our troops' can begin, USA TODAY, April 4, 2007, by David Jackson
17. Bush Backs Richardson Trip to North Korea; N.M. Governor in Group Claiming War Remains, The Washington Post, April 4, 2007, by Glenn Kessler
18. Israelis seek Arab summit, Hobart Mercury (Australia), April 3, 2007
19. ROAD TO DAMASCUS - DEFIANT PELOSI DEFENDS SYRIA VISIT, The New York Post, April 3, 2007, by GEOFF EARLE
20. NANCY'S NONSENSE, The New York Post,April 3, 2007
21. Mideast dissonance; Arms buildup imperils Arab-Israeli talks, Newsday (New York), April 3, 2007, OPINION
22. PELOSI REJECTS CRITICISM OF TRIP, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 3, 2007
23. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, April 3, 2007
24. Pelosi seen moving around Bush in Mideast; A BOLD STEP: Analysts call speaker's trip 'a big deal,' but how much can she do?, THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, April 3, 2007, by Carolyn Lochhead
25. AROUND THE GLOBE, The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey), April 3, 2007
26. The World; Olmert invites Arab talks; In a surprise move, the Israeli premier offers to meet regional leaders in Jerusalem to discuss a Saudi peace plan., Los Angeles Times, April 2, 2007, by Richard Boudreaux
27. PELOSI'S MESSAGE FOR SYRIA, The New York Post,April 2, 2007, by NEIL GRAVES
28. White House slap at trip to Syria peeves Hobson; Bush team says visit to country reinforces its terrorist support, The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio), April 1, 2007, by Jonathan Riskind
29. Planned Visit to Syria by Pelosi Is Under Fire From White House, The New York Times, March 31, 2007, By JEFF ZELENY
30. MISS SYRIA - WHITE HOUSE SLAMS PELOSI TERROR TRIP; DICTATOR'S GUEST PELOSI THE DARLING OF DAMASCUS, The New York Post, March 31, 2007, by IAN BISHOP
31. -$6 MILLION SCRATCH N' WIN - NEW CARD MONDAY; TODAY'S NUMBERS -FANTASTIC FINAL FOUR - MARCH MADNESS-MISS SYRIA - WHITE HOUSE SLAMS PELOSI TERROR TRIP, The New York Post, March 31, 2007
32. WORLD & NATION BRIEFS, Newsday (New York), March 31, 2007
33. Pelosi to lead mission to Syria; Stop on Mideast fact-finding trip draws White House criticism, THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, March 31, 2007, by Matthew B. Stannard
34. Ellison begins 9-day trip to Mideast; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi invited the Minnesota representative on the trip. The stop in Syria has raised criticism., Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), March 31, 2007, by Brady Averill
35. Pelosi Plans Trip to Syria Next Week; White House Says Speaker's Damascus Visit Sends the Wrong Message, The Washington Post, March 31, 2007, by Elizabeth Williamson

in other words, the pelosi trip is covered roughly 7 times for every single mention of the repubican trip. that's quite an advantage the "liberal media" is giving the republicans.

the stats for news transcripts (radio and TV) are even more staggering: "wolf" and "pitts" and "aderholt" and "syria" anywhere in the body text since march 30 yields only two results; "pelosi" within ten words of "syria" during the same time period? 541 results.