osama bin laden was portrayed as fearsome figure? was he a myth? meredith we have avieira leavin today show. the strange spectacle on fox news last night with mike huckabee boug out of the presidential race. i'm howard kurtz. this is "reliable sources." one day before he jumped into the presidential race newt gingrich was greeted by a front page picture of his wife. she is according to "the new york times" perhaps best remembered for the six-year affair that contributed to her husband's downfall. when he was speaker of the house, of course, pushing to impeach bill clinton over the monica lewinsky affair. but now says the paper he's counting on the third mrs. gingrich for his political redemption. another page one story in "the times" zeroed in on mcconnell's wife. the indiana governor hasn't decided if he's going to run for president. the "los angeles times" reported this week that arnold schwarzenegger and maria shriver about their deteriorating marriage and got in a statement saying the movie star turned governor and his wife had separated. given their star power, the coverage quickly exploded. >> it was the news that broke overnight and it had a say it ain't so aspect to it. the "l.a. times" reports maria shriver, member of the kennedy family, longtime nbc family member, and her husband, former california governor arnold schwarzenegger, have split. >> put out a statement saying they weren't going to give any interviews, family and friends were not going to give interviews. >> couple had been married for 25 years before they announced on monday they were separating. everyone is now asking -- what happened here? >> schwarzenegger's spoke in public about his marriage last night for the first time since he and wife maria shriver separated. he told a an aude glens los angeles that had hope they can reconcile. how much of this is exactly the med media's business? joining us in san francisco, deborah saunders. columnist for "the san francisco chronicle." in washington, sally quinn, co-founder of "the washington post" on face blog. michelle, washington correspondent for "newsweek" and "the daily beast." "the good wife 2012." sally quinn. she leaves, marries another guy, comes back. she marries her husband. how or why is that a front page story? >> you know, that's going to play really well one way or the other with the evangelicals. this is a whole issue i think people haven't figured out. >> should it be an issue? >> with these people it is an issue. you know, hillary clinton once said, you know, hi hoped there would be a certain zone of privacy when i got to the white house. forget it. there is no such thing as a zone of privacy. with mitch dan else and his wife, people are going to look at them and say what a great dad he was, he was there for four years. you know, for three, four years. bringing up the kids on his own. this is great. or they will look at her and say what kind after woman would abandon her children for four years? so the family values issues is going to play. it is going to be a big deal in this election if he decides to run. >> i confess when i heard about this from a reporter two days before "the times" story i ordered up a story for "the daily beast." i thought it was fascinating. sherry daniels holds a key to whether or not her husband runs for president. but at the same time i'm uncomfortable with the attention it is getting. what's your take? >> no matter how much we like to say it doesn't matter about the family, especially you are electing a president, people are picking somebody, you know, the joke is that they are a boyfriend. you are not picking a president. you are picking a husband or boyfriend or father to run the country. people want abglimpse, you know, talking to republican consultants this week, you know, you hear constantly that they want a glimpse into the candidate's personal life. what he is like, values. they look to the wives for that. >> today's "new york times" has a piece about all of this and says voters are hungry for details. come on. is it vote hears that are hungry or journalists looking for a juicy story? >> journalists don't make up what people read. we followed the stuff really -- >> what to put on the front page and the cover of the magazine. >> we pay very close attention to what people are interested in, what catches their attention. we know what they like to read. >> deborah, in this case of mitch daniels, there is no scandal here. split up, got back together. is this the kind of journalistic intrusiveness that drives people out of politics? >> i don't know. i wonder when the media are being played. i mean, i don't have any inside information on this. but mitch daniels candidacy if he runs for president is based on the fact he's the guy who can win. he's the heavyweight. ron pauls, santorums, haley barbours can't win. he can't say hey, i'm not sure. he looks like hamlet. what is the -- what are the daniels people say? they say we are waiting to hear what sherry wants to do. that puts a lot of attention on her. now, we know that there is a story about how she left him and married somebody else for a couple of years. i think this -- humanizes her and makes her look less political. so i don't know that this is a strategy but i should hope it is a strategy because it is a really good one. i think that we in the media in a way are being led by a leash. >> hasn't occurred to me this may be a grand play by the daniels' forces. i mentioned at the top calista gingrich is often at his side. he talks about her a lot. she helped him convert to catholicism. does all of that add up to a front page story the day before he announces? >> of course. because, again, you know, these guys are running for president they have a base. the base is a religious base. religious right base they have the appeal to in order to get the nomination. he converts to catholicism which is a little iffy. and from the standpoint of -- the evangelicals. then he finds god. he says, you know, i found calista. she brought me back to the fold. i converted. i found god. again, it is a whole family values issue. whether people are going to buy that and whether they buy the fact that he given the way he was about that the last two marriages, is suddenly reborn, is a whole different thing. but it is going to be an issue. >> after gingrich announces his candidacy on twitter, actually, he gave the first interview on fox. the question of his personal life came up in a very indirect way. let's roll it. >> already in the media, you know, they are going after you, your personal life. you have been divorced. >> if you are a conservative, you have to start with the assumption that you are not going to get an even break from the elite media. and that's just reality. >> the former speaker of the house is turning this into an take on the media for bringing up parts of his life. what do you think about that? >> boo hoo. this is always the desperate refuge of somebody that has a problem. blame it the media. this is what sarah palin has taught us as well. >> media blameless? >> i'm sorry, neither is newt gingrich. we are talking about a man here who was carrying on a long-term affair in a party that apprises itself as being a family values party. we are trying to take down bill clinton at the same time. if he doesn't think that's going to be a legitimate issue going forward, he is nuts. >> let me play for you a clip from this morning's "meet the press" where david gregory did raise this question more explicit fashion. he started out by talking about how gingrich's personal image may be hurting his poll numbers. >> some of that has to do with your own personal life. you have been married three times, extramarital affairs, one of which during the time republicans were pursuing president clinton for impeachment. the label of being hypocrite. and i wonder how you are going to deal with this. >> i have made mistakes in my life. i have had to go to god for forgiveness and seek reconciliation. i asked him to look at who i am today. look at the strong marriage calista and i have. look at close relationship i have with my two daughters and their husbands. >> i see you shaking your head. does this look like "the new york times" first and "meet the press" second and probably the rest of us by this afternoon, are trying to tarnish republicans by going after their wives? >> well, you can't help it with newt gingrich. i mean, it is like not looking at the nose. "new york times" has done newt gingrich a favor by making this an issue now. because it makes people be less likely to look at him. i have to say -- i don't think that this -- this is a campaign. it is like a cult. and while i was talking about mitch daniels before having the -- the strategy, newt gingrich keeps making the same mistakes over and over again and trying to grandize them by putting a wrapping on and it he wants everybody to follow it. it does not work in a way. >> how has "the times" done gingrich a favor? what he is running on, criticism of president obama. he doesn't want the first big exposure of this week to be about calista. >> but in a year, it is old news. we have been through that. i mean, he can say you have been writing to this story for so long, come on, let's move on. that's the only way i'm saying it is a favor. because he's going to get the stuff out of the way. it is just -- a bizarre decision on his point to campaign with his third wife who he was dating while he was married to his second wife at his side all the time. i think he believes people are going to look at them and think they are a wonderful couple and it just doesn't work that way. >> of course he wants it to be about calista. calista is his wife. they are together. they are a couple. they are a happily married couple. >> between him and oblivion and so he's -- and by the way, let me point out where are you seeing him on television and in the newspapers, he's using the liberal elite and secular media to get all of this attention to show how he and his wife have -- together have a great relationship and have found god. >> and by the way, i mean, again, i'm always sympathetic to family members being drag flood the spotlight. calista good very much running for first lady. sherry daniels, if mitch daniels would december tide run, calista has not given any interviews. she will be forced by appreciate tour to address what happened when she was on the payroll and carrying on? absolutely. >> nothing like republicans like more than a victim. they can play this up, play the victim card, they will play it to the hilt. >> let me turn to that t "l.a. times" story of arnold schwarzenegger who has only been out of office for governor a few short months. maria shriver. obviously that's a local story for the local paper. but why this avalanche of national attention? >> because they are huge celebrities. arnold is a big movie star. maria -- reminds us of a kennedy. >> but a -- journalist who was on nbc and at least one other network for 25 years. >> not only that, but she had to give up her role as an nbc correspondent when she married him. this is another issue which is the role wives have to take and i say wives, good husbands don't usually get into this situation. they have to sort of step back and let their husbands be the primary figure in the relationship. and the campaign. and i think that that was very hard for maria to have to put herself in second place and not be able to do the kinds of things she was used to doing. that's really a killer for a marriage. >> this is a big deal because it is very rare when that kind of thing happens. it is not like they did this five years in or ten years in. i mean, they have been together for a long time. people understandably were like what finally happens now? >> reminds me of the attention al and tipper gore breakup got. is there a certain amount of media pandering here? all those -- churning michelle about what really happened and was there another woman? why now? >> well, this is what happens with celebrities in particular. if you have a run of the mill politician who no one cares about -- anybody care why gray davis, you know, what his personal life is like? we are talking about a man, in particular, the governor is famous for all the rumors about his inappropriate touching or whatever on the movie sets. she stood by him during that period of time. people want to know now what happened. >> on that point, i talked to mark of the "l.a. times" that broke that story and said it came up in political circles and went to the family and asked about and it got the statement. he says he feels the "los angeles times" had a special responsibility to report on this because it had broken the story in 2003 when arnold was running for governor about 15 women accusing the then candidate of different kinds of sexually inappropriate conduct. what's your take on how much of a story this is or should be? >> you know what surprises me about this story? "the times" reports maria left in january. in march she does this video where she's basically practically shouts out that they are separating and not wearing a wedding ring, talking about france formation. their anniversary, 25th anniversary is in april. the couple always tweet being each other, not a word. they are seen at events coming and going separately. the story doesn't break until may. that shows what happens when someone isn't in power anymore. two years ago maria shriver was seen talking on her cell phone with her hands violating state law. it was on the web within hours. and now they break up and it takes months for this to be a story. that's what i find really interesting about this. >> was eight story because we didn't know or rumors you document something and this is what the "l.a. times" did here and you are all right on this score. this is a huge politically famous couple, celebrity, terminator and all that. the story will not fade any time soon. when we come back, mike huckabee using his fox news show to announce his decision to 2012. the suspense was almost unbearable. 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[ speaking chinese ] [ gasps, speaks chinese ] do you guys like dumplings? i love dumplings. working with a partner you can trust is always a good decision. massmutual -- let our financial professionals help you reach your goals. mike huckabee who is at or near the top of the republican presidential polls has been keeping the press guess being whether he would mount a second white house campaign in 2012. i tuned in last night on fox news at 8:00 along with other political writers to find out what he was going to do. he wouldn't tell us until the entire hour had almost lapsed. finally in the last moments of the show, he said this. >> the past few weeks the external signs and signals and answers to many of the obstacles points strongly towards running. and when i am with people encouraging me to run, it is easy to feel the strength of their partnership and commitment to help me to the finish line. but only when i was alone in quiet and reflective moments did i have not only clarity but an inexplicable inner peace, a peace that exceeds human understanding. all of the factors say go but my heart says no. >> should huckabee have used his fox news show to orchestrate this mini drama? >> well, why not? let me just say good for mike huckabee. he has a good thing going and recognizes it and is staying with it. i think -- i watched, too. i'm glad he gets to play base wi -- bass with ted nugent and everybody else. it was clear he wasn't going to run because fox kept him on air when it shoved santorum and newt gingrich out the door because they were thinking of running for president. i think we knew this would happen. you know, he -- used the situation. got everybody to watch for an hour. >> probably got a ratings bump. i'm watching michelle connell and no only playing bass with ted nugent, interviewing mario lopez, "saved by the bell" guy about a diet guy. after this he's going to say i declare my candidacy for president? i don't think so. >> he doesn't have to worry about anything. it was clever with his clip explaining why he won't run, this is a nod to evangelicals. basically what he is saying god told me not to run on some level. and i think that he is going to continue tearing it up on the tv. >> huckabee mentioned his belief in jesus christ and didn't mention his $500 00 fox news hour. the role of fox news in the preseason, sar tore ntorum and gingrich. >> fox is huge but so is twitter. >> fox also has employed several people who either could or in this case didn't become serious white house contenders. >> i mean -- >> isn't that uncomfortable positions important a network? >> clearly not for them. i mean -- they are making a lot of money off of these people. and -- you know, if sarah palin when she announces, whatever she is going to do, i'm sure it will be on fox. you know, i -- i wasn't at all surprised about huckabee. look at haley barbour. no fire in the belly, you know. clearly he didn't have fire. when you talk about peace, it is not just god telling you not to run. you look at the crowd that you are running against and then you look at obama and there's no peace there. >> when sarah palin makes a decision it will be like lebron james and espn special, what team he will play for. that will get a little bit of attention. thanks very much for joining us. up next on "reliable sources," a blogger blows the whistle on a facebook farce and cnn host addresses his private meetings with president obama. that and more ahead in our "media monitor." shaping osama bin laden's media image in life and in death. journalist author steve cole on coverage of the number onetivity. and meredith vieira leaving the "today" show and ann curry moving into her spot. will the shape-up hurt the top rated network morning show? ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ to london starts with arthritis pain... and a choice. take tylenol now, and maybe up to 8 in a day. or...choose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. enjoy the flight. good gravy, bill. our insurance company doesn't have anything like it. magnificent, isn't it? with progressive, it's easy to cover all of your favorite rides. progressive has truck insurance? number one in truck and motorcycle. is that a golf cart? yep. we also cover rvs, boats, atvs. anything else i can help you with? can i take a ride? you need a ticket -- i'm first! and that's by the water slide. okay. no running. oh, dear. save on all your rides. now, that's progressive. call or click today. time now for our media monitor weekly look at the hits and errors in the news business. this one is a really bad idea with richard daly stepping down as mayor. some think it will a fine idea he preys on the men they covered for more than two decades. they appeared in commercials for a furniture company. here is what the likes of walter jacobson and phil curtis and rob johnson of the cbs station and allison rosatti of the nbc station had to say. >> congratulations for 22 years. a long time and we have loved watching you go through. >> thank you for being authentic and bringing the back best to chicago. >> best mayor, best city in america. >> an honor covering you. >> now here is what ch