ays after a Boston journalist's surprise quiz of George W. Bush created a national buzz, Senator Trent Lott dismissed the episode as a ploy by the state's liberal media to discredit the Republican front-runner.
''If there's any place in the country worse than Washington, it's Boston,'' Lott said yesterday.
Not everyone agreed.
Representative Martin Meehan, Democrat of Lowell, called the Senate majority leader's comments ''absurd,'' while a Boston University communications professor said they were a transparent attempt at damage control for the Republican Party.
During his interview on ''Fox News Sunday,'' Lott dismissed as a ''media thing'' the stir created by Bush's performance on a mini-quiz Wednesday by Boston political reporter Andy Hiller.
Hiller asked Bush to identify the leaders of four current world hot spots: Chechnya, India, Pakistan and Taiwan.
Squirming before the camera, Bush identified only Lee Teng-hui of Taiwan. (The others are Aslan Maskhadov of Chechnya, Atal Bihari Vajpayee of India and General Pervaiz Musharraf of Pakistan).
Bush also told Hiller he believed last month's coup in Pakistan brought stability to the region, despite his opposition to the overthrow of a democratically elected government.
''It's strictly a media thing. It is a Washington, D.C. thing,'' Lott told Fox anchor Brit Hume. When Hume noted that Hiller, of WHDH-TV, was from Boston, Lott added: ''Well, that's even worse. I mean if there's any place in the country worse than Washington, it's Boston, for goodness sakes.''
Hume asked if Lott was prepared for a headline reading: ''Lott to Boston: Drop Dead.''
''No, no, not at all,'' Lott responded. ''A lot of great people in Boston. But ... they are known for, you know, their liberalism and for that sort of activity in the media.''
Some took issue with Lott's sweeping generalization of Boston's politics and media.
''Trent Lott ought to understand that there's a Republican governor in Massachusetts,'' said Meehan. ''His sense about liberalism in Boston may be outdated.''
Meehan said Hiller is known for putting candidates on the spot and added he was confident Hiller had no partisan motive in asking his questions. ''It certainly isn't any type of liberal bias,'' said Meehan. ''That's absurd.''
Hiller did not respond to a call seeking comment.
''With regard to Trent Lott, I think he's led the country with saying stupid things this year,'' said Charley Manning, a Republican political consultant in Boston. ''That this is a place where the liberal press is tricking Republicans ... This is a state Ronald Reagan carried twice, but I'm sure Trent Lott wouldn't know that.''
Boston University communications professor Tobe Berkovitz said that while he believes Boston is a liberal bastion, Lott was off-base in seemingly blaming Hiller for Bush's poor performance.
''Lott and the Republican leadership doesn't want to see George W. Bush damaged,'' Berkovitz said.
He said while he agrees with those who have called Hiller's interview an example of ''gotcha'' journalism, the questions Bush failed to answer were relevant because they concerned leaders who are in the news.
Berkowitz also said he was confident Hiller would have been ''every bit as delighted to play `stump you' with Bill Bradley or Al Gore.''
In fact, Hiller attempted to quiz Bradley, a Democratic candidate, during an interview late last week, but the former New Jersey senator said simply that he wasn't going to ''get into that.''
