Rita Braver badgered former Defense Secretary Robert Gates on the January 12, 2013 edition of CBS's Sunday Morning over his new memoir which, in her words, " has created such turmoil in Washington ." Braver even used Gates's own words against him: "In your book, you say that one of your favorite adages is, never miss a good chance to shut up. And I wonder if you think, maybe, you violated your own advice here ." The correspondent's hardball treatment of the former Obama cabinet official contrasts with her kid glove treatment of Attorney General Eric Holder during a September... continue reading
During a live interview with former Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday's NBC Today , co-host Matt Lauer suggested that criticism of President Obama in Gates's new memoir was endangering American troops overseas: "As this criticism is leveled by you in the book of the commander-in-chief, the acting commander-in-chief, at a time when some 40,000 U.S. troops are in harm's way, do you think that by calling him into question at this stage it is either dangerous or dishonorable?" [ Listen to the audio ] After Gates rejected the notion, Lauer insisted: "But you don't think it undermines his credibility... continue reading
Emmy Rossum , the 27-year-old star of Showtime’s Shameless , which had its fourth season debut Sunday night (Jan 12), on Wednesday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live marveled at the “amazing” and “free health care” in Britain. Recounting her travails during a recent visit to the nation with nationalized healthcare, she told Kimmel that food poisoning sent her to a hospital. “The hospitals are amazing there,” she exclaimed, citing “free health care” and how “they don’t even ask you for your I.D. You give your name, you give your symptoms, they hook you up to a bunch of fluids. They say just... continue reading
On Friday's CBS This Morning , Charlie Rose and Norah O'Donnell refreshingly departed from their usual softball treatment of liberal guests , and pursued New York magazine's Gabriel Sherman about his new biography of Fox News's Roger Ailes. O'Donnell spotlighted how "critics...[are] saying...you're a younger, liberal-leaning journalis t." Both anchors also hounded Sherman for a political accusation in the very title of the bio – The Loudest Voice in the Room: How The Brilliant Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News – and Divided A Country : [MP3 audio available here ; video below ] NORAH O'DONNELL: ...[ Y ] ou... continue reading
Introducing her interrogation of former CIA attorney John Rizzo about his new memoir, aired on Friday's NBC Today , chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell proclaimed: "...this is an insider's account of the CIA – Company Man – and the key decisions that led to waterboarding and other controversial techniques that were later outlawed. All from this veteran CIA lawyer who offers no apologies and few regrets." [ Listen to the audio ] After Rizzo explained that "extraordinary measures had to be taken" to prevent another terrorist attack after 9/11, Mitchell was aghast: "Extraordinary measures? You mean what was later... continue reading
On Friday, CNBC correspondent John Harwood tweeted that Chris Christie’s traffic scandal was “durably damaging” because it was a “direct govt-on-citizen crime - not indirect like graft, not personal (sex). Extremely rare.” But when Harwood was accused by Twitter user Eric Swanson that he and others in media were being tougher on Christie’s traffic jam controversy than Barack Obama’s scandals, Harwood responded that “On Obama/IRS, no one’s found anything close to ‘time for traffic problems/got it’ connecting the WH.” Perhaps Harwood just hasn’t been looking hard enough on the “durably damaging” IRS-Tea Party scandal, because there have been e-mails that... continue reading
On Thursday's PoliticsNation , MSNBC host Al Sharpton accused Republicans of "demonizing" single mothers and placing "blame" on them for poverty in response to several Republicans who have recently complained about government policies that have encouraged poor women to become single mothers. Sharpton plugged the segment: Ahead, President Obama makes a powerful statement about his personal commitment to fighting inequality. Also, Republicans know who's really to blame for poverty in America: single moms. So much for the GOP trying to show they care about the poor. Stay with us. As he began the segment, after a clip of President Barack... continue reading
On Wednesday's NBC Nightly News , chief environmental affairs correspondent Anne Thompson dismissed global warming skeptics pointing to record-low temperatures across the country: "As America the frozen thaws out, some want to reignite the debate over global warming ....the Mercury feels like it's been on a bungee jump. Take New York, fifty-five degrees on Monday, down to a daily record low of four degrees Tuesday, back to fifty-five this Saturday. What does that tell us about global warming? Scientists say nothing." [ Listen to the audio ] A soundbite followed of Jeff Masters from the global warming activist group Weather... continue reading
The same network evening news shows that ignored vindictiveness by the Obama administration during October's government shutdown were up in arms Wednesday over New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's "bridgegate" and the possible tarring it could give his image. The MRC already counted 17 times more network coverage of Christie's controversy than of Obama's IRS scandal in the past six months. That same double standard was evident in the treatment given the Christie administration versus the non-coverage of any Obama administration wrongdoing during the shutdown. Wednesday's NBC Nightly News put Christie's controversy on a level slightly lower than Watergate: "We begin... continue reading
On Thursday's NBC Today , political director Chuck Todd reveled in the wall-to-wall media coverage of the bridge closing controversy surrounding New Jersey Governor Chris Christie: "Welcome to the NFL....he has gotten a lot of benefit by being sort of this Republican rising star in the New York City media markets , so he gets a lot of access to media attention, access to national media. And so he's had a free ride, if you will. Well now, welcome to the vetting process." [ Listen to the audio ] Todd's comments were prompted by co-host Matt Lauer declaring: "[Christie] is... continue reading