While the media are now calling the ObamaCare rollout a " mess " and the website a " bust ," some journalists and pundits were a lot more optimistic right before the exchanges opened. Despite warnings that the website and exchanges would not be ready to open on time, journalists marveled over how easy the website, Healthcare.gov, would be to navigate. That optimism crumbled as, in one notable case, it took CNN's Elizabeth Cohen two weeks to sign up for ObamaCare. Below are the five most embarrassing endorsements of Healthcare.gov: [Video below. Audio here .] 'A Huge Breakthrough' for the... continue reading
Monday night's AC360 Later welcomed gun control advocate Mark Kelly, who pushed for stronger gun laws in front of a sympathetic panel. The segment aired hours after a deadly Nevada school shooting. Host Anderson Cooper teed up Kelly by asking, " Mark, again, another shooting. When you see this, is actual change possible? Is – have you been able to see any results from the work you and your wife have been doing so far? " Kelly is the husband of former Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Kelly answered that change would happen but would take time. "It's just a matter... continue reading
Obama donor Gayle King and Charlie Rose strongly hinted that conservatives/Republicans needed psychiatric help during a segment with Charles Krauthammer on Tuesday's CBS This Morning . King asked the licensed psychiatrist, "You talk in your book about your medical training in psychiatry and about... how powerful denial can be. Do you think that the GOP – Tea Party Republicans are in denial? " King's question prompted laughter from Rose and co-anchor Norah O'Donnell. The PBS host then rephrased his colleague's question in a more explicit way: " But do you think the party needs some psychiatry? " [MP3 audio available... continue reading
On Monday's NBC Nightly News , chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd parroted laughable Obama administration talking points regarding who was to blame for the disastrous rollout of the ObamaCare website: "...nobody in the West Wing feels that this is an administrative error, that this is a competency issue....But in a few months, if they find incompetency, I'm told nothing should be ruled out." [ Listen to the audio ] The segment began with anchor Brian Williams wondering: "A lot of folks in the business world say if this happened to a private company in the real world, it could... continue reading
The journalists at Good Morning America on Tuesday hyped bad news for the GOP, citing a poll showing disapproval of the party's handling of the recent government shutdown. But the show's reporters downplayed and ignored ominous results for the President and his health care law. George Stephanopoulos trumpeted that Republicans are "taking the biggest hit." Journalist Jon Karl allowed that the survey finds Americans disapprove of how "everyone handled the shutdown crisis, including the President." Stealing Stephanopoulos's line, he asserted that the GOP is "taking the biggest hit." Karl added, "Seventy seven percent disapproving of how [Republicans] handled the budget... continue reading
On Monday's CBS This Morning , the New York Times ' Peter Baker didn't reveal anything shocking about George W. Bush's opinion about the liberal paper. Charlie Rose wondered about one detail concerning Baker's new book on Bush and Dick Cheney: "Why wouldn't President Bush talk to you?" He replied, " President Bush didn't believe that a book written by a New York Times reporter could be fair. He felt that the paper had not been balanced in his time in office ." [MP3 audio available here ; video below ] The journalist also dispelled the common liberal view about... continue reading
Appearing as a guest on Friday's PoliticsNation on MSNBC, Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank compared the Republican Party to a "sea monster" as he related that "various heads" who are speaking out. Host Al Sharpton began by fretting over whether Tea Party members have "learned anything." Sharpton: Dana, some Republicans do admit the shutdown was horrible for the party. But with Sarah Palin getting involved and Tea Partiers ready for round two, have they learned anything? Milbank responded: Well, here's the problem, Reverend, is when you say "they" it's not at all clear who it is we're talking about in... continue reading
Appearing as a guest on the Friday, October 18, PoliticsNation show, MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry characterized the government shutdown as Republicans "effectively impeaching" President Obama as she fretted that the GOP will create "crisis after crisis" so that Obama "never will have an opportunity to actually enact a second policy agenda." Host Al Sharpton complained about Republicans talking about thwarting President Obama's agenda: They're trying to just in any way possible just act as though this is not a legitimate President. And I think that we're seeing that it's now become just naked and raw to the American public. They just... continue reading
Chris Matthews on Friday attacked conservatives as a "confederacy of hate" who don't want African Americans to vote and dream of "secession and nullification." Talking about opposition to ObamaCare and the shutdown, the Hardball anchor mixed and matched all his favorite cliches. He began the show by teasing, "Confederacy of hate. Let's play Hardball ." With no explanation, the liberal journalist began throwing around generalizations, smearing, " They call themselves the American people, as if the majority that voted for President Obama are some invading force of others or a group of lesser Americans who should be credited with only... continue reading
In part two of an interview with former Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday's NBC Today, focused on his new book about his struggle with heart disease, co-host Savannah Guthrie couldn't resist the chance use Cheney's health problems to promote big government: "...some of this technology that ultimately lead to the pump that kept you alive before you could have the [heart] transplant started in 1964 with government funding. So you can look at it as you're a living, breathing example of government investment." [ Listen to the audio ] In response, Cheney pointed to other life-saving technology he relied... continue reading