Following the death of New Jersey Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg on Monday, Tuesday's NBC Today immediately began speculating on his replacement and the potential fallout for Chris Christie, with co-host Matt Lauer announcing it to be a "dilemma" and "political hot potato" for the Republican governor. The headline on screen read: "Lautenberg Seat Poses Political Problem." [ Watch the video after the jump ] Lauer proclaimed: "I think the New York Times summed it up pretty well...Normally a governor would love to have this opportunity...but there's a lot of personal political risk for Chris Christie." Political director Chuck Todd agreed:... continue reading
The Wall Street Journal's David Wessel channeled the Obama administration's doom and gloom about the sequester on NPR's Morning Edition on Monday. Host Renee Montagne turned to Wessel to give a "reality check" on the sequester's current and future economic impact. The journalist cited how unnamed "economic forecasters...say they're worried that the effects of this spending restraint may have bigger negative effects " later this year. Wessel harped on the "lots of little ways" the sequester has impacted people around the country, including the " bathroom in a national park where the toilets have been closed in some places "... continue reading
Is the IRS scandal just not that big a deal in New York City? Perhaps for out-of-touch journos like liberal Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and The New Yorker editor David Remnick, who downplayed the controversy on Sunday's Fareed Zakaria GPS . Kristof predictably spun the scandals into a "so what?" narrative for the White House: "I think it's true that the White House has often been tone-deaf, but every second term has scandals ." Meanwhile, Remnick called the IRS scandal the doing of "very low level" employees without acknowledging that higher-ups in Washington could have orchestrated it. "An IRS scandal... continue reading
At the end of an interview with New York Senator Chuck Schumer on Sunday's NBC Meet the Press , moderator David Gregory teed up the Democrat to lecture Republicans on being too focused on the scandals plaguing the Obama administration: "Do you have a warning for Republicans who want to make the IRS and personal issues affecting the President the main theme of 2014?" [ Listen to the audio ] Schumer eagerly proclaimed: "My warning to the Republicans is look at 1998. All they did is spend their time on the impeachment of Bill Clinton. And for the first time,... continue reading
In an interview with Arizona Senator John McCain on Monday's NBC Today , co-host Savannah Guthrie attempted to dismiss growing evidence that the IRS scandal rocking the Obama administration went as far as Washington D.C.: "Darrell Issa...says that his gut tells him this goes beyond the Cincinnati office....He released excerpts of some e-mails that might support that theory, they're not conclusive. Do you take the Inspector General of the IRS at its word saying this – this was something that happened in Cincinnati and went no further?" [ Listen to the audio ] In a report prior to the interview,... continue reading
Apparently being a liberal is cool nowadays, at least in Chuck Todd’s view. On Monday NBC’s chief White House correspondent and host of MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown eulogized longtime Democratic New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg as a groundbreaker who advanced liberal ideas like gun control long before it was "cool" to be for them. The following exchange was aired on the June 3 edition of MSNBC’ s The Daily Rundown : CHUCK TODD: Frank Lautenberg [was] sort of an interesting character in the U.S. Senate over the years. DAN BALZ, WASHINGTON POST: Yes he was. And a liberal when people... continue reading
See no scandal, report no scandal. Jill Abramson, Executive Editor of the New York Times , came down to DC on Sunday to defend President Obama on the scandals and the economy, stressing the leaks cases is the only supposed scandal she cares about as she contended “I’m just not sure” the leaks cases, IRS and Benghazi “come together and create, you know -- quote, unquote -- ‘an atmosphere of scandal.’” An atmosphere the New York Times is working to prevent. Audio: MP3 clip Asked by Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer about how “nobody seems to know anything” in... continue reading
Pivoting to the downside for President Obama of the swirling scandals, Meet the Press host David Gregory fretted over “a bigger issue that the President faces, which is where is his agenda left in all this?” Citing a poll showing the public thinks fixing unemployment should be a higher priority than investigations, Gregory despaired: “The President’s coming under fire for losing his scope, effectively, in a second term to rebuild America, to usher in economic restoration.” “Well, that’s the tragedy for him. It’s a tragedy for all of us,” New York Times columnist Tom Friedman agreed. After more than four... continue reading
Though he had no idea what it was, the annual “ Bush Center Warrior 100K ” mountain bike ride, which took place over the Memorial Day weekend, upset Bill Maher. “I guess they walked or ran or something on their prosthetic limbs,” Maher sneered about George W. Bush’s ride around his Texas ranch with 20 servicemen, “and I found this to be nauseating. I mean, first he sends them off to war to get their limbs blown off and then he has them over for a barbecue.” Maher then equated the former President with Ariel Castro, the kidnaper who held... continue reading
Friday's CBS This Morning touted Oprah Winfrey's recent Harvard commencement speech, airing over a minute of half of footage from the former daytime TV host's address. The morning newscast spotlighted how Winfrey took the opportunity to promote two liberal pet causes: gun control and "a clear path to citizenship" for illegal immigrants. The show's three anchors all sang the billionaire's praises. Charlie Rose gushed over Winfrey's " remarkable speech ". Norah O'Donnell trumpeted the TV star's " important message ". Gayle King, who is Oprah's longtime friend, marveled over the address: " She did a great job yesterday ." The... continue reading