On Thursday's NBC Today , in a desperate attempt to deflect from the scandals engulfing the Obama administration, co-host Savannah Guthrie wondered: "I read a headline yesterday that said Republicans see blood in the water. That they see a president who's very vulnerable politically. Is there a danger that they will overreach?" [ Listen to the audio ] Chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd agreed with the slanted premise: "There is. I mean, that's what happened to Republicans in 1998 with Bill Clinton. And if all of Congress is focusing on hearings to do scandals, the voters will punish them... continue reading
The journalists at Good Morning America on Thursday floated the idea that Barack Obama is poised to move on from the Internal Revenue Service scandal. One day after the President announced the resignation of the acting IRS commissioner, co-host George Stephanopoulos trumpeted, " The White House firing back. The President's team firing on all fronts, promising immediate action as the scandals boil over in Washington ." [MP3 audio here .] An ABC graphic insited, "On the Attack." Talking to reporter Jon Karl, Stephanopoulos noted the "tough" week at the White House, but wondered, "Do they now feel like they have... continue reading
On Sunday's 6 p.m. Newsroom , CNN's Don Lemon made a shockingly generous excuse for the Obama administration's talking points on Benghazi that were edited a dozen times to the point of inaccuracy. "[T]he accusation is that the Obama administration in some way tried to change the talking points or water them down. And my question is, and I really – I'm being honest about this, what administration, Ana, doesn't try to control the message no matter what it is? " Lemon asked. He also framed the accusations against the administration as "partisan," ignoring whether or not they were also... continue reading
Charlie Rose acted as an apologist for President Obama on Wednesday's CBS This Morning , after former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asserted that the second-term executive was avoiding responsibility for the recent spate of scandals surrounding his administration. Rumsfeld snarked that " the only thing the President has really taken responsibility for is SEAL Team Six killing Osama bin Laden ." Rose interrupted his guest and replied, " Oh, that's not true ." [audio clips available here ; video below ] The veteran journalist raised the scandals in a very general manner, and didn't specifically mention the IRS's targeting of... continue reading
Even Chris Matthews admits it. Talking to the liberal Alex Wagner on Wednesday's Hardball about the IRS scandal, the cable host came clean on the press and their love for Barack Obama. After Wagner insisted that the President was tired of an "unfair media," Matthews scoffed, " Let me tell you something. The press has generally been pro-Obama. That's a fact." If the President disagrees, "he's crazy." [MP3 audio here .] The MSNBC anchor summed up the state of journalism: "I look at the major newspapers. I look at the major networks, broadcast nets. I look at us...CNN. Where's all... continue reading
With a headline on screen lamenting "Obama's Second-Term Blues" on Wednesday's NBC Today , the worst criticism Meet the Press moderator David Gregory could muster against the President amid growing scandals was this: "And there is a passivity about the President and the White House that even his aides and allies on the outside acknowledge is a problem. Why there has not been a faster, more stringent response." Noting the IRS, Benghazi, and Associate Press phone records scandals, co-host Savannah Guthrie asked Gregory: "Is there a common narrative that is a critique of the administration here?" Gregory couldn't manage to... continue reading
ABC, the network that has been relentlessly pushing an apocalyptic view of what sequester could do to America, on Wednesday suggested that a lower deficit could be a bad thing. Good Morning America' s Josh Elliott relayed the news that a budget surplus in April could lead to a lower 2013 deficit by $200 billion. Elliott lectured, " But some do worry this may actually hurt the economy because it may tempt Congress to delay a long-term budget deal." Elliott didn't explain who the "some" are, but the attitude shouldn't be surprising. In April, after sequester started, GMA 's hosts... continue reading
Where would a Nightline viewer go for important political news? It wouldn't be the late night ABC show. This week, the program has focused on topics such as Angelina Jolie's mastectomy and the latest plastic surgery operations. Co-anchor Terry Moran saves most of the hard news for his Twitter page. Except for a mere 28 seconds that aired at 1:05am in the early morning hours of Tuesday, the program's hosts have ignored the growing scandal involving the IRS targeting conservative groups for audits and harassment. Yet, while Nightline focused on Prince Harry's visit to America, co-anchor Terry Moran tweeted :... continue reading
On Tuesday's All In show, Chris Hayes linked former President Ronald Reagan to a former Guatemalan dictator convicted of genocide as the MSNBC host seemed to suggest that the story was as worthy of attention as Benghazi and ended up sarcastically challenging Fox News to give attention to it. After playing a clip of Reagan from 1982 praising the Guatemalan ruler, Hayes continued: "He's talking about a guy that tried to extinguish an indigenous people. So, Fox, you want to take it from here?" Hayes cited an article from the Washington Monthly which suggests that the media are more likely... continue reading
On Wednesday's NBC Today , regular panelist Donny Deutsch downplayed the scandals embroiling the Obama administration as merely the result of the public not having anything else to focus on: "I think in this media age we spend so many year – four years, night and day staring at these candidates, that after a while we get a little bored and turned off. And really the only story to report going forward is what I'll call that kind of slippery slope." [ Listen to the audio ] Co-host Matt Lauer called out Deutsch's dismissive tone: "I think you're making a... continue reading