On Tuesday's edition of the syndicated Entertainment Tonight, co-anchor Rosci Diaz did her part to pump up the President by giving Barack Obama the same sort of celebrity treatment that she would give Matt Damon as she asked Michelle Obama what it’s like being married to a "sex symbol." Diaz, in a sitdown interview with the First Lady, initially compared Mrs. Obama's style-sense to former First Lady Jackie Kennedy and then went on to praise the President's, as Michelle Obama called it, "swag." The following exchange was aired on the April 2 edition of Entertainment Tonight : ROSCI DIAZ: Jackie's... continue reading
An unhinged Chris Matthews exploited another tragedy on Wednesday, connecting the pro-Second Amendment views of Ted Cruz and other Republicans to the shootings of two prosecutors in Texas. The Hardball anchor began by dredging up failed Senate candidate Sharron Angle's three-year-old reference to "Second Amendment remedies." Matthews connected, "If that was frightening enough for you, how about what's happening in Colorado and Texas?...In Texas, two prosecutors were killed, a third has now pulled out of a case against the Aryan brotherhood of Texas for, quote, 'security reasons.'" Matthews made his linkage totally clear: " We've got a Texas senator, Ted... continue reading
NBC's Al Roker was appalled by a poll of conspiracy theories that showed 37 percent of those surveyed believed global warming was a hoax. During a discussion, on Wednesday's Today show, of a Public Policy Polling survey that included respondents' views on everything from the John F. Kennedy assassination to the existence of Bigfoot, co-host Willie Geist reported: "Global warming is a hoax. Thirty-seven percent believe that." To which Roker responded with an audible, "Wow!" and then later scolded global warming skeptics: "Okay, two words: Superstorm Sandy!" The following is the relevant exchange as it was aired on the April... continue reading
On Wednesday's CBS This Morning , Jan Crawford played up how voters supposedly find Vice President Joe Biden's " gaffes almost endearing ", as she reported on the potential face-off between President Obama's running mate and Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. Crawford played clips of Biden's most infamous gaffes, and later added that these verbal slip-ups "may not be so funny for the leader of the free world" [audio available here ; video below ]. Back in August 2012, the CBS morning newscast actually did its best to spin the Vice President's " put y'all back in chains... continue reading
Longtime Hillary Clinton fan Claire Shipman isn't waiting for the 2016 push. The Good Morning America reporter on Wednesday launched "Hillary Watch" and regurgitated talking points about a potential presidential bid. She breathlessly related, " But with the launch of an independent super PAC, the question is everywhere. Is Hillary ready to run? " Shipman also featured a Clinton supporter outside a rally. The man oddly enthused, " I think she'll run and she's got to save the country, right? " [MP3 audio here .] She's got to save the country? From who? Fellow Democrat Barack Obama? The journalist added... continue reading
The Iowa Democratic caucus is a full thirty-three months away but that didn't stop NBC's Today show from promoting a possible Hillary Clinton candidacy. NBC's Andrea Mitchell, on Wednesday's show, once again hyped a potential Hillary Clinton run for president as she proclaimed the former Secretary of State was a "rock star." Her colleague Savannah Guthrie declared the former Secretary of State: "Would be a field clearing candidate for Democrats. That is nobody gets in if she's in." Mitchell began her piece reporting on Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden attending a women's conference and hailed that Clinton stole the... continue reading
Does journalistic insistence on catapulting President Barack Obama into historic greatness and relevance know no bounds? CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley on Tuesday night insisted upon trumpeting Obama’s proposal, to spend $100 million to map the human brain, through the hagiographic maneuver of putting Obama into a trilogy with the triumphs of Thomas Jefferson and John Kennedy: Finally tonight, for Thomas Jefferson it was the Louisiana Territory; for John F. Kennedy, the moon. Well today, as Bill Plante reports, President Obama announced a mission to explore and map another frontier filled with mystery and possibility. Audio: MP3 clip Without... continue reading
Sunday's Reliable Sources was absurdly generous to the media for their coverage of the same-sex marriage debate, calling them "in the middle" and denying having seen any "rudeness" toward social conservatives. Host Howard Kurtz teed up gay rights activist John Aravosis by asking, " Are the media waking up to the fact that this is a civil rights issue? " Meanwhile, Aravosis claimed the press is " still being objective and in the middle " on the issue while the Washington Post 's "conservative" blogger Jennifer Rubin denied having seen any media "rudeness or abruptness" toward social conservatives. [Video below... continue reading
It's not often that media outlets ignore their own scoops, but that's what ABC is doing. The network has (thus far) relegated to its website the latest details on the decision by the Obama Defense Department to deny Purple Hearts to the victims of the Fort Hood massacre. The rest of the networks have also skipped this story. ABC "obtained" a Pentagon position paper on the subject, but still failed to give it network coverage. It was ABC alone that highlighted the story back in February. On February 12 , Brian Ross explained the impact of the decision to deny... continue reading
CBS again paid homage to Caroline Kennedy on Tuesday's CBS This Morning as they hyped her possible nomination to be the next ambassador of Japan. During her report, Jan Crawford featured liberal historian Robert Dallek, who gushed over the apparent worldwide reputation of the presidential daughter's family: " The Kennedys, generally, have an extraordinary, continuing hold on the public's imagination , both in this country and abroad." Dallek later asserted that the U.S. might be "sending somebody as ambassador to Tokyo who is representative of the best in American culture ." The correspondent also touted how Kennedy "would have an... continue reading