On Tuesday's NBC Today , co-host Matt Lauer eagerly touted "special correspondent" Chelsea Clinton being a part of the festivities leading up to President Obama's inauguration: "She's going to talk about an important role that she is playing in President Obama's second inaugural, something I know she would like you to get involved in." [ Listen to the audio ] Before talking to Clinton about the upcoming event, Lauer explained: "President Obama will kick off his inauguration weekend on Saturday with a National Day of Service.... the Obamas and Bidens will attend a service fair on the National Mall....NBC's special... continue reading
Serving as President Obama's stenographer on Monday's NBC Nightly News , chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd eagerly touted the President hammering Republicans on the debt ceiling during a midday press conference: "And with Washington once again careening toward a fiscal crisis...the President made it clear he intends to stand firm....[He] acknowledged Republicans could end up shutting down the government if he doesn't yield on spending cuts. But he warned against it." [ Listen to the audio ] During the final press conference of Obama's first term, Todd urged the President to follow the recommendations of fellow Democrats and unilaterally... continue reading
Good Morning America on Tuesday touted White House talking points, promoting Barack Obama's "ultimatum" to Republicans over the debt ceiling and hyping the President's refusal to negotiate. An ABC graphic lobbied, "Obama Draws Battle Lines: Tells Congress He Won't Pay 'Ransom.'" In the segment, reporter Jon Karl featured four clips of Obama lashing out at the GOP, just one of John Boehner highlighting out of control spending. Karl trumpeted, " President Obama used the last news conference of his first term to issue an ultimatum to congressional Republicans: Raise the debt ceiling. " George Stephanopoulos began the piece by parroting,... continue reading
CNN's Carol Costello on Monday morning helped a Democratic Congressman tout his new bill that allows victims of gun violence to sue the gun industry. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is aiming to repeal a 2005 bill passed by a Republican Congress that protected gun makers and dealers from such lawsuits. Instead of asking hard questions of Schiff's proposal, Costello spoonfed him this liberal talking point: " Ted Kennedy said this law was bought and paid for by the NRA. In your mind, what was the intent behind this law? " [Video below. Audio here .] The original 2005 bill held... continue reading
After President Obama's Monday press conference, liberal historian Douglas Brinkley fawned over him on CNN as a "warm and engaging man," pitted against Republicans who "don't want to be in a photo-op with him." "I don't think we can blame the President for his style. I think it's just another part of this terrible political gridlock we have. President Obama is a warm and engaging man, " Brinkley complimented the President. [Video below. Audio here .] Brinkley laughably added that "he [Obama] is plenty friendly to everybody he meets, including reporters." Did he miss the President's testy exchange with Major... continue reading
One month after the Newtown shooting, CNN "commemorated" the atrocity by hosting a string of gun control activists and Democratic politicians pushing for stricter gun laws. From the 5 a.m. through the 3 p.m. news hours on Monday, CNN hosted five guests who had participated in the "Demand a Plan" campaign put on by the anti-gun group Mayors Against Illegal Guns. In addition, two Democratic congressmen and one Democratic senator appeared on the network and pushed for more gun laws. Only one Republican made an appearance to argue to the contrary. Of the five CNN guests participating in the "Demand... continue reading
MSNBC's Martin Bashir, the man who compared Rick Santorum to Stalin , on Monday declared that the National Rifle Association "deserved to be equated with Hitler." The arch-liberal cable anchor highlighted NRA Vice President Wayne LaPierre's contention that disarming the Jews partly contributed to the Holocaust. A horrified Bashir asserted, "And so with that theory being promoted by the NRA, we've seen the most abject and abhorrent suggestion that the President of the United States is somehow the equivalent of Hitler" on the issue of firearms. It's odd that Bashir would object to extreme comparisons, considering that, in addition to... continue reading
ABC touted the outrage liberals are now expressing over Zero Dark Thirty , complaining that the film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden "glorifies the torture of terror suspects." Sunday Good Morning America correspondent John Muller definitively declared, " There is no doubt Zero Dark Thirty is the most controversial film of award season ." The "most" controversial? Keep in mind, Quentin Tarantino's Civil War film Django Unchained contained 110 uses of the N-word . Muller's story came on the same day of the Golden Globes and a push by celebrities to deny the film awards. Without using ideological... continue reading
Shortly after former Secretary of State Colin Powell attacked the Republican Party for having a supposed "dark vein of intolerance," on Sunday's NBC Meet the Press , moderator David Gregory seized on the smear as he encouraged the show's panel to comment. The discussion that followed was devoid of any criticism of Powell's remarks. [ Listen to the audio ] Gregory began by grilling former Republican Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour: "I thought that was striking, some of General Powell's comments, particularly about the Republican Party....He talks about a deep vein of intolerance within the Party. How did that sit with... continue reading
Good Morning America's Dan Harris on Sunday hyped "allegations of hypocrisy and absurdity" against House Republicans, complaining about the amount of money New Jersey and New York will get for Hurricane Sandy. Harris and reporter David Kerley skipped mentioning pork stuffed into such legislation, money that (for example) could go to a new roof for the Smithsonian in Washignton D.C. Harris began the segment by touting, " And now to allegations of hypocrisy and absurdity as the recovery from Super storm Sandy becomes a political football. " [MP3 audio here .] He asserted that "politicians from the northeast are outraged... continue reading