At the top of Friday's NBC Today , co-host Matt Lauer gushed over Vice President Biden doing a series of photo-ops while swearing in newly elected senators on Thursday: "Joe Biden welcomes lawmakers and their families to Washington like only he can." In a later report, correspondent Kelly O'Donnell glossed over several awkward moments caused by Biden: "There was certainly a lot of charm being poured on by the Vice President." [ Listen to the audio ] A few minutes later, fill-in news reader Willie Geist played a brief montage of some of the especially odd comments by Biden, including... continue reading
PBS journalist Jim Lehrer chastised CNN's Candy Crowley for the assistance she provided Barack Obama during his presidential debate with Mitt Romney. Lehrer appeared at the Clinton School of Public Service on November 13 and critiqued, " As a general premise, I believe debate moderators are not there as fact-checkers...They are there to facilitate the exchange between the candidates." Washington Examiner columnist Paul Bedard on Friday highlighted the "rebuke" of Crowley. Describing the role of a presidential moderator, Lehrer insisted, "You have to put a different cloak on, over your mind and your mouth and everything else. When you moderate... continue reading
Despite John Boehner receiving overwhelming support from the Republican caucus to be reelected as Speaker of the House, NBC Capitol Hill correspondent Kelly O'Donnell hyped dissension in the ranks on Friday's NBC Today : "After a turbulent few weeks of setbacks that had cast doubt on his power and influence, a dozen rebellious conservatives turned against him, but Boehner had enough votes." On Thursday's NBC Nightly News , O'Donnell proclaimed: "John Boehner's path to a second term as Speaker of the House has been rocky. But there was no challenge, only a handful of conservatives voted against him." That morning,... continue reading
World News anchor Diane Sawyer on Thursday highlighted the 20 newly sworn-in women in the U.S. Senate as a way to push a liberal, pro-abortion agenda. Mostly ignoring conservative females, Sawyer stuck to Democratic talking points, lamenting, " So, they say they're ready to tackle big issues like jobs, transportation, immigration, but it's their male counterparts who keep reopening Roe vs. Wade and contraception. " [MP3 audio here. ] The ABC journalist then featured Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen lecturing that "government doesn't have a place in" dealing with abortion. In an extended rant, Democrat Elizabeth Warren scolded, "I mean, that's... continue reading
In a pair of back-to-back stories leading off Wednesday's NBC Nightly News , House Republicans were painted as villains for briefly delaying a vote on Hurricane Sandy relief. First, Capitol Hill correspondent Kelly O'Donnell declared: "Stunned Democrats and Republicans could not believe that their hometown suffering could be ignored." In the next report, correspondent Anne Thompson decried the move: "Where the reminders of Sandy are still all too vivid, today frustration turned to fury.... the House of Representatives' failure to vote is just one more body blow." O'Donnell treated the legislative scheduling change as new disaster: "Boos and jeers erupted... continue reading
Over 13 months ago, the NBC, CBS and ABC newscasts touted Barack Obama as a tough talker who wouldn't back down on threatened spending cuts. Now, that he's backed down, the same networks have ignored the President's retreat. On November 21 st , 2011, Obama thundered, " My message to [Congress] is simple: No. I will veto any effort to get rid of those automatic spending cuts to domestic and defense spending. There will be no easy off-ramps on this one ." [MP3 audio here .] This allowed the then-presidential candidate to portray himself as a budget hawk taking a... continue reading
NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, on Thursday’s edition of MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports , implored liberal New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer to push for more gun control. After noting that students from Sandy Hook Elementary School had finally returned to class after the tragic shooting, Mitchell pressed Schumer: “Is something meaningful going to happen on guns this year?” An appreciative Schumer responded: “I hope so.” The following is the relevant exchange from the January 3 edition of MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports: ANDREA MITCHELL: Senator, the children from Sandy Hook are going to school today for the first time, in another school,... continue reading
On New Year's Eve, Chris Matthews got off one last sneering shot against conservatives. In a special pre-recorded 2012 retrospective, the Hardball anchor connected fiscal conservatism to segregation. After guest Howard Fineman insisted that Mitt Romney's aversion to tax increases during the primary doomed him in the general election, Matthews snorted, " It's today's politics! It's like, they used to say, you have to be the most segregationist guy in the south ." [MP3 audio here .] He continued, "You can never be an inch away from it because somebody would always go to your right on that issue." Go... continue reading
At the top of Thursday's NBC Today , co-host Matt Lauer teased an upcoming interview with New York Congressman Peter King by seizing on House GOP disagreement over when to schedule a vote on a Hurricane Sandy relief bill: "...fresh off the fiscal cliff fight, the Republican Party appears in the throes of a civil war. This morning, we'll talk to an outspoken GOP congressman who urged voters in his district not contribute to Republican campaigns." [ Listen to the audio ] In the exchange that followed, Lauer eagerly quoted King: "You said that Speaker Boehner had a, quote, 'Dismissive... continue reading
After worrying on Tuesday's NBC Nightly News about possible House GOP "shenanigans" preventing a fiscal cliff deal, on Monday's Today , chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd breathed a sign of relief: "...this 112th Congress does leave us today, and some people say finally leaves us today....it began with a threat of a government shutdown just two months into this Congress. And then, of course, we had the debt ceiling showdown. Then it culminated with this fiscal cliff..." [ Listen to the audio ] Picking up on Todd's rant against Congress, co-host Matt Lauer eagerly quoted New York Times columnist... continue reading