Barack Obama on Wednesday submitted to his first press conference since March. Some of the White House journalists didn't seem to hold the long wait against him, however. One reporter, Christi Parsons of the Chicago Tribune, turned into a gushing fan, congratulating the President on his reelection. Parsons cooed to Obama that she had "never" seen him "lose." [MP3 audio here .] Other questioners, including CNN's Jessica Yellin, exhorted the President to not "cave" when dealing with Republicans. After calling on Parsons, Obama added, "Christi was there when I was running for state senate." With a big grin on her... continue reading
ABC journalist Jonathan Karl on Wednesday lectured Paul Ryan about Barack Obama's reelection "mandate" and grilled the Republican about raising taxes. On Good Morning America , he declared, "If there was one issue that the President campaigned on, it was raising taxes on the wealthy." He added, "Doesn't he have a mandate there?" [MP3 audio here .] When Ryan declined to support tax increases, the reporter hectored, "But could you see yourself supporting a plan that raises tax rates on the top two percent?...So you don't support a plan ?" The Congressman retorted, "I don't want to get into negotiating... continue reading
In attempt to deflect the growing scandal surrounding former CIA director David Petreaus away from President Obama, on Tuesday's NBC Nightly News , chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd parroted administration spin on the controversy: "...they do believe they're a little insulated here, because Petraeus isn't considered an Obama guy. If anything, he's more of a Republican guy at the end of the day." [ Listen to the audio ] Anchor Brian Williams wondered about the timing of the scandal: "What if this had come out during the election campaign?" Todd described how relieved the Obama campaign team was that... continue reading
Eager to draw a comparison between Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln during a report for Saturday's NBC Nightly News , correspondent Kevin Tibbles observed of the new film about the nation's 16th president: "No coincidence, perhaps, the film opens the week America's 21st century President won re-election in difficult times fraught with partisan bickering. Times in which many ask, what would Lincoln do?" [ Listen to the audio ] Tibbles suggested the similarity immediately following a sound bite from director Steven Spielberg: "Lincoln advocated things we hold dear today. He advocated that government can be a positive force for the... continue reading
Actor/comedian Robert Klein ( IMDb page ) let loose on Monday night’s Late Show , roaring back with his fists raised, shrieking a loud, guttural “yeah!” to celebrate President Barack Obama’s re-election. And then he flicked his hand under his chin to flip off Ann Coulter as he exclaimed: “Ann Coulter, this one’s for you, baby!” Audio: MP3 clip From the Monday, November 12 Late Show with David Letterman on CBS: DAVID LETTERMAN: We’ve had two years of the campaign, the election. Thoughts, observations, what do you think of that? ROBERT KLEIN: Well, now is the time, we’re all Americans... continue reading
CNN's Christine Romans and Soledad O'Brien teamed up on Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) on Tuesday's Starting Point , pressuring him to renege on his pledge not to raise tax rates. In contrast, O'Brien later tossed DNC chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.) a giant softball asking the congresswoman if she saw herself "as a bridge-builder in Congress" in contrast to Chaffetz. "So would you be fine doing a compromise where you would go against your signature on that pledge?" O'Brien pressed Chaffetz over Grover Norquist's pledge not to hike tax rates and not to increase tax revenues without enacting equal tax... continue reading
During a eight minute interview, Tuesday's CBS This Morning helped left-wing radical Oliver Stone promote his latest project - a revisionist documentary and book on World War II and the beginning of the Cold War that credits the Soviet Union for winning World War II and indicting the United States for its supposed " history of aggression ." Anchor Charlie Rose omitted a key part of the New York Times critique of Stone's project when he noted that the liberal newspaper " called your series 'a ten-part indictment of the United States that doesn't pretend to be even-handed' ." Reviewer... continue reading
During an exchange on NBC's Press Pass on Sunday, Meet the Press moderator David Gregory and BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith wrung their hands over political divisiveness on social media sites like Twitter, but only managed to cite a list of Obama critics as the worst offenders. Gregory lamented: "We talk about how polarized the country is....we see this reflected in particularly nasty ways....Donald Trump on election night tweeting....Jack Welch talking about a jobless report....Tone, tenor, and message, really polarizing on Twitter." Smith added: "We did a post on election night of people, you know, demanding Obama's assassination.... We got a... continue reading
The alarmist journalists at Good Morning America on Sunday hyped a new report that fretted over whether global warming will spell the end of coffee. Reporter John Muller warned, " ...The coffee bean may be going to way of the dinosaur. We're talking about extinction if you believe this new study ..." [MP3 audio here. ] Painting a dark picture, Muller worried, "Scientists from the Kew Royal Botanical Gardens ran computer models on global warming, finding that if their worst estimates come true, in 68 years, there would be nowhere on Earth suitable for wild coffee growth." To compliment the... continue reading
In a report for Monday's NBC Nightly News , correspondent Anne Thompson seized on Hurricane Sandy to continue pushing the argument for man-made global warming: "Now some politicians are connecting the dots, blaming the gases that come from burning coal, oil and gas for changing the climate." A clip followed of New York's Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo declaring: "Climate change, extreme weather, call it what you will. It is undeniable." [ Listen to the audio ] Thompson did acknowledge that "when it comes to one specific event like Sandy, most scientists are more cautious." However, the segment only featured sound... continue reading