With less than two weeks before the November election, it appears as though the media have found their newest manufactured controversy to smear Mitt Romney and other Republicans running for elected office. Following comments made by Richard Mourdock, Republican candidate for Senate in Indiana, NBC News’ Luke Russert tried to twist Mourdock’s comments and tie them to the Romney campaign. [MP3 audio here .] Speaking to Romney advisor Bay Buchanan on MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown Wednesday morning, Russert had the audacity to ask Ms. Buchanan whether or not the Romney campaign believed that God "intended" rape. Buchanan shot down the... continue reading
All three morning shows on Wednesday touted White House talking points linking Mitt Romney to a Republican Senate candidate in Indiana who, while speaking about "the horrible situation of rape," called life a "gift from God." Only one program, CBS This Morning , seemed to notice how closely this story mirrored Democratic spin. Former Democratic operative George Stephanopoulos intoned, " Mitt Romney catching some flak for his ties to a GOP Senate candidate making controversial comments about abortion and rape in a Tuesday debate ." Trying to make trouble, reporter David Muir asserted that the GOP campaign is "trying to... continue reading
On Wednesday's NBC Today , co-host Savannah Guthrie brought on liberal MSNBC host Krystal Ball and radio host Michael Smerconish to discuss campaign strategy in the final two weeks before the presidential election, with the headline on-screen claiming: "Left vs. Right on Final Race for the White House." There's one problem with that assertion, Smerconish prominently supported President Obama in 2008 and has routinely filled in for left-wing Hardball host Chris Matthews on MSNBC in the years since. Apparently having someone on the left like Ball and someone center-left like Smerconish is NBC's idea of balance. Guthrie questioned President Obama... continue reading
If you work for CNN apparently your reputation as a liberal journalist precedes you, at least that's what CNN's Erin Burnett revealed to Conan O'Brien on Tuesday night. The OutFront host, appearing as a guest on TBS's Conan , relayed that when she told a passenger, on a recent flight, that she worked for CNN the passenger replied: "Oh yeah. In the can for Obama." Burnett's anecdote came during a discussion of how she was forced to watch the final presidential debate on her outbound flight to appear on Conan O'Brien's late night talk show. CONAN O'BRIEN: What, what was... continue reading
After a USA Today /Gallup poll showed women in swing states thought abortion the top election issue, CNN hyped the news and cast a wary eye toward "controversial" Republican positions as the possible catalysts. Five days later, however, Gallup reported that, nationally, abortion is near the bottom of importance among voters. CNN hosts Erin Burnett and Anderson Cooper led their October 18 shows with the swing state poll, and anchor Carol Costello touted it the next morning. Costello wondered if "controversial" statements by certain Republicans were to blame for women suddenly treating abortion with utmost importance. "And that has more... continue reading
" Paul Ryan Can't Lose ," a 5,000-word cover story by Mark Leibovich, the New York Times magazine's chief national correspondent, conformed to the writer's history of cynical, unsympathetic profiles of Republican candidates. According to Leibovich, Newt Gingrich is " among the more divisive political figures of recent decade ," always threatening to become "Nasty Newt," former vice president Al Gore is a "compelling" "pop culture icon." Offered the fat target of Vice President Joe Biden, Leibovich instead buttered him up . Yet former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney didn't escape: "Critics deride him as a Prince of Darkness whose... continue reading
Shortly following the conclusion of the final presidential debate Monday night, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams posed this question to Richard Haas of the Council on Foreign Relations: "I noticed a columnist for the New York Times tonight tweeted out that this was an etch-a-sketch moment for Governor Romney....Did you see that kind of movement on his part?" [ Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump ] Williams reminded viewers of the origin of the phrase: "It was obviously a knock of the campaign story that came up about changing policy, moving toward the center... continue reading
In an article for the November Philadelphia Style magazine, a cocky Chris Matthews wistfully recounted a considered 2010 run for Senate, bragging at how incredible he would have been: " I'm not dreaming here. I would be one of the stars of the Democratic Party—there aren’t that many. " The liberal MSNBC anchor flirted with, but ultimately decided against, running in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary. Perhaps wondering what might have been, he lamented, "I know this: If I had run and won and beaten [Senator Pat] Toomey, I would be one of the Democrats people talk about today." The Hardball... continue reading
At the end of an interview with vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan on Tuesday's NBC Today , co-host Savannah Guthrie parroted Democratic attacks on Mitt Romney's foreign policy credentials: "John Kerry said, 'this is the most inexperienced foreign policy ticket to run in decades,' talking about you and Governor Romney. What specific national security experience qualifies Governor Romney to be commander in chief?" At the top of an interview with Joe Biden only seconds later, fellow co-host Matt Lauer teed up the Vice President to slam Romney on the same issue: "[I] started by asking him if he thought Governor... continue reading
“The high point of that debate for Romney is when he devastatingly leveled the charge of Obama going around the world on ‘an apology tour,’” Charles Krauthammer asserted on the Fox News Channel following Monday night’s third presidential debate. But what Krauthammer saw as so powerful for Mitt Romney, ABC and CNN tried to discredit based on the flimsy reasoning that Obama didn’t use the word “apologize.” ABC’s Jonathan Karl insisted: “The President didn’t apologize for America...there’s no way you could really call it ‘an apology tour.’” With a big “False” on screen, CNN’s John Berman decided: “Our verdict here... continue reading