Defending President Obama to guest Dennis Miller, Jay Leno admired Obama for how “he has compassion for regular people” that’s “missing” from the Republican Party which is carrying out “this sort of war on women.” When, on Monday’s Tonight Show , Miller mocked the idea of such a Republican “war on women,” Leno insisted: “I think it is.” Revealing his true political views usually obscured by his monologue pokes at Obama, Leno proceeded to argue that Todd Akin is “an idiot but he was saying what the platform is. And that’s what many believe.” Mitt Romney, NBC’s late night host... continue reading
“Some Republicans wonder whether Romney is too moderate for the increasingly conservative party,” CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley refreshingly asked Monday night in veering from the media portrayal of Romney as a far-right ideologue. However, Pelley soon delivered the usual media line that presumed the party is too conservative. “The platform does not allow for exceptions on abortion with regard to the health of the mother or rape or incest,” Pelley told Romney in relaying a Democratic talking point. Pelley next fretted “this Republican Party that you’re leading is not your father’s Republican Party,” recalling how “he opposed Barry... continue reading
For the second straight night, NBC Nightly News on Monday played the Hurricane Katrina card against Republicans, as Tropical Storm Isaac veered away from Tampa and took aim at New Orleans. Andrea Mitchell hyped that "both Republicans and Democrats...have a challenge - a political challenge here with this approaching storm, especially for the Republicans . No one here can easily forget the iconic picture of President Bush flying on Air Force One ... looking down at New Orleans during Katrina ." [audio available here ; video below ] Anchor Brian Williams also played up how the Romney family has been... continue reading
Chris Matthews, on Monday's Hardball , attacked Newt Gingrich with the same old liberal line about the GOP using racial code words, from Mitt Romney talking about welfare reform to Gingrich calling Barack Obama the "food stamp president." However, the former Speaker of the House wasn't having any of it, as he hit back: "Why do you assume food stamp refers to black? What kind of racist thinking do you have? Wait a second! Why aren’t you being a racist because you assume it refers to black?" The following exchange was aired on the August 27, 2012 Hardball : CHRIS... continue reading
New York Times Public Editor Arthur Brisbane devoted his last column for the paper's Sunday Review to praising the publisher for investing in journalism during hard times, but said the paper could use a dose of humility and lamented the paper's hive-mind liberal mentality. Brisbane thinks the paper has "usually succeed[ed]" in maintaining "fairness and balance" in its presidential campaign coverage (Times Watch would disagree) but that the staff's progressive sympathies bleed over into coverage of other political issues. I also noted two years ago that I had taken up the public editor duties believing “there is no conspiracy” and... continue reading
The hosts and reporters on Monday's Good Morning America downplayed a new ABC News/ Washington Post poll showing Mitt Romney taking the lead over Barack Obama. It wasn't until the 8am hour that news anchor Josh Elliott specifically revealed the numbers: "When it comes to the economy, 50 percent trust Romney to handle it, while just 43 percent favor the President." The poll has the presumptive Republican nominee at 47 points, Obama at 46 percent. As Hot Air pointed out, "This is the first time that Obama has lost the lead since a brief polling burst for Romney in January."... continue reading
In a report for Monday's NBC Today , chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd was eager to paint a picture of Republicans in disarray prior to the GOP convention: "The specter of New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina, which proved so politically damaging to George W. Bush, looms large here in Tampa. It's the latest in a series of distractions that has jolted the Romney campaign off its core economic message..." [ Listen to the audio ] On Sunday's Today , co-host Jenna Wolfe proclaimed: "It's been a tough week for Republicans." As the headline on screen announced "GOP's Hurdles Heading... continue reading
Setting up the stakes for Mitt Romney and the Republican National Convention on Monday’s CBS This Morning , journalists and pundits kept insisting that the candidate had to show his touchy-feely side. Correspondent Jan Crawford plugged a CNN poll showing how Romney is “down 35 points on the question of whether or not he understands and is in touch with problems facing women.” Soon-to-be co-host Norah O’Donnell insisted Romney has to “convince middle class voters that he cares about issues that they care about.” And co-host Charlie Rose wanted RNC Chairman Reince Preibus to explain why Romney lags Obama when... continue reading
Chris Matthews' unhinged, fuming performance on Monday's Morning Joe is a good reason why members of the GOP avoid MSNBC. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus aggressively battled the liberal cable anchor after the host unloaded on Mitt Romney for playing the "race card." [ MP3 audio here .] Asserting that just mentioning welfare is racist, Matthews spewed, " When you start talking about work requirements, you know what game you're playing and everybody knows what game you're playing. It's a race card. " Priebus fired back at the Hardball host, dismissing, "We've gotten to a place in politics that... continue reading
On Sunday's NBC Nightly News , correspondent Chuck Todd raised the invoked former President Bush and Hurricane Katrina from seven years ago as potential embarrassments for the Romney campaign as Hurricane Isaac heads toward New Orleans the same week as the Republican National Convention. During a discussion of the GOP convention being delayed from Monday because of the hurricane, Todd asserted that "the sort of shadow of Bush and Katrina does hang over this convention" and worked in a reference to Todd Akin as he observed: Well, look, there are folks with the Romney campaign who think, "Boy, Romney can't... continue reading