At the top of Monday's NBC Today , co-host Savannah Guthrie ke pt up the drum beat for Mitt Romney to release more tax returns as she proclaimed: "Mounting pressure. Mitt Romney facing new calls t o release more of his tax returns. And this time they're coming from prominent conservatives." In the report that followed, correspondent Peter Alexander failed to back up Guthrie's headline until the very end of the segment: "...there is growing pressure, this morning, for Romney to share more of those tax returns. You'll remember his own father released 12 years' worth during his 1968 presidential... continue reading
Good Morning America on Monday hyped the liberal "barrage" on Bain Capital and the push to get Mitt Romney to release more tax records. Over the span of three minutes, ABC featured Barack Obama's attacks three separate times for 35 seconds. Reporter Jake Tapper showcased two more right-leaning talking heads chiding Romney. That's a total of five voices piling on the candidate. Only a single clip of conservative Mary Matalin appeared as a rebuttal. Former Democratic operative turned journalist George Stephanopoulos probed for weakness from Romney, telling Tapper that "conservatives like George Will, Bill Kristol" are "saying he has to... continue reading
In an interview with Meet the Press moderator David Gregory for the Sunday show's web-based feature Press Pass , USA's Political Animals star Sigourney Weaver explained her support for President Obama: "...the Democrats are always going to be about what the people need. And the Republicans are much more serving big business, and I don't think we can afford to serve big business for another four years with Mr. Romney." [ Listen to the audio ] Weaver prefaced her slanted observation by admitting: "I'm not a professional politician, so forgive me if it's very simplistic." Gregory encouraged Weaver to discuss... continue reading
Appearing as a panel member on Sunday's Face the Nation on CBS, Time magazine's Rana Foroohar - assistant managing editor in charge of economics and business - lamented that she was "sad" at how much taxes are being discussed as she asserted that "one thing that's not going to get us some kind of a growth boom is a tax cut," and then called for more government spending which she claimed would entice businesses into more economic activity. Without clarifying that the recent political debate about taxes has been about preventing tax rates from increasing as the Bush tax cuts... continue reading
Appearing as a panel member on the July 15 weekend's syndicated Chris Matthews Show , Huffington Post editoral director Howard Fineman - formerly of Newsweek - praised former President Eisenhower's decision to advise then-President Johnson to "carry out Jack Kennedy's agenda" in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination. Fineman ended up referring to Eisenhower's advice as "amazing statesmanship and foresight." Fineman: But more important and interesting is the advice that Ike gave to Lyndon Johnson about what LBJ should say before a joint session of Congress. Ike was a Republican President and really more of a conservative one in certain... continue reading
Appearing as a panel member on Friday's Inside Washington on PBS, Bloomberg View 's Margaret Carlson - formerly of Time magazine - asserted that Mitt Rommey "wanted the boos" he received as he delivered his speech to the NAACP. She went on to say the GOP presidential candidate is "taking those boos to his fund-raiser with Dick Cheney," and that "he's so proud of them." Host Gordon Peteron brought up the subject and posed to her: "When Obama is talking to the NAACP and he says he's going to get rid of Obamacare, he's not really talking to the NAACP,... continue reading
Soledad O'Brien apparently thinks President Obama should get the credit for states with low unemployment, as she pressed two Republican governors to admit on Friday's Starting Point. Interviewing Gov. Terry Branstad (R-Iowa), O'Brien mentioned his state's low unemployment rate and asked "Do you think that the governors get the credit for that or shouldn't President Obama get the credit for that ?" She phrased the question as though Obama should not only receive some, but the whole of the credit for the state's low unemployment. She asked the same question of Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R). "[I]f it's jobs, jobs,... continue reading
Media critic Howard Kurtz warned CNN on Friday that "to many people" it looks like the media have a massive double standard in its campaign coverage of Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. "[W]hen you combine all the stories, all the airtime, all the column inches, it looks to many people, I'll just say this bluntly, like the press is giving much more aggressive scrutiny to Romney and his background than it ever gave to Barack Obama," Kurtz told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. Kurtz added that "to some," the media sound like they are "echoing" the Obama campaign's talking points. [Video below... continue reading
In a nasty rant at the end of Thursday's Rock Center on NBC, Nightly News anchor Brian Williams slammed the hosts of FNC's morning show for daring to criticize the uniforms for the U.S. Olympic team: "Trouble on Fox & Friends . It started when the morning show crew mocked the new Ralph Lauren outfits...." [ Listen to the audio ] After playing a clip of Gretchen Carlson being critical of berets being part of the uniform, Williams sneered: "The jingoism continued. Another host wondered why they couldn't wear something more American, like baseball caps or cowboy hats. Until the... continue reading
In a campaign report for Friday's NBC Today , correspondent Peter Alexand er touted a sound bite of President Obama telling CBS's Charlie Rose: "...the nature of this office is also to tell a story to the American people." Alexander added that the President wanted to tell, "A story that gives Americans a sense of 'unity' and 'optimism'..." Immediately following that glowing description of Obama's communications style, Alexander lamented: "But Romney, who's relentlessly attacked the President for mishandling the economy, quickly pounced : 'Being president is not about telling stories,' Romney said in a statement, 'Being president is about leading.'"... continue reading