Barack Obama's health care law ran into a legal buzz saw at the Supreme Court, Tuesday. So, how did the network morning shows on Wednesday cover the "historic" case? They mostly ignored it. Over two hours, ABC's Good Morning America allowed just two minutes. Reporter Jon Karl hyped an ObamaCare loss as win-win for the President. He insisted it would be a "rallying cry for liberals" and that "it would also take away an issue for Republicans." [MP3 audio here .] Co-host George Stephanopoulos admitted that the President's "signature" legislative achievement received a "rough reception." He tried to salvage things,... continue reading
There was some strange poll placement in Tuesday's New York Times, which led with " New Poll Finds Drop In Support for Afghan War ." Yet the paper buried a story from the same poll, showing people are strongly against Obama-care, on page 17. Given that the Supreme Court is now arguing the issue, wouldn't it have been more timely for the Times to lead off with or at least front its Obama-care findings? (To be fair, Obama-care has been deeply unpopular since it was launched two years ago, so the findings, though under-publicized, aren't as current as the sharp... continue reading
In an interview with House Speaker John Boehner aired on Wednesday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer depicted the November election as a futile effort for the GOP: "[The economy] does put so me Republicans in a difficult position. You've got better job numbers, you've got better manufacturing numbers. Consumer debt is down. Consumer confidence is up. Isn't it hard to run against a recovering economy?" Moments earlier, Boehner explained: "I would argue that it should be doing a lot better. It's doing better in spite of what Washington is doing to the economy." Later, Lauer quipped: "Is that – and... continue reading
For the second day in a row, CNN appealed to emotion and aired the story of an innocent chid that made the case for ObamaCare. On Tuesday morning they featured a heartrending account of an epileptic three year-old girl who will soon reach her lifetime benefit limits on health insurance – if the Supreme Court strikes down ObamaCare. CNN correspondent Elizabeth Cohen made the Court's decision as personal as possible, even though the Court is simply determining the constitutionality of the bill. "These nine Supreme Court justices will forever affect the life of 3-year-old Violet McManus," she gravely began. Cohen... continue reading
Responding on Tuesday to NBC Today co-host Matt Lauer wondering if Tim Tebow woul d be the "right fit" for the New York Jets, advertising executive Donny Deutsch predicted the faithful quarterback was doomed: "Wrong. Couldn't have made a worse move. This will be his Waterloo. New York will take him down. We are a very tough, jaded city. They're not going to buy this unconditional love." Lauer set up the question to the show's Today's Professionals panel by describing the New York culture as antithetical to Tebow's Christian values: "Is this a fit? This is New York City. The... continue reading
It was as predictable as the sun rising in the east, but today the Washington Post defended as constitutional ObamaCare's individual mandate. The mandate is defended by the administration as being legitimate under the Constitution's commerce clause, a defense the Post editorial board agreed with while conceding that the arguments against the mandate are "serious." To justify the individual mandate via the commerce clause would fundamentally obliterate any limit on the federal power to regulate, but that doesn't seem to bother the Post in light of the government's "compelling goals of universal coverage and lower costs." But believe it or... continue reading
Charlie Rose boosted New York Times's staff "conservative" David Brooks for his endorsement of the individual mandate on Tuesday's CBS This Morning, but Senator Tom Coburn was having none of it. Rose quoted from Brooks, whom he labeled a "a Hamiltonian, and someone ... you share views with ." Coburn slapped down the pro-ObamaCare argument: " We just don't have the authority to tell people to do that " [audio clips available here ]. The Oklahoma Republican continued, in part, that " Brooks ...[is] a Hamiltonian. I'm not. I'm a Madisonian, and that says, as government grows, freedom diminishes, and... continue reading
CNN's legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin dialed back his wild predictions, Tuesday. The same man who only last week predicted an eight-to-one victory for Obamacare in the Supreme Court, now derides the government's case as a legal "train wreck" that will likely be "struck down." Toobin appeared on CNN to mock the Obama team's peformance: "This was a train wreck for the Obama administration...This law looks like it's going to be struck down." Host Ashleigh Banfield was shocked, marveling, "Wow." In a stunned tone, she added, "This is not at all what I expected you were going to be saying." [MP3... continue reading
The journalists at Good Morning America on Tuesday appeared shocked that a "sour" Rick Santorum dared to aggressively oppose a New York Times reporter, hyperventilating that the Republican presidential candidate has gone to "war against the media." Former Democratic operative turned journalist George Stephanopoulos insisted that the "wear and tear of a long, tough campaign" is beginning to show on Santorum. He piled on, "His Cinderella story has gone a bit sour." Reporter Berman, who often can't refuse using over-the-top language for his stories, began, " Well, cover your ears and hide the children. Dirty words have hit the presidential... continue reading
Appearing on Tuesday's NBC Today, left-wing MSNBC host Rachel Maddow spun the Supreme Court ruling on ObamaCare as being a judgment of how partisan the high court has become: "...this may as m uch be a referendum on the Supreme Court and whether or not the Roberts court is so conservatively politicized that it will make a dec ision to hurt the President, rather than sticking closely to precedent here." Maddow touted a recent Bloomberg poll, "that 75% of people think that the Supreme Court will decide based on their political beliefs, not on the law." She conveniently left out... continue reading