In an interview with House Speaker John Boehner on Sunday's Meet the Press, host David Gregory blamed Republicans for blocking an extension of payroll tax cuts by supporting a new oil pipeline: "You want to say, 'Look, we'll extend it for a year if the President makes a quicker decision on this pipeline.' White House officials I've talked to say you are guaranteeing that he'll say no..." Boehner shot back: "That's nonsense. David, it's been going on for three years....The only issue here is that the President doesn't want to have to make this decision until after his election." Gregory... continue reading
A newly posted Time Life magazine photo montage showcased pictures of North Korea and touted photographer Christopher Morris comparing brutal dictator Kim Jong Il to the "very controlled environment" of George W. Bush's White House. On Life magazine's website, Morris connected , " America at that time [2005] was, you'll recall, filled with a kind of blind nationalism. But Time appreciated the way I was able to work and get good photos even within that intensely restrictive environment - and that's why they sent me to North Korea. " The photographer bizarrely insisted that taking pictures in America could be... continue reading
As Congresswoman Michele Bachmann made the point on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday that the national debt has increased dramatically under President Obama compared to under President Bush, host David Gregory interrupted and attempted to dismiss that fact: "Congresswoman, that just misstates the record....For accuracy, the debt exploded under the Bush administration." [ Audio available here ] Bachmann tried to finish her point: "There's no comparison. We're talking-" But Gregory kept interrupting: "...the debt – wait a minute, Congresswoman." Bachmann replied: "David, let me just finish." Gregory claimed: "No, wait a minute. I just want to stop you for... continue reading
On Sunday, both morning and evening newscasts on ABC and NBC touted the Des Moines Register's endorsement of Mitt Romney as a boost for his campaign for President, in spite of the paper's left-wing tilt in a state where the Republican Party is predominantly conservative. While they did at least note the paper's liberal slant, both networks still played up the liberal endorsement. On ABC's Good Morning America, which also included former Republican Senator Bob Dole's endorsement of Romney along with the Des Moines Register's nod, co-anchor Dan Harris declared a "big boost" for Romney as he teased the show:... continue reading
In her next to last week hosting This Week , ABC's Christiane Amanpour moderated a show-long debate, touted as 'The Great American Debates,' devoted to the proposition: 'There's Too Much Government.' George Will and Congressman Paul Ryan took up the affirmative case, squaring off against Robert Reich and Congressman Barney Frank. But Amanpour was hardly neutral. She began by framing the debate around the 'conundrum' that 'people who oppose big government still want to collect their entitlements' and, without any matching ideological policy arguments presented to Reich and Frank, pressed Ryan and Will with liberal contentions, such as how 'during... continue reading
Appearing as a guest on Wednesday's Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN, as he discussed the Occupy Wall Street protests, former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw warned that a "class war" could develop unless "income inequality" is addressed. Brokaw: They've landed on something that I think resonates with a lot of people, and that's the one percent versus 99 percent. Most people, the overwhelming majority obviously, are in the 99 percent. And there is that great concern about income inequality in this country. In the course of the last three weeks, I've been all over America, 19 cities altogether. And I've had... continue reading
'After 13 years with ABC News, correspondent Jim Sciutto is leaving the network and TV news. He's moving to China where he'll be Chief of Staff to U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke,' TVNewser's Chris Ariens reported Thursday in noting the latest journalist to join the Obama administration, this time working for Locke, the former Democratic Governor of Washington. Sciutto should certainly feel comfortable promoting Obama's interests and how he is a blessing to the world since that's what he used his ABC News position to do. The night after Obama's inauguration, for instance, Sciutto delivered a piece for World... continue reading
Both NBC and ABC's newscasts on Thursday highlighted outrage at the "accusations of abuse and bigotry" from "bully" sheriff Joe Arpaio . Faced with new claims from Barack Obama's Justice Department, the two networks played up dramatic attacks from critics. [MP3 audio here .] NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams flatly declared, "Tonight, the U.S. Justice Department says the sheriff and his deputies have gone too far. They have been systematically been violating the constitutional rights of Latinos." ABC's World News uncritically featured one of Arpaio's prisoners who hyperbolically insisted, "The food we eat is disgusting. It's more like a... continue reading
At the top of Thursday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams sadly declared: "At a ceremony in Baghdad today, the Americans lowered the flag and it was a quiet ending to a war that went bad not long after its spectacular start." While Williams stressed the "high cost" of the war, citing figures of dead and wounded, the report that followed ignored accomplishments in the conflict. Chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel followed Williams sorrowful tone: "For a big war, it was a remarkably small closing ceremony. A few hundred troops, a five-piece band on a base by the airport on... continue reading
When anti-war liberals are pressed about whether they are anti-military, they normally claim to support the troops while disagreeing with the war the troops are under orders to take part in. But, as he introduced Thursday's Last Word show, MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell certainly sounded like he was attacking the U.S. military as he not only absurdly suggested that it was the U.S. military that "chose" to "stay encamped for nearly nine years" in Iraq, but he even recounted the number of Iraqi civilians killed by both the U.S. military and Iraqi insurgents combined. O'Donnell began the Thursday, December 15,... continue reading