Andrea Mitchell's attempt to imply Rick Perry was being racially insensitive, for calling fellow GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain "brother," during Tuesday's Republican debate, was so lame even her NBC colleague Chuck Todd wasn't buying it. Mitchell, on Wednesday's edition of MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports, dredged up the N-Head controversy on Perry as she scolded: "If I were Rick Perry and had that sign or the, the stone that used to be on that, that property I'm not sure I would've gone with the 'brother' stuff, over and over again." Todd then tried to rein in his NBC colleague as... continue reading
ABC's Jake Tapper on Tuesday pressed Barack Obama on the Fast and Furious gun scandal, but his network didn't allow the question to appear on Nightline, World News or Good Morning America. (All played clips of the interview.) Instead, ABC found time to air Tapper and the President playfully discussing children's books and the greatness of Dr. Seuss. During the two-segment long Nightline interview, Tapper hyped, "At the school where we spoke, the President showed off his personal knowledge of children's books." The journalist informed Obama, "I'm a big Dr. Seuss guy." [MP3 audio here .] Though the Fast and... continue reading
In an interview with Donald Trump on Wednesday's NBC Today show, co-host Matt Lauer cautioned Republicans against rejecting the far-left Occupy Wall Street movement: "There are people in the streets here in New York. In other cities around the country and around the world. Does the Republican Party, if they ignore the Occupy Wall Street group, do they do so at their own peril?" [ Audio available here ] Trump turned the question around and saw the protests as a bad sign for Democrats: "I think so. But I also think it's very bad for Obama and he's feeling it... continue reading
On Tuesday's Early Show, CBS's Bigad Shaban, seemingly grasping for straws for any reason to report on "Occupy Wall Street," played up the music performances from protesters down in lower Manhattan. Shaban emphasized how "music has helped spur movements," and gushed that " some believe if history is any indication, they could provide harmony to a movement " [audio available here ]. The correspondent highlighted that in the Zuccotti Park, where the protesters are camped out in New York City, "there are more musical performances than actual marches. They're almost constant, but impromptu." He added that "they [the protesters] call... continue reading
The reliably liberal Martin Bashir on Tuesday questioned anti-Semitism at the Occupy Wall Street protests, pushing artist/activist Russell Simmons to respond to bigoted signs and messages seen in New York. Simmons bristled at having to deal with the subject, replying to Bashir's question by dismissing, "Where'd you get that from? Bill O'Reilly or somebody?" Bashir played a commercial by the Emergency Committee for Israel , featuring a protester screaming, "You're a bum, Jew!" Another can be seen announcing, "Jews control Wall Street." [MP3 audio here .] After Simmons attempted to explain away the video as just a few outliers, Bashir... continue reading
CBS political analyst John Dickerson might have stepped too close to calling GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain a minstrel on Tuesday's Early Show: "Now that he [Cain] is a top-tier candidate... he probably has to moderate the jester act a little bit, and show that he can ... be seen by voters as a president ." Dickerson was replying to Cain's recent controversial remark about an electrified border fence [audio available here ]. Anchor Erica Hill brought on the political analyst to preview the next Republican presidential debate, scheduled for later in the day in Las Vegas. She raised the... continue reading
Add the CLASS Act to the ever growing list of damaging stories (Solyndra, Fast and Furious) to the bungling Obama administration that the media are, for the most part, whistling by. The news last Friday that a key part of Obamacare, the Community Living Assistance Services and Support Act (CLASS), meant to provide long-term care for the elderly – was deemed not sustainable by the Obama administration itself, drew a total of just 40 seconds on the Big Three (ABC, CBS, NBC) broadcast network news shows. ABC's Good Morning America, on Saturday, included just a 20 second brief by Ron... continue reading
According to MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann" don't even understand basic policy, basic economics, basic foreign policy ." The Morning Joe anchor on Tuesday expounded on a Politico op-ed in which he denounced a number of the GOP presidential candidates as "clownish characters." When MSNBC executives deny their network is dominated solely by liberals, they often reference Scarborough. However, the former Republican Congressman has been aggressively negative towards the GOP field. On Tuesday's show, he mournfully wondered, "What's wrong with a political party that Michele Bachmann takes the lead and Herman Cain takes the lead?" [MP3 audio... continue reading
In a softball interview with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on Monday's Today, co-host Ann Curry praised the New York Democrat for "galvanizing women to become economially empowered" and "trying to inspire a lot of people." In a segment free from any challenging questions, Curry helped promote a women's economic summit that Gillibrand organized in New York City: "Why do you believe that women have the power to be a catalyst for our nation's economic recovery?...And in what way specifically can women today step up?...So how much power do women really have right now to be the juice in the recovery for... continue reading
In an interview light on substance and heavy on praise with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton aired on Monday's NBC Today , correspondent Savannah Guthrie fawned: "Hillary Clinton of course is known for keeping a tireless pace....[her] approach is a combination of blunt talk, personal charm and above all, frequent-flyer diplomacy." Later, Guthrie sympathetically informed viewers: "She has flown more than 600,000 miles on this government plane, a flying satellite office where she can reach world leaders at a moment's notice or hone her most necessary diplomatic skill, the ability to nap on command....I saw your cabin. For those who... continue reading