On PBS's Inside Washington on Friday, the Politico's Evan Thomas - formerly of Newsweek - characterized the United States as a "great giant" that would go on to "stomp on" other countries after the 9/11 attacks. After substitute host Mark Shields introduced a segment on the 10th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan by asking how history would "judge" the military operation, he turned to panel member Thomas who responded with a questionable choice of words: As a tragedy that was inevitable. Once you had 9/11, we, the United States, the great giant United States was going to go stomp... continue reading
At the top of Thursday's Anderson Cooper 360, CNN's Cooper ran his first critical "Keeping Them Honest" segment on GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain since he is "no longer a voice on the fringe." Cooper pulled up quotes Cain made months ago, using a "Think Progress" clip, in an effort to hold him accountable for months' worth of statements on Sharia law and Planned Parenthood, among other issues. Meanwhile, on the same day, President Obama gave a press conference on his jobs bill that the AP found five factual problems with, but which merited only a brief segment on Thursday's... continue reading
Appearing on Friday's NBC Today, Meet the Press host David Gregory discussed the political impact of the Wall Street protests and wondered: "How does the President try to harness this anger, this sense of unfairness about the economy, about income inequality in this country, about the middle class stagnating for the past 30 years? That's what the President wants to try to tap into here." Gregory then declared that the left-wing movement, "allows the President to drive a populist message again." He went on to write talking points for Obama: "Here the President wants to say, 'Look, I'm on the... continue reading
At the top of Friday's NBC Today , co-host Matt Lauer wondered if a joke by Republican Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown in response to a jab by Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren was a "comeback or insult" and noted that "women's groups are giving him a big dressing down today." In a later tease of the story, fellow co-host Ann Curry proclaimed: "A senate race in Massachusetts has turned ugly and personal." Lauer summed up the situation this way: "...during a debate, a potential Democratic challenger took a shot at Republican Senator Scott Brown for saying that he had to... continue reading
ABC's Brian Ross on Friday investigated the alleged misdeeds of "billionaire boosters" to the Tea Party and even used a liberal documentary to attack the conservative group. Appearing on Good Morning America, Ross touted a Bloomberg report hitting the "secret sins" of Koch Industries and whether the corporation traded with Iran. An ABC graphic linked, " Billionaire Boosters of the Tea Party: Donors' Company Under Fire ." Ross used a clip of David Koch and simply added, "...A documentary filmmaker was rolling [sic], as David Koch appeared before Tea Party leaders and spoke of American values." There was no information... continue reading
The left-wing, anti-capitalist Occupy Wall Street camp-out in Lower Manhattan stretched into its third week, bolstered by an influx of labor unions. The story made the front of Thursday's New York Times along with a large photo of protestors in Foley Square, ' Seeking Energy, Unions Join Wall Street Protest .' It's a far cry from the paper's coverage of the first major Tea Party rally in Manhattan. The paper's hostile reporting of the nationwide Tea Party rallies on April 15, 2009 (Tax Day) virtually ignored a supportive crowd of thousands, citing in a single sentence an Associated Press report... continue reading
Uniquely among the broadcast network evening newscasts, the NBC Nightly News on Thursday took a moment to recount an appearance by Brandeis University Professor Anita Hill commemorating the 20th anniversary of her Senate testimony accusing Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas of sexually harassing her in the 1980s. Anchor Brian Williams relayed Hill's contention that "her role in the hearings was worthwhile," before playing a clip of her asserting that her testimony "was not in vain." Below is a complete transcript of the segment from the Thursday, October 6, NBC Nightly News: BRIAN WILLIAMS: And Anita Hill was back in Washington... continue reading
CNN's financial guru Ali Velshi admitted that the press didn't really challenge President Obama's proposal for tax hikes after his Thursday press conference on his jobs bill. Velshi, perhaps going soft himself, noted during the 12 p.m. hour that Obama's speech "seemed like a bit of an economics lesson" how the President attacked Republicans and their demands on the count that they don't create jobs. "He spoke very little about the actual tax increases, and there wasn't a lot of challenge from the reporters," Velshi explained, "which leads me to believe that people either think that the jobs bill really... continue reading
Liberal MSNBC host Martin Bashir on Thursday used Sarah Palin's announcement that she won't be a candidate for President as another excuse to trash the "vacuous," "crass" and "vindictive" Republican. The anchor even sought to contrast the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs to Palin, who he asserted has "created nothing." After praising the businessman, Bashir mocked, "The other represents the very worst form of American opportunism: Vacuous, crass, and according to almost every biographer, vindictive too." He continued, asserting that while Jobs "transformed the culture," Palin has "created nothing, produced nothing and served no one but herself." Bashir condescended... continue reading
CBS's Erica Hill let DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz bash congressional Republicans unopposed on Thursday's Early Show . Hill also failed to ask the Florida Democrat about her eye-opening claim on Wednesday that " anyone " can see that the economy is improving " and now, we've begun to turn the corner ." The anchor brought on Wasserman Schultz, the morning show's only political guest, for a softball interview on the recovery of her friend and colleague, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Near the end of the segment, though, Hill raised President Obama's jobs bill: " Is there anything that you... continue reading