Former Arkansas Governor and possible 2012 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has produced a cartoon series that offers a decidedly conservative alternative to the typical liberal bilge that kids are inundated with on TV and in schools across the nation and Chris Matthews is not happy about it. On Thursday's Hardball Matthews played a clip from the kids show that featured an animated Ronald Reagan imparting some inspiring words to the children, after which the MSNBC host railed: "that's right from a Cambodian re-education camp or it's chairman Mao's little red book. What propaganda!" (audio available here) The following excerpt was... continue reading
ABC News announced Thursday that Rick Kaplan, a long-time (FOB) Friend of Bill (Clinton) who used his high-level network news positions to protect his friend, will take the helm at ABC's This Week and oversee all ABC News political coverage. "I'm delighted to report that Rick Kaplan is returning to ABC News as Executive Producer of This Week with Christiane Amanpour," ABC News President Ben Sherwood declared Thursday, touting ( per TVNewser ): "Rick will also oversee our political coverage. His mission: To lead This Week to #1 and to guide ABC News to dominance in the 2012 elections and... continue reading
CBS gave President Obama over 26 and a half minutes to answer 12 questions related to the economy during a town hall aired on Thursday's Early Show. Obama got six uninterrupted minutes to answer one question about Medicare during the hour-long event. Host Erica Hill wondered how the Democrat could " change the mind-set from things are tough to things are turning around " with the economy. Hill led the town hall with her concerned economic "mind-set" question, noting beforehand that "it seems that we have been hearing, whether it's on TV, at the office, around the kitchen table, things... continue reading
Teasing a story on former House Speaker Newt Gingrich entering the presidential race at the top of Thursday's NBC Today, co-host Meredith Vieira proclaimed: "Political hurdle. Newt Gingrich launches his run for the White House, but will his two divorces and an admitted affair during his time as House speaker hurt his chances of becoming president?" Later, fellow co-host Matt Lauer introduced a report on Gingrich by declaring: "He is perhaps the best known Republican in the field to date. But Gingrich also has a messy personal life that includes two divorces, three marriages, and a lengthy affair." Correspondent Michael... continue reading
According to Good Morning America reporter Jake Tapper, a rapper who called for the burning of George W. Bush " is not particularly controversial ." The artist, known as Common, has repeatedly defended cop killers such as Mumia Abu-Jamal and appeared at a White House poetry event, Wednesday. Tapper on Thursday described this as an "uproar on the right" and strangely suggested, " Common is not particularly controversial. He's not a gangster rapper. He's been in a Jonas Brothers song, Gap ads and a Queen Latifah romcom ." He didn't explain how appearing in a romantic comedy negates championing a... continue reading
A frothing Chris Matthews on Thursday excoriated the "nasty," "shameless" Newt Gingrich for robbing "the political arena of joy and humanity." The Hardball host even compared the 2012 Republican presidential candidate to a famous horror movie villain: " I cannot believe there are young Republicans idealists out there, young people with hope who want our country to be good and have good politics to want to resurrect this element of Freddy Krueger, Nightmare on Elm Street politics." Matthews isn't entirely original here. On June 08, 2009 , the anchor said this of Dick Cheney: "Freddy Krueger comes back in every... continue reading
On Wednesday's Early Show. CBS's Bill Plante highlighted President Obama's recent mockery against Republicans on border security, but omitted playing an opposing clip from a GOP politico. The President jabbed the opposing party during the speech in El Paso, Texas: " Maybe they'll need a moat. Maybe they'll want alligators in the moat ." The morning show was alone among the Big Three in covering the event. Plante noted at the beginning of his report, which aired 3 minutes into the 7 am Eastern hour, that "the President went all the way to the Mexican border to make the case... continue reading
While Good Morning America covered the news that Omar bin Laden, the son of the terrorist mastermind, has condemned the U.S. for his father's killing, no mention was made of GMA's January 22, 2008 friendly interview with the young man. On Wednesday, reporter Jim Sciutto explained, "Another of bin Laden's son, Omar, who is living in Saudi Arabia and other family members have condemned the raid, calling it an illegal assassination of an unarmed man." Yet, in 2008, correspondent Nick Watt tossed softballs to Omar bin Laden, parroting, "[Omar] wants to be an ambassador for peace. First up, he wants... continue reading
According to a USA Today analysis, Americans are paying a lower percentage of income tax rates now than in the 1970s-1990s - and CNN's Jack Cafferty used this fact Monday to ask if raising taxes should be the first priority in Congress's deficit reduction plan. He hinted that the Treasury could use the extra revenue from higher taxes. Then on Tuesday, CNN Anchor Carol Costello continued the talking points on the 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. EDT news hours, asking if it is time "for the GOP to blink" on the tax hike standoff. "[Obama] toppled Osama bin Laden. But... continue reading
Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday hyped the best polling data available for President Obama, ignoring surveys finding much lower numbers. The co-anchor enthused, " And a new poll out just this morning shows President Obama with his highest approval rating in two years ." "60 percent Of Americans, according to the AP, now think the President is doing a good job," he added. But, the poll is really an outlier . Rasmussen has Obama at 48 percent. Gallup finds 52. However, Stephanopoulos ignored those numbers and focused on the AP data: "And for the first time in that... continue reading