White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs appeared on all three major morning shows, on Wednesday, and was pressed by ABC, CBS and NBC's anchors about whether or not the President would fold and compromise with the Republicans on keeping the Bush era tax cuts in place - but it was the Today show's Meredith Vieira that hit him the strongest question from the left as she asked Gibbs what kind of "message" would Barack Obama "send to his base" if he doesn't raise taxes on the wealthy, adding, "many of whom already wonder what happened to the fighter they elected... continue reading
Covering President Barack Obama's White House meeting with congressional leaders, ABC and CBS portrayed incoming House Republicans as the ones obstinate about tax rates, refusing to compromise - meaning agreeing to Obama's wish to raise income tax rates on many - or match Obama's conciliatory tone, though NBC's Chuck Todd pointed out how Obama "seemed unwilling" to even agree with a Democratic proposal to raise "the middle-class tax threshold from $250,000 to those Americans making more than $1 million." ABC's Jake Tapper reported "Obama pushed Republicans today to allow Congress to vote separately on Bush tax cuts for the wealthy... continue reading
CNN's Larry King provided more proof that his network does indeed "play favorites," contrary to the claim of their recent ad , by bringing on three liberals on his program on Monday to discuss WikiLeaks' latest document release. Daniel Ellsberg of the Pentagon Papers infamy praised Julian Assange as a " truth-teller ," while Michael Hastings of Rolling Stone defended the website. Former Clinton administration official James Rubin joined Ellsberg and Hastings for a panel discussion during the first half hour of King's 9 pm Eastern hour program. The outgoing host turned to Ellsberg first and asked as his second... continue reading
A fascinated George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday analyzed a Tweet by Christine O'Donnell as a sign of support for Hillary Clinton. The Good Morning America host played up the approving comment by the Republican regarding the Secretary of State's handling of the Wikileaks scandal. "Hillary Clinton for president?...You're going to vote for Hillary Clinton," he murmured after O'Donnell urged a 2012 run. Stephanopoulos' hopes were dashed, however, after the former Delaware Senate candidate explained her reasoning: "...Anybody is better than Obama." (O'Donnell also called for Clinton to "take out" Obama in the primary.) The Morning Mix panel retained its decidedly liberal... continue reading
Instead of leading with how Army Private First Class Bradley Manning may have jeopardized national security with his document dump to WikiLeaks, NBC's chief Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski, in his profile of Manning on Tuesday's Today show, told viewers he was the "most unlikely suspect, with a youthful smile" and portrayed him as an abused victim of the military. Miklaszewski used the New York Times' Ginger Thompson in his report to tell the tale of young man who apparently decided to avenge the abuse he had taken over the years, dating back to high school, by selling out his country... continue reading
NBC's Matt Lauer, on Tuesday's Today show, invited on soon to be House Majority Leader Eric Cantor to discuss today's meeting of Republican congressional leaders with Barack Obama, and in the process tried to force Cantor to move in the President's direction on raising taxes. The Today co-anchor opened the conversation by wondering if Cantor was going into the meeting in the mood for "compromise or confrontation" and then quickly brought up the issue of extending the Bush era tax cuts as he pressed: "Could you not see possibly raising taxes just a little bit?" on those making over $250,000... continue reading
On Tuesday's CBS Early Show, senior White House correspondent Bill Plante scolded Republicans for not being willing to work with Democrats in an upcoming White House meeting: "President Obama made a point of raising expectations for Republicans, who up to now have united against him....The newly empowered Republicans...seemed in no mood to compromise." Plante went on to cite a Washington Post op ed by Republican congressional leaders as evidence of their resistance to compromise: "...sure to aggravate the Democrats, with language like this: 'Our friends across the aisle have clung for too long to the liberal wish list, including a... continue reading
Playing the role of negotiator for the Democrats, Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday pressed Senator John McCain to "move the President's way" on extending the Bush tax cuts. He also oddly spun such a continuation as a "tax cut" for millionaires. The ABC anchor lobbied McCain, asserting, "[Obama] moved your way on this freeze of all pay for federal workers. Are you prepared to move the President's way for any items on his agenda? " Stephanopoulos then forced the Arizona senator to listen to a clip of Democrat Claire McCaskill arguing against extending tax cuts for the wealthy... continue reading
Some document leaks are more equal than others. The New York Times, along with other media outlets, on Monday published excerpts from the latest stolen document dump from WikiLeaks - sensitive American diplomatic cables, mostly from the last three years, discussing nuclear and terror threats. " Leaked Cables Offer a Raw Look Inside U.S. Diplomacy " was the headline over Scott Shane and Andrew Lehren's story, which dominated Monday's front page. Why did the Times publish confidential security information, and not for the first time? (Don't forget the paper's irresponsible scuttling of an anti-terrorism bank surveillance program in June 2006)... continue reading
On Monday's Today show, NBC's Matt Lauer downplayed the criminal factor in the release of hundreds of thousands of classified diplomatic communiques by WikiLeaks, twice labeling the website as only a " messenger " for the documents. Both Lauer and NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell insisted the State Department "crossed a line" by ordering diplomats to spy on foreign diplomats at the United Nations. The NBC anchor interviewed Republican Congressman Peter King seven minutes into the 7 am Eastern hour on this latest release of confidential documents by WikiLeaks. Midway through the segment, Lauer raised the espionage issue: "Were you surprised... continue reading