On Monday's CBS Evening News, anchor Katie Couric filed a report on Senator Lisa Murkowski in which she highlighted the Alaska Republican's criticism of the Tea Party movement requiring a "purity test," and of Sarah Palin being "not worldly enough" to be President. After describing Murkowski as "one of a dying breed of moderate Republicans," without noting that Tea Party Republican Joe Miller was dragged down by personal scandal, Couric passed on that "Murkowski claims she's winning because she represents all Alaskans." A clip of Murkowski complained: "I do not pass the purity test that the Tea Party has set... continue reading
On Monday's Countdown show, MSNBC host Keith Olbermann used his latest "Special Comment" to respond to former ABC anchor Ted Koppel's inclusion of him and MSNBC in his recent Washington Post op-ed criticizing of the modern news industry. After praising former news man Edward R. Murrow for taking a stand on Senator Joseph McCarthy and Walter Cronkite for doing the same on the Vietnam War and Watergate, Olbermann complained that, unlike himself, Koppel had "worshiped before the false god of utter objectivity" instead of going after the Bush administration over the Iraq war, and claimed that last week he criticized... continue reading
Good Morning America' s Dan Harris on Saturday gently coaxed an answer from James Carville as to whether the campaign operative still believed his 2009 prediction that the Democratic Party would rule for the next 40 years. The ABC co-host delicately reminded, "One, last, quick question. You wrote a book last year, I believe, that predicted 40 more years of Democratic dominance in Washington... Given what happened not long ago in those elections, do you stand by that prediction? " The liberal strategist didn't back down, asserting, "Yeah. I do." Does Carville "stand by" his prediction? Clearly, he's already off... continue reading
New York Times reporter Deborah Solomon conducts a weekly Q&A with a newsmaker every Sunday for the Magazine. This week luckily featured inflammatory left-wing MSNBC host Keith Olbermann, in a mostly friendly interview conducted and compiled just before his post-election suspension from the channel for donating to three Democratic candidates in violation of network guidelines. Solomon left out Olbermann's hateful hits, like calling conservative commentator Michelle Malkin a "big mashed-up bag of meat with lipstick on it." Here are the most challenging questions Solomon posed to Olbermann, using Comedy Central host Jon Stewart's criticism at the "Rally to Restore Sanity... continue reading
Bobby Jindal, on Monday's Today show, slammed the Obama administration for its slow response to the BP oil spill off the coast of Louisiana, charging that: "It seemed like the federal government was disconnected from the facts on the ground." However Today co-anchor offered excuses for the President as he queried the Louisiana Republican Governor: "In fairness though, Governor, in those early days of the spill did any one really have an idea of the scope of this and have immediate solutions, ways to fix it?" On to promote his new book Leadership and Crisis, Jindal was told by the... continue reading
Norah O'Donnell, on Monday's Today, couldn't resist taking a couple of shots at Sarah Palin, in her review of the former Alaska governor's TLC reality show, as the NBC correspondent trumpeted a recent Gallup poll that "More than half of Americans, 52 percent view her negatively, making her the most divisive of all of the potential candidates in the 2012 Republican field." O'Donnell also aired a clip of a Tribune staff reporter complaining that TLC was "effectively giving a campaign advertising" to a 2012 aspirant, as if the eight-part series could even come close to matching the positive buzz the... continue reading
During an interview with former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush on CBS's Sunday Morning, correspondent Jim Axelrod wondered: "In terms of how you understand how you are perceived is there a liberal bias in the media?" Mrs. Bush quickly replied: "Yes. He doesn't have to answer, but I will." Axelrod seemed surprised by her response: "Why do you jump in so quickly?" Mrs. Bush laughed and backed off slightly: "No, I'm only kidding. I really don't know." However, she observed: "I will say that I really do see for most Americans a great feeling of affection for George... continue reading
Former top Clinton aide George Stephanopoulos on Monday pestered his old White House colleague Erskine Bowles on the need to let the Bush tax cuts expire. The Good Morning America co-host also touted the critique of liberal columnist Paul Krugman in opposition to a panel calling for deficit reduction. Stephanopoulos pushed Bowles, the co-chairman of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform: "By extending [the Bush tax cuts, that's going to cost about $4 trillion...Couldn't some of this be avoided by keeping the tax rates where they are? I mean, by letting them go back to where they were... continue reading
As he devoted his regular 60 Minutes segment on Sunday to complaining about surveys, CBS's Andy Rooney declared his belief that President Obama is "doing the best job he knows how, and it's good enough for me." Rooney, who has a history of openly admitting that his political views are liberal , also gave viewers some insight into his social circle as having like-minded views on politics as he relayed to viewers that eight out of nine friends he asked also like Obama. Rooney complained: Gallup said that they surveyed over 90,000 Americans for this one poll. I mean, where... continue reading
On ABC's World News Sunday, correspondent David Kerley seemed to accept as fact President Obama's claim that "concentration on policy issues" was the reason for his party's recent election losses. Kerley began his report by describing Obama as "admitting" to this explanation of his political problems: DAVID KERLEY: A more reflective President returned to Washington, admitting on Air Force One that his concentration on policy issues led to his shellacking in the midterms. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: In that obsessive focus on policy, I neglected some things that matter a lot to people and rightly so. After much of the report... continue reading