Following a report on Monday's CBS Early Show that slammed Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell for comments she made on Bill Maher's 'Politically Incorrect' in the 1990s, co-host Maggie Rodriguez suggested O'Donnell's response: "Well, she could do what Sarah Palin has done and which has worked so beautifully for Sarah Palin, and that is to play media victim." [Audio available here ] Rodriguez made the comment to political analyst John Dickerson, who added: "That's right. And the victim card is one that Sarah Palin has played, Rand Paul has done the same thing. It's a bit of a time-honored technique... continue reading
Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Monday asserted that the White House wants to "deliver" the message that the Tea Party is too extreme. He then highlighted 11-year-old comments, asking Representative Mike Pence about Christine O'Donnell's past comments on witchcraft: "She says it was just a little high school fun. Is that enough?" In a 1999 appearance on Politically Incorrect, O'Donnell told host Bill Maher that she dabbled in witchcraft and dated a Satanist. An ABC graphic hyped, "Witchcraft Talk Haunts Candidate: O'Donnell Asked to Explain Remarks." >Playing up a Republican split, Stephanopoulos cited an unlikely expert, Karl Rove, as... continue reading
Today co-anchor Matt Lauer, on Monday morning, couldn't wait to tell viewers about the revelation that Christine O'Donnell once admitted to practicing witchcraft, as he greeted viewers at the top of the very top of the show: "Casting a spell. She's already won her state's Republican Senate primary and captured headlines across the country. Now a video surfaces showing Christine O'Donnell admitting she dabbled in witchcraft as a high schooler." Lauer's colleague Kelly O'Donnell, then went on to dredge up clips from Bill Maher's old Politically Incorrect show as she called the Delaware GOP Senate nominee a "tempest in the... continue reading
CBS broke into summer re-runs of 60 Minutes to let Lesley Stahl promote Jimmy Carter's new book, White House Diary , which he maintained delivers "absolute unadulterated frankness" and which she described as an "often harsh critique" of his presidential term. She, however, was far from harsh toward him. Noting an "image of 'a failed President' haunts the Carters," Stahl trumpeted: "Carter argues that despite the image of failure, he actually had a long list of successes, starting with bringing all the hostages home alive," as if that wasn't because of Ronald Reagan's inauguration. Stahl proceeded to tout as a... continue reading
On Wednesday, CBS's Bob Schieffer contended the rise of Tea Party candidates "is very much like 1964" when the Republican Party nominated Barry Goldwater who "was far to the right of most of the people in his party, and they lost in a landslide." On Sunday morning, another liberal media thinker moved ahead eight years to forward George McGovern's 1972 Democratic debacle as the proper analogy: "Sarah Palin is really the Republicans' George McGovern." (So, does that make Barack Obama the modern day Richard Nixon?) On ABC's This Week, when host Christiane Amanpour wondered if the Tea Party is "a... continue reading
It's one thing to acknowledge that most voters in a liberal-leaning state like Delaware may be reluctant to vote for a solid conservative, but, as he appeared on Sunday's Today show on NBC, Meet the Press host David Gregory claimed that Delaware GOP Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell's "extremist statements and some views" would not only be a "real problem" in Delaware, but "it would be the case almost anywhere." And, rather than noting the liberal lean of Delaware, which has not voted Republican in a presidential election since 1988, Gregory described the state as "more moderate." Gregory: "Christine O'Donnell also... continue reading
Appearing as a guest on Sunday's Reliable Sources on CNN, Craig Crawford of the Congressional Quarterly - formerly an MSNBC political analyst - admitted that the mainstream media have "listen[ed] too much to the Democratic message" that the Tea Party movement will harm Republicans rather than Democrats in this year's congressional elections. He further charged that the media are "playing into that Democratic message that these candidates are insane." Crawford: Sometimes we're wrong when we listen too much to the Democratic message. That's the Democratic party message, that the Tea Party is bad for them [Republicans]. I think we should... continue reading
Newsweek veteran Evan Thomas, who announced a few weeks ago his intention to leave the financially-failing magazine and teach journalism at Princeton , issued a ringing call - in defense of federal spending - for why he hopes Congress and President Obama cannot agree on extending any of the Bush tax cuts, so income tax rates rise next year: God knows the federal government desperately needs that revenue, so this is one case where I think gridlock is a good thing. Not exactly in line with the thinking of Tea Party voters. (Audio: MP3 clip ) On this weekend's Inside... continue reading
"There are calls for a criminal investigation of another rising GOP star," Katie Couric teased at the top of the CBS Evening News, after citing Sarah Palin's speaking appearance in Iowa, as she elevated a publicity gimmick from a left-wing organization staffed by veterans of Democratic congressional offices. Though O'Donnell "took the spotlight today at a conservative summit in Washington," Couric warned: "There may be trouble ahead for her. A watchdog group intends to call Monday for a criminal investigation of what it says is her chronic abuse of campaign funds." Reporter Nancy Cordes painted O'Donnell as a hypocrite, charging... continue reading
On Friday's Countdown show on MSNBC, during the show's regular "Worst Person in the World" segment, host Keith Olbermann referred to Delaware Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell as a "lump of dumb and judgmental" as he introduced his slam of Republican strategist Jack Burkman and a clip of him being criticized by former New York Republican Senator Al D'Amato for comments Burkman made about African immigrants on the Fox Business Channel. As he attacked Burkman, the MSNBC host smeared Tea Party activists generally as promoting "nonsensical, virulent, uneducated hatred." Olbermann: "For the second time in three days, a hardline GOP... continue reading