In the fourth hour of Thursday's Today show NBC's Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb took a strong stance against the right to smoke, pretty much everywhere, as both endorsed Mayor Mike Bloomberg's proposed ban that goes several steps further than just restaurants. During the opening chat session of the hour, Kotbe announced: "So some good news in New York City...Mayor Bloomberg is considering banning smoking in all places like parks, beaches and Times Square." Gifford also praised the move declaring that " Second-hand smoke is a bigger killer than asbestos or a lot of other things" but later seemed... continue reading
While acknowledging bad news for Democrats in the latest CBS News/New York Times poll on Thursday's CBS Early Show, White House correspondent Bill Plante worked to find a silver lining: "But when it comes to who's at fault for the rotten economy there's a disconnect. 37% say the Bush administration is most to blame. Only 5% blame the Obama administration." Following Plante's report, fill-in co-host Erica Hill spoke with political analyst John Dickerson and wondered: "37% of those in the poll said that fault for the bad economy lays with the Bush administration. 5% said it lays with the Obama... continue reading
For the second day in a row, Good Morning America featured degrading descriptions of Delaware senatorial candidate Christine O'Donnell. Democratic strategist James Carville appeared on Thursday's show and fumed about the Republican's past financial problems: " Christine O'Donnell doesn't believe in spending, particularly her own money, because, she's a deadbeat. She doesn't pay her loans back ." Wednesday's GMA included host George Stephanopoulos reading quotes against the "mentally unhinged" "liar." The show on Thursday showcased an extended conversation on masturbation and remarks O'Donnell made about the subject in 1996. Stephanopoulos played a clip and then Carville joked, "And she equated... continue reading
It's quite possible NBC's Meredith Vieira has never shown more concern about the Republican Party's ability to win elections than she did on Thursday's Today show, of course that may be because conservative Tea Party candidates are now forcing out the more moderate members of its ranks. In a segment entitled, "Tea Time, Is The Tea Party Hurting The GOP?" the Today co-anchor invited on Republican Senator Jim DeMint to question if conservative candidates like Christine O'Donnell "can win in November?" To which DeMint responded that the conservative candidates he's been supporting are doing just fine: "Well Meredith, they told... continue reading
The night after a Tea Party candidate in Delaware stunned the GOP establishment, the CBS Evening News blamed voter "anger," tried to marginalize Christine O'Donnell as an "ultra-conservative," relayed the contention of establishment Republicans that Tea Party wins will lead to a re-run of the GOP's 1964 debacle, and highlighted how more Americans blame George W. Bush over President Barack Obama for the economy followed by how most side with Obama on not extending the current tax rates for those earning $250,000 or more. All in a day's work for Katie Couric. She led by declaring "American voters are in... continue reading
[ Update, Thursday, September 16, 10:25 am Eastern : O'Brien apparently pulled his Tweet, as the link "doesn't exist," according to Twitter. A screen cap of the Tweet in question can be seen below.] Former CNN anchor Miles O'Brien (no relation to current CNN special correspondent Soledad O'Brien ) slammed Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell as a " Tea Party nutbag " in a Tweet on Wednesday evening . O'Brien continued that he "forget [sic] her ignorant nonsense ," referring to her defense of the creationist viewpoint during a 1996 appearance on his former network. O'Brien, who was let go... continue reading
NBC Wednesday night (10 PM EDT/PDT, 9 PM CDT) debuts a new drama, Outlaw , centered on a conservative Supreme Court justice who, as a gambler and a philander, is a hypocrite played by Jimmy Smits. Realizing his political misdirection, he resigns from the court so he can become a crusading lawyer for liberal causes. But the program is so awful, even MSM TV critics are ridiculing it. (Joe Scarborough has at least one cameo in it.) "The show is so ludicrously dumb that your eyeballs will hurt from rolling so much," Hank Stuever warned in Tuesday's Washington Post. In... continue reading
Liberal journalists don't usually highlight Karl Rove as an authoritative voice, but that's what George Stephanopoulos did on Wednesday's Good Morning America. Interviewing senatorial nominee Christine O'Donnell, the ABC host touted the conservative strategist's dismissal of the Delaware Republican for saying "some nutty things." Stephanopoulos also played up charges by Delaware's Republican Party Chairman Tom Ross that O'Donnell is a "liar" and "mentally unhinged." The ABC host wondered if her primary victory could "help the Democrats." Stephanopoulos noted only negative news for the surprise winner of the Delaware senatorial primary, asserting that "...The national Republican Party is not going to... continue reading
Talking to Republican strategist Dan Bartlett on Wednesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith wondered if the electoral success of the tea party could harm the GOP: "Are all of these tea party victories good for the Republican Party?...I wonder if you're making a miscalculation at your own peril at, you know, this perceived enthusiasm gap, these people are literally changing the face of a party." Bartlett admitted difficultly in electing Christine O'Donnell, the winner of Tuesday's Republican Senate primary in Delaware, but staunchly defended the overall impact of the movement: "...the intensity gap that we're seeing between the two... continue reading
NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, on Wednesday's Today show, in reporting on yesterday's primary results threw the conservative label around, as she identified several Republicans that way, but for some reason couldn't manage to attach the "liberal" label when it came time to talk about ethics challenged New York Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel. O'Donnell began her piece noting that "Democrats are suddenly very excited" about their chances of winning the open Delaware Senate seat due to "the conservative rebellion" that led to Christine O'Donnell's win in the GOP primary, adding that the " conservative" O'Donnell "was propelled by several Tea Party groups."... continue reading