CNN's David Gergen gushed over Barack Obama during CNN's coverage of the President's press conference on Friday, but was unimpressed by his performance: " He impresses everyone with his competence .... The subtlety of his mind I think is very impressive . At the same time, I thought it was ... boring ." Minutes later, Roland Martin replied to Gergen by rushing to Obama's defense: " He's not an entertainer ." Anchor John King brought on some of the network's "best political team on television," including Gergen and Martin, 19 minutes into the 12 noon hour, immediately after the President's... continue reading
In a gassy op-ed for Sunday's Washington Post , former ABC Nightline anchor Ted Koppel announced that the "canny tactician" Osama bin Laden has won the War on Terror by pressing America over the last decade into an ongoing series of wild overreactions. He began: The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, succeeded far beyond anything Osama bin Laden could possibly have envisioned. This is not just because they resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths, nor only because they struck at the heart of American financial and military power. Those outcomes were only the bait; it would remain for the United States... continue reading
Washington Post staff writer Anne Kornblut used her question at a White House press conference on Friday to worry that, despite Barack Obama making it a "priority," anti-Muslim "suspicion" still existed in America. She queried the President, " Nine years after the September 11th attacks, why do you think it is that we are now seeing such an increase in suspicion and outright resentment of Islam, especially given that it has been one of your priorities to improve relations with the Muslim world? " [MP3 audio here .] Obama's response seemed to echo his infamous 2008 comment about Americans being... continue reading
CNN offered a sneak preview of their upcoming Parker-Spitzer program on Wednesday's Anderson Cooper 360 with the new hosts, pseudo-conservative Kathleen Parker and "Client Number Nine" Eliot Spitzer agreeing that the "well-spoken" Imam Feisal Rauf changed few minds with his recent interview. The two also forwarded their network's charge that "Islamophobia" is growing in the U.S . Anchor Anderson Cooper began the segment by asking the two about Soledad O'Brien interview of Rauf, which took place the previous hour. Parker, the " Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist and noted conservative commentator ," as Cooper called her, endorsed his appearance and went on... continue reading
Iman Feisal Abdul Rauf chose ABC's Christiane Amanpour to spend "several hours" with on Thursday in New York City, and just as she did back on the August 22 This Week when she featured Rauf's wife and an ally, she again served as his public relations agent, forwarding his claims without challenge. After passing along his denial of any deal to move his project, Amanpour gushingly relayed meaningless blather about his great concern: "The imam went on to tell me that this whole issue is so sensitive because he has to really take care of sensitivities here in the United... continue reading
If your income tax rate stays the same next year, would you consider that a "tax cut"? ABC anchor Diane Sawyer sure seems to think so. Adopting the Obama/Democratic spin as fact, that maintaining the same income tax rates in place since 2003 constitutes a "tax cut," even though taxpayers would pay the same amount on the same income, she led Wednesday's ABC World News: It will be the big battle to the finish line in November, and this is the question: How big a tax cut will you get next year? In her very text sentence, however, she incongruently,... continue reading
"Top Chef" judge Tom Colicchio rang alarm bells about child obesity on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Wednesday, saying it is now a "national health crisis." Colicchio warned that the recent Senate school lunch legislation did not go "far enough" and that access to healthy school meals needs to be increased for kids to save future health care costs. "It's a pretty good bill, but I don't think it goes far enough," the chef complained of the school lunch bill. "They need to increase access for kids." "After-school programs, after-school periods, breakfast programs, weekend programs, summer programs - those aren't included in... continue reading
In a Thursday interview with CBS Early Show special contributor Amanda Holden, Larry King replacement Piers Morgan talked about his new CNN show and who would be at the top of his guest list: "Well, I'd love to do President Obama. I like what he's done for the reputation of America abroad, which I'm not sure many Americans fully understand." The second on Morgan's list: "Bill Clinton, another one....One of the most charismatic people I've ever seen." At the mention of Clinton, Holden gushed: "Oh, yes. I'd love you to interview him." Holden concluded her report by proclaiming: "[Piers] is... continue reading
On Wednesday's Rick's List, CNN's Rick Sanchez tried to connect the overwhelming opposition to the planned Ground Zero mosque to a Florida pastor's "Burn a Koran Day" event. Sanchez asked former New York Governor George Pataki, " Do you feel in any way that some of this backlash ... led by some fine gentlemen like yourself ... has kind of paved the way for that controversy, and if so, do you feel guilty at all? " [audio clip available here ] Sanchez interviewed Pataki during the prime time edition of his program. Just before the bottom of the 8 pm... continue reading
NBC's Meredith Vieira, on Thursday's Today show, invited on New York Republican Congressman Peter King and CAIR's Zead Ramadan to discuss the potential burning of Korans by Pastor Terry Jones and the furor over the Ground Zero mosque, but it was only King that was pressed by the Today anchor, as Vieira let Ramadan go unchallenged even when he equated opposition to the mosque to internment of Japanese-Americans in World War II and even slavery. First up, Vieira, after playing a clip of Feisal Abdul-Rauf, recited the Imam's concerns to King that if he moved the location of the mosque... continue reading