London-based New York Times reporter Sarah Lyall included an arbitrary crack at the late Ronald Reagan in " Blair Memoir a Hit, Despite a Few Hard Knocks ," her front-page dispatch on former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's popular new memoir. Citing a report accusing Blair of swiping an anecdote about Queen Elizabeth II from a recent movie, she quoted screenwriter Peter Morgan but also interjected her own jab at the former American president: " Mr. Morgan told The Daily Telegraph, perhaps Mr. Blair 'had one gin and tonic too many' and - like Ronald Reagan before him - 'confused... continue reading
Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Thursday trumpeted his exclusive interview with Barack Obama and rewarded the President with 16 minutes of air time, just as the midterm election season kicks off. Stephanopoulos served up several softballs during the four part interview. Speaking of the pastor in Florida who intends to burn a Koran on 9/11, he sympathized, "I wonder what this must feel like from behind your desk. You're President of the United States. You have to deal with the fallout. And here's a pastor who's got 30 followers in his church. Does it make you feel helpless or... continue reading
Snatching the proverbial low-hanging fruit off the branch, Arianna Huffington compared the vast majority of Americans who oppose the construction of a mosque close to Ground Zero to the thirty members of a Florida church who plan to burn copies of the Koran on 9/11. Appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday, the liberal publisher criticized the president for not echoing her logical fallacy. "I think the point [President Barack Obama] could have made is to connect [Koran burning] with the opposition of the mosque," asserted Huffington, publisher of The Huffington Post. "You can't really completely separate these things."... continue reading
In an interview with Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison on Thursday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith implied a link between Ground Zero mosque opposition and a pastor's plan to burn the Koran: "...a line that can be drawn from the...anti-Muslim sentiment that seems to be growing in this country and seems to be festering in the Islamic cultural center....Do you see a line that connects here?" Ellison, the only Muslim member of Congress, defended the planned mosque: "...in my view, the cultural center in lower Manhattan, the purpose of it wasn't to offend or insult anyone. The purpose was to... continue reading
"Anti-Muslim bigotry is a problem, but it is only exacerbated by the media's tendency to exaggerate and sensationalize it," the Wall Street Journal's James Taranto observed Wednesday in looking at the media's focus on the threat, to burn Qur'ans, by one widely condemned Florida pastor with barely a few dozen followers. On Wednesday night, for the second night in a row, two of the three broadcast network evening news shows led with Terry Jones (ABC and CBS on Tuesday, CBS and NBC on Wednesday.) But what I found amusing is how network journalists decided Sarah Palin, the Pope - and... continue reading
CNN's Deborah Feyerick played up Imam Feisal Rauf's apparent credentials as a "moderate" Muslim during a report on Wednesday's American Morning. Feyerick omitted using sound bites from Rauf's critics, and only briefly mentioned his controversial remarks about on CBS's 60 Minutes about the 9/11 attacks and his reluctance to condemn Hamas. The CNN correspondent's report led the 6 am Eastern hour, and was re-broadcast throughout the day on the network. Almost immediately, Feyerick stressed how Rauf is apparently a "voice of moderation" by playing three clips from three who unequivocally endorse him- the State Department's P. J. Crowley, mosque developer... continue reading
In an interview with controversial Florida Pastor Terry Jones on Wednesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith doubted whether or not Muslim extremism was really a threat: "Would you regard radical Islam, then, as the enemy?" While Jones' plan to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of 9/11 has been rightfully condemned as offensive and an unnecessary provocation, Smith's response of questioning the danger of Islamic radicalism all together denies the ideological motivation of America's enemies. After Jones described receiving threats over his planned event, Smith responded by quoting scripture: "...you're a student of the New testament, I'm... continue reading
Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday quizzed House Minority Leader John Boehner about his tan, dismissing, "...I have to note that if you do win and you do become Speaker, you will probably have the deepest tan of any Speaker in American history." He also wondered if this was something the Republican would have to "overcome." The former Democratic operative turned journalist cited PPP , a Democratic polling firm, that queried voters about Boehner's tan: "And there's actually been a poll out in your state of Ohio, saying 30 percent of the voters think you spend too much time... continue reading
ABC's Diane Sawyer gave Arianna Huffington a rare gift on Tuesday night: An entire World News segment devoted to promoting the left-winger's new book, Third World America: How Our Politicians Are Abandoning the Middle Class and Betraying the American Dream , and her Huffington Post site. Though a matching ABCNews.com posting described Huffington as a "liberal commentator," no iteration of liberal passed Sawyer's lips. As if Huffington's book does any such thing, Sawyer wondered: "What if we pulled together in one place all the innovative ideas for creating jobs?" The generous on-screen heading beneath Huffington's picture: "Change Agent." After highlighting... continue reading
Chris Matthews is still getting a thrill up his leg, and even further, whenever he hears Barack Obama speak, as the MSNBCer, on Monday's Hardball, announced to the world "I get the same thrill up my leg, all over me," when he listens to Obama's 2004 Democratic convention speech. Matthews also revealed he is really sensitive about how his "thrill" moments are described, as he took offense when a guest inaccurately labeled it a "tingle" as Matthews shot back: "It wasn't a tingle, up my leg, that's what right wing fascists say. I got a thrill up my leg. Okay?... continue reading