Good Morning America's Claire Shipman on Wednesday continued to tout the "storybook" nature of Al and Tipper Gore's failed marriage, reminiscing, "Al and Tipper. Tipper and Al. Their very togetherness, always part of the appeal." Recounting the news of their separation after 40 years, the journalist seemed to wonder if any marriage could survive: " Of course, storybook endings aren't easy to come by. But this twist makes them all seem that much more out of reach ." [Audio available here .] In a follow-up piece, ABC's Cokie Roberts contributed an odd aside about how political wives tend to not... continue reading
After blaming Bush's 2000 election for the breakup of the Gore marriage on Tuesday's CBS Evening News , Sally Quinn of The Washington Post returned to CBS Wednesday morning for an interview with The Early Show, where she repeated the blame-Bush line, in a milder way: "You know one of the hard things is when you lose, this was their home. You can't live here anymore." But mostly, Quinn suggested that if the Gores couldn't make it, then maybe no one could: And the interesting thing is that usually when something like this happens you get a sense of glee,... continue reading
Not letting a good crisis go to waste, MSNBC's left-wing rabble-rouser Ed Schultz insisted on the June 1 edition of Morning Joe that the BP oil spill reinforces the need for new legislation to restrict corporations from engaging in political speech. "I really believe that this what is happening in the Gulf is a classic [example] of how we do need campaign finance reform," implored Schultz. "It's all interconnected." To provoke this remark, Morning Joe co-host Willie Geist tossed Schultz a softball while plugging the liberal activist's new book. "One of the things you talk about a lot on your... continue reading
Is there anything a journalist cannot or will not twist to bring the topic back to how life would be so much better if only not for that awful George W. Bush? On Tuesday's CBS Evening News, with the help of the Washington Post's Sally Quinn, Sharyl Attkisson managed to blame news, that Al and Tipper Gore are separating, on how they never got over being denied the presidency despite winning the popular vote in 2000. If only Bush hadn't taken it from them. Attkisson recalled "it's been ten years since that oddly public passionate kiss at the Democratic convention... continue reading
On Monday's Rick's List, CNN's Gloria Borger waxed ecstatic over Al and Tipper Gore, even as the two announced their separation: " This is a genuine couple .... They have always been a real team ." Borger also described them as " two very thoughtful people " and sang individual praises to both, lauding Tipper for being an "accomplished photographer" and labeling Mr. Gore "deliberative" [audio clips available here ]. Anchor Rick Sanchez brought on the senior political analyst 16 minutes into the 3 pm Eastern hour to discuss the announcement by the former "second couple" that they were separating... continue reading
NBC's Today show has yet to interview or plug any of conservative radio talk show host's Mark Levin's best-selling books but on Tuesday's Today show they helped sell two liberals' books as they invited on MSNBC host Ed Schultz to hype Killer Politics and interviewed Sarah Palin stalker Joe McGinniss who hasn't even written his book about the Alaskan governor. Today co-anchor Meredith Vieira sat down with Schultz to discuss how the oil spill in the Gulf will affect the Obama presidency, which allowed Schultz to push Obama from the left as he told viewers: "I view this as a... continue reading
Former Democratic operative turned journalist George Stephanopoulos lectured James O'Keefe on Tuesday, deriding, "And some of your critics say that you're more of a political activist than a journalist... " [Audio available here .] The Good Morning America host, and former aide to Bill Clinton, quizzed the conservative investigative journalist and dismissed, "So, you're a conservative activist, not a journalist." Stephanopoulos, who also worked for Michael Dukakis' 1988 presidential campaign, repeatedly chided O'Keefe over an aborted undercover investigation into Senator Mary Landrieu. (O'Keefe eventually plead guilty to entering federal property under false pretenses and was sentenced to community service.) The... continue reading
NBC's Matt Lauer invited on author and new Sarah Palin stalker/neighbor Joe McGinniss to defend his moving in next to the Palin residence in Wasilla, Alaska, on Tuesday's Today show, and the author had the audacity to play the victim as he compared the former Alaskan governor's actions to that of a Nazi. After Lauer noted the author was receiving "death threats" McGinniss screeched "It's a lesson for the American people of the power Palin has to incite hatred and her willingness and readiness to do it." McGinniss went on to say that Palin's use of her Facebook page to... continue reading
Three noteworthy quotes from journalists I tweeted over the holiday weekend: Newsweek's Jonathan Alter, author of the ' The Promise: President Obama, Year One ,' on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday night, placing himself with Obama against conservatives: When Obama said "we are the ones we've been waiting for," we didn't show up. It was the right-wingers at the town meetings. Jake Tapper to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, on ABC's This Week: Before this crisis occurred, you were perhaps best-known nationally as a critic of big government, as a critic of big spending. And here you are,... continue reading
While broadcast network news shows have tended to devote a disproportionate amount of time to criticizing the new Arizona law that attempts to enforce federal immigration law, on Sunday's Good Morning America, ABC correspondent Jeremy Hubbard gave an unusual amount of time to those who support the Arizona law as he highlighted protesters rallying to oppose the boycott pushed by left-wing critics. He even noted that there were Hispanics in attendance at a rally who support the new law: JEREMY HUBBARD: Defending this maligned state, hundreds rallied in support of Arizona's new immigration law, some Hispanics among them. Why are... continue reading