All three broadcast network evening newscasts conveyed to viewers that Israeli troops who boarded one of the ships in the Mediterranean Sea were met with violent resistance, leading the troops to fight back with deadly results. But, during a report recounting anti-Israel protests in cities like London, ABC's Jim Sciutto uniquely fretted that the incident would undermine President Obama's efforts to reach out peacefully to the Muslim world: "A public outpouring like this one poses a danger for America's relations with the Muslim world as well - the possibility that the Obama administration's recent pro-peace efforts and statements are overshadowed... continue reading
Three months after the networks, led by ABC's Jonathan Karl, derided Senator Jim Bunning for daring to hold up an "emergency" spending bill which circumvented the "pay as you go" rules, as Karl made a fool of himself chasing the elderly Senator into elevators to cajole him to give in, on Monday's World News Karl had the chutzpah to scold Congress for approving "emergency" spending which doesn't have to follow those very same "pay-go" rules. "Congress is on its holiday break this week," fill-in anchor George Stephanopoulos announced, "but there is no break in the steady increase in the national... continue reading
On CBS's Sunday Morning show, correspondent Jim Axelrod filed a report touting the movement in America to make it the law of the land that some employers must provide paid vacation to their employees, even giving controversial Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson - known for making vicious attacks against conservatives - a chance to plug his proposal to make paid vacation, which the Florida Democrat called a "right," legally mandated: Alan Grayson is adamant that vacation is a right. In fact, he wants to make it a law. ... Grayson wants to guarantee at least one week of paid vacation for... continue reading
On Sunday's syndicated Chris Matthews Show, Time magazine columnist Joe Klein joined the ranks of left-leaning media figures like Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann in blaming the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on the Bush administration. As the panel discussed President Obama's handling of the disaster, Klein opined that "this is more Bush's second Katrina than Obama's first," and, after agreement from host Matthews, Klein continued: "Yes, because it was the Bush regulations, it was Dick Cheney's deregulation, and lording over the Minerals Management [Service]-" Later in the show, as the group discussed whether President Obama would... continue reading
Another pro-illegal alien protest and, once again, the networks champion the cause. Four weeks after the broadcast network evening shows trumpeted May Day marches against Arizona's effort to enforce federal law, another round of marches prompted ABC and NBC on Saturday night to push the left-wing cause. "Day of outrage, anger on the streets of Phoenix and across this country tonight," ABC anchor David Muir declared, pleading: "Will an army of protesters be heard?" Reporter Jeremy Hubbard began his story for World News: "In their most massive numbers yet, a deluge of adversaries rally and rail against what could soon... continue reading
"Eight years of the Bush-Cheney administration removing regulations" has made it so "now the oil industry is too big to regulate," former Time magazine Deputy Washington Bureau Chief Margaret Carlson fretted on Friday's Political Capital show on Bloomberg TV. Defending Barack Obama against the notion the gulf oil disaster is "Obama's Katrina," Carlson, a columnist for Bloomberg News , argued on the weekly Friday night program hosted by Al Hunt: The government is prepared for natural disasters, as in Katrina, if government is willing to act - which it wasn't in Katrina. Corporate disasters are another matter. The government doesn't... continue reading
Shortly before 2 PM CDT, CNN"s Ed Henry cited a dismissive remark President Barack Obama made during his visit to Louisiana which could undermine his "I feel your pain" message, "but," Henry observed live from a beach in Grand Isle: If George W. Bush had made a comment like that along the beach after Katrina, you can imagine the kind of criticism he might get. Henry recounted how a little earlier a New York Times reporter - displaying some surprising pushback against environmentalist exaggeration - pointed out to Obama how there are tar balls "'even when there's not an oil... continue reading
The White House press corps just loved President Obama's press conference anecdote meant to prove the pressure he's under and responsibility he's taking ("When I woke up this morning, and I'm shaving and Malia knocks on my bathroom door and she peeks in her head and she says: 'Did you plug the hole yet, daddy?'"). The ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts all showcased the clip, with fill-in ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos incorporating it into his lead: Good evening. The buck stops with him. President Obama acknowledged today that the worst oil spill in American history is his crisis by... continue reading
The White House press corps just loved President Obama's press conference anecdote meant to prove the pressure he's under and responsibility he's taking ("When I woke up this morning, and I'm shaving and Malia knocks on my bathroom door and she peeks in her head and she says: 'Did you plug the hole yet, daddy?'"). The ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts all showcased the clip, with fill-in ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos incorporating it into his lead: Good evening. The buck stops with him. President Obama acknowledged today that the worst oil spill in American history is his crisis by... continue reading
Both Chris Matthews and Chuck Todd were taken aback by Barack Obama delivering a "personal connection moment" in today's press conference when he told reporters that his daughter Malia asked him: "Did you plug the hole yet, daddy?" Of the anecdote Matthews, on Thursday's Hardball, exclaimed "Talk about a sound bite guys!" and declared he delivered "personally there, in a way he rarely does." Matthews went on to say it was remarkable that he'd reveal that private story in front of the press because he "hates" them . For his part, NBC White House correspondent Chuck Todd claimed the sharing... continue reading