On Friday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez declared that when it comes to financial reform legislation, "Democrats have all the leverage right now." Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer appeared on the show and observed that "They think this is the time to picture Republicans as trying to protect fat cat bankers , as it were." In her first question to Schieffer, Rodriguez wondered: "Do Democrats have anything to lose by going for a vote on Monday even though the Republicans have said they'd like a little bit more time to work on a compromise?" Schieffer replied: "No, they... continue reading
Never missing a chance to highlight events that make Team Obama seem to be loveable characters, ABC and NBC on Thursday night showcased endearing and cuddly moments with Joe Biden and First Dog Bo. You can decide which one is endearing and which one is cuddly. ABC's Diane Sawyer took time to marvel at how "we heard on The View today that it was the President who told" Joe Biden "we heard" Biden calling "the health care reform a big you know what deal" when "of course he didn't know that his microphone was so sensitive," and NBC's Brian Williams... continue reading
Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Thursday challenged Timothy Geithner from the left, advocating that the administration really needs to "do something" tough with the financial reform bill. He complained, "I mean, you have got a situation now where the six biggest banks in the country have assets equal to more than 60 percent of GDP. Why shouldn't those big banks be broken up? " Following up, Stephanopoulos complained to the Treasury Secretary: "But, why isn't it a good idea to do something about the size of these banks? Are they still too big to fail?" The former Democratic operative... continue reading
Comic legend and liberal activist Chevy Chase was invited on Thursday's Today show to promote his NBC comedy "Community" and advocate for environmentalism on this Earth Day, as he told viewers he'll be emceing a charity auction to benefit liberal greenie groups like the NRDC. In the process of noting some of the items to be auctioned off at the Christie's event, including a golf outing with Bill Clinton, Chase revealed none other than Today co-anchor Matt Lauer offered his own donation - a guided tour of the Today set. The following exchange was aired on the April 22 Today... continue reading
In the 8:30AM ET half hour of Thursday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez introduced an Earth Day segment by proclaiming: "Americans throw away more than 30 billion plastic bottles every year....We have a film maker, Stephanie Soechtig, here with us, she has a documentary out called 'Tapped,' which looks the impact that all those bottles have had on the environment." Rodriguez invited Soechtig to explain her mission: "What has your message been?" Soechtig responded: "we've been trying to educate people that bottled water's one of the greatest marketing scams of all time. 40% of bottled water is really just... continue reading
On Thursday's Good Morning America, ABC journalist Sam Donaldson touted a liberal hero for the Supreme Court, one that even made George Stephanopoulos chuckle: Al Gore . After arguing that Barack Obama should choose a politician, Donaldson enthused, "Let's go further...I give you Al Gore." [Audio available here .] The veteran reporter, who was participating in GMA's Morning Mix panel, argued his case for the former Democratic presidential nominee: "He's 62. But, he's still a few years kicking [sic]. I think he's confirmable, although there would be a fight to some extent. I think he might make a very good... continue reading
CNBC's John Harwood, in an interview aired on Thursday's Today show, pressed Barack Obama about the need to regulate Wall Street as he questioned the President if Americans needed to view them in the same way they view Big Tobacco as "companies whose core activities are harmful to the country?" Obama declined to make the comparison to the tobacco companies, but went on to insist Wall Street needed new rules to protect against "excess." JOHN HARWOOD: Should average Americans think about big Wall Street institutions the way that some have come to think about tobacco companies, that is, companies whose... continue reading
MSNBC on Wednesday suspended host Donny Deutsch in the wake of a segment on Tuesday about what role hosts such as Keith Olbermann and Ed Schultz play in making this country "America the angry." During the piece, Deutsch played a clip of an Olbermann rant and didn't defend Schultz when conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt attacked the " the biggest hate mongers in television ." However, in February, when Deutsch dismissed Hispanic senatorial hopeful Marco Rubio as a " coconut ," a term that the New York Times described as meaning "brown on the outside and white on the inside,"... continue reading
Cheering some Republican support for Democratic financial reform legislation on Wednesday, CBS Early Show co-host Maggie Rodriguez declared: "encouraging news out of Washington , that after a week or so of attacking this financial bill that the Democrats are proposing to regulate Wall Street, Republicans are changing their tone and they seem to be wanting to come on board." Rodriguez turned to business correspondent Rebecca Jarvis and wondered: "Does it look, this morning, as though a bipartisan bill will emerge?" Jarvis replied: "Well, Maggie, it looks this morning like Republicans are warming up to the idea of a bipartisan bill... continue reading
Two University of Chicago researchers recently measured ideological segregation on the Web - the idea that in this new media age, people can avoid news outlets that challenge their ideological presuppositions. Their report, " Ideological Segregation Online and Offline ," tracked how people of different political views move around the Internet. One finding: The New York Times is a liberal newspaper. Or at least its readership is the most liberal of any of the news outlets studied that held themselves out as an "objective" news source. Included on Table 3 (page 34 of the report) were the purportedly objective print... continue reading