Good Morning America's Robin Roberts on Monday allowed the Kennedys to take a victory lap for the passage of health care. As the co-host interviewed Patrick Kennedy, an ABC graphic announced, " Rep. Kennedy on Dad's Final Wish: Father's Life Work Was Reform ." Roberts teased the segment, "And we talk to the Congressman who sees this bill's passage as the completion of his late father's legacy." The anchor repeatedly tossed softballs to the Rhode Island representative: " Did you feel your father's presence throughout this ordeal? " Earlier in the segment, she offered this hard-hitting query: "Congressman, an emotional... continue reading
NBC's Meredith Vieira opened Monday's Today show declaring, "Good morning. It passed. Congress approves historic legislation to reform health care" and then a few seconds later noted, "Democrats are using words like 'historic' to describe the sweeping overhaul that was approved." Interesting to see the Today co-anchor acknowledge the Democratic theme and still use it, something that was done throughout the ensuing health care segments. NBC's White House correspondent Chuck Todd repeated the theme of the day, as he observed: "Soon after the vote, President Obama, who admitted that he was putting his own presidency on the line with health... continue reading
As if anti-ObamaCare protesters are unruly street gangs, ABC's Diane Sawyer, anchoring Sunday's World News on what she touted as "a night for the history books" and a "seismic night," impugned the opponents as a bunch of out of control marauders, citing "protesters roaming Washington, some of them increasingly emotional, yelling slurs and epithets." Elevating the same day-old despicable actions of a few on which ABC also focused on Saturday's World News , ABC on Sunday devoted a full story to the topic . David Kerley reported that, "surrounded by angry protesters at the Capitol, someone yelled the N-word at"... continue reading
Not exactly going out on a limb, but Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume predicted President Barack Obama's success in getting his health bill passed and signed will lead to "a wave of gushing coverage" for "the determination of this President to see his signature initiative through." Hume, during the panel segment on Fox News Sunday: The early political fallout will be, particularly in the media, there will be a wave of gushing coverage. We already saw some, it's already beginning about the tenacity and the determination of this President to see his signature initiative through. It will be... continue reading
The morning after CBS News White House reporter Mark Knoller, in a tweet, slurred anti-ObamaCare protesters with the vulgar "tea bagger" sexual terminology, Bob Schieffer began Sunday's Face the Nation with how the health care reform debate "that's been rancorous and mean from the start turned even nastier yesterday" with protesters "shouting 'kill the bill!' and 'made in the USSR"' as they supposedly "hurled racial epithets, even at civil rights icon John Lewis of Georgia, and sexual slurs at Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank. Other legislators said the protesters spit on them and one lawmaker said it was like a page... continue reading
Though by their own count "thousands" of anti-ObamaCare protesters gathered outside the Capitol building on Saturday, ABC decided to smear the entire cause by stressing the despicable actions of a handful or even fewer as anchor David Muir announced in setting up the first story on Saturday's World News: "Protesters against the plan gathered on the streets of the capital where late today we learned words shouted turned very ugly, reports of racial and homophobic slurs, one protester actually spitting on a Congressman." Following the lead story on President Barack Obama's pep talk to House Democrats, and before Jonathan Karl's... continue reading
"He believes networking in the nude to be an absolute moral good." Talk about the incestuous relationship amongst sources, policy-makers and members of the Washington press corps, a front page Washington Post story on Thursday, " A Hot Spot for Diplomacy ," uncovered how DC-insiders get together for a weekly sauna session in the basement of Finland's embassy - with Wolf Blitzer on the TV beforehand as they sip vodka and munch on "a buffet of red gravlax and white trout, shrimp and Finnish meatballs." The Post's Jason Horowitz revealed the activities of "the Diplomatic Finnish Sauna Society of D.C."... continue reading
CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller revived the use of a vulgar sexual term to refer to Tea Party protesters on Saturday afternoon via Twitter : "Obama's motorcade arrives at Capitol Hill. Boos and jeers passing tea bagger protests ." A last-minute demonstration, organized by a coalition of 30 conservative organizations and featuring actor Jon Voight, filled the West Lawn of Capitol Hill on Saturday afternoon. President Obama arrived later in the afternoon to meet with Democratic congressmen , and the chief executive encountered the shouts of the conservative protesters as he entered the halls of Congress. CNN's Anderson... continue reading
On Saturday's Good Morning America, reporter Rachel Martin cast President Obama and Democratic leaders as working hard to nail down the votes needed to pass their massive health care bill, but made no suggestion that liberals were using devious or heavy-handed tactics. But when it came to the Republicans, reporter David Kerley included an indignant Democratic congresswoman, who charged that the mean-spirited GOP was casting her as "soft on cancer" just weeks after both of her parents died of the disease. (Friday's ABC World News highlighted the same complaint , MRC's Brent Baker noticed.) The two reports, which aired back-to-back... continue reading
Complete with a photo of her late parents, ABC's Jonathan Karl concluded his Friday night story on undecided Democratic House members by conveying the complaint of Pennsylvania's Kathy Dahlkemper , who contended a TV ad about how further government control of health care will lead to delays in cancer treatment as has occurred in Britain, is inappropriate because her parents recently died from cancer. "Perhaps the most powerful personal story belongs to Pennsylvania's Kathy Dahlkemper," Karl intoned , pointing out "her father died of leukemia in February, and her mother died just two weeks ago, and now she finds herself... continue reading