On Monday's Rick's List program on CNN, Slate.com's Fred Kaplan attacked Republicans for politicizing national security, accused the GOP of being in an alternate reality, and blasted Sarah Palin for "talking...complete and utter nonsense." Kaplan also wrote off the tea parties as not a "mass movement," and, along with anchor Rick Sanchez, accused Palin of forwarding "anti-intellectualism." The Slate.com national security columnist, who is also a former correspondent for the Boston Globe, appeared as a guest during the last ten minutes of Sanchez's program, just before the top of the 5 pm Eastern hour. Before introducing Kaplan, the CNN anchor... continue reading
NBC's Matt Lauer, along with MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, spent a whole segment on Monday's Today show wondering if Sarah Palin, and the Tea Party supporters she appeals to, posed a problem for the GOP, with the Today co-anchor going as far to boldly state: "Republicans are afraid of Sarah Palin. Republicans have a right to be afraid of some of the people she was talking to also." MATT LAUER: So, let's talk about this speech here. Critics have already weighed in. They said it had a lot of conservative red meat in it but it was short on policy and... continue reading
While discussing Sarah Palin's Saturday Tea Party Convention speech with political analyst John Dickerson on Monday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez remarked: "She was really scrutinized because she wrote those notes on her hand during her speech....I want to show real quick....boy, are her critics having fun with that one." As Rodriguez mentioned the incident, a headline on screen read: "Helping Hand? Palin Seen Glancing At Notes On Palm." Dickerson was forgiving: "Well, we all face a little difficulty getting our words together in public moments," but added: "I think this will be the kind of thing the Democrats... continue reading
Sarah Palin and the Tea Party movement "both have far less support in the country at large than a gullible Old Media seems to understand or suggest," Time magazine senior political analyst Mark Halperin asserted on "The Page " while colleague Joe Klein, on Time's "Swampland" blog , showed fear of the supposedly impotent coalition as he denigrated her Saturday night convention speech as "anti-intellectual drivel," scolding as "anti-American" those dumb enough to like her: Those who celebrate Sarah Palin's lack of knowledge as a form of "authenticity" superior to Barack Obama's gloriously American mongrel ethnicity and self-made intellectuality are... continue reading
"The business of this first ever national Tea Party convention is the nuts and bolts of politics, like voter registration," ABC's John Berman began his Friday night World News story from Nashville, "but barely scratch the surface, and there's a tone of anger and confrontation." Specifically: "The convention's first speaker, former Congressman Tom Tancredo, said that people who voted for Barack Obama could not pass a basic civics literacy test." Tancredo's offensive remark: "People who could not even spell the word vote put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House." Berman pounced on the rhetoric as out of bounds:... continue reading
CNN's Rick Sanchez failed to mention the party affiliation of former Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon on Friday's Rick's List program, but made every effort to identify former Congressman Tom Tancredo as a Republican. Sanchez ranked Tancredo higher on his "List You Don't Want to Be On" for his remarks at the Tea Party Convention, despite Dixon's conviction for illegally using donated gift cards for the needy. The CNN anchor gave the number three and number two spots on his "List You Don't Want to Be On" just before the top of the 4 pm Eastern hour. Sanchez chose Dixon as... continue reading
On Thursday's CBS Evening News, anchor Katie Couric lamented the impact ClimateGate and other recent scandals involving fraudulent global warming data have had on the climate change debate: "Experts insist the overall conclusion remains the same, that climate change is real, but...such errors provide ammunition to skeptics." In a report that followed, correspondent Mark Phillips cited accusations of data tampering against Penn State University climatologist Michael Mann, but explained: "An academic board today cleared Mann, saying his science holds up, but the damage may have already been done." Phillips went on to detail other data errors, including a false United... continue reading
Two prominent journalists appeared on Friday's Good Morning America and casually admitted that Barack Obama has received glowing coverage from the press. Former Vanity Fair and New Yorker editor Tina Brown announced, "No, [Obama] got the best press known to man. Let's face it ." Howard Kurtz, host of Reliable Sources on CNN and a Washington Post columnist, corrected, " In the history of civilization ." The liberal Brown quickly agreed, "In the history of civilization, incredible." Kurtz and Brown appeared with Meghan McCain to discuss the latest political developments with GMA host George Stephanopoulos. McCain, a moderate Republican, offered... continue reading
On Thursday, MSNBC continued its quest to link conservatives with the birther movement- people who don't believe Barack Obama is constitutionally eligible to serve as President. Previewing an unrelated segment on this weekend's tea party convention, Norah O'Donnell played a clip of Obama criticizing those who raise the issue. She then compared, " President Obama sends a message to those who question his citizenship, this as the tea party movement gets ready for its first big convention ." At no point did O'Donnell explain or justify the connection, other than her apparent assumption that tea partiers equal birthers. The MSNBC... continue reading
File under: you read it here first. "The Washington Post ignored a few historical facts when it proclaimed in a front page article Wednesday that President Obama is quote, 'a rare President who comes from the middle class,'" FNC's Bret Baier pointed out during his Thursday "Grapevine" segment. Baier explained what escaped Post reporter Eli Saslow: There have actually been many Presidents who hailed from the middle class. Lyndon Johnson was born in a small farmhouse and worked his way through college. Harry Truman worked for the railroad and lived in hobo camps. Richard Nixon's parents ran a grocery store... continue reading