1. Couric to Blair: 'Do You Regret...Support' of Bush 'and War?' CBS News and Katie Couric put repenting before the looking to the future and solutions as producers chose this question, from Couric to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, to tease at the top of Thursday's CBS Evening News: "Do you regret what many perceive as your unwavering support of this President and this war?" In the subsequent interview, Couric, who the night before called Iraq a "nightmare," pressed Blair about himself and President George W. Bush "acknowledging failures." Referring to their joint press conference, Couric queried: "The President seemed... continue reading
1. Lauer Pleads to Gore: 'Save the Planet' by Running for President On Wednesday's Today, Matt Lauer pressed Al Gore to run for President so he "could be in a position to save the planet." Lauer told Gore: "What it makes me think is, from your point of view, if you were to run for President you could take this issue to the next level, even during just a campaign. And if you were fortunate enough to win the presidency you'd sit in the most powerful office in the free world with a real chance to make, you could be... continue reading
1. Mantra on NBC's Today About Bush on Iraq: 'Does He Listen?' Matching Newsweek's cover question, "Will Bush Listen," NBC's Today on Tuesday repeated the mantra, posing the question four times within ten minutes. Just past 7am, news reader Ann Curry insisted: "With just one day to go until the bipartisan Iraq Study Group comes out with a report that everyone's waiting for there is a question that is being asked, will the President listen?" Reporter David Gregory soon fretted about how last week President Bush "appeared to dismiss the forthcoming suggestion from the high profile Baker-Hamilton commission for a... continue reading
1. NBC Trumpets Vindication for Murtha, But No Mention of Okinawa NBC's Today on Monday ludicrously contended that a memo outgoing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld penned in early November, which included amongst its options for Iraq the redeployment of troops to the perimeter of Iraq or to Kuwait, vindicated Congressman John Murtha, the featured guest of the 7am half hour, who advocated moving troops to Okinawa -- at least 5,000 miles away. David Gregory ignored Murtha's Okinawa idea: "What's striking is that Rumsfeld also suggested troop withdrawals or repositioning of forces to border areas or nearby Kuwait. When Democrats... continue reading
1. Stephanopoulos Advocates 'Kind of Energy Tax You See in Europe' ABC's George Stephanopoulos has shown that he's bi-partisan when it comes to advocating tax hikes. Before the election, he lectured Republican Senate candidate Stephen Laffey: "If the deficit continued to grow, it's not responsible to say you're never going to raise taxes." On Sunday, he pushed Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, a Democratic candidate for President, to call for higher taxes on energy. Stephanopoulos contended that "just about every expert on energy says the best way to become energy independent is to raise the price of oil and gas, to... continue reading
1. Couric Touts 'Rare Interview' with Maliki That's One Question A night after the media were full of reports about how Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had "snubbed" President Bush by deciding to not join a meeting with Jordan's King, Maliki snubbed CBS anchor Katie Couric who, nonetheless, teased "my interview with Iraq's leader" -- a session which she conducted by hastily sitting on a coffee table and which consumed barely 30 seconds of her newscast. Viewers heard two answers from Maliki, but just one question from Couric, a question the CBS Evening News played both in the up top... continue reading
1. Seemingly Drunk DeVito Slams and Ridicules Bush on ABC's The View Actor Danny DeVito seemed drunk when he went on an anti-Bush tirade on ABC's The View on Wednesday. DeVito, who came aboard the ABC Daytime show to promote his new comedy movie Deck the Halls, recounted how he last visited the White House during the Clinton years, warmly noting that "the place was, had that kind of Clinton feeling, you know," before denigrating President Bush as "numb nuts" (or something like that -- ABC bleeped over the last part of the insult). DeVito then began what was supposed... continue reading
1. NBC Ignores Pelosi Flub, Relays Retort to Bush on Qaeda in Iraq Asked by a reporter about how "President Bush today blamed the surge of violence in Iraq on al Qaeda," incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded with a disjointed answer about how "the 9/11 Commission dismissed that notion a long time ago and I feel sad that the President is resorting to it again." Though al-Qaeda is clearly in Iraq and responsible for deadly bombings, and the 9/11 Commission conclusion was about links before September 11th, on Tuesday's NBC Nightly News reporter David Gregory treated Pelosi's off-base retort... continue reading
1. NBC Concedes Iraq 'Civil War' Description Could 'Erode' Support Twelve hours after the Today show repeatedly announced how NBC News had decided to call the situation in Iraq a "civil war," as if that decision was major news itself, Monday's NBC Nightly News led with the term and conceded it could "erode" public support for the war. NBC's Brian Williams teased: "A critical week for the President and the civil war in Iraq. Is the way out through Iran and Syria?" Then, over a graphic of "IRAQ" with "CIVIL WAR" beneath, Williams led: "Tonight there are moving parts on... continue reading
1. Olbermann: Bush's 'Avoidance of Reality' Will Kill More Americans On Monday's Countdown, MSNBC host Keith Olbermann used his latest "Special Comment" segment to attack President Bush's recent contention, in response to a question about what lessons could be learned from the Vietnam War that "the task in Iraq is going to take a while" and that "we'll succeed unless we quit." The Countdown host started off by charging that President Bush, "who permitted the 'Swift-Boating' of not one but two American heroes of that war," exhibits an "avoidance of reality" that "is going to wind up killing more Americans."... continue reading