It looks like the Rev. Al Sharpton is taking Eric Holder's resignation pretty hard. Not only did the liberal activist praise him during Thursday's edition of the Politics Nation program as the first African-American to serve as attorney general, the host of the weekday MSNBC series called him the "best" one in history when it comes to civil rights.

In addition, the liberal activist noted in a statement that he and his civil rights organization -- the National Action Network -- "are engaged in immediate conversations with the White House on deliberations over a successor whom we hope will continue in the general direction” Holder established during his six years in office.

Remember the good old days of 2008, when then-presidential candidate Barack Obama promised his administration would be “the most transparent in history”? Apparently, the Democratic occupant of the White House and his press staff don't, which has led to reporters accusing them of disrupting the balance between government transparency and freedom of the press.

In an article written by Paul Farhi on Tuesday in the Washington Post, he stated: “White House press-pool reports are supposed to be the news media’s eyes and ears on the president, an independent chronicle of his public activities.” However, sometimes the administration “plays an unseen role in shaping the story” by steering coverage in “a more favorable direction.”

It's easy to tell when a popular Republican official who's been living under the shadow of a scandal gets good news: Comedians immediately go on the attack, even if it means dredging up tired, old clichés to do so.

That was the case on HBO's Friday night Real Time With Bill Maher program, when the host unleashed a barrage of “fat jokes” against GOP New Jersey governor Chris Christie, including stating that he and his wife celebrated his exoneration from the “Bridgegate” scandal with a “very romantic eating -- I mean evening.”

During Wednesday evening's edition of The Kelly File, the Fox News Channel host joined guest Jason Chaffetz -- a Republican congressman from Utah -- in accusing Department of Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson of being “less than forthcoming” about four individuals with ties to terrorism in the Middle East who were apprehended while trying to cross the Texas border one day before the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.

When asked by Chaffetz during a meeting of the House Committee on Homeland Security earlier on Wednesday if Johnson was aware of the incident, he stated: “I've heard reports to that effect. I don't know the accuracy of the reports or how much credence to give them.”

HBO host Bill Maher picked on a familiar villain on Friday, blaming Fox News for ruining American politics by creating a "language barrier" that prevents a national dialogue.

Jerry Seinfeld replied: To blame it all on Fox News doesn't seem fair."

During the final segment of MSNBC's coverage of Barack Obama's brief Wednesday night speech -- in which the Democratic occupant of the White House called for air strikes in Iraq and Syria to combat the ISIS terrorist group -- Hardball host Chris Matthews used the occasion to hammer former Vice President Dick Cheney as the cause, not just of the current president's problems in the Middle East, but of creating Islamic terrorism as a whole.

“Please do not listen to Dick Cheney,” Matthews advised Obama. “He’s the one that created Al Qaeda by taking over the holy land in Saudi Arabia. He’s the one that de-Baathicized [sic] the Iraqi government. He created ISIS, and he’s coming back again with more advice.”

During an interview with Joel Keller that was posted Tuesday on the Parade magazine website, “libertarian” comedian Bill Maher hammered the liberal MSNBC cable channel for having “just way too much conformity” and a mantra of “never say anything that will upset our own audience.”

“I’m usually in agreement with what they say over there,” the host of the Friday evening Real Time with Bill Maher HBO series stated. “But I do think there is just too much cheering for your own team, sometimes without being very informed about the issue itself.”

One of Obama's staunchest journalistic supporters, New Yorker editor David Remnick, lamented he "must admit that the president has sometimes been a thick-tongued steward of his own foreign policy."

He's "compiling an anthology of botched pronouncements that have, at best, muddied his intentions."

Have you ever been stuck in “rush hour” traffic and wished you could fly to and from work in a helicopter? If so, you have something in common with Matt Lauer because NBC executives are so anxious to keep the host of its Today morning program happy that they're willing to do just that.

In an article on the Page Six website, reporter Emily Smith stated that Lauer -- who in June extended his $20-million-per-year contract through 2016 -- gets a chopper ride to and from the NBC set to his 40-acre horse farm and nearby mansion in the Hamptons a number of times per week but insists that he and his family live "a painfully normal existence."