MSNBC's Tamron Hall, Andrea Mitchell Omit Potential Jobs Lost Thanks to Obama's Oil Pipeline Punt

November 11th, 2011 6:10 PM

MSNBC daytime host Tamron Hall failed to use the J-word -- jobs -- in alerting MSNBC viewers today of President Obama's decision to delay his decision on authorizing the proposed Keystone oil pipeline.

Noting the story on the 2 p.m. Eastern NewsNation program, Hall described the "massive oil pipeline" project as "controversial" because it would run through "an environmentally-sensitive area in Nebraska." As such, Hall added, President Obama wants to explore "other possible routes." Meanwhile "digging is on hold, likely until after the presidential election."

Four hours earlier on Chris Jansing Reports, substitute host Richard Lui very briefly noted that "critics claim the delay will cost the U.S. some 20,000 new jobs." There was no reference to the fact that many of those critics are Democrat-friendly labor unions.


For her part, veteran journalist Andrea Mitchell brought up the pipeline issue in an interview with former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean in her 12 p.m. Eastern program Andrea Mitchell Reports. Yet Mitchell failed to note that labor unions support the pipeline, portraying the dispute as one between environmentalists and "energy supporters," suggesting it's merely energy companies that are lobbying for the project.

Mitchell also failed to ask Dean about the potential job loss thanks to Obama's decision, although she did press Dean on whether Obama's move was simply a "political" as opposed to a "substantive" policy decision.