Trend Growing: Like Mika, Former Network Anchor Paula Zahn Moderates White House Chat on Women

April 19th, 2012 10:22 PM

On Good Friday, MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski displayed an obvious affinity for the president by moderating a panel at the White House on women and the economy. This is turning into a trend. On Wednesday, former ABC/CBS/CNN/Fox anchor Paula Zahn (now with Investigation Discovery) moderated a panel starring Vice President Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder on the Violence Against Women Act.

The news sat smack dab in the middle of a Dana Milbank column in The Washington Post that announced the Democrats think it's utterly bizarre that anyone would oppose their Violence Against Women Act:

At the White House on Wednesday, Paula Zahn led a panel discussion in which the participants hailed the success of the Violence Against Women Act. Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett hailed the president and vice president’s support for women. Holder hailed Biden and Jarrett’s support for women. The mother of slain University of Virginia student Yeardley Love  hailed Biden’s support for women. And Biden hailed his own support for women. “It’s great to be with so many people I agree with,” he said with a laugh.

Would that include Zahn? Laura Ingraham calls it "The Violence Against Logic Act."

Mostly, though, Biden was confused about why those Republicans don’t join “right-minded people” in renewing the law. “These guys don’t get it,” he said, lowering his voice. “What would it say to our daughters, our wives, our mothers, about whether or not they are entitled to respect and their government believes they’re entitled to be free of this violence? . . . Just imagine the impact on the moral disapprobation of society if this Congress refuses to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.”

Only at the end did Biden tell the audience that he expected the legislation to be renewed. But that isn’t important. In the war against the war on women, the Democrats are taking no prisoners.

It's obvious that the Discovery network folks weren't troubled by the appearance. On their own website, they touted how there's more Obama campaigns on their plate:

In addition, Discovery Education  is working with White House and U.S. Department of Justice advisors to broadcast a live webinar to students across the country about preventing teen dating violence. The webinar, a part of the Discovery Education LIVE  digital series that brings current events to the classroom, will take place at 1pm ET on Wednesday. Lynn Rosenthal (White House Advisor on Violence Against Women), Kathleen Gless (Victim Justice Program Specialist for the U.S. Department of Justice), and Latinisha Lewis (Grant Program Specialist in the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women) will address high school students across the country to discuss warning signs and the ways they can protect themselves against teen dating violence. All are invited to register for the webinar, and an archived version will be made available following the live broadcast at DiscoveryEducation.com.