Foreign Policy

Mohyeldin's Pauline Kael Moment: 'Every Single Person I Spoke to' Says Trump Plan 'Disastrous'
By Mark Finkelstein | December 8, 2015 | 8:50 PM EST

Call Ayman Mohyeldin "the Duke Ellington Reporter" in homage to the jazz great's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore." Or perhaps you could say that Mohyeldin had his Pauline Kael moment, after the New York Times movie critic who, as legend has it, averred she couldn't understand how Nixon won since she didn't know anyone who voted for him.

Isn't a reporter supposed to, you know, get around and speak with people with a range of views?  Not Ayman. On this evening's Hardball, Mohyeldin said that "every single person I've spoke to" said [Trump's Muslim immigration plan] would be "disastrous." But just a bit earlier in the show, Michael Steele cited a poll showing that 56% of Americans believe that Islam is incompatible with American values. Mohyeldin apparently didn't have a chance to chat with any of the majority of Americans. Not surprising, coming from the man who called American Sniper Chris Kyle a "racist" who went on "killing sprees."

CNN, ABC, CBS Hype Philadelphia Daily News Likening Trump To Hitler
By Matthew Balan | December 8, 2015 | 1:49 PM EST

CNN, ABC, and CBS's morning newscasts on Tuesday all touted the Philadelphia Daily News's thinly-veiled comparison of Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler on their front page. On Good Morning America, George Stephanopoulos pointed out to Trump himself that the headline "says, 'The New Furor Over Donald Trump,' showing you raising your hand in a pretty demonstrative gesture." On New Day, CNN's Chris Cuomo held a picture of the front page on-camera: "You wound up on the Philadelphia Inquirer (sic) front page like Hitler! They got you in a personage of Hitler right now!"

Bernie Goldberg Sees ‘Tipping Point’ in Liberal Media Defense of Obama
By Kyle Drennen | December 8, 2015 | 12:48 PM EST

Appearing on Fox News’s O’Reilly Factor Monday night, media analyst Bernie Goldberg ripped President Obama’s address to nation on terrorism and argued that even members of the liberal media would start to abandon the commander-in-chief: “There are people in the media who have a lot invested in Barack Obama and they're not gonna throw him under the bus. But when Barack Obama makes you look foolish by defending him, that's another story.”

Mika On Trump Muslim Plan: I Blame George W. Bush
By Mark Finkelstein | December 8, 2015 | 8:08 AM EST

One of James Taranto's tongue-in-cheek tropes at his Best of the Web Today column is "We Blame George Bush." As Wikipedia describes it, the trope "is a play on the perceived tendency for many of his detractors to lay the blame for pretty much anything" on Bush. In a recent example, "We Blame George W. Bush" was placed over a headline reading “Slipping Into a Food Coma? Blame Your Gut Microbes.” 

And lo and behold, from today's Morning Joe comes a real-life example of the phenomenon. Mika Brzezinski blamed Donald Trump's proposal to ban all Muslims from the US, on in part—you guessed it—George W. Bush. In fairness, Mika did also blame the Obama admin. She argued that foreign policy blunders not just by the Obama administration but "by the George W. Bush administration"  created feelings that Trump is tapping into. For Mika to reach back to blame Bush for Trump's proposal, when even liberals praise him for going out of his way, for example, six days after 9-11, to declare "Islam is peace," etc. is something between outrageous and hilarious.

Zakaria Oozes: ‘Cool’ ‘Fireman’ Obama Used Speech ‘to Douse’ Donald Trump’s ‘Flames’
By Curtis Houck | December 8, 2015 | 2:41 AM EST

In the latest analogy put forth by a member of the liberal media to praise President Obama, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria opined on Monday’s CNN Tonight that the President used his speech to the nation on Sunday to come across as the “cool” “fireman” who will “douse” the “flames” started by Donald Trump. Additionally, Zakaria hailed the speech as “vintage Obama” as he conducted “an adult conversation” with the American people about ISIS and forced them to accept his ISIS strategy since “not a lot of people have come up with an alternative.”

Kelly, Kurtz Unload on Media for ‘Ludicrous’ Complaints Over Terrorist Photo; ‘No One Gives a Crap’
By Curtis Houck | December 8, 2015 | 12:49 AM EST

Ripping members of the liberal media who’ve criticized press outlets for publishing photos of San Bernardino terrorist Tashfeen Malik wearing a hijab, Fox News host Megyn Kelly teamed with guest Howard Kurtz on Monday night to excoriate the “ludicrous” line of thinking by Melissa Harris-Perry and an Al Jazeera producer (among others) that even led Kelly to exclaim that “[n]o one gives a crap about that.”

CBS Runs CAIR-Heavy Piece on Islamophobia Fears Post-San Bernardino
By Curtis Houck | December 7, 2015 | 10:06 PM EST

On Monday, the CBS Evening News ran a full story about fears of continued Islamophobia in America following the terror attack in San Bernardino and turned to none other than the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for help, but neglected to mention CAIR’s extremist tendencies and how an official recently blamed the United States and the West for the spread of terrorism.

Heilemann: Some Say Trump Muslim Plan 'Fascist,' I Say 'Reactionary'
By Mark Finkelstein | December 7, 2015 | 6:57 PM EST

For a moment there, it looked like John Heilemann might go Absolut Olbermann and call Donald Trump a "fascist" for his proposal which would for the time being bar the entry of all Muslims into the United States.

But Heilemann backed off that f-word. While noting "some will say fascist" about Trump or his policy, Heilemann declared "I'm not saying that." Instead, he settled for asserting that there are "many voters in the country who are in fact reactionary" and that there is no way to describe Trump's policy "other than reactionary." 

CBS Recites White House Talking Points Defending Obama Speech; ABC Calls it ‘Historic’
By Kyle Drennen | December 7, 2015 | 3:49 PM EST

Covering President Obama’s Sunday night address on Monday’s CBS This Morning, co-host Norah O’Donnell turned to White House correspondent Major Garrett for “new insight on why the President spoke last night.” After briefly noting “lukewarm” reviews of the speech, Garrett proceeded to parrot administration talking points excusing the President’s poor performance. ABC’s Good Morning America labeled the President’s speech as “rare” and “historic.”

NBC Rips Obama Speech: ‘He Didn’t Offer Anything New’
By Kyle Drennen | December 7, 2015 | 1:30 PM EST

Moments before President Obama’s Sunday night address to the nation about the San Bernardino terrorist attack, NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt hoped the speech might be “a defining moment for his presidency.” By Monday morning, reaction from hosts and analysts on the Today show made it clear the presidential remarks were not impressive.

When Obama Loses Mika's Daughter...
By Mark Finkelstein | December 7, 2015 | 7:43 AM EST

Given the Morning Joe reviews, if President Obama's terrorism speech were a Broadway show, it would have closed after one night. From Richard Haass to Richard Engel, Joe Scarborough to Willie Geist, the prez's performance was universally panned. 

And in the cruelest comment of all, Mika Brzezinski reported that "I watched it with my youngest daughter who's very, very interested and we were waiting for the address, and sat together and watched. And when he was finished she got up and left. She goes: I don't really know what the point of that was." Mr. President, when you've lost Mika's daughter . . . But hey, look at the bright side: you could fire up Air Force One and still make an afternoon tee time in Palm Springs.

CNN Split; Political Analysts Praise Obama Speech as Foreign Panelists Pan His ‘Self-Congratulation’
By Curtis Houck | December 7, 2015 | 2:38 AM EST

Following President Obama’s Sunday night address, the always large post-event panel on CNN had plenty to say, but it was quite the disconnect as many of their political commentators hailed the “straightforward” speech by the President while two of their foreign policy analysts panned the President’s “self-congratulation” and having “his head...in the clouds if he thinks this current strategy is going to succeed.”