Rahm Emanuel

WaPo's Cohen: Obama Needs To Fire Key People Or Americans Will Fire Him
By Noel Sheppard | September 7, 2010 | 10:31 AM EDT

This really is the summer of media's discontent.

As Barack Obama's poll numbers collapse along with the fate of Democrats in November, more of the President's fans are calling for heads to roll at the White House.

Just four days after Chris "Tingle Up The Leg" Matthews called for both Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Defense Secretary Robert Gates to be given their walking papers, the Washington Post's Richard Cohen warned that if Obama doesn't fire some key people, Americans are going to fire him.

Readers are advised to strap themselves in tightly, for "Obama's Shrinking Presidency" provides some dangerous changes in cabin pressure:

Matthews: Obama Should Replace Rahm Emanuel With Bloomberg, Gates With Hillary
By Noel Sheppard | September 3, 2010 | 7:54 PM EDT

Chris Matthews must really be getting tired of watching the man that used to give him tingles up his leg continue to get crushed in the polls, for on Friday he recommended a serious shakeup in the Obama administration.

First, he want's Defense Secretary Robert Gates to be replaced by Hillary Clinton.

"With her at the Pentagon, he would forge confidence in Middle East policy," said the "Hardball" host.

But the real surprise was Matthews calling for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to either replace Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner or Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Fact Checking ABC's This Week: Most Statements PolitiFact Sees as 'False' Uttered by Democrats
By Rich Noyes | July 4, 2010 | 2:27 PM EDT

Back in April, as ABC's Jake Tapper took over as interim host of This Week (pending the arrival of ex-CNNer Christiane Amanpour in August), the show asked the fact-checkers at PolitiFact to evaluate the truthfulness of statements made on the show.

After nearly three months, the results show far more Democrats and liberals earning a "False" rating, with most of the "True" ratings going to Republicans and conservatives. The discrepency remains even if you take into account that about two-thirds of the evaluated statements came from Democrats in the first place.

From April 11 through June 20, PolitiFact has handed out seven "False" statements -- six to Democrats/liberals, one to a Republican. During that same time, seven "True" labels were handed out -- four for Republicans/conservatives, just two for Democrats (one, ironically, going to former President Bill Clinton).

Retired General Colin Powell also picked up a "True" for a statement about the number of troops President Obama has deployed to Afghanistan, but it's hard to say which side Powell represents these days.

Mother Jones’ David Corn Says BP Oil Spill Great for Democrats
By Jeff Poor | June 22, 2010 | 10:38 AM EDT

The BP oil spill - millions of gallons of oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico, coastal businesses from Houston to Tampa shuttered, the potential for higher energy costs across the country and untold ecological damage. But according to Mother Jones magazine's David Corn, there is a silver-lining in all of this - that is, if you're a Democrat. 

MSNBC's June 21 "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" deviated from its usual efforts to blame the previous administration for the oil spill and instead gave thanks that the spill led to Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, apologizing to BP CEO Tony Hayward in a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing.

"I think it's every single Democrat in America - they're saying, ‘Joe Barton, you go for it,'" Corn said. "You keep that ranking member position. Don't - you know, stick to your guns. I mean, after all, I mean, you made this point, I've written about this, others have made this point - It wasn't a gaffe. Joe Barton said what he believed."

Fact Check Fail: Think Progress Cherry-Picks Evidence for Anti-Palin, Anti-GOP Attack
By Jeff Poor | June 21, 2010 | 6:14 PM EDT

Usually when you see something on the Center for American Progress' Think Progress blog, you ignore it (or at best take it with a grain of salt) because you know its fundamental objective is to score some inane point against conservatives or the Republican Party.

But a June 21 post by Tanya Somanader, categorized as "Radical Right-Wing Agenda" was too hard to let go. In her post, "Fact Checking Sarah Palin: Joe Barton Reflects The Philosophy Of Over 115 Republicans" Somanader used guilt by association to back up White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's claim that the ill-advised remarks of Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, were indicative the GOP's "larger philosophy."

Former Republican vice-presidential nominee and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin attacked Emanuel for the claim he made on the June 20 broadcast of ABC's "This Week" on her Twitter feed:

RahmEmanuel= as shallow/narrowminded/political/irresponsible as they come,to falsely claim Barton's BP comment is "GOP philosophy"Rahm,u lie

Open Thread: Rahmbo Expected to Quit
By NB Staff | June 21, 2010 | 9:07 AM EDT

Sources say the White House chief of staff is tired of the administraiton's "idealism." He is expected to resign within 6 to 8 months.

Late Night Open Thread: Rahm Emanuel Leaving White House?
By NB Staff | June 20, 2010 | 11:41 PM EDT

Rahm Emanuel Expected to Quit White House

Sestak Still Hasn't Denied He Was Offered Navy Job
By Mark Finkelstein | May 28, 2010 | 8:31 PM EDT
Has it dawned on the MSM that the only thing that would have carried any weight today would have been Joe Sestak unequivocally stating that he wasn't offered the Sec. of the Navy job?  He didn't.  Sure, Pres. Obama's mouthpiece issued a denial.  But if there was any way under heaven that the White House could have strong-armed Sestak into flatly stating that no one offered him the Navy post, it would have happened. It didn't.

Instead, all Sestak says is that Pres. Clinton offered him some measly advisory board position, which he rejected.  And indeed, Sestak tells a reporter that Clinton told him that "Rahm Emanuel" had mentioned the possibility of an advisory board position.  So we know Emanuel was in the mix. Sestak is quoted as saying that he only had "one phone call" with Pres. Clinton.  But he never said he didn't subsequently hear from Emanuel or some other senior Obama aide.

'Press Wouldn't Cover Sestak Story If Rahm Announced It On Pennsylvania Ave. In A Speedo'
By Mark Finkelstein | May 28, 2010 | 7:35 AM EDT
Just how desperately does the MSM want to bury the Sestak job-bribe story?  Yesterday we reported Time editor Rick Stengel's risibly feigned ignorance of the matter.

On Morning Joe today, Joe Scarborough broke off a colorful metaphor to describe the liberal media's see-no-evil approach to the subject, saying the MSM wouldn't cover the story "if Rahm Emanuel announced it in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue wearing nothing but a Speedo."

Mika Brzezinski broached the subject by mentioning that she had gotten "hammered" by her husband and friends for her criticism of the MSM's failure to ask the tough questions on the matter.
Time's Grunwald on Sestak Job Offer: 'Criminally Stupid, Not Criminal'
By Ken Shepherd | May 27, 2010 | 11:57 AM EDT

Imagine if, in 2004, Karl Rove had offered then-Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) a cushy administration post if only he dropped his primary challenge of then-Republican Sen. Arlen Specter, whom the Bush White House was backing for reelection.

Surely the media would merely smell "stupid politics" rather then the stench of corruption and complain that Democrats making hay of the matter were cynically making a federal case out of something that happens in Washington all the time.

Of course both you and I know that's the exact opposite of what would happen. But when it comes to Joe Sestak's alleged job offer by the Obama White House, Time magazine's Michael Grunwald is peeved at Republicans, practically telling them in his May 27 "Viewpoint" post at Time.com to move along:

Obama: Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck Fans - Check Out Huffington Post
By Noel Sheppard | May 1, 2010 | 3:26 PM EDT

"If you’re a fan of Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh, try reading a few columns on the Huffington Post website."

So said President Barack Obama in his commencement address to the University of Michigan 2010 graduates Saturday. 

"If we choose only to expose ourselves to opinions and viewpoints that are in line with our own, studies suggest that we will become more polarized, more set in our ways," ironically said the President.

"But if we choose to actively seek out information that challenges our assumptions and our beliefs, perhaps we can begin to understand where the people who disagree with us are coming from."

Obama then gave some examples to the audience (video follows - courtesy The Right Scoop - with transcript and commentary, h/t our old friend Ian Schwartz, photo courtesy AP): 

After Obsessing Over Enron's Political Friends, Media Mostly Ignore Much Deeper Obama-Goldman Sachs Connections
By Lachlan Markay | April 20, 2010 | 5:02 PM EDT
President Obama has extensive ties to Goldman Sachs. Yet even given record-breaking financial contributions and sketchy relationships between Goldman executives and Obama officials at the highest level, the mainstream media will not afford Obama the same scrutiny it gave to George W. Bush during the collapse of Enron.

Obama's inflation-adjusted $1,007,370.85 in contributions from Goldman employees is almost seven times as much as the $151,722.42 (also inflation-adjusted) that Bush received from Enron. Goldman was one of the chief beneficiaries of the TARP bailout package -- supported by then-Senator Obama -- and has been a force for -- not against -- Democratic financial "reform" proposals currently under Senate consideration.

Despite the extensive connections between President Obama and Goldman Sachs, the same media that vaguely alleged unseemly connections between the Bush administration and Enron after its 2001 collapse have barely noticed the Obama administration's prominent ties to Goldman (h/t J.P. Freire).