NB Chat: Tea Party Presidential Debate

September 12th, 2011 6:40 PM
Tonight at 8pm is the latest Republican presidential candidate debate. This event is sponsored by the Tea Party Express and will be broadcast live on CNN television and also online. CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, who has been rather race-obsessed and protective of President Obama, will be the host. If you're watching the debate, feel free to join fellow NBers in a live chat about the debate right…

CNN Picks Wolf Blitzer to Host Tea Party Debate, But He Implied Tea Pa

September 12th, 2011 3:58 PM
Wolf Blitzer will serve as the host of tonight’s “Tea Party debate” on CNN, co-sponsored by the Tea Party Express. But while Blitzer’s show plans to present questioners from the Tea Party, it’s likely Blitzer will "balance" that by  pressing Republicans from the left, just as NBC’s Brian Williams did last week on MSNBC. For example, four years ago, at the June 5, 2007 presidential debate,…

CNN: Is Perry a 'Bomb Thrower' for Calling Social Security a Ponzi Sch

September 12th, 2011 12:40 PM
The day after the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, CNN asked if Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry was being a "bomb thrower" for vilifying Social Security as a Ponzi scheme. After playing a clip of Perry calling the program a "monstrous lie" and a "Ponzi scheme," CNN's Kyra Phillips teed up Democratic strategist Maria Cardona with this question: "Bomb thrower or…

Brian Williams Wonders When Obama Will 'Channel His Inner Harry Truman

September 12th, 2011 11:12 AM
Appearing on Monday's NBC Today to preview his exclusive interview with President Obama, Nightly News anchor Brian Williams revealed some of his softball questions: "I went on to ask him when he's going to channel his inner Harry Truman, as members of his base have been asking....I also asked him about all the people who voted for the man on the poster that said, 'Hope.' That answer was…

Open Thread: Will Pawlenty's Endorsement Help Romney

September 12th, 2011 10:09 AM
Former presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty has been out of the race for nearly a month, following poor results at the Iowa Straw Poll, but he hasn't been completely silent. He endorsed Mitt Romney for president this morning on Fox News. In his words, "There's one candidate in this race who's unmatched in his skills and experience and talent when it comes to turning around this economy and…

WaPo Columnist: GOP Slogan Should Be 'Repeal the 20th Century

September 12th, 2011 6:59 AM
On the front of Sunday's Business section, Washington Post columnist Steven Pearlstein slammed GOP candidates: "If you came up with a bumper sticker that pulls together the platform of this year’s crop of Republican presidential candidates, it would have to be: Repeal the 20th century. Vote GOP." Pearlstein seemed especially insulted that Gov. Rick Perry would suggest John Maynard Keynes and…

O'Reilly Tells Ingraham NBC's Todd Worked for Lib Senator, 'His Wife M

September 12th, 2011 12:34 AM
The story broken by NewsBusters last week involving Chuck Todd saying NBC's pollsters were "concerned" about President Obama's poll numbers has brought some scrutiny on the Peacock Network's chief White House correspondent. After radio's Laura Ingraham questioned Todd about this issue Thursday, Fox News's Bill O'Reilly brought her on his program Friday saying, "We did a little research on Mr…

Shocking NYT Front Page Headline: 'Employers Say Jobs Plan Won’t Lea

September 10th, 2011 4:34 PM
A day after the New York Times published an editorial praising President Obama for his "ambitious," "robust," and "far-reaching" jobs address the previous evening, the Gray Lady printed a front page story with the shocking headline, "Employers Say Jobs Plan Won’t Lead to Hiring Spur." The first few paragraphs were just as surprising:

Matthews Was Against Calling Social Security a Ponzi Scheme Before He

September 10th, 2011 3:00 PM
As NewsBusters previously reported, MSNBC's Chris Matthews on Thursday admitted that Social Security is technically a Ponzi scheme. Less than 24 hours earlier, in numerous post-debate discussions, the "Hardball" host criticized Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry for saying the same thing (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Krauthammer Schools WaPo's King on Obama: He'd Be a Good Professor But

September 10th, 2011 10:28 AM
Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer and the Washington Post's Colby King got into a heated debate about Barack Obama on Friday's "Inside Washington." After King compared the current White House resident to Harry Truman, Krauthammer struck back with a list of Obama's shortcomings concluding, "He would be a good professor...He can do a lot of things, but run the United States he can't" (…

Morning Joe Hosts Scoff at Perry's Chances: Romney Has Nomination 'in

September 9th, 2011 5:31 PM
On Friday, another Morning Joe host went out on a limb and confidently predicted the political demise of Rick Perry. Discussing the Republican presidential candidate's positions on Social Security, Mika Brzezinski proclaimed, "Then, Mitt Romney has this thing in the bag. I mean, are you kidding me?" Brzezinski's comments came just nine days after Joe Scarborough declared, "Of course, [Rick…

After GOP Debate, Networks Turn to a Democrat; After Obama's Speech? A

September 9th, 2011 12:41 PM
On Thursday, the day after the Republican presidential debate, the network morning shows turned to a high profile Democrat for a response. On Friday, the day after Barack Obama's jobs speech to Congress, the same programs turned to Democratic Vice President Joe Biden.     On Friday's Good Morning America, George Stephanopoulos offered this softball to Biden: "Mark Zandi, the economist says…

'New Yorker' Editor: Obama Responsible for Lack of Anti-Americanism in

September 9th, 2011 10:56 AM
By all accounts, President Obama has been far more hawkish than anyone anywhere in the world could have possibly imagined. Despite this, "New Yorker" magazine editor David Remnick told the crew at MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Friday that the current Administration is responsible for the lack of anti-American displays in Arab Spring uprisings (video follows with transcript and commentary):

NY Times 'News' Story Hits G.O.P.'s 'Untrue...Misleading' Claims About

September 9th, 2011 9:20 AM
Three liberal New York Times reporters teamed up Thursday morning to fact-check the Republican debate (and defend Obama) at the Reagan library. John Broder, Nicholas Confessore, and Jackie Calmes cowrote “Attacking the Democrats, but Not Always Getting It Right,” which was not labeled or presented as "news analysis" (a label the Times is using less of lately) but as a factual news story. The…