Campaigns & Elections

"On executions, Perry easily holds the record," blares the top headline on page A3 of today's Washington Post. "Issue likely to be debated in 2012 race," a subheadline to the story notes although nowhere in his 37-paragraph article does reporter Robert Barnes cite polling data that suggest capital punishment is an issue of primary or even secondary concern to likely 2012 presidential voters.

Guest hosting for Chris Matthews on Tuesday, MSNBC's Chris Jansing derided Rick Perry, wondering if the Republican presidential candidate is "too far off even for the GOP?" Jansing, who normally hosts supposedly straight news coverage for the cable network, attempted to generate controversy over statements Perry made on civil rights. A MSNBC graphic for the segment, mocked, "I have a scheme…

The morning shows on NBC and CBS skipped a new Gallup poll finding Barack Obama either behind or tied with his Republican challengers. Only ABC's Good Morning America mentioned the stark numbers. In an otherwise unrelated story on Sarah Palin, George Stephanopoulos briefly mentioned, "We're going to switch gears now to politics and there is a brand-new Gallup poll showing that the four top…

CBS's Jan Crawford highlighted Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney 's fortune on Tuesday's Early Show and how "wealthier candidates, like Romney, John Kerry, and Jon Huntsman, are...hit with that nasty insult they're an elitist." Crawford did mention how that label has also been leveled at President Obama on more than one occasion, but also forwarded a myth about former President…

Newsweek's Michael Tomasky counts himself as one of many "impressed liberal[s]" who are heartened by Jon Huntsman's attacks on Rick Perry. Writing yesterday on the Daily Beast website, Tomasky suggested the former Utah governor was "a narrow thread of hope about the future" of the GOP dominated by both leaders and rank-and-file primary voters who are far from "reasonable." As such, Huntsman…

Contrary to the media myth that none of the Republican presidential candidates can beat President Obama next fall, a new Gallup poll suggests that the top four GOP candidates would actually all have close races with Obama if the election were held today. Mitt Romney polled 2% above Obama, 48% to 46%, Rick Perry was tied with Obama, at 47%, Ron Paul lagged polled 2% below Obama, 45% to 47%,…

It's enough to make you scream . . . On Morning Joe today, Howard Dean rapped Mitt Romney for calling on the Libyan rebels to turn Gaddafi over to the US for trial.  According to Dean, Romney's suggestion made "no sense" and exposed his lack of foreign policy experience. There was just one little problem with Howie's hypothesis.   Romney never called for the rebels to turn Gaddafi over to…

Did Al Sharpton just suggest that if Rudy Giuliani were ever to become Vice-President, the former Mayor of New York might try to murder the president?  It sure sounded like it. On his MSNBC show this evening, Sharpton asked Bob Shrum: "would you ever want to be president with Rudy Giuliani as the Vice-President, given his ambition?" Video after the jump.

It's got to be the hat . . . In an entertaining interview with Tamron Hall on MSNBC this afternoon, Dem congresswoman Frederica Wilson of Florida cited "racism" first among causes of high black unemployment.  She also: called for a second stimulus; said now is not the time to criticize President Obama; took a sideways swipe at Maxine Waters; and asserted President Obama would be defeated for…

There is squabbling in the White House. President Barack Obama's approval rating has dipped to unprecedented lows in the polls, and he has not a clue as to what to do about it. Within the president's team there are the pragmatists led by David Plouffe (pronounced plu' fey) and William M. Daley who favor small gestures. I mean really small gestures. They would opt for free trade agreements,…

I've been wondering for a while now why the heck Rep. Thad McCotter is running for president of the United States. Yes, you read that correctly. You may not have encountered the Michigan Republican as a candidate because he did not meet the one-percent poll- threshold rule for the recent Fox News debate in Iowa. But days later, at the Iowa Straw Poll in Ames, there he was.

Want to watch an MSM version of Stand By Your Man?   Check out the video here after the jump.  Tamron Hall, theoretically an MSNBC show "host" and not a pundit, gets visibly upset with Michael Singh, a former foreign policy adviser to President George W. Bush.  Singh's sin?  Apparently being insufficiently enthusiastic in his praise of President Obama's handling of the Libyan situation. The…

The opening sentence of Charles Babington's "objective report" about the possible extension of what was billed late last year as a "temporary payroll tax cut" reads like a Democratic National Committee press release: "News flash: Congressional Republicans want to raise your taxes." It doesn't get any better until the final paragraph. Babington's babble is otherwise a long-winded, chidish…

On his syndicated program, Sunday, Chris Matthews slammed Rick Perry for being too "nasty" to Barack Obama. The liberal host also wondered if the fact that Perry is not a Mormon gives southerners a "permission slip" to like him. Speculating on the Texas Governor's popularity, Matthews theorized, "Do you think part of this southern appeal of this guy, who is to most of us this guy, Rick Perry…