Campaigns & Elections

MSNBC's Chris Matthews spent the first 15 minutes of the October 22 "Hardball" haranguing McCain advisor Nancy Pfotenhauer over vice presidential contender Gov. Sarah Palin's view of the role of the Vice President as President of the U.S. Senate. Matthews scoffed that Palin's answers contradict the Constitution, including her telling a 3rd grader today that the Vice President "runs the Senate"…

It could be time to break out those old "Proud Member of the VRWC" coffee mugs collecting dust at the back of your kitchen cabinets.  The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy rides again!Hillary invoked the VRWC yesterday at a campaign event in Minnesota for Al Franken in his race against incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.David Shuster had the report during MSNBC's 4 PM EDT hour today.View video here.

Spreading the WordOn yesterday's Situation Room, CNN's Drew Griffin completely mischaracterized the nature of a "quote" from National Review's Byron York during his interview with Alaskan Republican Governor and Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin.Griffin said to Gov. Palin: "Governor, you've been mocked in the press, the press has been pretty hard on you, the Democrats have been pretty hard on…

In a segment that seemed obnoxiously coy, on Wednesday’s CBS Early Show, correspondent Bill Plante wondered: "...the president has not been out on the campaign trail for Senator McCain, something he offered to do when McCain locked up the nomination in March. So what's up?" Plante later explained: "His press secretary says Mr. Bush has had a lot on his plate the last few months." He then played a…

Wednesday’s CBS Early Show continued pressing the theme that the election is over as co-host Maggie Rodriguez declared: "Countdown to election day. The swing state showdown continues as Obama appears to open up an advantage in early voting." Co-host Harry Smith cited polls with wide margins to further shovel dirt on the McCain campaign: "New polls out with just 13 days to go until election day. A…

Chicago Sun-Times Washington bureau chief Lynn Sweet told a Chicago radio duo this morning that Sen. Joe Biden was not referring specifically to Barack Obama in his now-famous comment at a fundraiser that the Illinois senator would be "tested" by a crisis in the first six months of his administration. (h/t e-mail tipster Rose Wagner)From the October 22 Don Wade & Roma Show on WLS 890-AM in…

ABC reporter Jake Tapper contended on Wednesday's "Good Morning America" that John McCain can still win the presidential election and observed to co-host Diane Sawyer, "...If there's one thing the American people like doing, it's having the media say that this is all over, that one guy's going to win, especially a Democrat." [audio excerpt here]He added, "And then they say, well, not so fast. Not…

See Update at foot: university says Mika will not "represent" Obama.H/t reader Thomas S.  Despite her obvious liberal leanings, Mika Brzezinski prefers to play coy about her presidential preference on Morning Joe.  Mika often deflects co-host Joe Scarborough's accusations that she's in the tank for Obama by invoking the fact that her brother works for McCain.  And I have two beloved liberal Dem…

Liberal reporter David Wright took a swipe at Sarah Palin on Wednesday's edition of "Good Morning America." Discussing Senator Joe Biden's comments over the weekend that Barack Obama will face an international incident within the first six months of his (potential) presidency, the ABC journalist editorialized, "Her own glass house notwithstanding, Sarah Palin has thrown some stones on the issue,…

The Media Research Center's Director of Communications and NewsBusters.org Contributing Editor Seton Motley appeared on the Fox News Channel's Fox & Friends this morning to discuss the media's stone silence on Delaware Democratic Senator and Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden's alarming comments on Sunday: "... (M)ark my words, within the next, first six months of this administration if we…

At the top of Wednesday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez declared: "The McCain campaign under fire for spending $150,000 on clothes and accessories for Sarah Palin and her family." Correspondent Jeff Glor later introduced the story: "Meanwhile, there's another story this morning that's getting a lot of attention and it's about Sarah Palin, who's gotten a lot of attention herself. It…

Who you choose to surround yourself with makes you what you are and we already know Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama's associations with Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko and William Ayers. The media have given an extensive examination to Samuel J. Wurzelbacher aka "Joe the Plumber" and Republican vice-presidential nominee Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. But they've allowed another…

Matt Drudge, with some apparent glee, given the black and white picture he used, reported something yours truly has followed for some time: The Big Three networks' evening newscasts continue to lose viewers.He reports that the numbers, even in a presidential election year, are down from last year: ELECTION REJECTION: NETWORK NEWS SLUMPS; VIEWERSHIP FADES ..... All 3 evening news shows experienced…

The NBC/MSNBC family of networks has been getting maximum mileage out of Chris Matthews's interview of Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) last week.  Matthews himself has been recycling clips ever since. This morning, David Gregory narrated a Today show segment about the interview and its aftermath.  The only journalist whose views Gregory aired were those of Nick Coleman, columnist at the…