Campaigns & Elections

Before footnoting Hillary Clinton’s awkward answer on her speaking fees to Wall Street firms from Wednesday’s Democratic Presidential Town Hall, NBC News Clinton correspondent Andrea Mitchell gushed on Thursday’s NBC Nightly News how Clinton “show[ed] her softer, more reflective side in New Hampshire” with “a rare glimpse last night.” 

"You're kind of cranky, but you know your sh*t!" That's how Hardball host Chris Matthews complimented his guest, former Gov. John Sununu (R-N.H.), as he thanked him for appearing on the Thursday night edition of Hardball.

One of the perks of having a weekend show on CNN is the ability to recycle your lamest talking points on CNN.com – look no further than Michael Smerconish. Back in 2010, he complained mightily that moderates couldn’t find a spot in the national conversation, that politics is based on the political extremes of talk radio.  Now in 2016, he's repeating his point, and insisting that conservative…

In the many decades I have had the pleasure of covering the Clintons, I have developed several themes about them that have, over the years, been validated by fact. One theme is that there is a Clinton curse. 

In a chat with the publisher of the Manchester Union Leader this afternoon on MSNBC, Chris Matthews trotted out a tired line of his about how Marco Rubio is a "robot" who was programmed by the "neocons." Mercifully he didn't use his borderline anti-Semitic crack about how he's Sheldon Adelson's sock puppet.

Talking to Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina on Thursday about possibly being excluded from ABC’s GOP presidential debate on Saturday, MSNBC host Kate Snow touted a Washington Post hit piece accusing the businesswoman of “playing the gender card”: “...a conservative writer wrote that you're playing the gender card about this....Is it fair to say that you're playing the race – the…

Last Sunday at a rally for Ted Cruz in Iowa, two liberal college students from Massachusetts decided to play a prank on the GOP candidate and garner some media attention. They succeeded with a featured article in the Boston Globe and the Associated Press February 1, and the Washington Post February 2. The AP story was picked up by several news outlets including ABCNews.com. 

Liberal pundits on CNN Tonight early on Thursday morning touted how Bernie Sanders spoke about his religious/spiritual views. Van Jones emphasized how Sanders, during the network's Democratic presidential town hall earlier in the evening, "did something tonight that I thought was good...He talked about his own spirituality, and he talked about...how religion and his religious views inform his…

Just before the filing deadline, BLM activist Deray Mckesson joined the mayoral race in Baltimore on Wednesday evening and the national media took note. Maybe that’s because Mckesson was already the media’s appointed spokesman for the Black Lives Matter movement, being featured everywhere from MSNBC to CNN  to C-Span. What should’ve been a local news story was highlighted by all the major…

On Thursday, all three network morning shows touted Hillary Clinton’s performance at CNN’s Democratic town hall event. On NBC’s Today, correspondent Andrea Mitchell gushed: “A different side of Hillary Clinton was on display Wednesday night.”

Nightline reporters on Wednesday offered a gushing look at Bernie Sanders, hailing the “political revolution” by the socialist senator and praising his presidential campaign as “on fire.” The almost-seven minute segment was devoid of questioning the presidential candidate’s ideology. Instead, journalist David Wright informed viewers, “Integrity and authenticity are words his supporters use.” 

John Llloyd spotlighted how Ted Cruz has picked a fight with the media in a Thursday item for Reuters: "Most Republican contenders take a swing at the media, but Cruz swings more than others." Lloyd pointed out how after his victory in Iowa, Cruz "did not forget to say that it was the American people, not the media, who had chosen him. A supporter emphasized the point by waving a placard in front…

Senator Ted Cruz on Thursday battled with ABC’s Tom Llamas after the Good Morning America reporter accused the Republican of using “dirty tricks” against Ben Carson in Iowa. Regarding a press release and a tweet sent out by the Cruz campaign on caucus night, Llamas demanded, “Will you fire or suspend anyone at your campaign for putting out misinformation?...Is it a dirty trick to confuse voters?”

Joe Scarborough has denied having it in for Marco Rubio. But on today's Morning Joe, he went on an anti-Rubio rant so protracted that one segment wasn't enough to contain it. Scarborough first called Rubio the "Republican Obama," who's been marketed like a "bag of potato chips," and the "emptiest suit" in the campaign. After a commercial break, Scarborough hectored Rick Santorum, who has just…