NBC's Lauer Hopes for Obama 'Escape Hatch' on Syria, So He Can 'Save F

September 9th, 2013 12:51 PM
On Monday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer and chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd engaged in a strategy session over how President Obama could minimize any political damage from Congress voting down a strike on Syria. Lauer fretted: "Is there an escape hatch for the President? Is there a way for him to save face politically if this vote goes against him?" [Listen to the audio or watch…

Time Mag Spins: Serial Adulterer RFK Jr. Suffered 'Painful Struggle' w

September 9th, 2013 12:35 PM
When it comes to light that a prominent liberal Democrat has committed a series of sexual transgressions, there are two typical responses from media outlets: ignore the story and hope it goes away or spin it as best as they possibly can. The latter approach typically involves either highlighting how said politician and his wife are grappling with rebuilding their marriage and family or by…

As Opposition to Syria Strike Builds, NBC's Russert Tries to Whip Up S

September 6th, 2013 5:54 PM
In back-to-back interviews with members on Congress on Friday's MSNBC Daily Rundown, fill-in host Luke Russert desperately tried to sell Democrats and Republicans on the importance of supporting President Obama taking military action against Syria. [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump] Talking to Democratic Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly, Russert worried: "How much of…

CBS Laments Pope's 'Religious Street Protest' is Anti-Obama, Pro-Putin

September 6th, 2013 2:58 PM
On Friday's CBS This Morning, Mark Phillips all but hinted that Pope Francis had "taken sides" with Russia's Vladimir Putin and against President Obama in the international debate over military strikes in Syria. Phillips proposed that the Pope's letter to Putin "must have been music to the Russian president's ears." The journalist also turned to a "Vatican historian" who once publicly…

NBC's Mitchell Blames Iraq 'Hangover' for Obama's 'Credibility Gap' on

September 5th, 2013 5:36 PM
In an interview with former Bush national security advisor Stephen Hadley on her Thursday MSNBC show, host Andrea Mitchell pinned all of President Obama's problems selling military action in Syria to the Iraq War: "There is such a credibility gap between the White House and Congress, the leftover, the hangover from the Iraq War. So can you be at least a little sympathetic to what the…

CNN's Carol Costello Aghast at Rush Limbaugh's Kids Book: 'I'm A Littl

September 5th, 2013 4:08 PM
[Update, Friday, 1:45 pm Eastern: Carol Costello is standing by her anti-Limbaugh Tweet, according to a report on TVNewser blog. The unnamed CNN spokesperson claimed Costello's Tweet was deleted, but it's actually still up -- see link below.] Someone pass the smelling salts. Liberal CNN host Carol Costello expressed her disgust over conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh's upcoming…

Chuck Todd: GOP Actually to Blame for Obama Denying Red Line Comments

September 5th, 2013 2:45 PM
On Wednesday's MSNBC Daily Rundown, minutes after President Obama denied setting a "red line" on Syria's use of chemical weapons, chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd excused the obvious falsehood: "I think it was clear that the President was trying to depersonalize the Syria issue a little bit....to say, you know, 'Stop making this about the President personally, depersonalize this.'" […

CBS Points Out Obama's Odd 'Red Line' Denial; NBC Spins It As 'Redefin

September 5th, 2013 1:39 PM
Wednesday's CBS Evening News twice underlined President Obama's 2012 "red line" remark before playing a soundbite of the Democrat's "I didn't set a red line" reversal earlier in the day. Scott Pelley noted that "a year ago, he [Obama] warned the Syrian dictator that a red line would be crossed if the dictator used chemical weapons against his rebellious citizens." Major Garrett soon added that…

CBS Hypes 'Big Star Power' Promoting ObamaCare Exchanges

September 4th, 2013 2:16 PM
On Wednesday's CBS This Morning, Jan Crawford boosted the latest pro-ObamaCare campaign from the President's supporters in Hollywood. Crawford played back-to-back soundbites from liberal comedian Will Ferrell's "Funny or Die" website, and highlighted the list of celebrities who have signed up for the campaign. The correspondent did later acknowledge that the controversial law is still "…

NBC's Guthrie to Rumsfeld: Do You Take 'Responsibility' for 'Specter o

September 4th, 2013 12:33 PM
In an exclusive interview with former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Wednesday's NBC Today, co-host Savannah Guthrie attempted to blame the Bush administration for President Obama's difficulty in garnering support for military action against Syria: "Looming over this debate time and time again has been the specter of Iraq. Most recently, the U.K. Parliament, many members cited the failure…

CBS Highlights Benghazi Anniversary; Fails to Mention Obama and Hillar

September 3rd, 2013 5:25 PM
Tuesday's CBS This Morning spotlighted the upcoming one-year anniversary of the Islamist attack on the U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, but whitewashed the role of President Obama and his administration, including that of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Anchors Charlie Rose, Norah O'Donnell, and Gayle King didn't once mention Obama or Clinton's name during an interview…

NBC Political Editor: If Hillary Were Running in Virginia, She'd Be Wi

September 3rd, 2013 5:12 PM
On Tuesday's MSNBC Daily Rundown, NBC senior political editor Mark Murray dismissed the notion that if Democrat Terry McAuliffe lost the closely contested Virginia governor's race, it would not be a defeat for his strongest backers, the Clintons: "I'm not sure this race is going to impact Hillary Clinton or Bill Clinton if McAuliffe wins or if he loses. Simply because if Hillary Clinton were…

Rangel Calls Obama-Syria Situation 'Embarrassing'; Press, Other Than P

September 3rd, 2013 2:28 PM
Monday morning, 22-term Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel of New York, as reported by Tal Kopan at the Politico, said that President Barack Obama's drawing of a "red line" on Syria is "embarrassing," and that he is against "putting our kids in harm’s way to solve an international problem." Rangel is the third most-senior House member of either party. If a senior Republican congressperson…

Donny Deutsch To Scarborough: 'Your Liberal Friends Are Making You Sof

September 3rd, 2013 9:54 AM
It's something we've been saying at NewsBusters for some time: living in his MSM/political bubble has turned Joe Scarborough—once a conservative congressman representing the Florida panhandle—soft. So it was refreshing to hear someone who travels in the same circles as Scarborough make the same observation.  On today's Morning Joe, man-about-Manhattan-and-the-Hamptons Donny Deutsch told…