CBS Local Political Reporters: Obama Faces 'Major Uphill Battle

September 15th, 2011 9:13 PM
Two out of three CBS local affiliate political reporters featured on Thursday's Early Show bluntly stated that President Obama faces "major uphill battle" in recapturing key states for the 2012 election. Anchor Chris Wragge noted the "all-time low" approval rating for the President, while an Ohio journalist highlighted how a Democratic strategist thought Obama was "feeling more Carter than…

CBS Presents Former Mayor Nagin as an 'Expert' on Eve of Hurricane

August 27th, 2011 10:42 AM
On Friday's Early Show, CBS somehow thought it was appropriate to bring on former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin to offer "lessons learned from other hurricanes," as Hurricane Irene bore down on the East Coast. Anchor Chris Wragge not only failed to ask Nagin about his failures in leadership in the lead-up to Hurricane Katrina, but also twice labeled his guest an "expert in the field" [audio clips…

CBS Runs Out of Time Before Getting to Biden's China Gaffe; Covers It

August 26th, 2011 6:56 PM
CBS referenced Vice President Joe Biden's recent gaffe about "fully understanding" China's one-child policy on Friday's Early Show as "off-the-cuff remarks" and "interesting comments," but failed to get to it during the segment. Anchor Chris Wragge merely explained that viewers would find "more on that on our website." Oddly, Wragge and his colleagues did broach the subject in an online video…

CBS Poses Specter of 'Elitist' Romney as Obama Makes Posh Retreat

August 23rd, 2011 3:03 PM
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…

Sexologist on CBS: 'There's No Such Thing As Being Too Young' For Sex

August 11th, 2011 10:27 PM
On Thursday's Early Show, CBS brought on Dr. Logan Levkoff, a radical sexologist, who not only advocated distributing birth control to 11-year-olds during an October 2007 appearance on ABC's Good Morning America, but also wouldn't rule out giving contraceptives out to elementary school students. When anchor Chris Wragge asked if "eleven is too young" for sex education, Levkoff replied, "There's…

CBS Pushes Liberal Talking Point About Tea Party 'Downgrade

August 8th, 2011 1:45 PM
On Monday's Early Show, CBS's Norah O'Donnell promoted the left-of-center talking point that Standard & Poor's recent lowering of the U.S.'s credit rating is a "Tea Party downgrade." O'Donnell played three sound bites of notable liberals using this line of attack, versus only one opposing from a center-right politician. She also spun Treasury Geithner's decision to stay as "good news for…

CBS Spins New ObamaCare Birth Control Mandate as 'Good News

August 1st, 2011 4:48 PM
On Monday's Early Show, CBS slanted towards supporters of a new Obama administration mandate which requires private insurance companies to cover contraception as part of women's "preventative services." Anchor Chris Wragge labeled the development "good news," while correspondent Michelle Miller failed to include sound bites from opponents during her report on the new regulation. After using…

Networks Deride 'Rebellious' 'Hardline Conservatives' Creating 'Chaos

July 29th, 2011 1:42 PM
On Friday, all three network morning shows played up the theme of stubborn House GOP conservatives opposing Speaker John Boehner's debt ceiling plan. On CBS's Early Show, co-host Chris Wragge proclaimed: "House Republicans will meet again this morning after hardline conservatives handed House Speaker John Boehner a major setback." On ABC's Good Morning America, co-host George Stephanopoulos…

CBS Slants Towards Supporters of Online Sales Taxes

July 21st, 2011 5:09 PM
CBS's John Blackstone apparently couldn't find many opponents of imposing sales taxes on online retailers for his report on Thursday's Early Show, as all but one of his sound bites came from proponents. Blackstone also warned that "states that are already suffering under huge budget deficits will lose more than $11 billion in uncollected sales taxes next year." The correspondent first…

NBC Uniquely Wonders if Obama Is Using 'Scare Tactics' to Hype Social

July 13th, 2011 12:05 PM
Of the three morning shows on Wednesday, only NBC's Today speculated that Barack Obama might be using "scare tactics" with his dire warning that, barring a deal on raising the debt limit, Social Security checks in August might no be mailed out. Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos simply asserted that the "debt crisis in Washington is getting very scary." Stephanopoulos uncritically…

ABC, CBS Heap Praise on 'Baby Whisperer' Barack Obama and His 'Magic

June 22nd, 2011 4:19 PM
The ABC and CBS morning shows on Wednesday  gushed over "baby whisperer" Barack Obama. Both Good Morning America and the Early Show played White House-produced video of the President comforting a baby while working a rope line.  GMA's Lara Spencer lauded, "You know, the President is plenty busy trying to turn the economy around. But he still has time to stop some babies from crying, of…

CBS Lionizes Radical Playwright Who Smeared 'Adolf' Reagan

June 9th, 2011 9:31 PM
On Thursday's Early Show, CBS's Seth Doane and Chris Wragge lauded playwright Larry Kramer and his "brilliantly done...and very good" play, "The Normal Heart," while glossing over his long history of radical homosexual activism. Kramer once denigrated former President Ronald Reagan as "Adolf Reagan" and even went so far to call for "Nuremberg trials" to try not only Reagan, but even the top…

CBS Smacks Romney on Auto Industry Bailout; Goes Easier on DNC Chair

June 4th, 2011 2:04 PM
CBS's Erica Hill hounded newly-announced Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Friday's Early Show about his 2008 proposal to allow the Big Three auto companies to go into bankruptcy proceedings instead of bailing them out: "Based on what we've seen in the auto industry, weren't you wrong in this case?" By contrast, her co-anchor, Chris Wragge, went easier on DNC Chair Debbie…

Morning Shows Tout White House Claim that 'Distraction' Sarah Palin Is

May 27th, 2011 12:49 PM
Covering the growing buzz that Sarah Palin might mount a 2012 presidential campaign, the morning shows on Friday repeated liberal talking points proclaiming that it would be a disaster. Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos insisted that the White House looks "at Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann as, basically, re-election insurance." CBS's Chris Wragge hinted that Palin…