MSNBC's Toure Argues Put 2008 Aside; Only Re-electing Obama in 2012 Wi

From his spot on the Time Ideas blog, the MSNBC anchor Toure admitted "If President Obama had to run against Senator Obama of 2008, he’d probably be crushed. Back then, Obama seemed superhuman; today he is merely mortal. His victory in 2008 was historic, breaking the race barrier in the nation’s highest office." Guess what came next. Re-electing Obama is a greater test of whether America is…
Tim Graham
September 30th, 2012 1:00 PM

NY Times Ignores Muslim Day Parade Call for 'Blasphemy' Law, State Sen

Note:  This post has been revised to reflect the Times's 2012 coverage. The original version erroneously linked to a 2010 article. I sincerely regret the error. The New York Times's coverage of year's annual Muslim Day parade in Manhattan appears to have consisted of a photo at This Week in Pictures and another at the City Room blog. At the end of the parade, in news not relayed by the…
Tom Blumer
September 30th, 2012 10:06 AM

More Obama Reelect-Presumptive Coverage at the Politico: 'America's Ne

Does anyone remember anybody in the establishment press speculating over who might hold Cabinet positions during a second Bush 43 term in the fall of 2004 without qualifying it with "if Bush is reelected"? Neither do I. But at the Politico on Thursday, the closest Josh Ragin got in an item found at the web site's "The Cable" section speculating on whether John Kerry or Susan Rice is better…
Tom Blumer
September 30th, 2012 8:55 AM

Bill Maher Attacks Pollster Scott Rasmussen For 'Taking a Side' with t

Bill Maher isn’t scowling at conservatives on his HBO show right now, but on his blog, he has a new character on the political scene to attack: pollster Scott Rasmussen. In Maher’s brain, conservatives are reality-deniers who live in the “Fox-Rush-Drudge” bubble who won’t listen to opposing views. "Because wingnuts can go for months and not talk to anyone who doesn’t think Obama is a bigger…
Tim Graham
September 30th, 2012 7:50 AM

Obama Campaign: Birth Control Costs $18,000; Press Doesn't Expose to D

If anything as embarrassing as what follows occurred at a Republican presidential contender's website, including the follow-up ridicule by the opposition, the press would never be able to resist covering it. A mythical (I hope) ecard created at the Obama-Biden campaign site call purports to be from a daughter to her mother, and asks about the most ridiculous question you can imagine.
Tom Blumer
September 29th, 2012 9:53 PM

FNC's Powers Calls Out Pro-Obama Media Bias on Libya Attack and Prez R

On Saturday's Fox News Watch, as the panel discussed the media's lack of attention to revelations that the Obama administration knew that the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya was a pre-planned terrorist attack in spite of dismissing the event as a protest that got out of hand, left-leaning FNC analyst Kirsten Powers declared that the media have had a "really disturbing lack of curiosity"…
Brad Wilmouth
September 29th, 2012 7:13 PM

Bozell and Hannity Agree: Networks Have Covered Up Obama Lies About Li

Since MRC president Brent Bozell was busy celebrating at the MRC's 25th Anniversary Gala on Thursday night, Fox News asked him to appear for a "Media Mash" segment on Friday night's Hannity. Bozell and Sean Hannity focused mostly on the emerging scandal of  Team Obama's lies about the attacks at the Benghazi consulate that killed four Americans. As we've reported, the networks have been very…
NB Staff
September 29th, 2012 5:33 PM

WashPost Ombudsman Takes Conservative Side: Post Opinion Pages Too Dom

Washington Post ombudsman Patrick Pexton explored conservative dissatisfaction with the national news in polls and then wondered if the Post’s own columnist corps didn’t lean dramatically to the left: “The Post should first be about news without slant. If The Post wants to wrap its news in commentary, fine, but shouldn’t some of those voices then be conservative?” He listed all the “…
Tim Graham
September 29th, 2012 3:14 PM

CBS Radio Reporter Cheers the State's Ability to 'Punish the Filmmaker

Conservative message boards are buzzing about a CBS Radio newscast on Friday in which CBS reporter Dan Raviv expresses relief that the Obama administration can look to the Muslim nations and suggest it can crack down on free speech. After the anchor noted the maker of the controversial "Innocence of Muslims" trailer Nakoula Basseley Nakoula is still in jail for a probation violation, Raviv said…
Tim Graham
September 29th, 2012 1:53 PM

Prepare to Be Dazzled: The State-Sponsored Music Playlist

Eric Scheiner at CNSNews.com has explored the joys of the "Government Sponsored Music Playlist" on the time-worn statist principle that "when government gets involved in music, it’s just got to be good." For example, thanks in part to over a million dollars of Recovery Act money given to the cultural commissars at the Sesame Workshop, "kids get to sing and dance along with Elmo." The music…
Tim Graham
September 29th, 2012 1:08 PM

Krauthammer Tells 'Liberal Pals' on PBS 'I Can’t Believe You're Cove

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer gave quite a scolding Friday to his fellow panelists on PBS's Inside Washington. During a discussion about the murder of our ambassador in Libya, Krauthammer said, "I just want to respond to my liberal pals over here. I can’t believe you guys are covering for the administration on the Susan Rice thing when they themselves said five days later it was…
Noel Sheppard
September 29th, 2012 11:45 AM

Daily Kos Sneers at the Supply-side Easter Bunny

Mark Sumner at the Daily Kos demands that reporters point out that supply-side economics is a complete fantasy. "Any politician who promises to right the economy through cutting taxes on the wealthy might as well invoke the Easter Bunny, and any reporter who fails to point this out is failing the public." Conservatives believe in a supply-side Sasquatch? "There is a difference between…
Tim Graham
September 29th, 2012 11:18 AM

The View's Shepherd Challenges Romney: 'How Can You Handle a Country I

Sherri Shepherd, one of the co-hosts of ABC's The View, issued a strong challenge to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney Friday. Appearing on NBC's Tonight Show, Shepherd asked, "How can you handle a country if you can't handle five women on The View?" (video follows with transcript):
Noel Sheppard
September 29th, 2012 10:17 AM

Calif. Creates State-Run ‘Opt-Out’ Private Sector Retirement Savin

From the "I thought Social Security was supposed to have solved this decades ago" Dept.: The State of California has just passed a law mandating opt-out pension plan contributions of 3% of earnings for six million workers in the private sector, or roughly half of its private sector workforce. The targeted population is the cadre of those working at employers of five or more who do not offer a…
Tom Blumer
September 29th, 2012 9:43 AM