AP's Wiseman Points to Obama Reelection Based on Dropping Unemployment

Well, we can all stop thinking about the presidential election, because Barack Obama's victory is assured. This morning, Paul Wiseman at the Associated Press, aka the Administration's Press, virtually celebrated analysts' predictions that the unemployment rate will drop a whole 0.3% between now and Election Day to 7.9%. But in searching desperately for a precedent, he claimed that a public…
Tom Blumer
May 3rd, 2012 12:16 PM

Lawrence O’Donnell Slams Ann Romney for Wearing $990 Shirt on TV

Unemployment is stubbornly high, mountains of debt are burying the nation, and gas prices appear to be bringing the tepid economic recovery to a halt. Yet MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell on Wednesday actually spent five minutes bashing Ann Romney for wearing a $990 shirt on television (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):
Noel Sheppard
May 3rd, 2012 10:07 AM

Open Thread: Newt's Exit

It happened yesterday but still big news today is the exit of presidential candidate Newt Gingrich who announced that he is ending his campaign for the Republican nomination. Now that he's out, what are your thoughts on his campaign? Do you think he ran it as well as he could have? What major flaws or mistakes did he make in your mind that prevented him from winning the GOP nomination? Do you…
Matthew Sheffield
May 3rd, 2012 10:04 AM

AP: Unemployment Will Be '7.9 Percent By Election Day' Boosting 'Obama

There's been a lot of bad economic news lately, but the folks at the Associated Press don't care. In their view - or at least in the opinion of those they surveyed - "[h]iring through the rest of 2012...will be strong enough to push the unemployment rate below 8 percent by Election Day" boosting "Obama's prospects in November":
Noel Sheppard
May 3rd, 2012 8:11 AM

Media-Omitted Elizabeth Edwards Bare-Chested Freakout Story Emerges in

One of the more colorful anecdotes in the campaign memoir “Game Change” re-emerged yesterday in the courtroom, about what happened when Elizabeth Edwards confronted her husband about adultery stories in the National Enquirer, a scene that didn’t receive any attention on network TV (and obviously not in the Palin-bashing HBO movie). The New York Post reported “John Edwards’ humiliated wife…
Tim Graham
May 3rd, 2012 7:43 AM

Krugman's TV Blitz: 100% Debt OK, Paul Ryan's Budget Is 'Nonsense,' Wa

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is doing a television tour for his book "End This Depression Now!" Charlie Rose interviewed him twice, once on CBS This Morning Monday, then that night for the full hour of Rose's PBS talk show. Krugman appeared on Bloomberg TV Tuesday debating Ron Paul, and the friendlier confines of MSNBC's Rachel Maddow show that night. Krugman's economic recovery plan…
Clay Waters
May 3rd, 2012 7:43 AM

Brian Williams Praises Bill Clinton for Trying to Kill Bin Laden, Igno

NBC's special presentation of Rock Center on the first anniversary of Osama bin Laden's assassination wasn't just a victory lap for Barack Obama. It was also a chance for host Brian Williams to praise Bill Clinton for going after the former al Qaeda leader without mentioning all the times his administration passed on chances to get him (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary…
Noel Sheppard
May 3rd, 2012 12:32 AM

Ex-CIAer Jose Rodriguez Schools Andrea Mitchell: Enhanced Interrogatio

Andrea Mitchell on the MSNBC program bearing her name Tuesday twice referred to "enhanced interrogation techniques" as "torture." The second time, Jose Rodriguez, the former director of the CIA's National Clandestine Services, set the record straight (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Noel Sheppard
May 2nd, 2012 9:27 PM

‘The Perfect Family’ Mocks Devout Catholics as Unthinking Bigots

Mockery of religion in general and Catholicism in particular is commonplace in Hollywood– from Showtime’s “The Borgias” to the recent “Three Stooges” movie which features Kate Upton wearing a “nun-kini.” The latest installment of Catholic-bashing, “The Perfect Family,” is slated to come out May 4 – and predictably stereotypes Catholics who believe and practice what their Church teaches as…
Paul Wilson
May 2nd, 2012 9:18 PM

Sharpton Assures Radio Caller That Cheney's Heart Did Not Come From Tr

Al Sharpton benefits more than most radio hosts by having listeners call his show. It lets Sharpton come across as sane by comparison. The other day, for example, Sharpton wasted little time dismissing the latest bizarre conspiracy theory making the rounds (audio clip after page break) --
Jack Coleman
May 2nd, 2012 8:38 PM

Paul Ryan: 'Everything the President Says' About GOP Budgets 'Are Dram

Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) had some harsh words for Barack Obama Wednesday. During an interview with Fox News's Bret Baier, Ryan said, "Everything the president says about budgets, about our numbers, we’re used to him telling things that are dramatic distortions" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Noel Sheppard
May 2nd, 2012 7:35 PM

Malkin Column: Elizabeth Warren and the Oppression Olympics

Elizabeth Warren is the Harvard law professor running for Senate in Massachusetts as a Democratic populist-progressive champion. But don't call her "Elizabeth Warren." Call her "Pinocchio-hontas," "Chief Full-of-Lies," "Running Joke" or "Sacaja-whiner." Warren has claimed questionable Native American minority status for years to reap career "diversity" benefits. Now, Cherokee leaders,…
Michelle Malkin
May 2nd, 2012 6:48 PM

MSNBC's Bashir Gives Platform to HuffPost's Schaeffer to Rant About 'R

He's compared conservatives to radical Hindus and Islamists, called the Tea Party the "racist white bloc" of the GOP, and compared evangelicals to the Taliban, so naturally Huffington Post writer Frank Schaeffer was the perfect guest for Martin Bashir to bring on the May 2 edition of his eponymous program to discuss the importance of religious "faith as an issue" in the 2012 general election…
Ken Shepherd
May 2nd, 2012 6:15 PM

CNN Puffs Up Tiny Liberal Protest 'Hounding' Romney's Visit to RNC Hea

A liberal protest that CNN.com said contained "about 10 people" still merited inclusion in CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's report on Wednesday's The Situation Room. Of course, Acosta made no mention of the smallness or brevity of the protest -- the chant of "No Swiss Mitt" lasted under five minutes. Acosta did tout that Democrats were "hounding" Romney to keep him "back on his heels." As an…
Matt Hadro
May 2nd, 2012 5:31 PM