Andrea Mitchell: 'Everyone Is Feeling A Lack Of Hope

If Barack Obama has lost Andrea Mitchell, has he lost the MSM? Surveying the economy on her MSNBC show his afternoon, Mitchell gloomily observed: "it just seems as though everyone is feeling a lack of hope." The White House needn't fear too much.  Mitchell might have wandered somewhat off script. But Andrea has surely not abandoned the ranks of the Obama-loving media.  She fretted that…
Mark Finkelstein
August 5th, 2011 1:44 PM

Early Show, NYT Report What CBS Evening News Ignored: Own Poll Showing

While CBS's Early Show and the New York Times both highlighted their own poll showing support for further spending cuts, the CBS Evening News ignored it. Americans three-to-one believe the spending cuts in the debt ceiling deal were too small rather than too big, according to a CBS News/New York Times poll. As NewsBusters reported, Thursday's CBS Evening News ignored the support for cuts…
Matt Hadro
August 5th, 2011 1:30 PM

Harry Smith Makes His NBC News Debut With a Birthday Love Letter to Ob

At the end of Thursday's NBC Nightly News, correspondent Harry Smith, formerly of CBS, made his first appearance on the network with a fawning birthday message to President Obama: "Happy birthday, Mr. President. Once upon a time, when you were a young man, all you had to do was show up and teeming throngs of people would gather to cheer you on....They even wrote songs about you." [Audio…
Kyle Drennen
August 5th, 2011 12:35 PM

Twitter's 'Who to Follow' List Overwhelmingly Promotes Liberal Pundits

Over the past few days, Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has been the subject of criticism due to his unusually high number of Twitter followers. Some say a large number of his followers were manufactured by a Twitter account generator to falsely boost his online clout. His campaign contends his follower count came from other means, explaining instead his early adoption of the…
Aubrey Vaughan
August 5th, 2011 12:05 PM

Sen. Kerry Asks Media to Stop Giving 'Equal Time or Equal Balance' to

Last week, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman said conservative views about the debt ceiling should be censored from news reports. On Friday's "Morning Joe," Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) took this a step further calling on media to stop giving "equal time or equal balance" to Tea Party ideas that people like him consider "absurd" and "not factual" (video follows with transcript and…
Noel Sheppard
August 5th, 2011 11:44 AM

Media Mash: Tea Party 'Terrorists' Edition

"During the Clinton years, there was great discipline in the Democratic ranks where they could all speak on-message. There continues to be the same great discipline in liberal ranks, but they've just torqued it up ten degrees now," NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell told Fox News viewers on the August 4 "Hannity." The Media Research Center founder made that argument after host Sean Hannity…
NB Staff
August 5th, 2011 11:07 AM

Open Thread: Taxpayers Still Stand to Lose a Bundle on GM Stock

Despite the media hype, American taxpayers still stand to lose a bundle from the government takeover of General Motors, thanks in large measure to the lack of credibility the company's Obama-mandated obsession with the unpopular Chevrolet Volt: GM announced earnings this morning and the numbers appeared to be good on the surface. Media friends of GM trumpeted the good news but the…
NB Staff
August 5th, 2011 10:50 AM

CBS Skips How Own Poll Finds Many More Think Spending Cuts Too Small O

Running through the findings of a new CBS News/New York Times poll, on Thursday’s CBS Evening News Chip Reid highlighted how, after weeks of media hostility the Tea Party has lost popularity, as he also located people to illustrate how more wanted, and still want, taxes raised over spending cuts alone. Reid ignored, however, how far more – Republicans, independents, and even Democrats –…
Brent Baker
August 5th, 2011 8:22 AM

AP Item on Boehner's Carrot-Free, Stick-Free Persuasion Ignores

It seems that every time I see something possibly redeeming put forth by the Associated Press, they figure out a way to ruin it. Take Larry Margasak's report this afternoon on John Boehner's attempts at persuading House Republican members to support his various attempts at debt-ceiling legislation during the few two weeks. (I've made my general unhappiness with the ultimate result pretty…
Tom Blumer
August 4th, 2011 9:45 PM

Why Did The New York Times Ignore The Biden 'Terrorist' Story

The New York Times ignored the Politico story reporting that several sources had heard Vice President Joe Biden called the Tea Party backed lawmakers "terrorists." When the Vice President's office was contacted about the story they at first declined to comment. Then they put out at statement saying that the vice president does not believe it’s an appropriate term in political discourse. Which…
Kathleen McKinley
August 4th, 2011 8:49 PM

Fareed Zakaria Compares Tea Party to Terrorists, 'Un-American

On Thursday's The Situation Room, Fareed Zakaria said the tactics used by Tea Party congressmen in the debt ceiling debate were akin to holding the country hostage and threatening to "blow up" the economy. "So nobody has ever held a country hostage and say [sic] if you don't pass our policies, we'll blow up the economy, we'll blow up the credibility of the United States," Zakaria remarked on…
Matt Hadro
August 4th, 2011 7:30 PM

Chris Matthews: Roosevelt 'Saved Capitalism in the 1930s

Chris Matthews on Thursday claimed Franklin Delano Roosevelt saved capitalism in the 1930s. This deliciously came during a "Hardball" segment wherein he mocked the intelligence of Tea Party members saying they "need to read history, and especially Michele Bachmann" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Noel Sheppard
August 4th, 2011 7:01 PM

What the Food Stamp Explosion Says

Who says Obama's not helping business? Fast food is raking in money from those on assistance.
Dan Kennedy
August 4th, 2011 6:32 PM

Tea Party 'Terrorists

According to the website Politico, Vice President Joe Biden agreed "with a line of argument made by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) at a two-hour, closed-door Democratic Caucus meeting" that congressional tea party members "acted like terrorists" in the way they stood against attempts to raise taxes and force spending reductions as part of the debt-ceiling deal. Biden denied making the comparison.…
Cal Thomas
August 4th, 2011 6:24 PM