This is getting wild . ..

The Iowa caucuses might be a few weeks off, but MSNBC pundits have already cast a resounding "no" vote in a referendum on Hillary's credibility. A bi-partisan consensus of blatherers today rejected the Clinton campaign's denial of involvement in NH co-chair Bill Shaheen's raising of Barack Obama's past involvement with drugs.

Meanwhile, things are getting downright nasty among top consultants to the frontrunners' campaigns . . . and Barack made Hillary regret her latest cackle.

View video here.

"Critical condition" in medical terminology means a patient has a high risk of death that could occur within the next 24 hours. So when you see "Critical Condition: Rx For America," sounds like something is in really bad shape, right?

No, it was just a promotional three-night series on ABC "World News with Charles Gibson" that ran from December 10-12 about health care. By the third night, Charles Gibson was even calling one example of socialized medicine a "system that works."

Using a one-sided panel as well as ABC's own proponent of universal care, "World News," pushed a big government agenda.

I'd appreciate any informed input on this report: http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1653

Some of my lib friends are peeing their pants in excitement over yet another "Bush cover-up".

Note: Please ignore the link re: churches and the IRS. Don't know how that got inserted into my topic.

This is up on Drudge at the moment:

Yes, the viciousness is being directed at Democrats for not being spendthrift enough.

It's too early to tell whether President Bush and congressional Republicans have outmaneuvered the Democratic congressional majority, but it's looking that way. Old Media doesn't like it, and their inability to successfully buck up their side, one bit.

In the Washington Post's "Dems Blaming Each Other For Failures," Jonathan Weisman and Paul Kane are clearly critical:

Washington Post Ombudsman Deborah Howell served up a flimsy excuse to a concerned reader wondering why the Post doesn't have Post staffers reporting on the Bilal Hussein controversy, rather than just running AP wire stories. Hussein worked for AP as a photographer.

Blogger Scott Johnson shared the reader's e-mail and Howell's reply, then added that even if one accepts Howell's excuse, there's no reason Post media reporter Howard Kurtz couldn't track developments in the story.

From Powerline:

The New York Times' Scott Shane has a history of slanted reporting on intelligence (most notoriously his credulous acceptance of everything said by anti-war huckster Joe Wilson). But a sentence in his Thursday "news analysis," "The C.I.A. and the Tapes: Sensing Support Shifting Away From Its Methods," was either clumsily written or just plain bizarre.

Shane began by likening the CIA to a group of grifters afraid their luck may finally be running out.

"For six years, Central Intelligence Agency officers have worried that someday the tide of post-Sept. 11 opinion would turn, and their harsh treatment of prisoners from Al Qaeda would be subjected to hostile scrutiny and possible criminal prosecution.

That's right folks, it's that time of year. There was plenty of economic bias in 2007 and the Business & Media Institute had a hard time whittling it down to just a top 10 list, but we did it.

10. Airlines are solely to blame for the unfriendly skies.

Media myth: Blame the airlines for all those flight delays; never mind the obsolete government-run agency creating the gridlock.

9. Consumer spending is the be-all, end-all of the economy.

Media myth: Without excessive consumer spending - especially at Christmastime - the U.S. economy will collapse.

8. The stock market is trouble, whether it goes up or down.

Media myth: One day the stock market can't sustain growth; the next, we're just one drop away from another crash.

Far too often, the media folds under pressure from Hillary and Bill 

Editor's Note: Originally published December 12th, 2007 by Human Events.

Distress

The latest edition of Gentleman's Quarterly -- GQ for short -- has just hit the stands.  On its cover is an in your face photograph of former President Bill Clinton, as he "Leads (Their) Men of the Year Issue".

"Bill Clinton - Public Citizen" is the fawning Clinton tosh we have all come to expect.  It is thirteen magazine pages with small type and large pictures, and authors George Saunders (in word) and Brigitte Lacombe (on camera) could not be any more in thrall to the man from Hot Springs (not Hope).

But there is more than just that to this tale.

ABC’s Chris Cuomo, who previously tried to push John McCain to give a preference between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, asked Mike Huckabee, after citing Hillary Clinton, "can a woman be president?" Cuomo inquired this after mentioning that Huckabee signed an ad stating "a wife is to submit graciously to...her husband."

Huckabee appeared on the December 13 edition of "Good Morning America" to address his recent questioning of Mormon doctrine that "Jesus and the devil are brothers." Cuomo also asked Huckabee why he is "unwilling to say" that Mormons are Christians. Huckabee responded "it's not my place to start evaluating his faith, your faith, somebody else's."

It is also notable that GMA co-host Diane Sawyer previously attacked Huckabee for playing the "religion card."

The entire transcript is below.

Although it's a metaphysical certitude American media will be jumping for joy about this event, United States citizens on both sides of the political aisle should be deeply embarrassed and ashamed about the disgraceful things former Vice President Al Gore said Thursday at the United Nations' climate change meeting in Bali.

It's one thing to make a movie based almost exclusively on junk science and well-documented falsehoods whilst traveling the world evoking hysteria you yourself are financially benefiting from.

However, it is something else altogether to attend an international meeting, with delegates from every country on the face of the planet present, and disparage the nation you used to serve (truly disgraceful video available here):

I'm caffeinated and ready to blog. I'll focus mostly on the questions from the moderator, Carolyn Washburn. I'm watching the feed from Fox News Channel.

Here goes nothin':

15:25 | Debate's over. Thought it'd never end. Washburn seemed much more at ease with the Democrats, as well as looser with the time constraints. I don't believe she ever cut anyone off, for example. The questions generally tacked to the left. The series of questions pressing the candidates on character issues was promising on paper but seemed uneven. Her question to Clinton on secrecy was soft. The question to Biden about his ill-advised jokes about Indians owning Dunkin Donut shops was good, but Hillary Clinton made similar comments about Indians and gas stations, which went unmentioned.

15:22 | Washburn: "What are the lessons from Iowa?"

15:20 | Richardson resolves to lose weight. Well, he could ask Huckabee about that policy plank.

15:17 | Washburn: "Tell us your New Year's resolution for 2008."

15:15 | Washburn asks about the use of signing statements when signing legislation.

"Don't quit your day job, boss."

Well, he didn't put it that way exactly, but the Des Moines Register's David Yepsen was not too impressed with editor Carolyn Washburn's job as moderator in the December 12 debate:

At the top of Thursday’s CBS "Early Show," co-host Harry Smith excitedly teased the upcoming segment: "From Bali, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in an exclusive interview as he's set to address scientists from around the world, gathering to stem global warming for generations to come." Later, co-host Julie Chen further hyped the story: "Well, ahead this half hour, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg with urgent news from the global warming conference going on right now in Bali."

In addtion, co-host Russ Mitchell did a news brief about the conference prior to the interview:

The European Union issued a warning today to the U.S. at a climate conference in Indonesia. It vowed to boycott U.S.-sponsored talks next month if the U.S. does not reach an agreement now on emissions cuts. Former Vice President Al Gore is addressing the conference right now. He says action is urgent.

When asked, by NBC's Meredith Vieira, on Thursday's "Today" show how the Hillary Clinton campaign can stop their current slide, Chris Matthews urged Clinton to remind voters that she really does care about the little guy as he declared that the Clintons: "Care about the regular person in this country, the regular middle-working class family with all their problems of health care and raising their kids. Hillary Clinton, especially, cares about those things. It's obvious she does. It's not a fraud."

The following is all of Matthews' strategic advice to the Clinton campaign, as he offered it on the December 13 edition of the "Today" show:

MEREDITH VIEIRA: On Hillary's side you have her husband Bill Clinton, who is very frustrated with the way the campaign is going. What can he do, right now, to help her turn things around? Is there anything he can do?

It's the holiday season for the hard lefties at Democratic Underground:

What's on Keith Olbermann's mind about the media? This week, as Rupert Murdoch takes over the Wall Street Journal and as the FCC is about to allow more newspapers to expand into the broadcast business, BILL MOYERS JOURNAL continues its reporting on media consolidation and gets insight from MSNBC's popular and provocative Keith Olbermann.

As one delighted commenter replied,

Look up "National Treasure" in the dictionary and there's a picture of Bill Moyers.

Will political reporters notice the sharp elbow in Bill Sammon's book excerpt on Mitt Romney in Thursday's Washington Examiner?

In a not-so-veiled swipe at Giuliani and McCain, both of whom fell for younger women while still married, Romney told The Examiner that “people who commit adultery or other practices of that nature are carrying out absolutely heinous acts.”

The Washington Post might consider doing something I hesitate to recommend to anyone before they simply print campaign talking points in covering an admittedly negative situation. That something is, read the New York Times. The narrative for the piece, sourced through Clinton people, is pretty clear. Hillary don't know Iowa, it was a national campaign - but "Hillary" figured it out and saved the day ... hopefully for them, at least.

Still, her initial strategy did not put special emphasis on the caucuses, treating them as part of a national campaign.

The chief concern, one person with immediate knowledge of the campaign said, was that Clinton simply did not visit Iowa enough over the summer and early fall -- a common complaint in national campaigns

Look at the top of this web page everybody - what do you see...?

NewsBusters

Exposing and Combating Liberal Media Bias 

Some people here don't have much interest in religion as it relates to liberal media bias - that's acceptable to me - if that's what you prefer. Some people here can't stand the thought of discussing religion, and some even intend to erase it from existence and history, again - I can live with that...

But that's not my take...

I'm "different" from those people. Wow, what a concept: I have alternate interests!

Crazy, I know. I have extensive ideas and opinions about religion as it relates to the evils of liberal MSM bias and enjoy sharing it with others for their reactions and opinions...