GMA Manages to Ignore Reason Richardson Dropped Commerce Secretary Nomination

Photo of Mark Finkelstein.

In its opening half-hour, Good Morning America found time to tell us—twice—that Pres.-elect Obama choked up with emotion as he viewed his packed-up old home. But somehow ABC never got around to mentioning that a possible pay-to-play scheme was behind Bill Richardson's bye-bye as Commerce Secretary nominee.

After the show-opening roll in which the president elect was shown heading to DC, Robin Roberts literally bounced in her co-anchor's chair: "so excited, so excited, so excited . . . It's a new day, new year, new everything going on." Added Diane Sawyer helpfully: "And a president-elect." "Yes," concurred Robin, as if it wasn't clear that's what her excitement was really all about.

Then came the first mention of the Pres.-elect getting misty. Roberts: "He was home alone in Chicago. And one of Malia's friends came over and had a little scrapbook that he wanted delivered to his ten-year old, and he was flipping through it, and I would imagine, got a little choked up." When senior political correspondent Jake Tapper came on, he provided crucial additional details about the warm and fuzzy moment, complete with a clip of the president-elect recounting the story to reporters. But Tapper gave short shrift to the Richardson matter, and, appearing later, George Stephanopoulos was equally tight-lipped.

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JAKE TAPPER: Arriving in Washington, Mr. Obama had to shake off his first setback, the withdrawal of Commerce Secretary nominee Richardson, and pushed forward with weightier matters.
Some wag might say it's hard to get weightier than Richardson, but Tapper never told us why the heavy-hitter withdrew. When George Stephanopoulos chatted with Sawyer a bit later, he was too refined to get into the grubby details. Here was the sum total of his discussion of the issue.
DIANE SAWYER: Tell us the latest, if you will, going back to Obama, on the withdrawal of Bill Richardson as Commerce Secretary nominee, and also what's going on now in Illinois with the governor and the senatorial nominee?

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, the Obama team is asking question about how this, how they missed this in the vetting process. There's no question the questions about Richardson intensified as the grand jury kicked up in the month of December, but also as the problems of Governor Blagojevich took over the headlines. They are still--the Obama team and Governor Richardson--they are still hoping he might be able to come back into the administration, but they know this grand jury has to be cleared up first.

The Obama team is asking questions about how they missed "this"? Missed what? Neither Stephanopoulos nor any of the other ABC folks told us. Maybe they were worried it might have made the president-elect misty again.

Note: in contrast, kudos to Today for its coverage of the matter.

The show opened with l'affaire Richardson, and followed with reports from Andrea Mitchell and Chuck Todd that got into the details and discussed the political implications for the president-elect.

Update: I see that Jake Tapper gave a thorough report on the pay-to-play allegations on last night's World News. A shame the GMA folks didn't see fit to run a similar segment this morning.

—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.


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ROFL!!

I just finished saying in another thread that they wouldn't mention WHY he withdrew!

They are sooooo predictable! 

When I heard it last

When I heard it last yesterday, my wife asked me why he was dropping out.

Why did she have to ask me and why didn't the news media do their job? Did they think they could cover it up?

 

apparently...

Apparently, they have a very effective strategy. I had no idea until I read your link on the matter from UPI. Guess that's why I read other than MSM for my news.

Clearing up the Grand Jury?

the Obama team and Governor Richardson--they are still hoping he might be able to come back into the administration, but they know this grand jury has to be cleared up first.

So....just exactly how does the Chicago Mob "clear up a grand jury"?

If Stephanopoulos isn't a dufus, then the word doesn't have any meaning anymore?

___________________________________ 

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber

so excited, so excited, so excited!!!!

Sawyer and Roberts' absorbent chair pads now have to be replaced every 15 minutes instead of hourly.

And yes, let's all pray that this dumb grand jury thing can be cleaned up quickly so Richardson can "come back."

sorry... gotta say it...

"That's not the Bill Richardson I knew."

Do ya think we'll be hearin' similar responses like that a lot over the next 4 years? 

GMTA.....I said that

GMTA.....I said that yesterday.

You gotta wonder...did this subject not surface when he was being vetted for VP??????

Maybe they found it, then forgot about it after he settled on Biden?

What happened to the  best-run campaign ever???

Remember...Obama said that running his campaign proved that he had the "executive" experience needed in a President!!

Might be time to "recalibrate" that claim.

Obama: "Hey Bill you might

Obama: "Hey Bill you might want to shed a few pounds first, it's getting tight under that bus you know."

oooh....

LMAO... that was a good 'un!

They're gonna have to jack that bus up a bit, I think. 

its coming

Oh, its coming. There will be a lot of sidestepping. In fact, maybe instead of saying Lincoln is his idol, he should change to Bill Bojangles Robinson. Now HE can tap dance his way out of anything!

The Liar's Paradox

I'm still stunned by the naivete of the Obama camp, claiming that they were deceived when Richardson wasn't fully forthcoming about the matter. But, as every logic student knows ...

  • If he is an ethical problem, he'd deny it
  • If he isn't an ethical problem, he'd deny it

Either way, you can't rely on his own measure of his ethical standard. That's why you have a vetting process. You don't take his word for it, you gather evidence and investigate independently.

In turn, the media have done exactly the same thing. They haven't vetted Obama, much as Obama didn't vet Richardson. The Obama team relied on a lengthy questionnaire to proclaim how stringent the process was, but it appears they did little else.

Obama sets the assumptions for the media. The media perceive everything through those assumptions, without review. When reality conflicts with the assumptions, the media scrambles to explain it away. This is how GroupThink works. Textbook case.

logic

If a Democrat/Liberal says something the media assumes it to be true.
If a Republican/Conservative says something it needs to be verified.

The apparent POV of most of the media.

A person may be won over with logic and reason but the masses must be bought with spectacle and platitudes. - 2008 Elections

wait

When someone leaves Bush's administration it's a sign of Bush's ego and inability to work with people. When people leave Obama's administration it's not as important as his dreamy voice talking about a scrapbook.

These people sound like teenagers. 

 

I'm a typical white person.

feel it?

Feel the Tingle... I know Chris Matthews does!

Wet eyes and the "girls"

Barry is "misty eyed". Isn't that special. Oh,Oh,Oh. When are real women going to start a movement to remove those who act like teenage girls at a pajama party? Sounds like these two geniuses were getting ready to sing "I enjoy being a girl". How sad that "feminism" has come to this. How sad that "journalism" has come to this. Unfortunately, most Americans lap this stuff up. It's so easy to be a "liberal". You don't have to think. You simply have to emote.

NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"

Who'd you pick?

If you needed both a sexual partner and a life partner to work with you in a hostile environment, who would you pick, Sarah or either of these two twits?

Some needs to let him in on the secret

 

Someone needs to tell PEBO there are worse kinds of moving happening this very moment. Your stuff gets put on the curb, a sheriff comes, you slink to an apt financially ruined. Surely he can stand up to moving into luxurious govt housing complete with servants and all the lobster he can eat. Is he selling that Rezko-subsidized property or will it be his Crawford ranch, sans brush to heave around.

Another worse kind of moving

 When you have to move because people are firing rockets into your neighborhood and want to push your entire nation into the sea.

 

DON'T make me repeat repeat myself myself!

Richardson

Of course 0bama choked up leaving his Hyde Park house.  All that work he and the Rezko's did to get it in the first place, all for nothing now.

As far as Richardson goes, when did the investigation start - before or after he dumped Hillary and endorsed 0bama? 

Enquiring minds want to know.

If a Democrat denies any

If a Democrat denies any wrongdoing - that settles it. 

The lying, corrupt MSM will to do everything in its power...

...to ensure that PEBO arrives at his anointing completely unscathed by even a hint of scandal.

They don't dare expose the real reason for Richardson's departure, as it would highlight the fact that his appointment to Commerce Secretary, a very important and visible position, had progressed to the point it did, even though he has been under investigation since August.

This whole affair calls into serious question the competence of the PEBO people, therefore, the public relations arm of the future Obama Administration, the MSM, must bury it no matter what.

-Dave

“Them that’s going get on the wagon. Them that ain’t get out of the way.” -Because enough is enough.

You mean that even after

You mean that even after Richardson filled out the 63  page or whatever it was, orifice exam that they still didn't vet him?  I love that there are no democrat scandals, just republican. Well, Blago is, but we all know it's because he's nuts! I just heard Limbaugh say that if Reid won't seat Burris he should go to Denny's, that they will seat him. LOL>

Richardson & Obama

The man isn't even in office and we're already gettig the Hear No Evil , See No Evil, Speak No Evil routine. Whether it's Richardson or Resko or Wright or Blago or ACORN, which did a great job in Minnesota,Himself apparently is the new Sgt. Schultz.  He may be the only person who would make Carter look competent and we're stuck with either him or Biden or Pelosi.  God save the Republic!

 

Like the Marxists said in 2001,"He may be POTUS, but he ain't my President.