BMI's Gainor on 'Fox and Friends': Why Won't Media Ask Tough Questions About Stimulus?

By Matthew Philbin (Bio | Archive)
January 12, 2009 - 16:32 ET

Business & Media Institute's Dan Gainor appeared on "Fox & Friends," Jan. 12 to discuss why, with trillions of dollars, millions of jobs, and the future of our economic system on the line, the mainstream media won't ask Obama tough questions on his stimulus plan.

Given the media favoritism for Barack Obama during the campaign, Gainor said, "So, it's no surprise that they're not asking him tough questions [about the stimulus package]."

"Fox & Friends" co-host Steve Doocy specifically asked Gainor about Obama's expanding promise to create 4 million new jobs.

"We don't know exactly how it's going to happen," Doocy said. "We've got a lot of pie in the sky right now. Just not many details and people aren't asking for details."

"Well, and even worse they've bounced all over the map whether they're going to save or create jobs," Gainor said.

"Jake Tapper called Obama on this. ABC's Jake Tapper did this last week, and he did a good job because he pointed out that Obama's plan called for 20 percent government employees and 600-- basically worked out to 600,000 new federal jobs. But by the time Saturday rolled around Obama's plan was calling for 10 percent federal employment at the max, but he was calling something for 4 million jobs which meant like 190,000 jobs for the federal government just disappeared in a puff of smoke. Nobody's calling him on that."


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Obama - Create or save?

January 12, 2009 - 16:43 ET by Gary Hall

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama says his economic recovery plan is projected to save or create between three and four million jobs by the end of 2010.

Now - that is some promise. Which is it? Why even bother?

Yes, create morphed into save

January 12, 2009 - 16:51 ET by StarAZ

The total goes up everytime he walks in front of a camera. Saving means some sort of incentives not to run overseas or just lay people off and take the money as a personal bonus. Saving also means creating some confidence that this is just a correction, not armageddon. Creating jobs means investment tax credits of some sort--make it attractive for businesses to expand or people to start new ones. But what sort of businesses? They have to be making a product or service people want to pay for. This is key. And people need not to be afraid to spend money. This is a mess--and new waves are coming from overseas, I fear. All this emphasis on SPEED will be hurry up and wait. None of this will happen fast.

StarAZ - Grover Norquist said over the weekend

January 12, 2009 - 18:39 ET by Gary Hall

StarAZ - Grover Norquist, attending the joing BBC's World Service and Washington DC's WAMU 88.5 at the "Obama's Washington and the World" global debate over the weekend said, that if you believe that spending hundreds of billions in taxpayer dollars to hire more government workers to do government work will help the economy, then you should believe that filling a bucket full of water from a large lake, then walking around the lake and pouring it in the other side will cause the level of lake to rise, then you are likely a firm believer in Obama-Omics.

That was paraphrased - hence the missing quotation marks. gary

What a superb analogy of

January 12, 2009 - 20:02 ET by stratman

What a superb analogy of futile Obamanomics.

Audio of the debat here.

Video of the debate here.

Stratman

January 13, 2009 - 02:54 ET by thebutlerdidit

Thanks for the link, I watched the whole thing. I now want to strangle EHN more than ever. As for the guy on the end, who is he? Shirley? Was that his name? I don't know him, and he is a total pompous ass.Grover did well, so did Pearl.The questions were pretty stupid, though. Typical dumb lib think, GW, making other countries like us, shovel ready jobs, blah, blah.

 

Bringing the government in to run Wall Street is like saying, "Dad burned the dinner, let's get the dog to cook." PJ O'Rourke

I Enjoyed It Too

January 13, 2009 - 15:17 ET by stratman

Agree.  A couple of the panelists were a little thin on reality.

The idiocy from the crowd was a little shocking.  I wish they would put their tinfoil hats back on so as to block the Theton radio waves.  Whoever asked the question about indicting Bush needs to have their arse kicked back to mommy's basement.

The panelists were:

  • Susan Eisenhower is President of the Eisenhower Group, Inc, which provides strategic counsel on political, business and public affairs projects. A life long republican, she left the party in 2008 declaring herself an independent and later endorsing Barack Obama.
  • Grover Norquist is the president and founder of the anti-tax lobbying group "Americans for Tax Reform". Norquist formed the organization in 1985 on the request of President Reagan. In addition to heading Americans for Tax Reform, Mr Norquist is currently on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association and the American Conservative Union.
  • Eleanor Holmes Norton was elected to the House of Representatives in 1990 as Democratic Congresswoman for the District of Columbia. She sits on the Homeland Security, Transport and Infrastructure and Oversight and Government Reform Committees. A civil rights activist in the 1960s, she was the first woman to chair the federal Equal Opportunities Commission.
  • Richard Perle is widely considered a core representative of the neo-conservative political faction; he played a central role in championing the war in Iraq. He was chair of the Defence Policy Board Advisory Committee from 2001-2003. He is currently a resident fellow at the conservative think-tank American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research.
  • Lawrence Mishel is president of the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. a liberal policy think-tank that seeks to advance the interests of American workers. A nationally recognized economist, Mr Mishel is frequently called on to testify and provide economic briefings to members of Congress. He supports Obama's economic rescue plan but says the new president needs to go further in restoring pay equity in the USA.

Darn it all...you were

January 12, 2009 - 16:49 ET by bigtimer

Darn it all...you were great this morning Dan, I saw the whole thing, my problem is I saw this at 4:15 am , you had a great line towards the end...I almost got out of bed to jot it down, but heck, too early, I just knew I would forget what it was if there was a blog spot about this today...and I did.

Great work as always....you are as usual correct, I enjoyed the segment.

"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh

That would appear obstructionist

January 12, 2009 - 16:53 ET by Mulligan22

I hear the term "shovel ready" a lot lately.

Mr. O is doing the shoveling and the MSM is just eating it up. Reality takes a holiday starting Jan 20 for our big media friends.

Why?

January 12, 2009 - 17:01 ET by bertkillian

He hasn't pissed them off..., yet.

No need to ask tough questions

January 12, 2009 - 17:06 ET by Prester John

BHO supporters have said that the stimulus package will consist of  legitimate programs and there won't be any pork at all. 

They won't even ask BARRKY any EASY questions like ...

January 12, 2009 - 17:51 ET by Jayke

... "Why don't you want anyone to see your LONG FORM BIRTH CERTIFICATE?"

Why won't media ask tough

January 12, 2009 - 18:03 ET by Chris Norman

Why won't media ask tough questions about stimulus?"

At an earlier time, I would have answered - simple bias, but now, their support of all things Obama has become a pagan religion and one doesn't question the will of one's diety... 

The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.

Obama, Once In A Lifetime....

January 12, 2009 - 19:34 ET by laree

http://youhavetobeth...

Why should they question

January 13, 2009 - 01:44 ET by RR GOP

Why should they question The Messiah?  They're daydreaming about the inauguration and they are surely looking forward to hanging around him when he has his sit-downs with Hamas and Ahmawackjob.  They don't want to be shut out like those reporters from those grubby McCain-backing publications.

Besides, if a trillion doesn't work, then throw another trillion at the problem.  Include a healthy amount of hand-outs to their 'base', keep funding ACORN and it's in the bag for 2012.

One of the 24% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 89% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.