Newsweek’s Eleanor Clift seemed flabbergasted on this weekend’s McLaughlin Group as fellow panelists Pat Buchanan, Monica Crowley and Mort Zuckerman all criticized President Obama’s speech to Muslims in Cairo. Perhaps reflecting the mindset of her Newsweek colleagues, Clift exclaimed: “Until I came on this set, I heard nothing but rave reviews for this speech. I feel like I’m in a total parallel reality.”
The McLaughlin Group tapes on Friday afternoons, which means that for the better part of two days Clift was completely insulated from the various criticisms of Obama’s speech which were easy to discover on talk radio, many newspapers, and the Internet. She seemed particularly enraged by the group’s consensus that Obama has been “badmouthing” the United States by repeatedly emphasizing past misdeeds and ignoring America’s valuable contributions to the rest of the world.
After running a series of clips showing the President apologizing for the United States or criticizing past American conduct, and noting his admission in Cairo that the U.S. was involved in the overthrow of a socialist government in Iran in 1953, moderator John McClaughlin asked Zuckerman: "He's gone pretty far, has he not, in apologizing....Is he badmouthing us?"
Zuckerman, publisher of the New York Daily News, jumped: “You're darn right he is, because we saved the Iraqi, the Iranian regime, after World War II, from Soviet domination. The United States was the only country in the world that stood up to Soviet attempts to dominate Europe. I mean, we have done an extraordinary job. No other country in history, I think, has expended as much treasure and blood to try and preserve democracy and freedom in the world.”
A few moments later, conservative commentator Monica Crowley joined in: “It is not an appropriate exercise of American presidential leadership. I am sick and tired of this man running down his country when he's on foreign soil. You hire a President to represent the United States of America. I guess he fancies himself the President of the world.”
Pat Buchanan agreed: “Everywhere he has gone, he has acted like -- I mean, he's a good speaker, but he has acted like a guilt-besotted liberal. He goes to Latin America, apologizing to these guys....He sat there and took abuse for 45 minutes from Danny Ortega....”
That was all too much for Clift: “He is saying things that the rest of the world says about us all the time....You cannot talk about the smote -- or whatever it is -- in the other person's eye until you recognize what's in your own, and he is acknowledging where America has gone awry, and he is re-setting a relationship with the rest of the world....Until I came on this set, I heard nothing but rave reviews for this speech. I feel like I'm in a total parallel reality.”
Note to Clift: It’s “mote,” not “smote.” From Matthew 7:3: “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” It means a small particle or speck.
—Rich Noyes is Research Director at the Media Research Center.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Re "I feel like I’m in a
June 7, 2009 - 14:20 ET by DingbatRe "I feel like I’m in a total parallel reality.”"
Yep.
Dingbat~
June 7, 2009 - 15:15 ET by Kat Outta the BagI was thinking the same thing...isn't that what we conservatives feel like with the MSM? LOL
is there a better illustration
June 7, 2009 - 16:49 ET by puredmashieof liberal group-think?
swing hard in case you hit it.
Even Mort Zuckerman got
June 7, 2009 - 20:09 ET by Gat New YorkEven Mort Zuckerman got upset over her remarks.
In Clift's "reality" every
June 7, 2009 - 14:22 ET by ironchefofmunchiesIn Clift's "reality" every single person voted for Obama, and every single one who didn't is in need of education because they are clearly ignorant of the greatness of Obama.
If she was around back then, Clift probably said something similar to "I don't know how Nixon got elected, no one I know voted for him".
Clift ought to get out a little more and open her mind to another point of view. But she will never do so.
She was around,
June 7, 2009 - 14:30 ET by UpNorthand probably said the same thing about John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
"If she was around back then, Clift probably said something similar to
"I don't know how Nixon got elected, no one I know voted for him".
That really is her reality
June 8, 2009 - 08:42 ET by American InfidelShe really doesn't know anyone who didn't vote for Obama. She surrounds herself with people just like her. People like her will never interact with anyone with a different point of view on anything.
We've finally given liberals a war against fundamentalism, and they don't want to fight it. They would, except it would put them on the same side as the United States. Ann Coulter
“He is saying things that
June 7, 2009 - 14:26 ET by Chris Norman“He is saying things that the rest of the world says about us all the time...."
Yeah, so we don't expect, want, or need to have our own freakin' president saying it too. If he wants to say things like this, he should have run for president of Syria or Spain.
Clift is truly one of the dumbest, most clueless person I have ever seen on televison news shows. She is a better looking Helen Thomas-in-training.
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Clift, much like Obama, is
June 7, 2009 - 14:27 ET by ironchefofmunchiesClift, much like Obama, is BIGGER than being a citizen of the United States.
They are citizens of the WORLD.
You can see these exact same people in charge of the E.U. - who don't bother allowing the peasants to have a say by allowing a vote on the treaty.
These people are going to be the source of the next great war-and they will blame us when it occurs.
That must have been the
June 8, 2009 - 13:23 ET by Ten7sThat must have been the passport Obama used to enter Pakistan in the '80s when no American was allowed.
This should have been
June 7, 2009 - 16:46 ET by motherbeltThis should have been called the Penitence Tour.
The only thing missing was sackcloth and ashes.
Things the rest of the world says about us??? So that means the President has to go around and validate them????
Oh, but you see, President Obama had to lay out all America's sins.
Because the next verse is: But I am here now, and I will make all things new.
I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson
I feel like I’m in a
June 7, 2009 - 14:31 ET by BlazerI feel like I’m in a total parallel reality.”
It's called an echo-chamber, Eleanor. Keep it simple don't get all scientific on us.
"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious. "
- Ben Kenobi on Liberals, and the MSM.
" The Cake is a lie."
It was called "living in a
June 7, 2009 - 14:41 ET by ironchefofmunchiesIt was called "living in a bubble" when it was applied to Bush.
Funny how it's always called something else when it is applied to Democrats isn't it?
Two in a row
June 8, 2009 - 10:44 ET by danebramageA stinging jab followed by a solid right hook for the knockout. Well played, guys.
Re-setting a relationship
June 7, 2009 - 14:36 ET by KC MulvilleWe recall the famous Pauline Kael line, who was shocked that Nixon won against McGovern - after all, she didn't know anyone who had voted for Nixon. It said more about her narrow circle of friends than about the electorate.
The apologies are wrong, and won't work - for a very good reason. You apologize as a matter of personal integrity, to set right what you have set wrong. When you apologize simply for the sake of trying to avoid past conflicts, or when you find history inconvenient, an apology is merely a rhetorical trick. The apology is no apology.
When you come to an impasse, you don't sweep the issues away. A smart negotiator can invite his opponent to continue despite the conflicts, and argue that the benefits of progress are too important to lose over the issues at hand. You can promise to work on the issues while you also work on progress. But the worst thing you can do is sweep the issues away as if they don't exist, because that only tells your opponents how unserious you are. It tells your opponent that you can't be trusted to address issues.
Hi KC... Glad I read the
June 7, 2009 - 15:14 ET by bigtimerHi KC...
Glad I read the posts here first, because that is exactly where I was going to go with your reference in your first paragraph, it was the first thing that crossed my mind too...leftists think they are be all end all...and they just don't come across reality in the real world most of the time.
I remember Judy, Judy, Judy Woodruff almost in tears when republicans took over the House by a whole heck of a bunch in '94...she was stunned, shocked, couldn't believe this was possible, let alone reality.
They really need to get out more...
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
Hey bt
June 7, 2009 - 15:38 ET by KC MulvilleThat's why it rings hollow when they claim to be neural - how would they know? They don't know anyone who would tell them.
KC, I know that was a
June 7, 2009 - 15:45 ET by Chris NormanKC,
I know that was a typo, but not only aren't they neutral, most of them aren't even "neural" :)
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
LOL Chris!
June 7, 2009 - 16:40 ET by motherbeltThat's what I was thinking too!
Hey, KC....that was a Freudian slip!!
I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson
LOL - You're right
June 7, 2009 - 18:20 ET by KC MulvilleAnd I think neural might make more sense ...
Why do news shows even use
June 7, 2009 - 14:46 ET by PewahWhy do news shows even use people like Eleanor Clift?! She and others, like Julien Epstein, Ed Schultz, and Sean Hannity (even though I'm conservative), are so predictable in what position they are going to take on ANY given subject that there's very little to learn from listening to them. My adult ADHD kicks into full speed whenever I hear any of their voices.
Everytime I think Sean
June 7, 2009 - 14:51 ET by Chris NormanEverytime I think Sean Hannity is showing a glimmer of hope at having an intellectual argument, he falls back into parroting talking points and buzz phrases. He's as subtle as a two hundred boxcar train wreck.
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Hannity's New Show Is Lame
June 7, 2009 - 15:49 ET by BW222Hannity's new show is really lame. The Great American Panel segment is totally unwatchable.
If he can't come up with enough to fill an hour show, they should just cut him back to 30 minutes or switch his time slot with Glenn Beck's.
BW222
You mean The "Great Great
June 7, 2009 - 15:59 ET by Chris NormanYou mean The "Great Great Great" American Panel? It's awful. Two partisans (plus Hannity) and one country western singer who says almost nothing and looks like he's wondering why he's there. I saw one guy the other night at the end of the desk with his head literally in his arms - really - seriously.
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
I like that segment about
June 7, 2009 - 16:00 ET by bigtimerI like that segment about 50/50 so far anyway.
I do wished they would put Beck in a better time slot.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
bt,
June 7, 2009 - 16:06 ET by Chris NormanI think it would better - and more novel - if he found three regular, well informed, people and had them sit on the panel. I get tired of constantly seeing the usual suspects up there. For pete's sake, we know what Bob Beckel's going to say 99.9% of the time - the same with almost everyone else. If Hannity is telling the truth about believing it's "the little guy" who makes the country work, then let's hear from some "little guys".
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
In AZ we get Beck at 2 PM.
June 7, 2009 - 17:11 ET by PewahIn AZ we get Beck at 2 PM. Talk about an Eastern-centric time slot, huh?! Fortunately, he plays again in the late evening.
Hannity's show
June 7, 2009 - 16:16 ET by Kat Outta the BagI'm so glad I'm not the only one who can't watch Hannity anymore. He's too shrill for my liking and, dare I say, was much more palatable when Colmes was there to rein him in occasionally.
I can't even listen to him
June 7, 2009 - 16:44 ET by motherbeltI can't even listen to him on the radio any more, and stopped watching H&C long before Colmes left.
Even reading his books is the same....we've heard it all at one time or another on his show.
Sorry, Sean, but America needs a change.
And no, not Beck.
I'm pretty much disgusted with all the conservative pundits right now.
I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson
Beck sometimes gets close to
June 7, 2009 - 17:08 ET by PewahBeck sometimes gets close to the edge for me, but I think that most of what he says needs to be voiced...because it ain't in the MSM.
Pewah on Beck
June 8, 2009 - 17:08 ET by Kat Outta the BagMy thoughts exactly.
Yep... He just had a
June 8, 2009 - 17:17 ET by bigtimerYep...
He just had a realy good show on today, it's three in the afternoon when it comes on here in MT.... anyway, he had on David Horowitz, Hannon or Hannan form Britian, whom I love, Stuart Varney etc...it was a informative, great show in my opinion...glad I got to catch it today.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
Hopefully they'll show it again
June 8, 2009 - 17:38 ET by Kat Outta the BagHopefully they'll show it again Saturday night, which is the only time I get to see his show. I think it comes on at 5:00 here and I miss it because I'm coming home from work while it's on.
Re Beck
June 8, 2009 - 18:55 ET by slickwillie2001Sounds like you are ET like me, so you do get a Beck rerun but it's at 2am.
By every measure whether
June 7, 2009 - 14:50 ET by MidAmericaBy every measure whether the economy, foriegn relations, nuclear proliferation, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the country is in much worse shape than just a few months ago and is still sliding downhill. Unemployment is approaching the Carter years! But does obama work on saving individual American's future? No. He is consumed with his quest for complete domination of the country by the federal government. He wants to do away with the Constitution's framework of a limited government. So it's easy for obama to critisise our country because he believes it's an inherently flawed form of government. If he had more power as a (benevolent) ruler he could more precisely make the correct decisions on our behalf.
The Capitol Gang--where are they?
June 7, 2009 - 15:07 ET by StarAZHi, Eleanor, I miss your group. You need to get out of Newsweekland sometimes, tho--they are a bad influence. Not a real magazine, not newsy, too frequent to be analysis, too spotty to be books or history--ick, ick. Catch up--not everybody is FOR this man! Some people think he is overrated at best, creepy and maybe evil at worst.
Clift = moron
June 7, 2009 - 15:08 ET by SATerpC'mon, is there a bigger idiot in media than Eleanor Clift? She can't even ever manage to look or sound intelligent.
"Heleanor Clift Thomas"
June 7, 2009 - 15:19 ET by Chris NormanI hereby nominate Eleanor Clift for the Helen Thomas Memorial Chair in the front row of the WH press conference room when (or if) it becomes available. Shes got the mindless screech down pat. I mean, come on, she's the obvious successor.
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Helen Thomas
June 7, 2009 - 15:23 ET by Kat Outta the BagHelen Thomas isn't going anywhere. She drinks the blood of young conservatives in order to maintain her immortality.
Ah, yes, but the Queen of
June 7, 2009 - 15:31 ET by Chris NormanAh, yes, but the Queen of the Damned may be dethroned by a younger, ambitious vampire. like Clift. :)
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Eleanor Clift...
June 7, 2009 - 15:48 ET by PrairieSky“Until I came on this set, I heard nothing but rave reviews for this speech. I feel like I’m in a total parallel reality..."
This nonsense is typical of Ms. Clift...If her statement doesn't perfectly illustrate the mindset of the liberal elite media, I don't know what ever could...Clift's absurd pronouncement reminds me of the the high profile lib journalist (her name escapes me right now, of course), who exasperatedly complained after Reagan's first victory in '80, that no one that she knew voted for Reagan...
Typical libs...They just can't imagine or understand why anyone with a brainstem would vote for a conservative Repub (gasp!), or would criticize Obamessiah's (sigh) brilliantly wise words...
Eleanor does live in a parallel reality, alright...It's called Liberal Land...
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
Eleanor!
June 7, 2009 - 16:15 ET by blazermaniacIf all you listened to was raves reviews, then you could have only listened to the "State Run Media". And if that's the case, Eleanor Clift is totally lost.
blazermaniac...She's lost alright...Ol Eleanor...
June 7, 2009 - 16:32 ET by PrairieSkyhas been lost in the liberal wilderness for a very long time now...
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
Me too
June 7, 2009 - 15:48 ET by 10ksnookerI have had quite enough of the poor ignorant naive fellow trying to make like he is a God. It's now just gotten stupid funny.
I think liberals are born brain dead, that seems to be the extent of it.
You are in a parallel reality....
June 7, 2009 - 16:02 ET by jdripperYou are in a parallel reality and the side you are in is the one that is nuts and dishonest.
This thing sitting in the oval office no longer speaks for me. I am an American and we do not go into the world on our knees whimpering and begging. He has no heart, no brains and no balls.
Jack
"If at age 20 you are a conservative then you have no heart. If at age 30 you are a liberal then you have no brains." Sir Winston Churchill
Living The Dream
June 7, 2009 - 16:24 ET by rammingspeedMs. Clift has chosen to insulate herself from and criticize anything that goes against her leftist indoctrination. She hasn't been motivated to look beyond, because she lives in cushy, protected America Land, where you can be anything you want, including willfully ignorant and just plain stupid. It's an unintended consequence of building the American dream.
That was all too much for
June 7, 2009 - 16:21 ET by ReaverThat was all too much for Clift: “He is saying things that the rest of the world says about us all the time...."
Validating America’s critics will make them love us. Truly amazing.
If stupidity got us into this mess,
then why can't it get us out?
--Will Rogers
Your day is past, Eleanor. It died with the Soviet Union.
June 8, 2009 - 11:12 ET by danebramageThe thing is, Eleanor has no idea what the rest of the world thinks of us. What she knows is what the press in the rest of the world prints about us, and just as she has become a shill for her messiah, so have foreign reporters always been for theirs. They don't enjoy true freedom of the press. They go to jail--or worse--if they get too critical or refuse to toe the party line. Al-Jazeera does not dependably reflect the views of the average Arab, for instance, except insofar as it has helped to shape them. What it does reflect is the views and/or the political calculations of the ruling elites in the Middle East.
They don't think they're citizens of the USA
June 7, 2009 - 18:16 ET by evilcontractorShe is expressing a standard belief of liberal press advocates. They don't believe they are Americans. They are above citizenship. So when she says, “He is saying things that the rest of the world says about us all the time..." she is just staying true to her core beliefs. It never occurs to them that we, Americans, shouldn't really care what other countries say or think, especially when they're wrong. And then she, and her fellow liberal press advocates, can't understand why they can sell their sorry excuse for news products.
However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results. Sir Winston Churchill
www.btreasures.com
There is an amazing number
June 7, 2009 - 18:49 ET by AlanaThere is an amazing number of people walking around with this sort of mind-set. They truly believe that everyone thinks as they do, with the exception of "a few right-wing extremists who listen to Rush."
I have a friend who, right after the election, called me long distance, and was astonished to learn that I didn't vote for Obama. (She asked.) She said, "Surely you didn't vote for that idiot, Palin, did you?" I haven't felt the same way about her since.
Point is, she truly believes that the entire "enlightened" world thinks like she and whatever friends she hangs out with do.
They really, really do think that everyone thinks as they do except except a few crazies. Election results notwithstanding. Well, ok, maybe they figure the opposition isn't all crazy, but SURELY they are all lower-class, uneducated hicks. Hence her surprise that I would vote for "that idiot, Palin."
(Might I add, they are also rude without even knowing it. I still can't believe she said that to me.)
arrogance and narcissism
June 7, 2009 - 19:11 ET by TruthMongerarrogance and narcissism makes someone left-wing...along with quite the potty mouth...
so when is obama going to apologize to Christians?
Palin/Prejean 2012
What does she think about
June 8, 2009 - 01:04 ET by Dan The Man 2What does she think about Duh One now or is she a heavy drinker?
Then you've heard nothing.
June 8, 2009 - 10:35 ET by CobraMan"Until I came on this set, I heard nothing but rave reviews for this speech."
Then you've heard nothing. Nothing of importance anyways. For, you see, Eleanor, Presidents don't give speeches for their "rave reviews" as those are just platitudes. President's give speeches for their impact on current events. Now, Eleanor, tell me, sincerely, what effect does Obama's "We're Sorry" speech have on current events? Here's the easy answer: Nothing at all, for nothing has changed.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus.
The US Supreme Court
Eleanor don't get out much, do she?
June 8, 2009 - 10:56 ET by R D HelmThey must keep her locked in a closet and only let her out to spew uninformed comments on TV shows nobody watches.
Then its back to the closet.
-Dave
jump off a clift
June 8, 2009 - 13:20 ET by tomolson3This guy looks like she could be the brother of the other guy, Rachel, on pmsnbc!!!!!!!
Its Newsweak...
June 8, 2009 - 14:02 ET by sam12663...Does anyone really care?
President Obama is nothing more than a lying empty suit; a Hollywood style special effects smoke and mirrors show that has shown itself to be a total fraud.
WAKE UP AMERICA! SAVE OUR CONSTITUTION!
sam... Lol..not really in
June 8, 2009 - 14:13 ET by bigtimersam...
Lol..not really in the big picture of life.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
Huh...and I grew up
June 9, 2009 - 01:32 ET by RR GOPHuh...and I grew up thinking that honest criticism made one better.
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 61% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory (yep...approval for Congress now at 39%...do you believe that!?).