CBS's Norah O'Donnell Chides: Jan Brewer's 'Finger' 'Has Tongues Wagging'
Reporter Norah O'Donnell chided the governor of Arizona on Thursday, insisting, "...It's [Jan] Brewer's finger that has tongues wagging." All three networks highlighted a confrontation between the Republican and Barack Obama at a Phoenix tarmac. However, CBS, NBC and ABC ignored the context of the conflict, the Justice Department's lawsuit against the state's illegal immigration law.
The This Morning reporter suggested Brewer's recounting of a 2010 White House meeting was inconsistent. After a clip of Brewer describing the "cordial discussion," O'Donnell corrected, "Yet, a year later in her book, she recalled that same meeting quite differently." (On Amazon.com, Scorpions for Breakfast jumped 211 percent in sales after Wednesday's incident.)
On Good Morning America, news reader Josh Elliott blandly recounted, "She says the President was disturbed by her new book. In it, she claims that the President was condescending to her during a White House meeting on immigration."
Neither Elliott, nor co-anchor George Stephanopoulos (who also briefly covered the exchange), mentioned Arizona's law as something that prompted the moment.
Today reporter Peter Alexander explained, "...The President had a tense exchange with Governor Jan Brewer about her book, which characterized Mr. Obama as lecturing her during a 2009 meeting over immigration. Later, Brewer called the president 'thin-skinned' and said the encounter left her breathless."
Only CBS's O'Donnell quoted from Brewer's book at all. She briefly recited, "It was as though President Obama thought he would lecture me and I would learn at his knee. He was patronizing."
MSNBC published an excerpt of Brewer's book, recounting the moment when she found out a rancher had been killed by an illegal alien:
I was at home when I got the call. It was late at night. A highly regarded rancher had been killed in the south of the state, I was told. Rob Krentz had been killed. That’s all they knew. I hung up the phone. And as I waited for my staff to get back to me with more information, I grieved, I worried, and I wondered. Everyone in Arizona, it seemed, either knew Rob or knew of him. I had met him at a couple of meetings with the ranchers. Had he been a victim of the escalating violence on the border? As I waited, I couldn’t help but fear the worst. Oh my God, what has happened? We have to get a handle on this.
A transcript of the January 26 CBS This Morning segment, which aired at 7:14am EST, follows:
ERICA HILL: President Obama is out west today promoting his State of the Union proposals. But, he's making news this morning for a confrontation with Arizona's Republican governor. Chief White House correspondent Norah O'Donnell is in Las Vegas. She is traveling with the president. Norah, good morning.
NORAH O'DONNELL: Good morning. The President was near Phoenix to talk about manufacturing. But, it's what happened on the tarmac when Air Force One landed that now has everybody talking. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer got right to the point, Wednesday, in a heated exchange captured on the tarmac of Phoenix airport.
JAN BREWER: We could have been talking about a lot of different things. Bottom line is, that he generally wants to talk about amnesty and I want to talk about securing our border.
O'DONNELL: But it's Brewer's finger that has tongues wagging.
BREWER: They always say that a picture is what it is. But I must say, I was not hostile. I was trying to be very, very gracious. I respect the office of the president. And I would never be disrespectful in that- in that manner.
O'DONNELL: Brewer took a different tax on the record with Greta Van Susteren.
BREWER: He immediately took umbrage, if you will, with my book that I wrote, Scorpions for Breakfast and was somewhat of disgruntled, if you will, about the way he was portrayed in the book. I don't know why he was surprised by my book. But he evidently is and he's very thin-skinned.
O'DONNELL: The President and the governor have a history of strained relations and evolving explanations. Here's Brewer following a 2010 White House meeting.
BREWER: We just completed our meeting this afternoon. It was a very cordial discussion, was taking place.
O'DONNELL: Yet, a year later in her book, she recalled that same meeting quite differently. "It was as though President Obama thought he would lecture me and I would learn at his knee. He was patronizing." Last January, the two put aside their differences at this meet. It doesn't look like they'll be making up any time soon. The President said later, he'd be glad to meet with Governor Brewer again but he couldn't resist the opportunity to point out that he thought her book inaccurately described that last White House meeting they had in 2010. Charlie and Erica?
CHARLIE ROSE: Is this the end of this?
O'DONNELL: It may not be. And certainly the President is going to be returning to Arizona, because even though that is a red, Republican state, uh the President's political advisers think it can be a battleground state in 2012, in part because of the huge Hispanic growth.
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Comments
Obama doesn't care...
Submitted by GeneralAl on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 1:44pm.
Obama doesn't care about the why of Brewer's book, only that she dared to speak the truth about him. His walking away from her while she was talking shows his lack of stones! What a fruit cake wimp!
"Old Soldiers never die, they just fade away"!
O'Donnell a Sexist?
Submitted by libBuster on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 1:46pm.
"Tongues Wagging". That sounds pretty sexist to me. Does O'Donnell expect all women to be secondary, subservient and submissive to Obama -- just as she is. Why O'Donnell probably would treasure a gift of Presidential knee-pads.
Where is NOW?
Considering how many times
Submitted by killa37 on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 1:48pm.
Considering how many times Boy Barry's effemenite ET-like finger has been waved at us - in a condascending and disdainful way - I'm not going to get too upset that Governor Brewer got into his pouty petulant face about anything - he's basically given Arizona the middle finger on a number of issues.
Not only that
Submitted by jon_torlin on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 1:55pm.
But as a Muslim, he hates it when a woman gets in his face in a combative way as opposed to a subservient way. You know he wanted to react the way a "proper Muslim" would.
-Jon
Please.
Submitted by johnsonl on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:04pm.
You know his little spindly behind couldn't take Michelle in a fair fight. She beats him on a regular basis, then steals his lunch money.
I'll tell ya sumpin,
Submitted by killa37 on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:08pm.
I'll tell ya sumpin, Jon-E-Boy......................it's a safe bet to say that ol' Barry has to swallow a lot of that 'subserviant' attitude towards women being married to that prototype 'angry black woman', Moooooooooooooooooooochelle.
But a l'il ol' white woman, who happens to be a Republican governor in a 'runaway' state like Arizona???? And a woman who actually said something (truthfully) derogitory about His Excellence???? There's no way he's going to put up with that!!! And it looks like he had his hand on her arm..................I'd be cheering for her even more if she had pushed his damn ET-like skinny girlish hand off, while scolding him for 'improper touching', as well as everything else she was reaming him about.
Agree
Submitted by bobsmom on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:07pm.
wholeheartedly. He's wagged that bony digit at us for going on 4 years, and it did my old heart good to see it being done to him. Good job Jan. Now all we need is every other person he meets to do the same thing. Disrespectful my foot.
I'd like to see more people get in Obamao's face
Submitted by johnsonl on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:02pm.
for whatever reasons they deem necessary. He needs to be taken down a peg or three by people who don't have to kowtow to him on a regular basis. You can see how he feels about those who don't worship him in a manner that he feels is proper.
What would Norah say if this
Submitted by ThisnThat on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:09pm.
What would Norah say if this were Hillary Clinton and, say, President Bush? What side would she take? And how would she describe the fact that Bush was looming over Hillary, with his face real close to Hillary's, scolding her? I think it would go something like this:
President Bush invaded Hillary's personal space, in a powerful scolding that was uncalled for and quite sexist.
Oh, wait -- that was Rick Lazio in a debate with poor Hillary a few years ago, wasn't it? But today -- it's poor o'bama who had to stoically endure an unprovoked tongue-lashing from a crabby, finger-pointing woman, isn't it? Did I play that right, Norah?
BTW, anybody read the on-line comments in response to this article on CNN? All about "disrespecting" the black man. It clearly shows the type of audience CNN attracts:
__________
“Didn't win the Medal of Honor? Didn't even serve? Then lie about it. We'll support you." — 9th Circuit Court
Muslims do not like uppity women
Submitted by Dave. on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:10pm.
Not even a little bit.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
lmfao
Submitted by bkeyser on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:17pm.
Dave.
Yeah, well.............I
Submitted by killa37 on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 7:51pm.
Yeah, well.............I don't like uppity commie/Marxist/America-hating/mooooooooooooooooslem/racist/re-distributionist psuedo-blacks either...................not even a little bit!!!!!
And if anybody thinks that's a 'racialist' statement - then plug in your own damn color or creed or word that works for you - and I'll STILL be telling the truth!!!
One would think....
Submitted by notinstl on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:16pm.
...that liberal women would be up in arms over obama's "bullying" of another woman....
Rank and Honor Codes
Submitted by BuffNBone on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:28pm.
When filing military flight plans where a VIP was onboard, a code identified things like the person's branch of service or government, their level according to established protocols (Code 1 for the President down through a Code 7 Military O-6 [colonel/Navy captain] and what if any service(s) they were requesting). A governor when in their own state is equal in rank to the President. Both are Code 1's.
but what if?
Submitted by jimtrees on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:30pm.
Just one man in any form of politics today, had the balls to do the same thing. John Boehner would have been on his knees sobbing like a child. Bad situation, when a woman has to do what our men dare not.
United 'States'
Submitted by MidAmerica on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:36pm.
The truth constitutionally is that when the President is in a state in the presence of the governor he is outranked. It is only respect for his office that is to be considered but the president by no means is the political superior to a governor in their own state.
Gotta Reference?
Submitted by BuffNBone on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 4:28pm.
Conceptually I am in full agreement with your post--see my entry above. If you have one, I'd appreciate some current source or reference supporting your statement. Thanks.
10th amendment
Submitted by MidAmerica on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 7:10pm.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
The powers of the federal government are powers delegated to it by the states. The individual states are the creators of the federal government. So when obama or any President leaves DC he is a guest of the visited state the same as you and I.
Let's dumb it down a tad
Submitted by jon_torlin on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 10:31am.
Let's dumb it down a tad for those in Rio Linda:
having stated the above regarding the tenth amendment, that means that DuhOne's behavior at the bare minimum was just plain rude and abyssmal.(which is where Obyssmal came from)
Let's put it this way, would you allow anyone into your house and treat you that way? The right answer of course is NO.
-Jon
Brewer for President!!!
Submitted by tcm14 on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:38pm.
Brewer for President!!!
Proud to be an Arizonan
Submitted by CarlosS on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:43pm.
"For the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my state, and not just because Jan has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change."
Thin-Skinned Comrade, AKA Dictator Wannabe Barry
Submitted by Motormouth KOS on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 10:34am.
Dear Jan,
Next time you wag your finger at this jackass, can you please indulge me and shove it up his nose?
Look, I know you got lectured by 'The Professor" about how you are not allowed to criticize him. Maybe you got scared.
But next time he tries this BS on you..?
Please call a press conference and call him out in public.
Bobby Jindal, you too. Don't just write the book 2 years later.. Call the press out and tell them how Herr Barry threatened you. let's see if the MSM can re-write THAT story into a glowing puff piece.
The Obamination... A crisis leading to a catastrophe..(please donate to MRC)
Arizona is another state
Submitted by jkwtrading on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:48pm.
Arizona is another state which is requiring Obama to certify himself for the 2012 ballot. Arizona, like Georgia, Tennessee are first to ask for these credentials.
Obama failed to appear today In Georgia.
Norah
Submitted by mmilesll on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 3:21pm.
Norah keeps proving how truly stupid most TV "journalist" are. If you don't have or know the facts, just make them up. What a joke NBC has become.
NBC?
Submitted by mmilesll on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 3:22pm.
Rather CBS-they are both a joke.
Jan didn't know Norah was watching.
Submitted by KyWriter on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 4:40pm.
Otherwise, she would have lifted a different finger.
⇒ My problem with the picture
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 11:34am.
Gov. Brewer should have been aware of the absence of photo-evidence to support her complaint she "felt threatened".
It's understandable that anyone with whom the President takes a stern tone might "feel threatened" but it does nothing for Gov. Brewer's image as a tough, no-nonsense, female leader when she admits feeling threatened but the picture says the opposite occurred.
CA,
Submitted by Agnostic on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 11:39am.
True, but there is a huge difference between 'feeling threatened' which can happen to anyone and backing down from a potential threat.
⇒ Yes, there's a difference
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 11:45am.
But what if Kruschev, after banging his shoe on the podium at the UN, went back to the USSR telling the Russian people "I felt threatened"?
What I'm saying is the incongruity of the visual with the claim would have been globally laughable.
I'm just saying "I felt threatened", albeit likely true, does not help Gov. Brewer's image.
True CA,
Submitted by Agnostic on Mon, 01/30/2012 - 9:15am.
Like Kruschev, Obama and the Democrats control the message sent to the masses and it allows them to bully and to be rebuked with little damaged done to their image. It is only failure that hurts.
Either way, whether Gov. Brewer felt threatened or she was making an excuse she does appear weak. That being said, Obama would never have gotten away with being that aggressive, especially with a female, if the there was any semblance of an impartial media and she would not have felt the need to say what she said.
I have come to agree with your conclusion albeit with the understanding that the media bias had a hand in creating the scenario.
I don't think
Submitted by texasborngranny on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 11:36am.
Nora (or any of the other MSM talking heads) had this outcome in mind when she chided Gov. Brewer...
"On Wednesday, sales “Scorpions for Breakfast'' were tepid. Amazon.com, where Gov. Jan Brewer has been marketing her political screed on border security, federalism and the “liberal media,'' reported that sales ranked it No. 343,222 of all the titles on its list.
By Thursday morning, though, it had skyrocketed to No. 56. And by early Thursday evening it had made it all the way to No. 10 on the best-seller list."
Read more: http://www.yumasun.com/articles/president-76223-brewer-book.html#ixzz1kf...
Another Obama fail...
Submitted by texasborngranny on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 11:43am.
don't know whether it means something or nothing, but ... http://thearizonasentinel.com/2012/01/26/obama-failed-to-appear/