GMA Touts Tough Democrats’ Plan to Hold Bush’s ‘Feet to the Fire’

On Tuesday’s "Good Morning America," co-host Diane Sawyer and reporter Jake Tapper highlighted the Democrats’ strategy to "get tough on the White House." The ABC correspondent discussed plans to begin hearings on holding the Bush administration accountable for issues such as global warming, Hurricane Katrina, Darfur, and Iraq. Tapper indicated that the President would soon be assailed from all sides. A sampling of the report’s phrasing seems to indicate approval for these hard-nosed Democrats:

Diane Sawyer: "Well, global warming. We said that the Democrats had promised to get tough on the White House. They're doing it with hearings on all fronts. But up first, global warming, and the charge that scientists who warned about global warming were muzzled by the Bush administration."

Next, Jake Tapper apparently found a phrase that he enjoyed:

Jake Tapper: "It's just one of many Democratic investigations where they hope to hold the White House's feet to any number of fires. The White House is under attack from every angle. From global warming, to the rebuilding of New Orleans, to Darfur, to Iraq."

Later in the report, he discussed hearings on Hurricane Katrina and returned to the fire analogy:

Tapper: "This week, a Senate committee went to New Orleans to hold the President's feet to the fire on Katrina recovery."

Notice a trend? After introducing the piece, which aired at 7:12am on January 30, Tapper cited the former gossip columnist and ex-editor of Wonkette, Ana Marie Cox, as an expert on the scrutiny that Bush will face under the Democrats (Cox is now the Washington editor of Time.com.):

Diane Sawyer: "Well, global warming. We said that the Democrats had promised to get tough on the White House. They're doing it with hearings on all fronts. But up first, global warming, and the charge that scientists who warned about global warming were muzzled by the Bush administration. We have more now on that from our senior political correspondent, Jake Tapper."

Jake Tapper: "Good morning, Diane. Well, this morning, the Democratic congressman who took on big tobacco is going to take on the Bush administration on the subject of whether or not the White House suppressed global warming science. It's just one of many Democratic investigations where they hope to hold the White House's feet to any number of fires. The White House is under attack from every angle. From global warming, to the rebuilding of New Orleans, to Darfur, to Iraq."

Ana Marie Cox (Washington Editor, Time Magazine): "This will be an unprecedented level of scrutiny for them, an unprecedented level of scrutiny at all levels."

Tapper: "This morning, Congressman Henry Waxman and the House Government Reform Committee will hear from government scientists who will testify that their work on global warming was distorted or suppressed by the Bush administration. The committee is also aggressively trying to get White House documents on possible political influence used to downplay findings on climate change."

Henry Waxman: "We have the power of subpoena, but I don't think the subpoena is what you use in the first instance. You make requests."

Interestingly, it appears as though only Republican feet will be held to the fire. According to a front page report in yesterday’s "USA Today," several high profile congressional Democrats are involved in a scandal that revolves around questionable roles in family charities. This, however, went unmentioned by ABC.

Tapper closed the segment by reiterating the Democrats’ plan to "hold the President’s feet to the fire."

Tapper: "But Waxman says his top priority is finding the billions lost in Iraq."

Waxman: "What we've seen so far in Iraq, according to the government's own auditors, is billions of dollars that have gone to waste and corruption, graft. We're going to look into that more carefully."

Tapper: "It's just one of many hearings planned on gas prices, privacy issues, and Iraq, Iraq, Iraq."

Tony Snow: "If some members within the Democratic Party decide that they want to engage in sort of political acts of that sort, we'll certainly be prepared."

Tapper: "This week, a Senate committee went to New Orleans to hold the President's feet to the fire on Katrina recovery."

Barack Obama: "There's not a sense of urgency out of this White House and administration to get this done."

Tapper: "And some more extreme members of the party had originally talked about commencing with impeachment proceedings against the President. But Democratic leaders squashed that talk wanting instead, Chris, to focus on issues that they feel the public can rally behind them on."

While Mr. Tapper should receive some credit for using the word "extreme" in the same sentence as a reference to the Democratic Party, his comment could also be seen as a way to make the Nancy Pelosi wing of the party look more moderate and reasonable. After all, they think impeaching George W. Bush is a bad idea–now.