Greta Van Susteren

Politico published another Sarah Palin hit piece on Sunday evening, and much like the last one, authors Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei couldn't find one disparaging source to actually go on the record with his or her negative opinions.

Grabbing the article hot off the presses, Fox News's Greta Van Susteren and her guest Palin trashed "all these brave" faceless people as well as the so-called journalists willing to write hit pieces without any named sources (video follows with transcript and commentary, h/t Mediaite):

Greta Van Susteren on Friday absolutely skewered Gloria Allred, the attorney representing California Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's former housekeeper.

In a fiery nine minute discussion on Fox's "On the Record," the host accused her guest of being "unthinkable" and "rotten" by bringing this issue to light, especially right before an election.  

"You're getting your client deported by putting a big neon sign, 'Hey, I'm here illegally, I signed documents falsely, and I've done that under penalty of perjury,'" scolded Van Susteren.  

"On the eve of an election, to raise something like this, which has the possibility of smearing unfairly, calling someone a liar and subverting the electoral process...I think all three things are rotten" (video follows with comments and highlights along with full transcript at end of post, h/t Ed Morrissey): 

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich tells Greta Van Sustern Americans are afraid of the radicalism of Obama, Pelosi and Reid.

Thoughts?

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Newt Gingrich says President Obama doesn't understand America (h/t Ed Morrissey).

Thoughts?

Fox News host Greta Van Susteren says the just-announced new CNN show pitting former New York governor Eliot Spitzer against faux conservative Kathleen Parker is bad news for MSNBC's Keith Olbermann.

Writing at her Greta Wire blog Wednesday, Van Susteren said, "[I]f CNN is to be successful, it will have to draw viewers from Keith Olbermann's viewers."  

She continued, "The total number of cable news viewers seems to be a limited number so they have to grab from Olberman [sic]."

Van Susteren elaborated as to why she doesn't think Spitzer-Parker will take viewers from "The O'Reilly Factor":

My first instinct when one of my tipsters sent me a link containing a discussion between the astonishingly vile Janeane Garofalo and Rosie O'Donnell on the latter's radio program was to delete the e-mail message and pretend I had never received it.

I had just eaten lunch, and really didn't want to upset my stomach so early in the day, especially given how gorgeous the weather is here in Northern California following so many straight weeks of rain.

But curiosity finally got the best of me, and what I discovered was worse than I could possibly imagine.

From O'Donnell calling Rush Limbaugh a junkie to Garofalo claiming that everyone on Fox News is a liar, I really wish I had gone with my first instinct and ignored this travesty (video embedded below the fold with extremely rough partial transcript as a result of the shooting pains caused by the content, h/t Story Balloon):

Ordinarily, one wouldn't take much notice of a gallon jug losing only a drop or two of water a day. But if you came back a year later and saw it half-empty, that would get your attention.

Such is the case with the steep ratings declines at CNN and MSNBC. A year ago, they already trailed Fox News badly -- so badly that Fox's audience in a given hour of prime time was sometimes greater than CNN, MSNBC, and Headline News (HLN) combined.

Revise "sometimes" to "virtually always." A comparison of Media Bistro's scoreboard for Thursday, February 4, 2010 to the same report for Thursday, February 5, 2009 shows stunning leakage from CNN and MSNBC. The jug is less than half full:

Is Glenn Beck the most watched cable news host on television today?

According to Steve Krakauer he is.

Although Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity typically have higher ratings than their Fox News colleague, Beck often garners a higher percentage of the people watching television during their respective time slots.

Krakauer explained the math Friday:

When Maine Republican Olympia Snowe backed aspects of health care reform early last fall, CBS’s Nancy Cordes cheered the "rebel Republican." Now that Snowe is sounding a tougher, more skeptical tone on the legislation, how will journalists treat the moderate Senator?

Appearing on Thursday’s edition of On the Record, host Greta Van Susteren asked Snowe if health care was dead. She bluntly replied, "I think that this particular legislation. I think its going to be very difficult to reach an agreement even within, I think, the Democratic caucus in both the House and Senate to accept this legislation one way or the other."

For those that missed it Wednesday evening, Karl Rove had a lengthy discussion with Fox News's Greta Van Susteren about a variety of issues including Sarah Palin's future.

Early on in this "On the Record" segment, Rove made a statement about the former Alaska governor that's guaranteed to anger liberals across the fruited plain:

I think she's an interesting personality who relates well to a lot of Americans. And a lot of people who have been heretofore on the fringes of politics and sitting on the sidelines were motivated during the campaign to get involved and since that time have become even more enamored of her. 

Rove also referred to a recent column by our friend Andrew Malcolm of the Los Angeles Times "where he pointed out Barack Obama's approval rating is 49 and Sarah Palin's approval rating has now risen to 43" (video embedded below the fold with transcript):

Joe the Plumber was certainly on to something when he got then-candidate Barack Obama to admit he wanted to redistribute the wealth, according to former Republican presidential candidate and Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. 

Huckabee, who now hosts a show aired on the weekends on the Fox News Channel, told "On The Record" host Greta Van Sustren on Nov. 16 that Obama's policies go beyond just the redistribution of wealth, especially on health care. He likened a provision in the House health care bill that would require people to have some sort of health care coverage to a "poll tax."

"[W]hile we really wish [the president's priorities] were recovery, getting jobs back - that's the number one thing we ought to be focused on - but it appears to be redistribution," Huckabee said. "That's what's going on in the health care world, where we're trying to make sure that we've redistributed health care, taking it from people who have it, taking from them, giving it to people who may not even desire to have it, and forcing people into an unconstitutional system where they're going to have to virtually pay into a private marketplace in order to get full rights of citizenship. It's the equivalent of a poll tax."

"Saturday Night Live" in its recent installment took shots at the Fox News Channel for what it saw as an amazingly one-sided, anti-Obama take on Tuesday's election results.

The skit began with an off-screen announcer declaring, "You're watching Fox News, continuous coverage of the 2009 election -- end of an era."

On screen at that moment was a picture of President Obama above a graphic which read, "End Of An Era."

Actress Kristin Wiig, doing a marvelous impersonation of Greta Van Susteren, then hosted a discussion on the election results which included one-sided opinions from actors impersonating Glenn Beck, Brit Hume, Karl Rove, Shepard Smith, Joe Trippi, and Juan Williams.

The group was ecstatic over what happened in New Jersey and Virginia, but chose not to discuss Democrat Bill Owens victory in New York's 23rd Congressional district (video embedded below the fold h/t Story Balloon):

It seems that the moratorium on appearances by White House officers on the Fox News Channel has ended. But high-ranking Democratic officials continue to peddle false information about the cable network, leveling unsupported charges of bias and political favoritism against it.

Noel Sheppard reported last week that Fox Senior Vice President Michael Clemente and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs reportedly reached a truce during a meeting at Gibbs's office Wednesday.

David Plouffe all but confirmed the truce when he told The Swamp today that he is planning on promoting his new book "The Audacity to Win" on Fox's "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren" Thursday night. Plouffe had cut Fox out of his regular network news appearances.

While July has been another banner month for the Fox News Channel, the good folks at MSNBC might want to rethink their current lineup.

In the all important demographic group aged 25 to 54, FNC was up 48 percent in total daily viewers, and an astounding 70 percent in prime time compared to July 2008.

By contrast, MSNBC's take of this demo was unchanged in prime time and down seven percent in total daily viewers.

The liberal network's top personality Keith Olbermann saw his July demo numbers decline to their lowest level since December 2007.

As reported moments ago by TVNewser (h/t Bret Baier): 

Politico on Saturday accused Greta Van Susteren of being Todd Palin's "host AND handler" at a pre-White House Correspondents' dinner brunch, and the Fox News host is none too pleased.

This was at least the second time in two months Politico has implied an improper alliance between Van Susteren and the Palins, and the "On the Record" host wasn't going to let them get away with it.

On Sunday, she posted a response at her FoxNews.com blog (h/t TVNewser):

As Kathleen Sebelius was sworn in as Secretary of Health and Human Services on April 28, the media continued its biased coverage of her controversial appointment. News outlets ignored the reason GOP senators had delayed her confirmation - her pro-abortion extremism - and focused instead on the importance of having the Secretary in place to combat swine flu.

But the media failed to note that since the creation of The Department of Homeland Security epidemic-fighting efforts are no longer headed up by HHS. Homeland Security is supposed to work with the Center for Disease Control. The CDC is led by Acting Secretary Richard E. Besser since the Obama Administration has yet to nominate anyone for the top job, something the media, with exception of CNN's Ed Henry, haven't reported.

An interview with Former Secretary of HHS Donna Shalala on "Fox and Friends" April 29 asks if having no director at the department had an impact on the swine flu crisis.  Shalala said, "If you remember we transferred the emergency powers for this kind of outbreak to the Department of Homeland Security when it was created. So that power is no longer in HHS. There is no question though that the CDC plays a lead role here and it's very important to get a CDC director as well as the Secretary sworn in."

As the Fox News Channel continues to be berated by America's new president along with his Party and liberal media minions, the cable network keeps drawing in more and more viewers.

In fact, it has been the second most-watched ad-supported cable network for nine straight weeks, and now sports the top eleven cable news programs.

Adding insult to injury, TVNewser reported Tuesday that FNC is now attracting more viewers than CNN and MSNBC combined:

With the G20 meeting in London, there have been raucous protests - clashes with police in riot gear, destruction of property at nearby banks and even the death of one man from a heart attack. And the media have gone out of their way to cover every sordid detail.

To former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, the media's flag-to-flag coverage of the G20 protests are a glaring contrast to the recent "tea party" protests - which have had more attendees and have been peaceful.

"Look, I got a note from a friend of mine in Orlando who pointed out there were more people at a taxpayer tea party in Orlando a week ago than there are in London," Gingrich said on Fox News Channel's April 1 "On the Record with Greta van Sustren." "They just didn't get any coverage out of the media. There were more people recently in Cincinnati at a taxpayer tea party than there have been demonstrating in London. But the London demonstrators are breaking windows, they're being violent, and you know, the media is always happy to cover the anarchic and violent left."

Greta Van Susteren is clearly sick and tired of people accusing her of advising Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

She's also fed up with what she referred to Sunday as a "hit and run":

This is why I hate “sources” and where journalism can be grossly unfair — in the law you have to step up on the witness stand and identify yourself and take an oath to tell the truth.

According to Van Susteren, that's not what Politico did on Sunday:

CNN’s Headline News (or HLN) figured out a liberal angle as it replayed clips of the Fox News interview with Bristol Palin: she’s "glamorizing teen pregnancy." Anchor A.J. Hammer repeatedly promoted this assertion during his show Showbiz Tonight on February 17, including this boast: "Also, new tonight: Sarah Palin’s teenage daughter, Bristol, giving her very first TV interview since becoming a teen mom. But Showbiz Tonight dares to ask, is Bristol Palin glamorizing teen pregnancy?"

Hammer’s two guests, CNN and CBS legal analyst Lisa Bloom and Tanika Ray of the syndicated show Extra, both hammered the Palin points from the left:

HAMMER: Some people might say that by going on television to talk about being a teen mom, 18-year-old Bristol Palin is somehow glamorizing teen pregnancy. Lisa, is that how you see it? Or do you think perhaps she is giving teens a well-needed reality check on what it is like to be a teen mom?

The Obama administration revealed Thursday that whoever ends up being director of the Census Bureau, a position yet to be filled, he or she will be required to work closely with the White House.

This is a departure from the autonomy the Bureau had under President Bush, and is worrisome given the census which will be taken next year.

Despite this revelation by Congressional Quarterly on Thursday the only major media outlet which gave this much attention was Fox News.

Before we get there, here's what CQ reported:

Fox News personalities Bill O'Reilly and Greta Van Susteren got into a heated debate on the former's radio program Monday concerning whether or not Carl Cameron should have reported gossip about Sarah Palin last Wednesday that emanated from unnamed McCain campaign staffers.

Van Susteren felt that since these sources refused to be named or stand up and make their accusations in front of the camera, their assertions were basically "schoolyard trash."

O'Reilly felt Cameron's report was valid because the folks he spoke to were "primary sources."

Audio of this interesting difference of opinion between two colleagues with great respect for one another is available below the fold courtesy our dear friend Johnny Dollar (file photo): 

As NewsBusters has been reporting since we were at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has been a strongly outspoken critic of how the mainstream media have covered Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin since she was first announced as John McCain's runningmate.

On Wednesday, appearing on Fox News's "On the Record," Gingrich called recent press reports involving the Republican vice presidential candidate "factually wrong, intellectually dishonest, totally biased, worthy of the Polish state news media attacking Lech Walesa back in the 1980s."

Moments later, he put an exclamation point on his criticism: "This is like watching Pravda. This is a one-sided, vicious, unending and dishonest campaign." 

What follows is a partial transcript of this delicious exchange (video embedded right):

One would assume that the Old Media would have a phalanx of intrepid mushing, journos swarming about Wasilla, Alaska, Sarah Palin's hometown. One would think that every single person that lives within 100 miles of Wasilla would have been contacted by at least one journalist by now. That the media's due diligence would have been dilagenced to death at this point. I mean, it's been two weeks! Well, according to Greta Van Susteren, the media is curiously absent in Wasilla.

Greta posted a quickie blog entry on September 12 wondering where the heck everyone was?

During FNC’s Republican Convention live coverage, former Dukakis campaign manager and liberal FNC analyst Susan Estrich voiced her disapproval of the "vicious and mean-spirited attacks" on Sarah Palin by the media as she appeared late Tuesday/early Wednesday night with anchor Greta van Susteren. Estrich: "I’ve never seen anything this bad in my life ... I was with Geraldine Ferraro in ‘84 – and this is worse. ... I have never seen from some of my friends such vicious and mean-spirited attacks on her most personal choices, which is what they are."

A bit earlier at about 12:05 a.m., conservative talk radio host Laura Ingraham had also complained of Palin’s treatment. Asked by van Susteren if Palin was getting "fair treatment," Ingraham argued that Palin is being "reviled and hated" because she is conservative and pro-life. In response to van Susteren’s question of "who’s reviling her," Ingraham elaborated: "Did you read the New York Times today? Have you read some of the left-wing blogs about her? Have you heard some of the comments on our competitor networks? It’s vile, it’s nasty, it’s vicious."

Did you know that if you have a negative view of Michelle Obama, it's all Fox News's fault?

Such seems to be the opinion of Barack Obama who told the magazine Marie Claire, "I think that if you've been watching Fox News then probably she's misunderstood, because I do think there's been a fairly systematic attempt by the conservative press to paint her in a completely false way."

Fox News's Greta Van Susteren heard about this statement by Obama, and took issue with it during an interview she did Monday with the magazine's editor (video embedded right, h/t NBer Thomas Stewart):

Greta Van Susteren is quickly becoming one of Fox News's most ardent defenders against attacks from the ultra-left.

Writing about Netroots Nation -- the gathering in Austin, Texas, of the most liberal people in America -- Greta bashed her former network CNN as well as MSNBC, Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, and all those in attendance.

Fasten those seatbelts tightly, for Greta, in a blog posting Friday morning, wasn't taking prisoners (emphasis added, h/t TVNewser, photo courtesy FNC):

Whether or not you like her program on Fox News, you gotta love Greta Van Susteren's spunk.

After all, even though it's Independence Day, the host of "On the Record" has taken the time to respond to the somewhat childish taunts of "Anderson Cooper 360's" executive producer David Doss who told TVNewser on Tuesday:

We're a news program — ["On the Record"] is not a news program. It's missing-person-of-the-day. There's an audience for that, but it's not what we do. We're covering the world, not just covering who's missing today.

Van Susteren wasn't taking this lying down (emphasis added, h/t TVNewser, picture courtesy FNC):

We know from the mainstream media that Barack Obama can walk on water, but I now realize that he's quite the multitasker as well.

"Is Senator Obama’s Campaign Booking CNN?" asks Greta Van Susteren on her "On the Record" Web site.  Looks like it.  According to Greta:

I debated whether to tell you this or not…but I did promise behind the scenes information here on GretaWire….so here it is…yesterday at 9:00am I personally booked Reverend Sharpton to appear ON THE RECORD at 10pm eastern to discuss Don Imus. At 8:12pm, less than 2 hours before we were to begin our 10pm news show, I received a call in my office from Reverend Sharpton…he said that Senator Obama’s campaign had called and asked him to appear on CNN at the same time he was due to appear on ON THE RECORD and thus could not make our show at the top. I told him that our first segment was the one he had been booked for almost 12 hours earlier and which we had discussed …he said Senator Obama’s campaign called and wanted him on CNN and that he was sorry.

So…here is my question: is Senator Obama’s campaign booking CNN now?

On her Tuesday evening "On the Record" program, Greta Van Susteren interviewed Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.  The cost of gasoline was the first topic discussed.  The speaker told of actions the Democrat-controlled Congress has taken.  Charitably, these are marginal at best, yet Van Susteren didn't challenge Pelosi.  Then the host asked about assigning blame for high gas prices:

VAN SUSTEREN: Do you assign all of the blame for the high prices on the Bush administration, or do you look back historically to a number of factors, including appetite by the American people, other administrations, other Congresses?

PELOSI: No, I don't assign blame to the Bush administration, I accuse them.  I am more direct than that. I accuse them of ignoring something that was becoming apparent over time.

Ten years ago the price was under $11 in 1998--under $11.  Two weeks ago, the cost of oil went up in one day nearly $11.  So the policy decisions made by this administration in terms of energy have contributed to this oil crisis by not accepting early on the need for us to have renewable and other alternatives.