Norah O'Donnell gushed over Eric Holder on Wednesday's CBS This Morning, trumpeting the supposedly "remarkable" and "very personal" speech that the attorney general gave to the NAACP on Tuesday. O'Donnell also played up how "Holder, the first African-American attorney general...talked very personally about, after Trayvon Martin's death, counseling his own 15-year-old son if he was stopped by police" [audio available here; video below the jump].
The morning newscast spotlighted how the controversial Obama administration figure "sharply criticized the so-called 'stand your ground' laws in Florida and other states", and played 36 seconds of clips from his speech to the organization:
ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL (from speech at NAACP convention): But we must examine laws that take this further by eliminating the common sense and age-old requirement that people who feel threatened have a duty to retreat outside their home if they can do so safely. By allowing and, perhaps, encouraging violent situations to escalate in public, such laws undermine public safety. The list of resulting tragedies is long, and unfortunately, it has victimized too many who are innocent. We must stand our ground to ensure that our laws reduce violence, and take a hard look at laws that contribute to more violence than they prevent.
O'Donnell then added her slanted "remarkable" label and twice used the "very personal" phrase, as she responded to the address.
Co-anchor Charlie Rose used the very same word on May 31, 2013 to boost Oprah Winfrey's pro-gun control Harvard University commencement address. O'Donnell herself touted the liberal TV personality's "important message". Almost a month later, both CBS on-air personalities also heralded Wendy Davis' pro-abortion filibuster and wondered if the Texas state legislator would "run for governor or for national office now" because of her "new role in the national spotlight".
The transcript of the news brief from Wednesday's CBS This Morning:
[CBS News Graphic: "Questioning The Law: Holder Wants 'Stand Your Ground' Examined"]
ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL (from speech at NAACP convention): But we must examine laws that take this further by eliminating the common sense and age-old requirement that people who feel threatened have a duty to retreat outside their home if they can do so safely. By allowing and, perhaps, encouraging violent situations to escalate in public, such laws undermine public safety. The list of resulting tragedies is long, and unfortunately, it has victimized too many who are innocent. We must stand our ground to ensure that our laws reduce violence, and take a hard look at laws that contribute to more violence than they prevent.
O'DONNELL: You know, Charlie, this was a remarkable speech. Eric Holder, the first African-American attorney general – he talked very personally about, after Trayvon Martin's death, counseling his own 15-year-old son if he was stopped by police. And then, we heard, for the first time, Eric Holder talk about – even when he was a young prosecutor – running to catch a movie in Georgetown [and] being stopped by police. This was a very personal speech.
CHARLIE ROSE: I've heard that from other African-American fathers – talking to their sons over the last few days.
O'DONNELL: Absolutely.
