Poll-Cooking With AP: Obama Approval at 60% -- With 46-29 Dem-GOP Spli

May 11th, 2011 11:16 AM
The chefs in the kitchens at AP-GfK, a joint effort of the Associated Press and GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications, have been working overtime cooking up a scrumptious dish for fans of Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. After tasting the output this morning, the AP's Liz Sidoti and Jennifer Agiesta could hardly contain their glee (also saved here for future reference…

As He Issues Layoff Notices, AP Gives Conn. Governor Malloy Kid-Glove

May 11th, 2011 1:41 AM
Connecticut Governor Daniel Malloy has called himself the "anti-Christie" because of his willingness to raise taxes to help balance the Nutmeg State's budget. By contrast, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the object of Malloy's scorn, recently ruled out tax increases, as he has been doing ever since he became governor in 2010. Malloy's recently passed taxes amounting to an estimated $1.4…

NPR's Liasson Excludes Amnesty Opponents from Immigration Story

May 10th, 2011 8:05 PM
NPR's Mara Liasson noticeably left out anti-illegal immigration conservatives on Tuesday's Morning Edition as she reported on President's Obama's latest push for "comprehensive" immigration reform. Liasson only played clips from the President, Democrat Rep. Luis Gutierrez, and Republican consultant Marty Wilson, who claimed that "the hardline approach on immigration...is not going to work."…

Matt Lauer Worries Debt Ceiling Fight Will 'Shatter' National Unity, U

May 10th, 2011 12:14 PM
In an interview with Speaker of the House John Boehner on Tuesday's Today on NBC, co-host Matt Lauer fretted over the upcoming debate on raising the nation's debt limit: "...after the news surfaced that Osama bin Laden had been killed there was this – a good feeling in this country....Are we going to see that unity shattered in the coming weeks when we start to debate things like the debt…

NBC's Gregory Not Sure if Role of Enhanced Interrogation in bin Laden

May 9th, 2011 1:32 PM
On NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, host David Gregory remained highly skeptical of the role enhanced interrogation tactics played in tracking down and killing Osama bin Laden: "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times.  And based on reporting this week in NBC News and outside, he never gave up the truth about the courier that led to bin Laden." Gregory made the argument while…

CBS First of Big Three to Give Obama Air Time After Announcing Reelect

May 6th, 2011 6:07 PM
CBS announced on Friday its plans for a "special town hall meeting on the economy" featuring President Obama. Network personalities Bob Schieffer and Erica Hill will host the event. This announcement comes just over a month after the Democrat officially started his reelection campaign, and on the same week that the President's approval ratings on the economy reached a new low according to a CBS…

Juan Williams Channels Chris Matthews, Grills Pawlenty on Evolution in

May 6th, 2011 5:24 PM
During Thursday night's Republican presidential debate in South Carolina, Fox News contributor Juan Williams moved away from the pressing issues of national security and the economy to ask former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty: "Do you equate the teaching of creationism with the teaching of evolution, as the basis for what should be taught in our nation's schools?" Perhaps Williams had…

NPR Forwards Notion That Bin Laden Death is 'Fundamental Shift' For Ob

May 5th, 2011 7:21 PM
NPR's Ari Shapiro emphasized the possible political benefits for President Obama on Thursday's Morning Edition in the aftermath of the death of Osama bin Laden. Shapiro lined up sound bites from three pundits who touted the "big moment" for the "bold" President and how it amounted to a  "fundamental shift in the way Americans perceive Mr. Obama." Midway through his report, the correspondent…

NBC's Gregory: Obama's 'Ultimate Leadership Moment' Dispels GOP Critic

May 5th, 2011 2:06 PM
Anchoring NBC News special report coverage of President Obama visiting Ground Zero on Thursday, Meet the Press host David Gregory used the opportunity to take a shot at critics of the administration: "...this [killing bin Laden] was the ultimate leadership moment for a commander in chief who in some ways had not been tested on this order. Who had been the target of criticism from Republicans…

NPR Boosts Obama Over Political 'Game Changer' With Bin Laden Death

May 3rd, 2011 7:56 PM
On Monday and Tuesday, NPR played up how Osama Bin Laden's death might translate into a political win for President Obama. Mara Liasson trumpeted the "huge victory" for the President and spotlighted a scholar who gushed how Obama now looked "strong and competent and decisive." Cokie Roberts boasted how the military operation was a "score" for the Democrat and that it was a "game changer…

MSNBC: Indiana Cutting Planned Parenthood Funding = 'Politics' Interfe

May 3rd, 2011 4:41 PM
During the 11AM ET hour on MSNBC on Tuesday, anchor Thomas Roberts decried Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels voicing support for legislation to de-fund the state chapter of Planned Parenthood as "a move that has many questioning if politics is playing too much of a role in women's health." Turning to Planned Parenthood of Indiana President Betty Cockrum, Roberts declared: "...here's the…

NBC's Richard Engel Rants: Iraq War a 'Distraction' From Getting Bin L

May 3rd, 2011 12:43 PM
On NBC's Nightly News on Monday, chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel used a report on the history of the war on terror to attack the Bush administration for going to war in Iraq: "...when civil war in Iraq broke out, American troops were stuck....it was a distraction from the United States' original mission to find Bin Laden, stop Al Qaeda, and prevent another 9/11." [Audio available here…

NBC's Gregory Frets Over 'Purist' Tea Party, Urges Sen. Rubio to 'Comp

May 2nd, 2011 2:12 PM
In an interview with Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, host David Gregory worried: "There's a purist streak to the Tea Party, right? Don't compromise....As you think about yourself, are you here to legislate? Are you here to compromise?" Rubio countered: "...we are dealing with major issues in our country, big issues that deserve big solutions....if we…

Ratings-Starved Uygur: The Devil Makes Me Cover Donald Trump

April 30th, 2011 7:20 AM
Even at MSNBC, which gets crushed of course by Fox News in every prime-time slot, Cenk Uygur manages to come in dead last in ratings among his liberal peers.   So when Cenk claims that he doesn't want to cover Donald Trump but is forced to do so by The Donald's popularity, the baloney-meter starts screaming. Uygur opened his show last evening with a long segment on Trump, all the while…