Iran

On Friday, March 6, liberal columnist Mark Shields used his weekly appearance on PBS NewsHour to harshly criticize Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress. Speaking to co-host Judy Woodruff, Shields proclaimed that Netanyahu “made a very impassioned, I would say, eloquent indictment, criticism of the president’s policy. The Republicans were rapturous. They were…

In the immortal words of the drill sergeant played by Warren Oates in "Stripes" -- lighten up, Francis. Back in January when House Speaker John Boehner invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress and warn the world of the peril from Iran building nuclear weaponry, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Boehner breached diplomatic protocol by not first getting…

It was almost a funny moment . . . until you realized that members of the press were openly laughing at the fecklessness of the ostensible leader of the free world. On today's Morning Joe, the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson, his voice occasionally cracking with emotion, repeatedly insisted that President Obama would use military force if necessary to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.  …

All three broadcast networks reported on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress with segments in their Tuesday night broadcasts, but it was CBS and NBC that led the way in hitting Netanyahu for making a “controversial speech” and touted President Obama for “firing back,” “point by point for 11 minutes.” CBS Evening News substitute anchor Charlie Rose told viewers “…

A genuine leader spoke in Washington today, Rush Limbaugh told his radio listeners, and we've waited years to hear one. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's long-anticipated speech before a joint session of Congress on the peril posed to Israel -- and the world -- if the Islamist theocrats in Tehran succeed in acquiring nuclear weapons ended shortly before Limbaugh's show began.  

In today's speech, Benjamin Netanyahu took a not-so-subtle shot at John Kerry: will the MSM notice? The Israeli PM otherwise went out of his way to be bi-partisan,  finding ways to praise President Obama and even Harry Reid.   But Kerry came in for a stinging swipe when Netanyahu said "last year, the same [Iranian foreign minister] Zarif, who charms Western diplomats, laid a wreath at the grave…

Following a morning in which NBC’s Today offered only criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his visit to the United States, Monday’s NBC Nightly News continued piling on the denunciation of Netanyahu for creating a “storm of controversy” during “a tense and critical moment” in U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations. Fill-in anchor Savannah Guthrie proclaimed that a “storm of…

Ever since House Speaker John Boehner in mid-January invited Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's current prime minister, to speak before both chambers of Congress on Tuesday, March 3, the White House and most members of the press have slammed the fact that the Ohio Republican didn't consult the president before extending the offer, which many Democrats and White House officials have interpreted as an…

Introducing a one-sided report on Monday's NBC Today that featured no criticism of President Obama, co-host Savannah Guthrie proclaimed: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived ahead of a controversial speech to Congress tomorrow. And that visit at the invitation of Republicans is threatening to further strain the Obama administration's relations with Israel."

Hardball host Chris Matthews devoted the first 11 minutes of his February 25 program to rehashing tired, discredited talking points about the upcoming March 3 speech to a joint session of Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Railing against Speaker Boehner's decision to invite Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress on his concerns about Iran, Hardball host Chris Matthews sneered that the Ohio Republican essentially attempted to "sneak" the Israeli Prime Minister into the country with the president completely unawares, and that all to curry favor with "crazy right-wing" evangelical Christians. But of course the facts…

Introducing a segment on Wednesday's NBC Today that portrayed Iranian citizens studying at a U.S. college as victims of prejudice, co-host Savannah Guthrie proclaimed: "And now we move to the growing backlash over a new policy at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Iranian nationals are being banned from studying certain science and engineering courses there."

In an entry at the Washington Post's Volokh Conspiracy blog yesterday, George Mason University School of Law Professor David Bernstein asked, "Did the Obama Administration lie about Netanyahu?" The issue is whether, when and how the Obama White House learned of the Israeli Prime Minister's plans to deliver a speech to the U.S. Congress. The New York Times got dragged into the discussion, and…

For a guy who is forever hearing "dog whistles" and racially-tinged "code words" in conservative political rhetoric, Hardball host Chris Matthews seems blissfully unaware of the arguably anti-Semitic prattle he spewed tonight in his criticism of Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address the U.S. Congress on March 3.