CNN and MSNBC Applaud Elena Kagan's Capitol Hill Comedy Hour
June 30th, 2010 6:03 PM
In covering Elena Kagan's confirmation hearings, CNN and MSNBC have repeatedly lauded the Supreme Court nominee for her "flashes of humor" and "disarming ease."In tune with the reverberations of the network morning shows' echo chamber, correspondents like CNN's Dana Bash and anchors like MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Tuesday praised Kagan for her ability to inject humor into otherwise "hollow and…
NBC's Todd Defends Obama 'Twitters' Gaffe: 'Written Incorrectly in His
June 25th, 2010 3:16 PM
On NBC's Today on Friday, White House correspondent Chuck Todd preemptively dismissed any criticism of President Obama referring to "Twitters" during a joint press conference with Russian President Dimitri Medvedev on Thursday: "It turns out he didn't misstate it. It was written incorrectly in his prepared remarks."During Todd's report, a clip was played of Obama noting how in a visit to…
NBC: Obama's 'Commander-in-Chief' Moment with McChrystal a Hidden Bles
June 24th, 2010 3:25 PM
On Wednesday's Today show, NBC's Chuck Todd touted President Obama's "swiftness" in dealing with the controversy surrounding General Stanley McChrystal comments in Rolling Stone magazine as a "commander-in-chief moment," and hinted that it was a blessing in disguise, given the executive's tanking approval ratings.Todd led the 7 am Eastern hour with his report on the President appointing General…
Media Praise Obama's 'Brilliant' Handling of McChrystal Controversy
June 23rd, 2010 3:38 PM
President Obama's decision to relieve General Stanley McChrystal of command in Afghanistan and replace him with General David Petraeus was met with a chorus of praise in the media, as anchors and pundits on CBS, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC all sang in unison that it was a "brilliant" move. [Audio available here] During live special coverage leading up to the announcement in the 1PM ET hour on CBS, White…
Andrea Mitchell: McChrystal 'Ought to be Canned
June 22nd, 2010 7:35 PM
MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell on Tuesday claimed that for what General Stanley McChrystal allegedly said about the White House, he legally, morally, ethically, professionally ought to be canned.Discussing the issue with colleagues Chuck Todd and Savannah Guthrie on "The Daily Rundown," Mitchell claimed McChrystal's alleged statement "crosses the line of insubordination, and it crosses the line of the…
Chuck Todd Rips 'Unreliable' Rasmussen, Doesn't Mind Liberal Polling F
June 11th, 2010 2:23 PM
Media bias often shows itself in which organizations journalists choose to cite or ignore. A very prevalent form of this bias is selective reporting on polling data--polls that show results friendly to the liberal position like are touted while those that show the opposite are buried.MSNBC's Chuck Todd, pictured right, is the latest reporter to demonstrate such a bias. He took Rasmussen Reports…
On Today: Dems Happy 'Too Conservative' Tea Party Candidate Won Primar
June 9th, 2010 3:46 PM
On Wednesday's Today show NBC's Matt Lauer, Chuck Todd and Kelly O'Donnell forwarded the Democratic line that Tea Party candidate victories in Republican primaries will be the GOP's downfall in November. First up Kelly O'Donnell, in a set up piece, claimed: "In Nevada, a big Tea Party victory in the GOP Senate primary...But Democrats are actually cheering Sharron Angle's win, believing that a Tea…
MSNBC Anchors in 'Anguish' Over Helen Thomas Retirement
June 8th, 2010 2:59 PM
MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Chuck Todd, and Savannah Guthrie on Tuesday’s “The Daily Rundown” were in “anguish” over the forced retirement of Helen Thomas, but showed little sympathy for the Israelis that the Hearst columnist so odiously disrespected.“I think a lot of people feel some anguish about this because the comments were beyond the pale,” lamented Guthrie. “And yet it tarnishes a career that…
NBC's Mitchell Mourns: 'A Sad Way' for Helen Thomas' Career to End
June 7th, 2010 3:51 PM
On her self-titled MSNBC show on Monday, Andrea Mitchell Reports, NBC's Andrea Mitchell mourned Helen Thomas' resignation as a long time White House correspondent, over recent inflammatory remarks about Israelis, as "a sad way" for her career to end. Talking with NBC's political director Chuck Todd, Mitchell spoke about the loss "in the family" of the White House press corps and bemoaned the end…
MSNBC’s Todd: Is Oil Spill 'Wasted Disaster' If Congress Doesn’t I
June 4th, 2010 6:09 PM
Chuck Todd “hated” to say it but just had to get it out anyway–would the BP oil spill, arguably the greatest environmental disaster in U.S. history, be a “missed opportunity” for Congress to capitalize on “disaster” to enact energy legislation should it fail to do anything in its wake?Discussing what the reaction of Congress and the Obama administration should be to the spill during an interview…
Nets Embrace 'Did You Plug the Hole Yet, Daddy?' Anecdote to Humanize
May 27th, 2010 8:57 PM
The White House press corps just loved President Obama's press conference anecdote meant to prove the pressure he's under and responsibility he's taking (“When I woke up this morning, and I'm shaving and Malia knocks on my bathroom door and she peeks in her head and she says: 'Did you plug the hole yet, daddy?'”). The ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts all showcased the clip, with fill-in ABC…
On Hardball: Obama's 'Gut Moment' With Daughter May Quiet Critics
May 27th, 2010 6:31 PM
Both Chris Matthews and Chuck Todd were taken aback by Barack Obama delivering a "personal connection moment" in today's press conference when he told reporters that his daughter Malia asked him: "Did you plug the hole yet, daddy?" Of the anecdote Matthews, on Thursday's Hardball, exclaimed "Talk about a sound bite guys!" and declared he delivered "personally there, in a way he rarely does."…
MSNBC's Chuck Todd Knocks Texas Conservatives for New Textbooks: 'Educ
May 25th, 2010 11:59 AM
MSNBC's Chuck Todd on Tuesday attacked new standards being adopted for history textbooks in Texas as "odd" and mocked that the state would now be teaching "education by Wikipedia." Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune appeared as a guest and fretted that the school board includes "a conservative, arch conservative bloc." Todd recounted the changes being made to the curriculum, including "the idea that…
Todd: Obama Offering Sestak Job No Different Than Cheney Offering Camp
May 25th, 2010 9:07 AM
UPDATE: Later in today's show, a clip [displayed after the jump] was played of an interview from months ago in which Scarborough unequivocally put it to Sestak that he had been offered the Secretary of the Navy position, and Sestak seems to confirm it. So much so that after watching the clip, today's guest Jeffrey Sachs, an ardent Obama fan, had to laughingly admit that, yes, Sestak had been…