Politico Editor: Obama Was Too Busy Being President, Didn't Have Time

Politico editor Jim VandeHei appeared on MSNBC, Thursday, to blame Barack Obama's poor debate performance on the burdens of the office. The journalist spun, "The President had to be the President, and had to be a candidate, and so he didn't have nearly as much prep time." [See video below. MP3 audio here.] VandeHei did not try and sugarcoat the debate performance itself, knocking the…
Scott Whitlock
October 4th, 2012 3:40 PM

Obama Lost So Badly Media Couldn't Spin It....But Guess What's Next

As even former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw acknowledged today, liberal journalists were loaded and ready to pronounce this election over and Romney’s campaign dead after the first debate: “If it had been Romney performing like the president last night, it would have been over.” But the beating Obama received last night was so complete that virtually no one (the New York Times excepted, as usual)…
Brent Bozell
October 4th, 2012 3:08 PM

Race Card! Andrea Mitchell Suggests Sununu 'Take Back' Comment That Ob

John Sununu, did you just call Barack Obama lazy?  Quick: someone call the PC police! But before we slap the race-card cuffs on you, Andrea Mitchell, being the nice MSM lady she is, will offer you the chance to take back your horrifying comment! That's essentially what went down on Mitchell's MSNBC show this afternoon.  Critiquing President Obama's listless debate performance, Romney adviser…
Mark Finkelstein
October 4th, 2012 2:26 PM

What Romney Did to Obama, Giuliani Does to MSNBC's Chris Hayes

You might think of this one as a sequel to the Debacle in Denver. MSNBC weekend host Chris Hayes was not his chirpy self last night after running into a buzzsaw known as former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani in an exchange reminiscent of that between a befuddled President Obama and a nimble Mitt Romney (video after page break) --
Jack Coleman
October 4th, 2012 1:55 PM

Norah O'Donnell Thinks Obama Left 'Greatest Hits' on 'Cutting Room Flo

President Obama left his "greatest hits on the cutting room floor" for Wednesday night's debate, claimed CBS This Morning co-host Norah O'Donnell after the debate. According to her, "contraceptive rights" and "free mammograms" in ObamaCare are some of the President's "greatest hits." "There was no mention of Bain," she said on Wednesday night's Charlie Rose. "There was no mention of the auto…
Matt Hadro
October 4th, 2012 1:04 PM

Bummed By Debate, Morning Joe's Meacham Fantasizes About Romney's Poli

Watching Mitt Romney last night as he revived his campaign while demolishing President Obama was surely a bitter pill for Jon Meacham to swallow.   On Morning Joe today, the former Newsweek editor sought to console himself.  Meacham—twice—pointed out that although Mark Twain famously wrote that rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated, Twain did eventually die.  Nice analogy, Jon!  View…
Mark Finkelstein
October 4th, 2012 12:45 PM

MSNBC's Ed Schultz, Michael Eric Dyson Pull Race Card to Explain Weak

With the folks at MSNBC, it always seems to come back to race. Network host Ed Schultz failed to disappoint this morning when he appeared on Thomas Roberts's 11 a.m. Eastern MSNBC Live and suggested that racism was partly to blame for President Obama's weak performance in the debate (video follows page break):
Ken Shepherd
October 4th, 2012 12:21 PM

Jon Stewart Mocks Obama's 'Very Difficult Night,' Wonders If the Presi

The liberal freak out over Barack Obama's poor debate performance continued on Thursday morning. Left-wing comic Jon Stewart appeared on Good Morning America to lament the President's "very difficult night" and jokingly warn, "I'm concerned that he may not reelect us. He may walk away." The comic even admitted Obama might not be as smart as he first imagined. Stewart mocked, "You know, I…
Scott Whitlock
October 4th, 2012 11:43 AM

As Other Outlets See Romney Debate Win, NYTimes Plays It Neutral: 'Fee

The first Obama-Romney presidential debate of 2012 ran under this less-than-informative banner headline in Thursday's New York Times: "Obama and Romney, in First Debate, Spar Over Fixing the Economy." The actual headline to the story by Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg also failed to capture the sense, overwhelming even among the liberal press, that Romney had helped himself with a sharp,…
Clay Waters
October 4th, 2012 11:21 AM

Hold Your Phone: New York Times Publishes MRC Letter to the Editor On

MRC's Christian Robey suggested a letter to the editor on Monday for David Carr's strange column attacking MRC's letter attacking the media for rigging this presidential election by hounding Romney and protecting Obama. Carr wrote Brent Bozell assembled "conservative royalty" to attack "ostensibly tendentious coverage." Some of us were skeptical that a liberal newspaper would deign to publish…
Tim Graham
October 4th, 2012 11:21 AM

Open Thread: Non-Debate Edition

We're focusing on last night's debate so please use this thread to post on any other news topic that you'd like.
NB Staff
October 4th, 2012 10:56 AM

Chris Matthews Continues Tantrum Over Romney's 'Etch-A-Sketch' Debate

Picking up where he left off Wednesday night, on Thursday's NBC Today, MSNBC's Chris Matthews continued to whine over President Obama's poor debate performance and ranted that Mitt Romney has "been accused of etch-a-sketch, last night was his greatest achievement. Everything he said within days ago, he's ignored." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump] Prior to Matthews'…
Kyle Drennen
October 4th, 2012 10:55 AM

Tom Brokaw: If Romney Performed Like Obama Did Last Night 'It Would Ha

There has been a lot of harsh criticism for Barack Obama's performance at Wednesday's presidential debate, but maybe the strongest came Thursday from former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw. Appearing on MSNBC's Daily Rundown, Brokaw said, "I think that this morning we have a kick-start to this presidential campaign. If it had been Romney performing like the president last night, it would…
Noel Sheppard
October 4th, 2012 10:50 AM

Philly Teacher Tells Student to Take Off Romney Shirt: 'That's Like Me

A Philadelphia high school teacher is accused of telling one of her students to take off a Romney-Ryan T-shirt claiming it was like her wearing a KKK shirt. NBC's Washington affiliate said 16-year-old Samantha Pawlucy, a sophomore at Charles Carroll High School in the Port Richmond part of the city, wore a pink Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan T-shirt last Friday.
Noel Sheppard
October 4th, 2012 9:12 AM