Networks Hype 'Steamy' Details from Obama's Ex-Girlfriend, Downplay Fa

Wednesday's nightly newscasts and Thursday's morning shows hyped "steamy," "romantic" journal entries from an ex-girlfriend of Barack Obama, but downplayed or ignored revelations that his autobiography created a "composite" relationship of multiple women. On Thursday's Today, Natalie Morales gossiped like a school girl: "Steamy journal entries from a long-ago ex-girlfriend of President Obama…

Brian Williams Praises Bill Clinton for Trying to Kill Bin Laden, Igno

NBC's special presentation of Rock Center on the first anniversary of Osama bin Laden's assassination wasn't just a victory lap for Barack Obama. It was also a chance for host Brian Williams to praise Bill Clinton for going after the former al Qaeda leader without mentioning all the times his administration passed on chances to get him (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary…

SNL's Fred Armisen an Obama Groupie: I 'Like Him More and More,' 'I've

Talking to Meet the Press host David Gregory on the NBC Sunday show's web-based feature Press Pass, Saturday Night Live cast member and Obama impersonator Fred Armisen confessed: "I've grown to like him more and more. You know, I was always – I've just been a fan of his, if you could say that about a president. So that's the other kind of good part of it, is you know, getting to like him more…

NBC's Curry: Does Obama Afghanistan Visit 'Blunt' GOP Criticism

Talking to NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams about President Obama's surprise trip to Afghanistan on Wednesday's Today, co-host Ann Curry hoped the move would quiet Republicans: "Meantime, by using the commander-in-chief mantel to make this visit, to extend an arm and hand to our troops, does he blunt any of the Republican criticism that he is...politicizing, essentially, a military…

Networks Huffed Over Bush's 'Presidential Shell Game'; No Complaints f

The same networks that huffed and whined about George W. Bush's secret trip to Iraq over Thanksgiving in 2003, calling it an "embarrassing" "presidential shell game," had no such harsh language for Barack Obama's clandestine visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday. Jake Tapper on Wednesday deemed the visit simply a "surprise." On CBS This Morning, Scott Pelley proclaimed it "remarkable," insisting…

NBC Panelist: Ad Calling Obama A Celebrity 'Another Attempt' to Paint

On Wednesday's NBC Today, panelist and attorney Star Jones fretted over a recent campaign ad mocking President Obama's celebrity status and implied racial overtones in the criticism: "...what worries me is that it's another attempt to paint Obama as an 'other.' You know, they tried that with 'Oh, he ate dog meat when he was a boy.'" [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]…

Chuck Todd Compares Bin Laden Assassination to VE and VJ Days

NBC's Chuck Todd on Tuesday, moments before President Obama addressed the nation from Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, compared the assassination of Osama bin Laden one year ago to VE and VJ Days marking the end of World War II. The following was actually said by NBC's Chief White House correspondent on MSNBC's Hardball (video follows with transcript and commentary):

NBC's Gregory Defends Obama Exploiting Bin Laden Killing: Bush Did 'Sa

In an interview with senior Mitt Romney campaign adviser Ed Gillespie on Sunday's Meet the Press, moderator David Gregory noted how President Obama was "certainly using" the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama Bin Laden "against Governor Romney" and quickly justified the crass political move by claiming "the same sort of tactics that were used in a lot of people's eyes" by President…

Longtime Admirer Brian Williams Rewarded With (Another) Obama-Promotin

Three years ago, then-CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric fawned over Barack Obama: “You’re so confident, Mr. President, and so focused. Is your confidence ever shaken?” On ABC’s World News, Diane Sawyer often softens her interviews with the President by tossing in questions about college basketball, asking, at the start of the U.S. military operation against Libya last year, “How much do you…

CNN Grudgingly Concludes on Maddow-Castellanos Debate: Men Make 'About

As NewsBusters reported Sunday, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow and Republican strategist Alex Castellanos got into quite a heated debate about the gender wage gap on NBC's Meet the Press. CNN's Situation Room decided to find out who was right about this controversial issue Monday, and despite going to great lengths to side with Maddow, correspondent Lisa Sylvester grudgingly admitted at the very end…

NBC's Curry to Obama's Sister: 'What Void Do You Think You Filled In H

In a fawning interview with Barack Obama's half-sister Auma Obama on Monday's NBC Today, co-host Ann Curry lobbed softballs about the President: "...you describe an almost instantaneous connection when you met your brother Barack Obama. Can you describe why, how, you made this instantaneous connection?...What void do you think you filled in his life?" Citing Auma's new memoir, "And Then Life…

NBC's Curry Gushes: Comedy of 'Shecky Obama' Was 'Terrific' at White H

On Monday's NBC Today, co-host Ann Curry could barely contain her glee over President Obama's comedic performance at Saturday's White House Correspondents' Dinner: "I mean, he is Shecky, Shecky Obama. I'm telling you, he knows about timing. He's terrific." Curry was referring to famous stand-up comedian Shecky Greene. [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump] Fellow co-host…

GOP Strategist Smacks Down Maddow: 'I Wish You Were As Right About Wha

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Sunday's Meet the Press tried to advance the bogus liberal position that women in America still only make 77 cents on the dollar compared to men. Fortunately for viewers actually interested in the truth, Republican strategist Alex Castellanos was on the panel to correct her after marvelously teasing, "I love how passionate you are. I wish you were as right about what…

Hillary on Bin Laden Situation Room Photo: 'Way I Usually Look When My

Hillary Clinton says the expression on her face in that now iconic picture of the White House Situation Room taken the day Osama bin Laden was killed is "the way I usually look when my husband drags me to an action movie." Such was told to NBC's Brian Williams for a Rock Center special to be aired Wednesday which was previewed on Sunday's Meet the Press (video follows with transcript and…