Blago: Morning Shows Dance Around D-Word
If Rod Blagojevich were a Republican, what's the over-under on the number of times the network morning shows would have mentioned that fact in their coverage today?But Blago is a Democrat. So how often did Today, Good Morning America and the Early Show explicitly identify him as such during their opening half-hours today? Not once. The closest any came were references at Today and Early Show…
Paging Joe the Plumber: Obama Still Wants To Spread The Wealth
Given the flap that ensued when he famously told Joe the Plumber that he wanted to "spread the wealth," I figured Barack Obama wouldn't be making such a suggestion again anytime soon. I figured wrong.Pres.-elect Obama to Tom Brokaw on today's Meet The Press:I think the important principle, because sometimes when we start talking about taxes, and I say I want a more balanced tax code, people…
When You Say ‘Zoo,’ Elephants Hear ‘Guantanamo Bay
Sometimes you have to laugh at the overwrought emotion that Hollywood celebrities bring to their causes. In a story on Thursday’s Today (in the supposedly hard news 7am half hour), KNBC reporter Robert Kovasic reported on a debate in Los Angeles about whether to spend $40 million to renovate and enlarge the elephant compound at the Los Angeles Zoo, or instead create a 100-acre elephant preserve…
Cramer: Depression Comparisons are ‘Scare Tactics
Do as I say, not as I do.That appears to be Jim Cramer's philosophy. The CNBC "Mad Monday" host told NBC "Today" show viewers Dec. 2 that comparisons between the current economy and the Great Depression were inappropriate. "[T]hat's got to be taken off the table," Cramer told "Today" host Meredith Vieira. "There have been enough things done by this government to absolutely preclude that. I,…
Gregory Interview of Chabad Rabbi: Faith, Optimism in Face of Tragedy
Of all the genres of interviews, those conducted by the media with family and friends of victims of tragedy are among the most difficult and often least successful. A remarkable exception to that rule comes in the form of the interview David Gregory conducted on this morning's Today show with Rabbi Shalom Paltiel, who was a friend of the Chabad couple murdered in Mombai and is a fellow member of…
The Anti-Krugman: Rogers Says Let Banks Fail
Paul Krugman has been making the rounds of the network morning shows, urging the government to "go big" in spending to revive the economy. His only concern is that Obama might not be planning to spend enough. Heck, even FDR wasn't a big enough spender in his book. View Krugman's weekend GMA appearance in which he says that here, the episode in which, as discussed here, Krugman of all people…
Rosie O'Donnell Claims 'View' Director Set Up Hasselbeck Fight
Rosie O’Donnell always seems to concoct some wild conspiracy theory. Interviewing Rosie on her upcoming variety show on the November 24 edition of "Today," Meredith Vieira asked about what lead up to her departure from "The View." Rosie then brought up her famous fight with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and suggested the fight was a setup because she did not think the director thinks fast enough on his…
Chris Matthews Praises 'Magnanimity' of Obama's Hillary Nod
Is Chris Matthews having more thrills about Obama? The "Hardball" anchor appeared on the November 21 edition of "Today" sounding more enthused about the incoming Obama administration than Obama’s own spinmeisters. With the news of Hillary Clinton as the incoming secretary of State, Matthews called it "an astounding gesture of magnanimity." Taking a swipe at the outgoing Bush administration,…
Ann Curry Cites Gross 'Mis-Example' of Climate Change
The glacier on Mt. Kilimanjaro is melting. If you were watching NBC "Nightly News" Nov. 19 you probably would think that ice is declining because of "climate change."After all, "Today's" Ann Curry said it: "Mt. Kilimanjaro has become a kind of poster-child for climate change. Eighty-four percent of the ice has disappeared in less than 100 years and by 2020, scientists expect as early as that it…
'Today' Begins Annual Global Warming Scare Week
The full "Today" show cast went to "The Ends of the Earth," as a part of NBC Universal's "Green Week," all in an effort to, once again, do the bidding of the likes of Al Gore, to create hysteria about global warming. With live reports from Matt Lauer worrying about reefs off the coast of Belize, Meredith Vieira fearful about drought conditions in Australia, Ann Curry watching the snow caps melt…
Scare-Mongering on Steroids: NBC Warns Oceans Could Rise 200 Feet
Forget Al Gore's measly 20-foot sea level rise from "An Inconvenient Truth." That's small potatoes compared to the kind of catastrophe Meredith Vieira was talking about last night. Kicking off NBC's Global Alarmism Green Week during the halftime of Sunday Night Football, Vieira raised the spectre of the seas rising . . . 200 feet! Al imagined much of Manhattan under water, but if Meredith's…
Today: Let's Tinker With Insurance Rates In Name of Gender Equity
In the name of gender equality, the Today show plumped this morning for government regulation forcing health care insurers to charge men and women the same for individual policies even though women cost insurers more because of greater use of services. Hasn't the financial crisis taught the MSM anything about the danger of government meddling in markets? No. Insurers wind up paying out more in…
Jon Meacham Snidely Suggests McCain Considered Offing Unprepared Palin
Appearing on Thursday's "Today" show Newsweek editor Jon Meacham suggested Sarah Palin needed a "Berlitz" course in foreign policy and even snidely implied John McCain, like President Andrew Jackson before him, may have wanted to shoot his vice president. Meacham, who was also plugging his book on Jackson, noted to "Today" co-host Matt Lauer that Jackson once threatened the life his own vice…
Sarah Palin on 'Today': Katie Couric 'A Little Annoying
On Wednesday's "Today" show, Matt Lauer played a portion of his interview with Sarah Palin in Alaska where he asked Palin if his former "Today" co-anchor, Katie Couric, was "unfair," during her pre-election interview, to which Palin responded she found some of the questions, "a little bit annoying." The following exchange was aired on the November 12, edition of the "Today" show (audio available…
