TV Guide published a “Cheers and Jeers” issue to analyze “2012's Best and Worst in TV.” When it came to political TV, the magazine made it quite clear that Obama’s re-election was a highlight, and conservative celebrities were only mentioned in “Jeers.”
Raddatz was hailed for “asking direct questions and keeping the candidates on point,” which does not describe her first question to Joe Biden on Benghazi. She noted the State Department now admitted there were no protests, but could ask Biden if the Benghazi attack was a “massive intelligence failure,” not a massive campaign of misleading the American people:
CHEERS to ABC News’ [sic] Martha Raddatz for being moderator of the year. She took control of the vice-presidential debate with blunt forcefulness, asking direct questions and keeping the candidates on point, a marked contrast to Jim Lehrer’s passive style in the first presidential matchup. Can she do all the debates from now on?
The magazine sort of ruined that pro-substance argument by awarding “Jeers” to the “Today show train wreck” for letting go of Ann Curry, the woman who couldn’t locate Illinois on a map.
Clint Eastwood’s speech at the Republican convention – where someone thought his star power would eclipse the eloquence of his presentation – drew only jeers:
JEERS to the Eastwoods for not knowing when to stay off camera. Clint’s embarrassing and rambling diatribe to an empty chair at the Republican National Convention raised eyebrows, while wife Dina’s narcissistic celeb-reality show Mrs. Eastwood & Company provoked only yawns.
The magazine also dissed ABC for the low quality of its “all stars” on “Dancing with the Stars,” which reeks of politics. Bristol Palin may not have been an all-star dancer, but she was very popular with viewers, which would explain why ABC brought her back. It’s even stranger they would dismiss Melissa Rycroft, who won the competition:
JEERS to Dancing With the Stars: All Stars for forgetting that “stars” are supposed to sparkle. Seriously, Bristol Palin and Melissa Rycroft? What, were Kate Gosselin and The Situation too busy?
TV Guide ended by expressing dismay that ABC anchor Diane Sawyer took the attention away from Obama on his big night:
JEERS to Diane Sawyer for making the wrong kind of news on election night. We believe the story that she was exhausted from covering the polls all day, but Sawyer’s giggly slurring and stammering shouldn’t have proven as headline-worthy as the night’s big winner.
