Since word broke on Thursday night that Chelsea Clinton will be having a baby, ABC has fixated over the news, devoting 12 minutes and 47 seconds of coverage to the arrival of America's new "royal" child. Yet, the same network totally ignored the latest delay of the Kyestone XL pipeline by the Obama administration (and the political ramifications that go with it).
On Friday morning, ABC reporter Bianna Golodryga hyped, "Move over, Prince George, though. This morning, Americans have their own royal, or, rather, presidential baby, to look forward to." On Sunday, This Week avoided Keystone, yet the ABC program opened with an announcer hyping, "Chelsea Clinton's surprise announcement. Has a Clinton dynasty begun?" Host Martha Raddatz brought the baby up to her panel and fawned, "Very important question, what do you think Hillary Clinton should be called as a grandma?" [See video below. MP3 audio here.]
Raddatz offered her own name for the possible Democratic nominee in 2016: "Glamma."
Yet, even the liberal New York Times on Saturday found space to cover the latest delay of the Keystone and offered a skeptical take:
The State Department will delay its decision on construction of the Keystone XL pipeline until it has a clearer idea of how legal challenges to the pipeline’s route through Nebraska will be settled, State Department officials said Friday.
Both supporters and opponents of the pipeline criticized the delay as a political ploy aimed at punting the final call on the divisive project until after the midterm elections in November.
Delaying the pipeline decision until after the election could help Democrats on both sides of the issue. Supporters could court voters by calling for its approval, while liberals who oppose the pipeline could still enjoy financial support from donors like Mr. Steyer.
“We’re seeing politics trumping policy making,” said Cindy Schild, a senior manager at the American Petroleum Institute, which represents oil companies’ interests in Washington.
ABC's Nightline, which hasn't mentioned a serious topic like ObamaCare in 159 days, devoted two minutes and 24 seconds to the Clinton baby on Thursday night.
NBC has mostly ignored Keystone. However, its subsidiary, CNBC, at least mentioned that Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer pledged $100 million to Democratic candidates on the condition that the pipeline not be approved.
