A daily compilation edited by Brent H. Baker, CyberAlert items are drawn from daily BiasAlert posts and distributed by the Media Research Center's News Analysis Division, the leader since 1987 in documenting, exposing and neutralizing liberal media bias.
Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Friday May 21, 2010 @ 09:00 AM EDT1. NPR's Totenberg Touts Elena Kagan as Harvard's 'Superman'
Last Friday on TV, NPR legal reporter Nina Totenberg twice touted Obama Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan as "spectacularly successful." But that was mellow compared to her Tuesday report for Morning Edition, where she enthusiastically pitched her record as dean of Harvard Law School as a Superman legend - listing her achievements over audio of the Superman theme music.
2. NBC and CBS Touted Lib Boycott of AZ; Silent on Offer to Turn Out L.A.'s Lights
All three broadcast evening newscasts have repeatedly touted, as if it is a valid representation of national sentiment, the "boycott" of Arizona by liberal municipalities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles. But when the Arizona Corporation Commissioner on Tuesday made a tongue-in-cheek offer to help Los Angeles out in its boycott by shutting off the electricity flow, CBS and NBC were silent.
3. Matthews: Is Obama Too Cool For His 'Nasty, Heated' Enemies Like Limbaugh?
Chris Matthews seemed a tad bit concerned about his man Barack Obama, on Thursday's Hardball, as the MSNBC host feared that the President was "too cool for his nasty, heated" enemies like Rush Limbaugh. Matthews -- who announced he is on Day 9 of his so far fruitless search for a Republican to appear on his show to slam the talk radio host -- worried that Obama wasn't getting angry enough at his critics. Matthews, who admitted he has a "heart for this guy" even went as far to ask his guest, Newsweek's Jonathan Alter, "is it still possible that he could find greatness as president?" Alter tried to assuage Matthews' fears by assuring him that Obama can "absolutely" achieve that greatness and claimed he had "a reasonably good chance of getting into that first rank of American presidents."
4. ABC Touts Calderon's 'Sharp Words' Swipe at U.S. for Inadequate Gun Laws
With "Sharp Words" forming the on-screen graphic, ABC anchor Diane Sawyer on Thursday night championed the domestic gun control argument espoused by a foreign leader trying to shift the blame for his nation's criminal activity, a remark neither CBS nor NBC found newsworthy: "Mexico's President Felipe Calderon today challenged a joint session of Congress on gun control, asking that they reinstate a ban on assault weapons, which expired in 2004, saying 80 percent of the traceable weapons used in those crimes in Mexico, right across the border, come from the U.S."
5. MSNBC Slams Rand Paul: Eight Segments Totaling 37 Minutes Attacking the Republican as Racist
MSNBC on Thursday went on the offensive against Republican and Tea Party favorite Rand Paul. In a single day, the cable network devoted 37 minutes over eight segments to implying that the Senate candidate might be a racist. Throughout the day, MSNBC touted liberal guest after liberal guest to excoriate the politician. The lineup included Jesse Jackson, Democratic Congressman James Clyburn, liberal professors Boyce Watkins and Michael Eric Dyson and Democratic strategist Karen Finney.
6. CBS Allows Obama Official to Shift Oil Spill Blame to BP; NBC, ABC Morning Shows Grill Salazar
Early Show's Harry Smith on Thursday conducted a softball interview with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, allowing the Obama official to pass the oil spill blame to BP. He tossed this easy question to the cabinet member: "...The CEO of BP says the environmental impact in the gulf is going to be minimal. Is this guy in touch with reality?"
7. CBS's Chip Reid Snubbed by Obama...Again, Network's Broadcasts Still Mum
At the end of a joint press conference between President Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Wenesday, CBS White House correspondent Chip Reid attempted to ask Obama a question about Tuesday's electoral results but was given the brush off for the second time in a week. On Monday, the President refused to answer a question from Reid moments after signing the "Press Freedom Act" into law. CBS morning and evening news broadcasts have ignored both the Monday and Wednesday snubs by Obama, with Reid only making his displeasure known online.
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NPR's Totenberg Touts Elena Kagan as Harvard's 'Superman'
Last Friday on TV, NPR legal reporter Nina Totenberg touted Obama Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan as "spectacularly successful" -- twice. But that was mellow compared to her Tuesday report for Morning Edition, where she enthusiastically pitched her record as dean of Harvard Law School as a Superman legend (The audio valentine is here):
NINA TOTENBERG: In some ways, the descriptions of Elena Kagan as dean sound a little bit like the beginning of the old "Superman" TV series.Some of the details are just as over the top with enthusiasm:
INTRO TO OLD SUPERMAN TV SHOW: Superman, who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands!
TOTENBERG: Translate that to Harvard, and you can almost hear the music. (Superman music in background)
Kagan, who can raise money by the millions!
Kagan, who can end the faculty wars over hiring!
Kagan, who won the hearts of students!
CHARLES OGLETREE: Oh, they loved her. In fact, when she did not get appointed as the university president, the students here at Harvard wore T-shirts around saying: I Love Dean Kagan.Do you have to be Superman to make a puddle of ice? The story wasn't entirely positive. Totenberg allowed that Kagan was known as an angry screamer:
TOTENBERG: Kagan famously did things to make student life nicer. Musing that winter was too long and dark, she had a wild idea, for instance: flood a grassy area on the campus, put hay bales around it, light it, and presto, an ice rink. It was a huge success, a student gathering place.
TOTENBERG: The cheerful, charming Kagan so beloved by the students was not always in evidence elsewhere. Secretaries and faculty members alike have stories of Kagan screaming at people, slamming doors and chewing out subordinates in public -- a trait that she is said to have carried with her to her next job as solicitor general. She's a yeller, conceded one of her friends with a smile. One of her admirers, Professor Tushnet, put it this way.So much for the idea that Kagan was going to be the next Justice Brennan in sweet-talking the justices on the right into building coalitions. Totenberg's story allowed no criticism from the right, only from the left.
MARK TUSHNET: Her weakness as a dean was that she really didn't like people to disagree with her. But that's not something that you can do in the Supreme Court.
Some on the left, however, said they stopped going to faculty meetings because they viewed discussion as truncated and disagreements as glossed over. Said one campus critic: I think she has a political heart. She wants to do good, but she has no soul, no center of gravity. So her heart can move depending on the political moment. While Kagan succeeded in bringing greater ideological diversity to the faculty, she was not nearly as successful in hiring more minorities and women.So the story wasn't all positive, but it was still tilted to the left. Can anyone imagine Totenberg would have considered a Sam Alito story featuring only criticism from conservatives?
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.
NBC and CBS Touted Lib Boycott of AZ; Silent on Offer to Turn Out L.A.'s Lights
All three broadcast evening newscasts have repeatedly touted, as if it is a valid representation of national sentiment, the "boycott" of Arizona by liberal municipalities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles. But when the Arizona Corporation Commissioner on Tuesday made a tongue-in-cheek offer to help Los Angeles out in its boycott by shutting off the electricity flow, CBS and NBC were silent.
The only network to mention the proposal to test the depths of the city's commitment to liberal sanctimony was ABC, MRC intern Matthew Hadro discovered. White House correspondent Jake Tapper first noted how President Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon both criticized Arizona's new immigration law at the White House, then reported:
JAKE TAPPER: The debate is intense. The Los Angeles City Council voted last month to boycott all official business in Arizona, prompting an Arizona utilities commissioner to all but threaten to cut off the electricity Arizona power plants provide L.A.All three broadcast networks have helped spread the word about liberals' displeasure with the Arizona law since it passed in late April, even though polls consistently show that most Americans think the law is a good idea. A sampling of the media's boycott boosterism, all previously reporter in MRC BiasAlerts:
GARY PIERCE, ARIZONA CORPORATION COMMISSIONER: You can't call a boycott on the candy store, and then decide to go in and pick and choose candy you really do want.
Andrea Mitchell on the April 26 Nightly News: "Anger over the law has gone viral. On Facebook today, pages like this one: 'Arizona, the Grand Canyon State, welcomes you unless you're a Mexican or look like one.' Calls for an economic boycott. Already a conference of immigration lawyers at a swanky Scottsdale hotel canceled."
Barbara Pinto on ABC's World News, April 26: "The call for an economic boycott has caught fire on the Internet — and even from an Arizona state representative warning conventioneers to stay away....The first to cancel their plans, 400 members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, who will lose their $92,000 deposit."
Bill Whitaker on the CBS Evening News, April 29: "Arizona has gone through this kind of economic pressure before. In 1987, when the state refused to observe the national Martin Luther King holiday, there was a national boycott. The Super Bowl pulled out of Tempe. It all cost the state $300 million. Then, Arizona backed down. This time, state lawmakers plan to hang tough."
ABC correspondent Eric Horng on the May 1 World News: "Already, lawsuits have been filed challenging the law. Activists have called for a boycott of Arizona businesses and the state has been lampooned by comedians."
Jon Stewart on Comedy Central: "It's not unprecedented having to carry around your papers. It's the same thing that freed black people had to do in 1863."
CBS's Bill Whitaker, May 13 Evening News: "For every action in nature there's an opposite reaction, so, too, in politics. The city of Los Angeles, the latest to react strongly to Arizona's tough new anti-illegal immigration law. City council voted yesterday to ban city travel to Arizona, ban future contracts with Arizona businesses, and to check whether $58 million in existing contracts can be broken legally."
ABC's Diane Sawyer, May 13 World News: "All around the country, a kind of emotional civil war continues. Some people deciding to try to hit Arizona in the pocketbook. Today's developments from Barbara Pinto."
Barbara Pinto: "This is an out and out brawl, a nation choosing sides....Los Angeles now joins San Francisco and St. Paul, Minnesota, banning travel to the state....A list of boycotts costing Arizona an estimated $90 million so far. This heated debate is even playing out here at this suburban Chicago High School, 1,800 miles away. Administrators cancelled the Highland Park girls basketball team's trip to an Arizona tournament amid concerns about the new law."
In his letter to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Commissioner Pierce wrote:
If an economic boycott is truly what you desire, I will be happy to encourage Arizona utilities to renegotiate your power agreements so Los Angeles no longer receives any power from Arizona-based generation. I am confident that Arizona's utilities would be happy to take those electrons off your hands. If, however, you find that the City Council lacks the strength of its convictions to turn off the lights in Los Angeles and boycott Arizona power, please reconsider the wisdom of attempting to harm Arizona's economy.You can read the full letter here.
People of goodwill can disagree over the merits of SB 1070 [the immigration law]. A state-wide economic boycott of Arizona is not a message sent in goodwill.
—Rich Noyes is Research Director at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here.
Matthews: Is Obama Too Cool For His 'Nasty, Heated' Enemies Like Limbaugh?
Chris Matthews seemed a tad bit concerned about his man Barack Obama, on Thursday's Hardball, as the MSNBC host feared that the President was "too cool for his nasty, heated" enemies like Rush Limbaugh. Matthews -- who announced he is on Day 9 of his so far fruitless search for a Republican to appear on his show to slam the talk radio host -- worried that Obama wasn't getting angry enough at his critics.
Matthews, who admitted he has a "heart for this guy" even went as far to ask his guest, Newsweek's Jonathan Alter, "is it still possible that he could find greatness as president?" Alter tried to assuage Matthews' fears by assuring him that Obama can "absolutely" achieve that greatness and claimed he had "a reasonably good chance of getting into that first rank of American presidents." [video available here][audio available here]
The following is a full transcript of the interview segment as it was aired on the May 20 edition of Hardball:
CHRIS MATTHEWS TEASING SEGMENT: Up next, the right wing constantly goes to absurd extremes to demean President Obama. I mean absurd. They'll call him anything. Nazi, Soviet. They don't limit it. What do we make of it? Amid the madness the President just stays cool as a cucumber. Is he too cool for his nasty, heated enemy?—Geoffrey Dickens is the Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here
...
MATTHEWS: Welcome back to Hardball. The right wing has made it their mission, it seems, to undercut President Obama, to smear him at every chance. Rush Limbaugh has been leading the charge. Here's some of Rush, just today.
(Begin clip)
RUSH LIMBAUGH: The Democrat Party, the American left, the President of the United States will destroy this party and destroy this country, in order to maintain their power over it. This is the kind of stuff that starts civil wars, folks. You want to know what happened to prosperity? It's called liberalism. There's a giant disconnect - liberalism from Americanism. What country does Barack Obama believe he is president of?
(End clip)
MATTHEWS: He's unbelievable. Remember by the way, we have an open invitation to any Republican officeholder, any respectable one to come on this show and say Rush is wrong. That Rush is not the leader of the Republican Party. By the way you can pick your target. Any nuance you disagree with him on. Any small point, any peccadillo you find in this guy's argument. Just come on and tell us you disagree with that. So far, nine days since we offered the challenge, no takers.
Anyway despite the noise, President Obama stays on an even keel. And it's his cool calm reality that's become his trademark. But can he always be this cool? Jonathan Alter has just written a big book. He examined President Obama's first year in office with incredible, behind the scenes access. His new book, what a great name, The Promise. Jonathan, my man who studied with great effect Franklin Roosevelt, and the big guys.
Does he still...We have a lot of very pro-Obama viewers that watch this program, and some critics. And the question for the people with heart, and I'm one of them, with heart for this guy, and I'm a critic sometimes. If you have heart for Obama is it still possible that he could find greatness as president? Do you see it?
JONATHAN ALTER, NEWSWEEK: Oh absolutely! I mean look they, he won ugly on health care, Chris. But this was the biggest domestic achievement in close to half a century. And he is with only Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson now, in terms of domestic achievement. It can all go wrong if unemployment doesn't come down over four years. It can go wrong if it's disastrous in Afghanistan. But has a reasonably good chance of getting into that first rank of American presidents.
MATTHEWS: Well let's talk about his temperament and the way he presents himself. During the campaign, we were all impressed, when I was going nuts, saying, "When's he gonna take on Senator Clinton? When's he gonna really challenge her?"
ALTER: Yeah!
MATTHEWS: And all the time he was plotting with David Plouffe to get the delegates he needed in those little states out west. So he had a plan Does he have a plan now? All we see is the cool.
ALTER: Yeah.
MATTHEWS: What's his plan to get the unemployment rate down to seven? What's his plan to restore his connection with the blue collar worker out there and the middle class worker who's either, out of work or worried about being thrown out of work. How does he connect again?
ALTER: He needs to, he needs to connect. That was the big failure of the first year. He lost that connection to independents and a chunk of the middle class. He's still pretty popular, his numbers are close to what he won in the election. But, but something has atrophied there in his connection with people and they're very conscious of it and they're getting him out on the road more to deal with this. But he doesn't want to throw a punch. And a lot of liberals want to see him deck somebody.
MATTHEWS: Yeah, yeah.
ALTER: He's not into gestures, he's into winning and putting points on the board, as they put it. But sometimes he can be a little too cool.
MATTHEWS: Yeah.
ALTER: And Paul Volcker told me, for instance said, he said, sometimes he wants to just shake the President, say "God dammit get excited about this!"
MATTHEWS: Okay I agree. By the way I've heard that from people close to him. Here's a Boston Globe piece that gets to the heart of this. This is about Martha Coakley who had a tin ear, I think. A nice person, probably professionally great. But had a tin ear, politically. Here's what the Globe said about her when she lost. "Coakley bristles at the suggestion that with so little time left in an election with such high stakes she is being too passive. 'As opposed to standing outside Fenway Park, in the cold? shaking hands?' she fires back." Well it's like Obama is like that. Here's Obama speaking at the White House Correspondents Dinner the other night. And this didn't bother me at the time, we were all laughing. But later I began to think Obama is like that. This didn't bother me at the time, we're all laughing and later I began to think, this is the wrong tone. Let's listen.
(Begin clip)
BARACK OBAMA: Unfortunately, John McCain couldn't make it. Recently, he claimed that he had never identified himself as a maverick. And we all know what happens in Arizona when you don't have ID. Adios amigos!
(End clip)
MATTHEWS: Overwhelming the American people are completely frustrated by our failure to protect American citizenship and residents at the border. We're not doing it. And every other country does it, we don't do it. He's joking about it. He's laughing at Arizona. Is that, is that connection with the middle class and independent voter?
ALTER: That, that probably was not very smart to joke about it, but it was nothing compared to what Coakley did with, less than two weeks before the election, to dis Fenway Park, which is, which is a shrine in Boston?
MATTHEWS: I know.
ALTER: And so when Obama heard this, Axelrod told him this, when he wandered into his office, and he grabbed Axelrod's shirt, and he said, "Tell me she didn't say that, tell me that's not true." He knew immediately, not only that Coakley was gonna lose but that health care was in, in deep trouble.
MATTHEWS: Jon.
ALTER: So what I try to do in the book, Chris, is to take people behind those closed doors.
MATTHEWS: Jon we're out of time. Jon please come back again. You'll come back and talk about this, this book is gonna be a big one, The Promise by Jonathan Alter.
ABC Touts Calderon's 'Sharp Words' Swipe at U.S. for Inadequate Gun Laws
With "Sharp Words" forming the on-screen graphic, ABC anchor Diane Sawyer on Thursday night championed the domestic gun control argument espoused by a foreign leader trying to shift the blame for his nation's criminal activity, a remark neither CBS nor NBC found newsworthy:
Mexico's President Felipe Calderon today challenged a joint session of Congress on gun control, asking that they reinstate a ban on assault weapons, which expired in 2004, saying 80 percent of the traceable weapons used in those crimes in Mexico, right across the border, come from the U.S.Viewers then heard from Calderon: "I admire the American Constitution, but many of these guns are not going to honest American hands. Instead, thousands are ending up in the hands of criminals."
Without questioning his statistical claim, Sawyer then observed "Democrats gave him a standing ovation" while "Republicans sat silently," a disparity which illustrated how Calderon's polemics, which ABC decided to highlight, matches a quest of liberal Democrats.
From the Thursday, May 20 ABC World News:
DIANE SAWYER: And Mexico's President Felipe Calderon today challenged a joint session of Congress on gun control, asking that they reinstate a ban on assault weapons, which expired in 2004, saying 80 percent of the traceable weapons used in those crimes in Mexico, right across the border, come from the U.S.— Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
CALDERON: I admire the American Constitution, but many of these guns are not going to honest American hands. Instead, thousands are ending up in the hands of criminals.
SAWYER: Democrats gave him a standing ovation. Republicans sat silently.
MSNBC Slams Rand Paul: Eight Segments Totaling 37 Minutes Attacking the Republican as Racist
MSNBC on Thursday went on the offensive against Republican and Tea Party favorite Rand Paul. In a single day, the cable network devoted 37 minutes over eight segments to implying that the Senate candidate might be a racist.
Each piece featured a clip of Paul's appearance on Wednesday's Rachel Maddow program in which the MSNBC host suggested the libertarian candidate would tolerate bigotry because he opposes government regulation.
Throughout the day, MSNBC touted liberal guest after liberal guest to excoriate the politician. The lineup included Jesse Jackson, Democratic Congressman James Clyburn, liberal professors Boyce Watkins and Michael Eric Dyson and Democratic strategist Karen Finney.
There were no conservative guests on to defend Mr. Paul, who, while talking to Maddow, questioned the effectiveness of parts of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
During the 3pm hour, Mr. Watkins smeared, "I'm a fellow Kentuckian, just like Rand Paul. And I'm familiar with that brand of very subtle racism." Dyson berated, "Well, I think that [Paul] is a very disturbing figure...I think the reality is this does expose an undergirding, underlying, you know, racist vitriol."
Democratic strategist Finney gloated, "It is obviously an embarrassment for the tea party folks and the Republican Party." In a tease for the 1pm hour, host Andrea Mitchell hopefully suggested the candidate's interview with Maddow could be a "a game changing interview."
She didn't note that Paul has jumped to a 25 point lead over his Democratic opponent. MSNBC will have quite a ways to go before they can create a "game changing" event.
In the 2pm hour, anchor Tamron Hall chided, "A lot of people want Rand Paul to go back and clear up his words or change his words. If this is where he stands, if this is what he means, why not let him stick by it and suffer? If there are ramifications for it- then he has to deal with it."
The eight segments appeared this way: One in the 9am hour of the Daily Rundown. One in the 10am, 11am and 12pm hours of News Live. Another one during the 1pm hour of Andrea Mitchell Reports. Two more reports over the 2pm hour of News Live. Yet another in the show's 3pm edition.
A transcript of the segment in the 2pm hour, which aired at 2:21pm on May 20, follows:
RAND PAUL: I'm not in favor of any discrimination in any form. I would not belong to a club that excludes anybody for race. We still do have private clubs in America can discriminate based on race. But, I think what is important in this debate is not getting into any specific gotcha on this, but asking the question, what about freedom of speech? Should we limit speech from people we find abhorrent? Should we limit racists from speaking? I don't want to be associated with those people but I also don't want to limit their speech in any way.—Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
TAMRON HALL: And we have been discussing Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul under fire for controversial comments he made regarding the 1964 Civil Rights Act on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show last night and elsewhere. He questioned provisions of the law Today, Rand Paul issued a statement saying, quote, "Let me be clear. I support the Civil Rights Act. Joining me to talk about it, Georgetown University sociology professor Michael Eric Dyson. Also with us, Democratic strategist and MSNBC political analyst Karen Finney. So, Karen and Professor Dyson, we just showed a clip. But, it was really a hot moment last night. She really pressing Rand Paul. He kept saying that he's not a racist , but he wanted to make the separation the rights a private business has over something that is considered public. Karen, what's your take on what he had to say?
KAREN FINNEY: You know, whether or not you believe he is racist, even with the explanation that he gave today, while that was politically a smart thing to do, he really didn't address the fundamental problem with what most of us have with what he said. And that is this idea that, like, so private companies can decide what laws they follow and which ones they don't. So, does that mean BP gets to choose? Does that mean Toyota gets to choose and it is okay if they put out cars that are unsafe and may actually kill people? I mean, so, again, whether or not you think he is racist, there is a more fundamental argument that he really hasn't responded to.
HALL: Professor Dyson, it's interesting. A lot of people want Rand Paul to go back and clear up his words or change his words. If this is where he stands, if this is what he means, why not let him stick by it and suffer? If there are ramifications for it, then he has to deal with it.
MICHAEL ERIC DYSON: Absolutely. I think it is not about political correctness in its garbled form. It is about the degree to which Mr. Rand [sic] is incapable of understanding that in this day and age, those who oppose the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or the, you know, Voting Rights Act or, three years later, the Fair Housing Act are the very people that stand against the best interests of American democracy. And I don't think we should have less speech, but more. I agree with him. Even though I abhor the speech of racists, I certainly want the freedom to be able to hear them and for them to be able to speak so we can make just decisions based upon our analysis of their abhorrent ideas and suggest that they are outside the mainstream of American society.
HALL: His point is that he believes the federal government has far overreached in its power grab. That is what he says, Karen, was the heart of what he is articulating. But, obviously hitting a hot button issue when you say that someone can't sit at a lunch counter because they are black or Latino or a woman.
FINNEY: Well, that's exactly right. And, actually, last night on an interview with NPR, he applied the same standard to the Americans with Disability Act. So, again, if you sort of extrapolate and follow his logic, it is not just about 1964 and the Voting Rights Act, we are talking about a fundamental American value. And that is, we don't discriminate, whether it is race, religion, gender, sexual orientation. We don't do that as Americans. And if he seeks to be a senator in the United States of America, he has got to be clear about where he stands on this issue. It is obviously an embarrassment for the tea party folks and the Republican Party. You saw, today, Mitch McConnell even trying to help clean this up a little bit.
HALL: Professor Dyson, in your thoughts what does this tell us about Rand Paul?
DYSON: Well, I think that he is a very disturbing figure. I think the attempt to dismiss is this is as ill-conceived as his ill-chosen words. I think the reality is this does expose an undergirding, underlying, you know, racist vitriol. Now, it doesn't have to be personal racial animus. But, these kind of outdated viewpoints that are defended by ostensibly by conservative or libertarian outlook misses the larger point. Without that 1964 act, without the voting rights act, without the laws where the government has stood behind vulnerable American citizens, one group of Americans would have overtaken others. And it amazes me that libertarians and conservatives want to keep the government from swelling, except they want to be able to tell people who they can marry. They want to dictate the terms of debate between disagreeing Americans and they want to preserve, I think, a tremendous preserve of, I think, privilege for those who have locked out. And I think until we understand that the government's intervention was the very means by which we had a free and a just America for black people, we're not even talking serious truth about American politics.
CBS Allows Obama Official to Shift Oil Spill Blame to BP; NBC, ABC Morning Shows Grill Salazar
Early Show's Harry Smith on Thursday conducted a softball interview with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, allowing the Obama official to pass the oil spill blame to BP. He tossed this easy question to the cabinet member: "...The CEO of BP says the environmental impact in the gulf is going to be minimal. Is this guy in touch with reality?"
In contrast, hosts on NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America grilled Salazar during similar segments on their shows. Surprisingly, it was GMA's George Stephanopoulos who most stridently demanded answers.
He complained, "You gave BP and other oil companies permits without getting the proper clearances. You failed to conduct four monthly inspections of the rig over the last year."
Stephanopoulos continued, "Are these failures your responsibility? You were secretary at the time." CBS's Smith, however, never asked how responsible the department and the Obama administration are. He also ignored criticism from Republican Congressman John Mica of Florida.
Stephanopoulos didn't avoid the subject. He played the following clip of Mica and forced Salazar to respond to it:
REP. JOHN MICA: I call this the Obama oil spill time line. I think this is the first time we have a public copy of this. This is their approval. It's basically a carte blanche recipe for disaster.Over on NBC's Today, host Meredith Vieira grilled, "On Capitol Hill this week you acknowledged that the Interior Department had been lax in policing offshore drilling activities and had been weakened by corruption. So, do you now take responsibility, sir, at least in part, for what's happened in the gulf?"
After not getting an answer, Vieira tried again: "So, do you take direct responsibility for what's happened here?"
The best Smith could do was highlight the need for images of how much oil has spilled out. He observed, "But, here we are a month later, Mr. Secretary, I know your agencies have asked for these pictures and BP has not provided them. Why not? Are they in charge out there?"
This still but the onus on BP. The Early Show host continued to place the blame on the company: "Are you satisfied they are using, at least, the proper methods to try and disperse this oil?"
Only CBS allowed the Secretary to get away with such responsibility shifting. For instance, Stephanopoulos highlighted the numerous problems with the response and scolded, "It sounds like you're shifting the blame back. These [problems] all happened on your watch."
Now, ABC and NBC shouldn't be praised too much for finally challenging the Obama response. After all, the disaster is a month old. However, unlike the Early Show, at least they are doing it, albeit belatedly.
A transcript of the Stephanopoulos' interview with Salazar, which occurred at 7:14am EDT, follows:
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: And for more on this, we're joined by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar down in Washington. Thank you for joining us, Mr. Secretary. You talk about everything we're doing. Yet, we still can't get an accurate measure of the flow out of British Petroleum. You know, you see some scientists estimate it could be five or ten-times, maybe more, than what BP is giving right now. Why can't we get an accurate estimate from BP? And will you demand it?—Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
KEN SALAZAR (Interior Secretary): The answer is, we will get accurate numbers. We will not just rely on BP. We have our own efforts underway with NASA and other federal agencies, NOAA, the USGS, to make sure that we have accurate numbers. We need to have those numbers with respect to natural resource damages and a whole host of other things.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But, sir- Excuse me. We're 31 days into this now. Why can't we get an accurate estimate?
SALAZAR: Yeah- there is a problem, in terms of the sub sea because you're 5,000 feet below. The robots that are working down there are working on what the immediate crisis and problem is. And that is stopping the source. Until we get this geyser stopped at the bottom of the ocean, it's going to continue to spread. And, so, the efforts have been focused on bringing the spill under control. And that essentially means killing the well. And, so, everything we have is being thrown at that particular problem. We will have good numbers for the American people and for everybody else. And they will be independent from B.P.
STEPHANOPOULOS: When?
SALAZAR: It's a matter of days to complete the satellite imagery and to make sure that we have good numbers that are out there. We have good numbers relative to the amount of oil that is now being collected through the so-called riser insertion tube, where there's approximately 3,000 barrels a day that are being collected and not going out to sea. So, we can give the numbers. In terms of how much oil has openly spilled into the Gulf Coast, I can assure you we're going to have good numbers that will be put together by NASA, by USGS, by NOAA and others who are working on this.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You took some heat yesterday on Capitol Hill. Congressman John Mica of Florida, pointed out that your department gave BP a categorical exclusion last year from environmental regulations. Listen to what he said.
REP. JOHN MICA: I call this the Obama oil spill time line. I think this is the first time we have a public copy of this. This is their approval. It's basically a carte blanche recipe for disaster.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Carte blanche recipe for disaster. And that's not all. You gave BP and other oil companies permits without getting the proper clearances. You failed to conduct four monthly inspections of the rig over the last year. Approved dozens of projects without the right permits. Are these failures your responsibility? You were secretary at the time.
SALAZAR: You know, I think Congressman Mica should understand that this is not about finger-pointing. But, it's about solving an immediate problem. And the fact of it is there's responsibility to go around, from the companies to Congress, to the executive branch. The Congress is the one that mandates there be a 30-day approval of the exploration plans. And it's Congress has had that law in place for a number of years. And, so, Congress has a responsibility to step up and also to reform the laws of this country relative to the requirements of the development of energy in the outer continental shelf.
STEPHANOPOULOS: It sounds like you're shifting the blame back. These all happened on your watch.
SALAZAR: George- George- George, I'm not shifting the blame. I'm saying, we have responsibility here in the Department of Interior. We have been on a reform agenda from day one.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Finally, sir, are you optimistic about efforts to cap the well on Sunday?
SALAZAR: You know, I am very hopeful that will happen. But, it's not risk-free. There's a possibility it will not happen on Sunday. But, right now, the schedule is to go ahead and do the so-called dynamic kill and finally put this thing to bed on Sunday. At least with respect to this first phase.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Okay, Mr. Secretary, thank you for your time this morning.
SALAZAR: Thank you, George.
ROBIN ROBERTS: Everyone's patience wearing thin on this right now.
CBS's Chip Reid Snubbed by Obama...Again, Network's Broadcasts Still Mum
At the end of a joint press conference between President Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Wenesday, CBS White House correspondent Chip Reid attempted to ask Obama a question about Tuesday's electoral results but was given the brush off for the second time in a week.
Later that afternoon, Reid described the incident on CBSNews.com's Political Hotsheet blog: "As he [Obama] and President Calderon turned to walk back toward the Oval Office I asked, loudly enough for him to hear, if he had any comment on the elections. No response. I then shouted 'Do you have any plans for a real press conference?' No response, not that I expected one."
On Monday, the President refused to answer a question from Reid moments after signing the "Press Freedom Act" into law.
CBS morning and evening news broadcasts have ignored both the Monday and Wednesday snubs by Obama, with Reid only making his displeasure known online.
In his Wednesday blog post, Reid noted:
...so-called 'press conferences' with foreign leaders usually allow for only two questions from the White House press corps and two from foreign reporters. But today he [Obama] said there was time for only one from each side. And in what I suspect was a White House effort to assure that the questioning was limited to immigration and other issues of U.S.-Mexico concern, he called on the Univision reporter from the U.S. side.Reid even indignantly declared: "So if his goal was to avoid answering any tough questions about yesterday's elections, or the oil spill in the Gulf, or financial regulation, or Iran, or Afghanistan -- he succeeded."
On Wednesday's Evening News, Reid was given the perfect opportunity to voice his grievances on air, when anchor Katie Couric asked: "Chip, how is the White House assessing or spinning yesterday's election results?" However, Reid declined, simply repeating talking points put out by Obama's press office:
Well, Katie, the spin from the White House is that this was a very good day, but they're focusing almost exclusively on that race in southwestern Pennsylvania, where the Democrat beat a Republican. They say it shows that a Democrat in a district where Obama is not very popular can win and they say that's good news for November. They may not lose as many seats as they had feared. Katie.—Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Fwd: MRC Alert: NPR's Totenberg Touts Elena Kagan as Harvard's 'Superman'
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