The candidate’s problem isn’t better-funded opponent or media bias—it’s his own views on foreign policy.
**Written by Doug Powers MSNBC has been leaning forward head over heels to apologize to Mitt Romney over this Thomas Roberts item: What was that all about? Roberts was quoting a blog that took a phrase Romney has used and found out that the KKK used something similar in the 1920′s. There hasn’t been a more incriminating link established since somebody noticed that Sarah Palin and Nathan Bedford Forrest are both right handed. Anyway, today, Roberts apologized : The Roberts apology was preceded yesterday by Chris Matthews: Matthews yesterday: “It was irresponsible and incendiary of us to do this, and it showed an appalling lack of judgment. We apologize, we really do, to the Romney campaign.” Roberts today: “It was irresponsible and incendiary of us to do this and showed an appalling lack of judgment. We apologize to the Romney campaign.” The latter is dangerously close to adding apology copycatting to the list of things for which he needs to ask forgiveness. And even Al Sharpton even got in on the apology (“you know it’s bad when…”): Sharpton also later apologized for accusing Romney of eating all the blueberry pie . Maybe MSNBC has changed how they operate, because “irresponsible, incendiary and an apalling lack of judgment” didn’t used to be things some of their hosts apologized for — they were job requirements. What gives? ***** Update: A reader emails to say that Nathan Bedford Forrest was actually left-handed. That’s based on a book about him. I assumed he was right-handed because of a painting and a photo that showed him carrying a firearm on his right hip. Now that I think about it though, if Forrest was actually left-handed, the slight inaccuracy makes the analogy even more appropriate so I’ll leave well-enough alone. **Written by Doug Powers Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
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MSNBC Leans Forward to Apologize to Mitt Romney
**Written by Doug Powers Remember when Hillary Clinton was a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and when she came out the band played Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats”? Me neither, because it never happened and won’t ever happen. But the rules of what’s appropriate aren’t politically uniform in the world of “entertainment,” which is why Michele Bachmann is now wanting an apology from NBC : Republican candidate Michele Bachmann addressed the controversy surrounding her appearance on ‘Late Night With Jimmy Fallon’ this week, saying if what happened to her had happened to the First Lady, heads would have rolled. When Bachmann was introduced on the Fallon’s show Monday, Fallon’s house band, the Roots, played Fishbone’s song ‘Lyin’ Ass Bitch.’ Fallon has since apologized , and while Bachmann said she accepts the comedian’s apology, she thinks NBC should apologize as well. “If that had been Michelle Obama, who’d come out on the stage, and if that song had been played for Michelle Obama, I have no doubt that NBC would have apologized to her and likely they would have fired the drummer, or at least suspended him,” she told Fox News. If Fallon’s band had done that to Michelle Obama (as if), is there much doubt that Brian Roberts would have seen to public floggings of all offending parties and apologized by asking Comcast/NBC employees to double their DNC donations this election cycle? Imagine the outrage if it was another guest. Below I took an ABC News story and replaced “Michele Bachmann” with the name of a different public figure: ***** The drummer for the house band on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” apologized sort of for his decision to play ”Lyin’ Ass Bitch” when Rep. Nancy Pelosi appeared on the talk show Monday night. “The performance was a tongue-in-cheek and spur of the moment decision. The show was not aware of it and I feel bad if her feelings were hurt. That was not my intention,” Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson said in a statement. As Pelosi, congresswoman and former Speaker of the House, walked across the stage to sit next to Fallon Monday night, house band the Roots played a refrain from the song written by Fishbone. Though the lyrics refer to a woman as a “slut trash can bitch,” the band sang the “la, la, la” of the refrain. ***** Fallon’s house band would be lucky to be able to get a gig leading an OWS drum circle by now if it had happened that way. Possible topic for discussion: Are GOP politicians chumps for going on these shows and subjecting themselves to mockery — be it overt or relatively subliminal — from an industry that is overwhelmingly liberal, or is it a necessary way to reach voters these days and they just need to have a thick skin, a thorough knowledge of contemporary “music” and a healthy repertoire of comeback lines at the ready? **Written by Doug Powers Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
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Michele Bachmann: By Now, Michelle Obama Would Have Gotten an Apology From NBC
**Written by Doug Powers Newt Gingrich might have said the worst thing a presidential candidate has ever said. Judging from the reaction of MSNBC’s Mika Brezinski he might have, anyway. What was the offending Newt Gingrich comment? Gingrich advised “Occupy Wall Street” protesters to “get a job right after you take a bath.” Horror, disgust and crawling skin ensued : BRZEZINSKI: Someone needs a bath, and I don’t think it’s the people from Occupy Wall Street. That’s all I’m going to say. I’ve got nothing else. I’m so disgusted by that that something horrible is going to come… I, I, am I alone here? Am I over-reacting [note quavering voice]? I’m sickened by that… It’s fair to say he’s in the 1%, correct? He’s telling the 99% to take a bath and get a job? Really? Really, I wonder how they do that right now. How, given the state of this country, how anyone’s going to just get a job and take a bath. Who is this man? Who does he think he is? And why is he surging in the polls? I don’t get it. I mean,to hear Newt Gingrich standing on literally his high horse, after taking advantage of the system, cashing in, being the biggest, literally the biggest hypocrite in the Repubican field, probably in politics today. The biggest hypocrite. And then to cast aspersions and to speak down to these people as if–plghhh–they should be flipped away? It’s disgusting. It’s absolutely disgusting. It’s a very angry way to start the show. I’m extremely sorry. But it’s the first time I’d seen that. And it literally made my skin crawl. I can’t believe he resonates. Video by way of Newsbusters : Sure, Gingrich might have generalized just a little bit. Some OWSers do have good jobs and ready access to showers — the anti-Gekkos fighting back against Wall Street from rooms at the W Hotel for example. But if I was in charge of Newt’s campaign I’d run with it anyway: I’d also suggest an updated Gingrich campaign theme song: **Written by Doug Powers Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
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Did Newt Gingrich Say the Worst Thing Any Presidential Candidate Has Ever Said?
**Written by Doug Powers Probably the most talked about exchange from Saturday night’s GOP debate was the Newt Gingrich/Scott Pelley back and forth regarding the sanctioned killing of American born terrorists overseas (the least talked about portion of the debate was the second hour, because not many people could watch it ). Here’s video of the exchange in case you missed it (h/t Newsbusters ) : Since Pelley was so eager to participate, Gingrich could have also posed one question on Pelley’s assumption the terrorist killings were against the rule of law: “Are you asking me if President Obama should be charged with a crime ?” CBS missed the real story here: Some GOP candidates for president agree with Barack Obama on something. The MSM finally gets the “bipartisanship” they often report is so hard to find, and all that the anchor of the CBS Evening News can do is lean forward and offer a healthy dose of smug: In Pelley’s defense, he might have had that look on his face because of all the potential questions for Michele Bachmann he had to keep bottled up. (Picture and coinage of the term “smug shot” via The Right Scoop ) **Written by Doug Powers Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
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‘Smug Shot’ from the GOP Debate
**Written by Doug Powers ABC’s Diane Sawyer, who is ensconced in the 1% of America that the “Occupy Wall Street” occupiers are complaining about, is nevertheless fairly excited about the rapid spread of the protests. In fact, Sawyer is so thrilled that yesterday she added several hundred countries to the world: Speaking of Wall Street, we thought we’d bring you up to date on those protesters, the Occupy Wall Street movement. As of tonight, it has spread to more than 250 American cities, more than a thousand countries — every continent but Antarctica. And of course they are calling for the one percent of richest Americans to find more ways to help the 99 percent and we wondered what’s the gulf between them tonight? So how much does the top one percent in this country earn? Well, on average their incomes, $1.1 million. Compare that to the bottom 90 percent, 100 million households. They earn an average of $31,000. Occupy Wall Street turned Diane Sawyer into quite the nation builder — literally . Sawyer seems a little too desperate to give the “movement” galactic legitimacy. Did she mean to say “a thousand cities ” around the world? That still seems like a terribly high estimate: It’s okay — Sawyer was just as fair-minded back when she reported on the Tea Parties. What? Nevermind . Okay, sure, but the Tea Party had that coming for refusing to let John Lewis speak at a rally. Wait, that wasn’t a Tea Party — Now I’m really confused. **Written by Doug Powers Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
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Diane Sawyer: Occupy Wall Street Protests Have ‘Spread to More Than a Thousand Countries’
**Written by Doug Powers On the evening of Labor Day, CNN preceded an interview with James Hoffa by playing a clip of the Teamsters president saying “Let’s take these sons of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong.” In spite of the quote being a hot topic of discussion ever since Hoffa said it, interviewer John King didn’t even ask him about it in an entire six-minute interview. Why? I have no idea. The left’s defense is that Hoffa was merely using a metaphor for voting Tea Partiers out of office, so it would have been a terrific opportunity for King to explore when the “new tone” stopped applying to metaphors — assuming it was one. But King didn’t seem curious at why civil discourse rules were suspended just before Hoffa’s speech and reinstated immediately after in another act of cosmic hypocrisy . Late last month, Hoffa made similar comments that mostly flew under the radar. Another difference is that back then Hoffa wasn’t the opening act for the President of the United States like he was on Labor Day (the White House later strongly condemned Hoffa’s harsh and divisive language — just kidding ). The graphics people at CNN even seemed to be taunting King to ask Hoffa about it, because they featured the quote at the bottom of the screen quite a bit — but not once did King take the bait. What a disciplined journalist! Click the pic for the video at Real Clear Politics: Is this the same John King who apologized because a colleague used the term “crosshairs” metaphorically? Yep: Selective Sensitivity Syndrome can strike when you most expect it. **Written by Doug Powers Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
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CNN’s John King Spends 6 Minutes Avoiding Asking Hoffa About ‘SOBs’ Comment
◼ MY VIDEO of Michele Bachmann’s Christian Testimony Used in SMEAR JOB – Robert Stacy McCain It’s quite a story of media bias, all the way up the chain. LOTS of links as other bloggers pick up the trail… RS McCain reports: This is so shocking I don’t know how to begin to describe it. Regular
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One to watch: No Honor Among Thieves, No Curiosity Among Journalists: Perez Hilton Re-Pirates Video, CBS News Repeats Smear
The proof is there. Today on Uncommon Knowledge: do we need proof of media bias? Tim Groseclose provides it.
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Uncommon Knowledge Interview with Tim Groseclose (Part One)
