June 30, 2009
Waxman Questions GOPers' Patriotism — Will Mainstream Media Go After Waxman Like They Did Limbaugh? (Doug Heye)
It was wrong, we were told, when Rush Limbaugh said he wanted President Obama to fail at raising our taxes, taking over sectors of our economy (be they specific companies or entire industries) and further entangling the government in the lives — and wallets — of everyday Americans.
Why, it was so wrong — dangerous, even — that news coverage on Limbaugh's comments dominated the airwaves. Limbaugh was news topic No. 1. For weeks, Republicans found themselves on the defensive, being asked incessantly, "Do you want President Obama to fail? Do you agree with this entertainer and want America to fail?" > Read More
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What's This June 23, 2009
So Much for Openness! (Doug Heye)
"Obama closes door on openness," reads the headline of Michael Isikoff's article from the June 29 issue of Newsweek.
Isikoff notes that while Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) criticized "secret agency meetings" the Bush administration held with oil executives, five months into the job President Obama has done the very same thing — rejecting a Freedom of Information Act request seeking visitor logs outlining what coal executives met to discuss with the Obama White House. > Read More
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What's This June 18, 2009
White House Broadcasts Send Wrong Signal (Doug Heye)
The media are obsessed, if not enamored, with President Barack Obama. That's not exactly a news flash, but in the 2008 presidential campaign and through the first 100 days of his presidency, Obama didn't have the networks' seal of approval.
Recent moves by ABC and NBC threaten that.
A few weeks ago, NBC aired a positive, though thoroughly interesting, special on Obama. Such moves are nothing new, even if this seemed especially laudatory; networks have frequently devoted time to "A Tour of the White House," or a similar program. > Read More
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What's This June 16, 2009
Letterman Apologizes (And Score One for Palin) (Doug Heye)
"I told a bad joke. I told a joke that was beyond flawed … It's not your fault that it was misunderstood, it's my fault … I'm sorry about it and I'll try to do better in the future," David Letterman said on "The Late Show" last night.
After a week of controversy, the apology was spot-on and came not a moment too soon. > Read More
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What's This June 11, 2009
Palin vs. Letterman (Doug Heye)
It turns out that the new political feud isn't Rush Limbaugh vs. Barack Obama or Dick Cheney vs. Colin Powell. As Rick Klein notes in ABC's indispensable The Note, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) and David Letterman are locked in a battle over jokes made at Palin's expense this week while she was on the East Coast.
The jokes included a line in Letterman's famous Top 10 list, this one devoted to Sarah Palin, in which he joked about Palin having a "slutty" look and another joke in which he described Palin's daughter being "knocked up" by Alex Rodriguez at a Yankees game. > Read More
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What's This June 2, 2009
Obama's Shrewd Feint at Bipartisanship (Doug Heye)
When President Obama announces the nomination of Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) to be secretary of the Army, administration allies will hail the choice as a sign of Obama's bipartisanship, noting Obama's selections of former GOP Illinois Rep. Ray LaHood and Utah Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman for Transportation secretary and ambassador to China, respectively.
Bipartisan, perhaps; shrewd electoral politics, most definitely. > Read More
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What's This June 1, 2009
Do As I Say, Not As I Do (Doug Heye)
There's a startling quote in Richard Wolffe's new book, Renegade: The Making of a President, excerpted on the Huffington Post today.
After Hillary Clinton had requested President Obama's help in retiring her campaign debt, Wolffe quotes Obama as saying, "I'm not willing to go out in these difficult economic times to do a flashy fundraiser in California." > Read More
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What's This May 27, 2009
California Dem Wants Obama Visit, Empathy (Doug Heye)
California's Central Valley is one of the poorest parts of the country, even when things are going well. In a recession, unemployment can reach 20 percent in some counties and, in today's economic climate, home foreclosures skyrocket.
Which may explain why Rep. Jim Costa, a Democrat who represents portions of the Central Valley, is upset that President Obama is making another visit to the Golden State without visiting the area. > Read More
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What's This May 19, 2009
Name-Changing Resolutions Won't Change the Game for the GOP (Doug Heye)
Political eyes will be on the National Harbor in Prince George's County, Md., as the Republican National Committee meets to consider what we're going to call Democrats.
With the GOP on the receiving end of back-to-back electoral smackdowns in 2006 and 2008 and the party's polls numbers still hovering somewhere below those of trial lawyers (though above John Edwards's numbers!), spending time and money on what is essentially a name-calling resolution — to rename the Democratic Party the "Democrat-Socialist Party" — is at best a waste of time. > Read More
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What's This May 18, 2009
Stop. Talking. (Doug Heye)
Joe Biden has been famous for his verbosity for years. While sometimes it has hurt him, such as when he was caught during his 1988 presidential campaign plagiarizing remarks from Neil Kinnock, his comment about Barack Obama being "articulate and clean" — though causing controversy — didn't stop Obama from selecting Biden as his running mate.
Words, however, have impact. When they come from the vice president of the United States, they also have authority. Which is why two recent remarks from Biden are especially troubling. > Read More
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