(Vol. 22; No. 3)

Dastardly Republicans Caused Daschle’s Downfall

“Senator DeMint, you can say that the Democrats were uncomfortable as well, but they were all supporting him publicly. So, this does read to the public as though the Republicans went after this man, someone that the President very much wanted, and brought him down.” — NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviewing Republican Senator Jim DeMint on MSNBC shortly after Tom Daschle withdrew as the nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, February 3. [Audio/video (0:43): Windows Media (2.51 MB) and MP3 audio (219 kB)]

Feeling Obama’s Pain

“You lost two nominees, two appointments today. Did that make you angry, I imagine?...How do you prevent the lesson from being that, no matter how lofty the goals of the new guy coming in, Washington wins, in the end?” —NBC’s Brian Williams in an interview with President Obama shown on the February 3 Nightly News. “You campaigned to change the culture in Washington, to change the politics-as-usual culture here. Are you frustrated? Do you think it is much, much harder to do that than you ever anticipated?” — CBS’s Katie Couric to Obama in an interview shown on the February 3 Evening News.

Changing Washington “at Warp Speed”

George Stephanopoulos: “This first week was disciplined and strategic like that campaign, all designed to show that the President is moving on all fronts to bring change....Signs those executive orders for sweeping change to open government....Sweeping change in foreign policy....Working on the economy, but also with bipartisan congressional leadership, the President showing that he wants to change the tone in Washington. Fill-in anchor Diane Sawyer: “Change the tone and change it at warp speed.” — ABC’s World News, January 23. “The scene I will always remember was the look on Barack Obama’s face when he came out on the Capitol steps and looked out on that great crowd that stretched over a mile before him....With the severity of the problems he faced, no human, no matter how confident, it seems to me, could look out on that crowd and not wonder: ‘Can I live up to the expectations of all those people?’ Yet, in the three days since then, he has laid out an ambitious program, promises of more transparency in government, new walls between the government and special interests by executive order. He will close Guantanamo prison and outlaw torture. He has told the world that we will practice what we preach.” — CBS’s Bob Schieffer on President Obama’s first three days in office, January 23 Evening News.

CBS Now Urges Republicans to Be “More in the Middle...”

“Don’t you think that right now is not — it behooves the Republicans to be a little bit more in the middle? I mean, what are — they’re not — their voices aren’t going to be heard anyway, as we saw with this economic stimulus plan....So doesn’t it behoove them to be more bipartisan and meet in the middle?” — Co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez to conservative author Ann Coulter on CBS’s Early Show, January 29.

...But Scolded Democrats as “Too Close to the Middle” in 2002

“Did you run too close to the middle? There’s grousing already in the Democratic Party that Democrats didn’t act like Democrats, they acted like watered-down Republicans.” — Co-anchor Harry Smith to Democratic National Chairman Terry McAuliffe on CBS’s Early Show, November 6, 2002.

“Relentless Attacks” vs. “Extraordinary” Bipartisanship

Anchor Katie Couric: “President Obama made an in-person appeal to House Republicans to vote for his economic stimulus plan, but it didn’t work. Not a single Republican joined the majority Democrats tonight as the House passed the more than $800 billion package....” CBS’s Chip Reid: “Republicans relentlessly attacked the bill despite the President’s extraordinary efforts to get bipartisan support....” Couric: “Chip, as you mentioned, I mean, the President went up to the Hill to personally appeal to Republicans already, so what more can he do?” — CBS Evening News, January 28.

Rush Limbaugh Criticizes Obama — Does He “Hate this Country?”

“Does Rush Limbaugh hate this country? Wait ‘til you hear what he said about the new President. He wants him to fail. What an amazing — I’ve never heard anybody say they wanted a new President to fail. Usually you want the new President to succeed, and then later on you argue the politics of what he or she does. But to want them to fail at the outset? What’s that about?...What is Rush Limbaugh’s problem? Rooting for the guy’s failure. What’s that all about?” — MSNBC’s Chris Matthews on Hardball, January 21. [Audio/video (2:00): Windows Media (7.34 MB) and MP3 audio (675 kB)] “Does President Barack Obama finally have the cojones that some Democrats haven’t had in the past, in saying to other Republicans ‘you don’t have to listen to Rush Limbaugh?’...Isn’t this exactly the kind of fight that Obama wants to have?...Find somebody like a Rush Limbaugh, who they can argue is on the fringe, and fight with him?” — MSNBC’s Norah O’Donnell anchoring the 3pm ET hour of MSNBC Live, January 26. “He [Limbaugh] has said, ‘I hope he fails,’ talking about President Obama. And Rush Limbaugh also said this, he said ‘we are being told that we have to hope Obama succeeds, that we have to bend over, grab the ankles, bend over forward, backward, whichever, because his father was black, because this was the first black President.’ Do you agree with Rush Limbaugh?...On that specific thing, that, ‘we have to bend over because this is the first black President,’ why don’t you feel like you could denounce something like that? Are you so beholden to someone like Rush Limbaugh that you can’t say that?...Is that the type of rhetoric we need?” — MSNBC’s Norah O’Donnell to Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN), on MSNBC Live, January 28.

CNN’s Advice to Obama: Don’t Fight with “Corpulent Oxycontin Aficionado”

“In addition to getting his feet wet, the new President’s also learning some things along the way....Picking a fight with that corpulent Oxycontin aficionado of right-wing talk radio, Rush Limbaugh — well, that mobilizes a bunch more on the conservative right, and eventually, it will begin to bring down your approval ratings.” — CNN’s Jack Cafferty on The Situation Room, January 27.

ABC’s Liberal Kids: Save the Earth — and Feed Us Broccoli!

Boy #1: “Mr. Obama, please, like, make all the trees not die because we all need oxygen to breathe.” Girl #1: “When we were voting, lots and lots of people didn’t have very much money. So, you wanted to give some money to other people. And I thought it was a great idea.”... Boy #2: “Can you please lower our taxes? And how come people who earn millions of dollars pay less taxes than us middle-class people?”... Boy #3: about seven years old: “All this time, I’ve been alive, I’ve been having white presidents. And I think now, it’s- this is my chance to have a black president.”... Boy #4: My school needs more healthy food, like broccoli and cheese. Girl #2: I want you to make people stop littering because our Earth is dying. — Story about kids’ message to the new President, January 21 Good Morning America. [Audio/video (0:51): Windows Media (2.99 MB) and MP3 audio (265 kB)]

An End to Generations of “Evil” Presidents

“For a public event, it was absolutely stunning. People with tears in their eyes, Dave, people lining up, and this is something I just can’t wrap my arms around, to buy merchandise with any depiction — this is a guy we just elected President. It’s not a rock star or an athlete or an actor. This is our President. To see people, whatever your politics, that excited about our new chief executive after a line of what the ordinary voter would maybe describe as bad choices or choices of evils, for years, generations, it is unbelievable to me.” — NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams on CBS’s Late Show, January 26. [Audio/video (1:10): Windows Media (4.31 MB) and MP3 audio (379 kB)]

Obama’s Inauguration = Sacred Event

“One of the sacraments of our national religion is the inauguration....So it was that as many as 2 million pilgrims made their way to Washington and the Mall to witness this most sacred event.” — CBS’s Harry Smith recounting how he experienced Obama’s inauguration, January 21 Early Show.

Tale of Two Inaugurals

Announcer: “This morning, a new dawn: Barack Obama sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. A new face from a new generation. Driven by an audacity to hope.” Clip of Barack Obama: “They said this day would never come.” Announcer: “It has. It’s here.” Clip of Obama: “Change has come to America.” Announcer: “The nation’s capital, filled to capacity. A journey of millions, fueled by hope and the shared dreams of a renewed America.” Clip of Obama: “Yes we can.” Announcer: “And a call to overcome challenges not seen in generations.” Clip of Obama: “I stand here as hopeful as ever that the United States of America will endure, that the dreams of our founders will live on in our time.” Announcer: “Now, live, a special edition of Good Morning America from Washington, D.C., the inauguration of Barack Obama.” — Introduction to ABC’s Good Morning America, January 20. [Audio/video (2:30): Windows Media (8.83 MB) and MP3 audio (790 kB)] “This is a special edition of Good Morning America, the second inauguration of George W. Bush. Live from the Library of Congress, in Washington D.C., Charles Gibson, Diane Sawyer and Peter Jennings.” — Complete introduction to the January 20, 2005 Good Morning America.

Obama’s Inauguration: “A Giant Love Fest” With “A Million Friends”

“It was a giant love fest....When Barack Obama started to speak, I was right in the middle of the crowd. People were crying, they were laughing, they were cheering. Suddenly someone would just come up and hug you. It was just amazing. It was like you’re standing in the middle of these strangers, and all of a sudden you had a million friends around you. That’s what it felt like yesterday.” — CNN’s Carol Costello on the January 21 American Morning, recounting her experience at Obama’s inauguration.

“All Good Things” = Jimmy Carter

“I have a crush on Jimmy Carter. I admit it. He has an extraordinary mind. He’s an exceptional human being. And he writes poetry, for crying out loud. He’s all good things.” — Actress Renee Zellweger, January 30 USA Today.

PUBLISHER: L. Brent Bozell III
EDITORS: Brent H. Baker, Rich Noyes, Tim Graham
MEDIA ANALYSTS: Geoffrey Dickens, Brad Wilmouth, Scott Whitlock, Matthew Balan and Kyle Drennen
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE: Michelle Humphrey

To receive Notable Quotables via e-mail, sign up today at www.MRC.org/subscriptions