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1. Stephanopoulos: Obama Cabinet Unparalleled in 'Brain Power' Good Morning America's news team on Monday gushed at the sheer brilliance of Barack Obama's incoming cabinet, including his "team of economic gladiators." Former top Bill Clinton aide-turned journalist George Stephanopoulos rhapsodized: "We have not seen this kind of combination of star power and brain power and political muscle this early in a cabinet in our lifetimes." (What does that say about Stephanopoulos' friends in the Clinton administration?) Co-host Robin Roberts was equally enthusiastic. Speaking with Stephanopoulos, she cooed: "Some would say it's a team of rivals, a la President Lincoln, or is a better comparison a team of geniuses as FDR did?" Continuing the fawning, Stephanopoulos readily agreed: "Well, one Obama advisor told me what they like is a combination of team of rivals and 'the Best and the Brightest,' which was the David Halberstam book about the incoming Kennedy administration. I think there are parallels to all three." 2. ABC Marvels Obama Filling Bush's 'Vacuum,' So 'Two Presidents' Less than 12 hours after George Stephanopoulos, on Good Morning America, glowed that "we have not seen this kind of combination of star power and brain power and political muscle this early in a cabinet in our lifetimes" (see item #1 above), he popped up on World News to hail how Barack Obama's team recognized the Bush administration's "vacuum" and so decided to "step in and fill" it by showing "the President-elect taking action on the economy" day after day. Anchor Charles Gibson set up Stephanopoulos by marveling: "George, I don't think I've ever seen a President-elect getting so involved in policy so early. It does seem like we've got, at the moment, two Presidents." 3. CBS Touts 'Star-Studded' Obama Cabinet, 'Bold' and 'Inspired' On the Saturday Early Show on CBS, President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet picks were presented positively as correspondent Kimberly Dozier referred to a "superstar cabinet," and its members as "bold" and "inspired," while co-anchor Erica Hill called the Cabinet "star-studded." As she filed a story regarding Obama's choices of Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State and Timothy Geithner for Treasury Secretary, Dozier introduced her report: "Well, Obama's Cabinet picks are coming one by one, and they're calling it, in some cases, a 'superstar Cabinet.'" After informing viewers that Obama may ask Defense Secretary Robert Gates to stay on, Dozier repeated the "superstar" label as she passed on praise from former Reagan Chief of Staff Ken Duberstein: "Ronald Reagan's former chief of staff says Obama's taking a page from his boss's book, choosing a superstar team for their skills, not their political persuasion." Dozier an hour later: "Some are calling it a return to the Clinton White House. Others, Republicans among them, are praising him for bold, and even inspired, choices." 4. NYT Columnists Want Obama Inauguration Moved Up to Thanksgiving Not one, but two New York Times columnists called over the weekend for an early start to the Obama presidency. First up, on Saturday Gail Collins pleaded: "Thanksgiving is next week, and President Bush could make it a really special holiday by resigning. Seriously." Then Dick Cheney "would have to quit as well as Bush. In fact, just to be on the safe side, the vice president ought to turn in his resignation first. (We're desperate, but not crazy.)" That would allow House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to become President, but "she'd defer to her party's incoming chief executive, and Barack Obama could begin governing." On Sunday, Tom Friedman proposed: "If I had my druthers right now we would convene a special session of Congress, amend the Constitution and move up the inauguration from Jan. 20 to Thanksgiving Day." 5. CBS: NYT's Paul Krugman Warns Against Economic Prudence, Caution On Monday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez asked liberal economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman about Barack Obama's proposed stimulus package: "What about the $500 billion economic stimulus plan that President-elect Obama is planning? Do you think it's realistic to get that done in two years?" Not only was Krugman in favor of the plan, but he argued: "I'm actually worried that this plan may be too small... I'm still worrying that they're going to be a little bit short, because you just have to put all your notions of what is prudent aside. Being cautious is actually a very foolish thing right now." Rodriguez's discussion with Krugman was preceded by a fawning report by correspondent Dean Reynolds on Obama's economic plan: "Well, the incoming administration is making it abundantly clear that it plans an active multi-billion dollar approach to kick-starting the economy. As one top economic adviser to Barack Obama put it, the era of dithering is over." Stephanopoulos: Obama Cabinet Unparalleled in 'Brain Power' Good Morning America's news team on Monday gushed at the sheer brilliance of Barack Obama's incoming cabinet, including his "team of economic gladiators." Former top Bill Clinton aide-turned journalist George Stephanopoulos rhapsodized: "We have not seen this kind of combination of star power and brain power and political muscle this early in a cabinet in our lifetimes." (What does that say about Stephanopoulos' friends in the Clinton administration?) Co-host Robin Roberts was equally enthusiastic. Speaking with Stephanopoulos, she cooed: "Some would say it's a team of rivals, a la President Lincoln, or is a better comparison a team of geniuses as FDR did?" Continuing the fawning, Stephanopoulos readily agreed: "Well, one Obama advisor told me what they like is a combination of team of rivals and 'the Best and the Brightest,' which was the David Halberstam book about the incoming Kennedy administration. I think there are parallels to all three." (This is somewhat of an odd comparison. Halberstam's 1972 book explored the origins of the Vietnam War and the mistakes made leading up to it.) [This item, by the MRC's Scott Whitlock, was posted Monday afternoon, with video, on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ] As though the ABC journalists were attempting to see who could top the other, co-host Diane Sawyer introduced a separate segment by effusively announcing: "And we're going to turn now to President-elect Obama and his new team of economic gladiators." A transcript of the November 24 Stephanopoulos segment, which aired at 7:07am:
ROBIN ROBERTS: And now for the bottom line, we turn to our chief Washington correspondent and host of "This Week" George Stephanopoulos. And, George, as we heard, the President-elect, a lot of pressure on him to take action now, even before he's sworn in. So can he afford to wait until January 20th and if not, what can he do right now?
ABC Marvels Obama Filling Bush's 'Vacuum,' So 'Two Presidents' Less than 12 hours after George Stephanopoulos, on Good Morning America, glowed that "we have not seen this kind of combination of star power and brain power and political muscle this early in a cabinet in our lifetimes" (see item #1 above), he popped up on World News to hail how Barack Obama's team recognized the Bush administration's "vacuum" and so decided to "step in and fill" it by showing "the President-elect taking action on the economy" day after day. Anchor Charles Gibson set up Stephanopoulos by marveling: "George, I don't think I've ever seen a President-elect getting so involved in policy so early. It does seem like we've got, at the moment, two Presidents." Stephanopoulos admired Obama's take charge actions: "I think what the Obama team saw -- starting last week with all of that uncertainty in the markets, in the dropping stock markets -- is they had to step in and fill a political vacuum. It began with that leak of Tim Geithner's name as Treasury Secretary on Friday, an announcement of a jobs plan on Saturday, carrying through to today, and there will be announcements both tomorrow and Wednesday to show the President-elect taking action on the economy." [This item, by the MRC's Brent Baker, was posted Monday night on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ] From the Monday, November 24 World News:
CHARLES GIBSON: Our chief Washington correspondent, George Stephanopoulos, joins us now. George, I don't think I've ever seen a President-elect getting so involved in policy so early. It does seem like we've got, at the moment, two Presidents.
CBS Touts 'Star-Studded' Obama Cabinet, 'Bold' and 'Inspired' On the Saturday Early Show on CBS, President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet picks were presented positively as correspondent Kimberly Dozier referred to a "superstar cabinet," and its members as "bold" and "inspired," while co-anchor Erica Hill called the Cabinet "star-studded." The terminology was similar to that employed by NBC's Andrea Mitchell on the previous night's Nightly News, as she referred to Obama's "all-star Cabinet." See the November 24 CyberAlert: mrc.org As she filed a story regarding Obama's choices of Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State and Timothy Geithner, also from the Clinton administration, for Treasury Secretary, Dozier introduced her report: "Well, Obama's Cabinet picks are coming one by one, and they're calling it, in some cases, a 'superstar Cabinet.'" After informing viewers that Obama may ask Defense Secretary Robert Gates to stay on, Dozier repeated the "superstar" label as she passed on praise from former Reagan Chief of Staff Ken Duberstein: "Ronald Reagan's former chief of staff says Obama's taking a page from his boss's book, choosing a superstar team for their skills, not their political persuasion." At the beginning of the 9:00 hour, co-anchor Erica Hill teased: "The shape of things to come: President-elect Obama now close to completing his star-studded Cabinet, and now the hard work begins." Soon Dozier returned to introduce a report similar to that from the 8:00 hour and cited Republican praise, presumably referring to Duberstein, of Obama's choices: "Some are calling it a return to the Clinton White House. Others, Republicans among them, are praising him for bold, and even inspired, choices." [This item, by the MRC's Brad Wilmouth, was posted Monday night on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ] Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Saturday Early Show on CBS from November 22:
CHRIS WRAGGE, DURING THE 8:00 A.M. HOUR: But first, let's get to the news of the morning, and names of those being tapped for prized Cabinet positions in the Obama administration are coming in fast and furious, and even causing a stir on Wall Street. CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier is at the White House with the very latest for us bright and early on this Saturday morning. Kimberly, good to see you. ... ERICA HILL, IN OPENING TEASER FOR THE 9;00 A.M. HOUR: The shape of things to come: President-elect Obama now close to completing his star-studded Cabinet, and now the hard work begins. ... DOZIER: Well, Obama's team may be dragging their feet about making it official, but they're moving rapidly ahead with filling his Cabinet. Some are calling it a return to the Clinton White House. Others, Republicans among them, are praising him for bold, and even inspired, choices.
NYT Columnists Want Obama Inauguration Moved Up to Thanksgiving Not one, but two New York Times columnists called over the weekend for an early start to the Obama presidency. First up, on Saturday Gail Collins pleaded: "Thanksgiving is next week, and President Bush could make it a really special holiday by resigning. Seriously." Then Dick Cheney "would have to quit as well as Bush. In fact, just to be on the safe side, the vice president ought to turn in his resignation first. (We're desperate, but not crazy.)" That would allow House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to become President, but "she'd defer to her party's incoming chief executive, and Barack Obama could begin governing." On Sunday, Tom Friedman proposed: "If I had my druthers right now we would convene a special session of Congress, amend the Constitution and move up the inauguration from Jan. 20 to Thanksgiving Day." [This item is based on the Monday posting, by Clay Waters, on the MRC's TimesWatch site: www.timeswatch.org ] An excerpt from the November 22 Collins column, "Time for Him to Go": Thanksgiving is next week, and President Bush could make it a really special holiday by resigning. Seriously. We have an economy that's crashing and a vacuum at the top. Bush -- who is currently on a trip to Peru to meet with Asian leaders who no longer care what he thinks -- hasn't got the clout, or possibly even the energy, to do anything useful. His most recent contribution to resolving the fiscal crisis was lecturing representatives of the world's most important economies on the glories of free-market capitalism. Putting Barack Obama in charge immediately isn't impossible. Dick Cheney, obviously, would have to quit as well as Bush. In fact, just to be on the safe side, the vice president ought to turn in his resignation first. (We're desperate, but not crazy.) Then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would become president until Jan. 20. Obviously, she'd defer to her party's incoming chief executive, and Barack Obama could begin governing.... END of Excerpt The Collins column in full: www.nytimes.com Ed Morrissey of Hot Air pointed out the slight flaw in Collins' brilliant plan: "The succession act Collins references exists to ensure continuity in case of disaster, not on the whim of a constipated New York Times columnist whose need for instant gratification apparently outweighs the rest of her cerebral processes." See: hotair.com Sunday brought a similar plea from the paper's increasingly excitable peripatetic columnist Tom Friedman, who feverishly likened the George Bush-Barack Obama handoff to how Lyndon Baines Johnson ascended to the presidency immediately upon the assassination of John F. Kennedy: ...If I had my druthers right now we would convene a special session of Congress, amend the Constitution and move up the inauguration from Jan. 20 to Thanksgiving Day. Forget the inaugural balls; we can't afford them. Forget the grandstands; we don't need them. Just get me a Supreme Court justice and a Bible, and let's swear in Barack Obama right now -- by choice -- with the same haste we did -- by necessity -- with L.B.J. in the back of Air Force One. Unfortunately, it would take too long for a majority of states to ratify such an amendment.... END of Excerpt For Friedman's entire column: www.nytimes.com
CBS: NYT's Paul Krugman Warns Against Economic Prudence, Caution On Monday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez asked liberal economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman about Barack Obama's proposed stimulus package: "What about the $500 billion economic stimulus plan that President-elect Obama is planning? Do you think it's realistic to get that done in two years?" Not only was Krugman in favor of the plan, but he argued: "I'm actually worried that this plan may be too small... I'm still worrying that they're going to be a little bit short, because you just have to put all your notions of what is prudent aside. Being cautious is actually a very foolish thing right now." Rodriguez's discussion with Krugman was preceded by a fawning report by correspondent Dean Reynolds on Obama's economic plan: "Well, the incoming administration is making it abundantly clear that it plans an active multi-billion dollar approach to kick-starting the economy. As one top economic adviser to Barack Obama put it, the era of dithering is over." Reynolds continued by declaring: "...with the actions taken so far to stem the tide proving to be totally ineffective, the incoming administration is setting the table for a long struggle to make things right." [This item, by the MRC's Kyle Drennen,was posted Monday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ] Reynolds also looked at Obama's economic team: "Leading the effort to get things headed in a new direction will be Timothy Geithner, current president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York...And working with him will be a former treasury secretary, Lawrence Summers." Later, Krugman gave a glowing endorsement of both men: "They're both terrific -- terrifically smart, terrifically forceful guys...it's great to have the best people on board. That's the one thing that's really encouraging right now." Near the end of his report, Reynolds made Great Depression comparisons: "Congress will be presented an ambitious plan costing hundreds of billions of dollars to create over the next two years more than 2 million new jobs. Including public works employment similar to the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt." Krugman made similar comparisons: "...it's not depression, but it's depression economics. We're having the kinds of problems that we had during the 1930s and that's why we're talking about a new WPA. We're talking about having to take some of the solutions that we thought we didn't ever have to use again, but here we are." Here is the full transcript of the segment:
7:00AM TEASE:
7:04AM SEGMENT:
DEAN REYNOLDS: Good morning, Harry. Well, the incoming administration is making it abundantly clear that it plans an active multi-billion dollar approach to kick-starting the economy. As one top economic adviser to Barack Obama put it, the era of dithering is over. With the stock market wobbling, with more than a million job losses this year alone, and with the actions taken so far to stem the tide proving to be totally ineffective, the incoming administration is setting the table for a long struggle to make things right.
-- Brent Baker
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