1. Giddy Over 'Presidential Whirlwind' & 'Remarkable' Cookie Photos
Get Diane Sawyer together with George Stephanopoulos on World News and they can't contain their giddiness over President Obama. Back on Friday, January 23, when Sawyer last anchored, Stephanopoulos hailed Obama's first three days as "disciplined and strategic," thus enabling "sweeping change," while Sawyer gushed over "change...at warp speed." Monday night, Sawyer returned to the anchor chair and excitedly announced how "the trillion dollar week has begun" and so "finally," as if it's been too long of a wait, "the stimulus starts to flow." She soon heralded how "we embark on a week like no other in American economic history" with "a presidential whirlwind of spending against a recession." Sawyer brought Stephanopoulos aboard to admire what Sawyer described as a "scrapbook, if you will, of the President's journey on the road to the stimulus package." In other words, photos released by the White House. Nonetheless, she effused: "I want to show everybody at home, because there is the President, it's Super Bowl night, and he's serving cookies to congressional leadership in the White House screening room." The narration switched to an awed Stephanopoulos: "These are just remarkable, Diane. We've never really seen anything like this before in real time."

2. Carl Bernstein Lauds Obama's 'Masterful' Leadership
Veteran Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein appeared on Monday's Morning Joe to highlight the "masterful" leadership of Barack Obama in passing a stimulus bill and also to laud Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her dedication to service. Challenged by MSNBC analyst Pat Buchanan over how much impact Hillary Clinton would actually have as Secretary of State, Bernstein, author of the Hillary bio "A Woman in Charge," enthused, "You know, she is somebody who really believes in service. Both Clintons do. Whatever cynicism we might have about the Clintons, she believes in service."

3. WPost's King Scoffs Idea Reagan Had 'More Substance than Obama'
Washington Post columnist Colby King scoffed Friday at the notion former President Ronald Reagan brought more substance to the White House than does President Barack Obama as King also raised the Iran-Contra scandal as evidence of Reagan's mismanagement of foreign policy. On Inside Washington, a weekly show produced and aired over the weekend by Washington, DC's ABC affiliate, but first broadcast Friday night on the local PBS station, King contended: "This President connects with people." That prompted fill-in moderator Mark Shields to ask columnist Charles Krauthammer: "Is it Reagan-like in that sense?" Krauthammer cautioned: "Well, except that Reagan, I think, had a lot more substance and he had a lot more ideas-" Cutting Krauthammer off, a chortling King jeered: "More substance than Obama?!"

4. NY Times Editor Keller Denies Reporters Fell 'In Love' w/ Obama
NBC's Today show invited, on Monday, New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller to promote a new book featuring photos from the campaign called, Obama: The Historic Journey, and in his interview with Keller, substitute anchor David Gregory actually asked if the book adds to the "criticism of the news media that we're somehow cheerleaders for Barack Obama," to which Keller admitted it was "a fair question," but denied any pro-Obama tilt: "As a rule, reporters don't fall in love with candidates. They fall in love with stories." However earlier in the segment, Keller called Obama "a rock star," and exposed the fact his own children "had their front door of their bedroom plastered with Hillary paraphernalia...and by the end, you know I think every kid in America was asking their parents when they could go have a play date with Sasha and Malia."

5. Ifill & Carlson: Prosecute Bush Question 'Perfectly Reasonable'
During a segment in the "Reliable Sources" hour of CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, PBS's Gwen Ifill and Bloomberg's Margaret Carlson agreed that it was fine for President Obama to call on Sam Stein of the Huffington Post at his first press conference, and that the correspondent's left-wing question on a proposed "truth committee" investigation into the Bush administration was "perfectly reasonable." Carlson also agreed with host Howard Kurtz's assessment that the "White House press corps not exactly rolling over for the new President." Her response: "Never do, do they?"

6. CBS: 'Obstructionist' GOP Opposes Needed 'Large-Scale' Spending
On Monday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez asked Republican Congressman Eric Cantor about President Obama's proposed housing bill: "Unlike the stimulus, will you urge your fellow Republicans in the House to support this?" When Cantor criticized the proposed bill and the passage of the "stimulus" bill, Rodriguez declared: "But Congressman, it's clear that Americans are begging for help with foreclosures. Corporations are begging for bailouts. Can the Republican Party accept that there are situations when large-scale government intervention is necessary?" Cantor began to explain that Republicans supported some aspects of the "stimulus," but Rodriguez quickly interrupted him: "But everyone opposed it. Why? Where's the bipartisanship?" Before Cantor could respond, she added: "Are you afraid of being seen as obstructionist?"

7. Ann Curry Lofts Softballs to Bill Clinton on NBC's Today
NBC's Ann Curry traveled down to Texas to speak with former President Bill Clinton, on Monday's Today show, to talk to him about his Global Initiative but never asked Clinton about all the troubles his Initiative, and his foreign ties, caused and could potentially still cause his wife in her role as Secretary of State. Instead Curry asked Clinton mostly softball questions about how Barack Obama and Hillary are doing in their first few weeks: "Your wife is front and center as Secretary of State at a time when this world, this country is in a world of hurt. What's your faith in her?" When Clinton gave Obama, not surprisingly, a positive review Curry called it, "A major vote of confidence."

8. Flashback: In 2004, Donaldson Yucked It Up at 'DisHonors Awards'
After 41 years with ABC News, next week Sam Donaldson will retire from the network, though he will continue to appear monthly on This Week, the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz reported Monday. Often seen by conservatives as the embodiment of liberal media bias -- especially during the Reagan years -- Donaldson was an open-minded guy who respected conservatives and was willing to make fun of himself, so for many years he debated Bob Novak on liberal bias at CPAC and, in 2004, he appeared at the MRC's "DisHonors Awards." At our March 18, 2004 gala held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., as MRC President L. Brent Bozell III made closing remarks he was interrupted by Donaldson, who bound on stage in mock anger, railing at Bozell and the MRC for attacking the news media. Donaldson pledged, "I promise you that during this campaign we will treat both sides equally: the compassionate, intelligent liberals and you crazy, right wing kooks will get the same kind of treatment!"

9. Tickets Available for MRC's March 19 'DisHonors Awards' and Gala
Every year, we sell out. So don't procrastinate. One of the biggest and best conservative events -- the Media Research Center's annual gala -- is fast approaching. Join us for this year's gala featuring the "DisHonors Awards for the Worst Reporting of the Year" and the annual "William F. Buckley Award for Media Excellence," this year to be presented to Brit Hume. It will take place on Thursday evening, March 19th, at the Grand Hyatt Washington. The MRC gala is one of the most fun events of the year. Rush Limbaugh called it "a terrific show...a great, great, great assemblage of people....Everybody just had a blast!" Sean Hannity exclaimed: "I love this event!"

Giddy Over 'Presidential Whirlwind' &
'Remarkable' Cookie Photos

     Get Diane Sawyer together with George Stephanopoulos on World News and they can't contain their giddiness over President Obama. Back on Friday, January 23, when Sawyer last anchored, Stephanopoulos hailed Obama's first three days as "disciplined and strategic," thus enabling "sweeping change," while Sawyer gushed over "change...at warp speed." Monday night, Sawyer returned to the anchor chair and excitedly announced how "the trillion dollar week has begun" and so "finally," as if it's been too long of a wait, "the stimulus starts to flow." She soon heralded how "we embark on a week like no other in American economic history" with "a presidential whirlwind of spending against a recession."

     After a story from David Muir on the "dizzying and daunting amount of federal spending that President Obama will tackle this week," Sawyer brought Stephanopoulos aboard to admire what Sawyer described as a "scrapbook, if you will, of the President's journey on the road to the stimulus package." In other words, photos released by the White House. Nonetheless, she effused: "I want to show everybody at home, because there is the President, it's Super Bowl night, and he's serving cookies to congressional leadership in the White House screening room."

     The narration switched to an awed Stephanopoulos: "These are just remarkable, Diane. We've never really seen anything like this before in real time." Over a picture of Obama leaning back in a chair he oozed: "You see the President taking a little bit of a well-deserved rest right there." Sawyer matched Stephanopoulos' smile: "Yeah, I wonder how often they'll take that scrapbook out and look through those pictures."

     [This item, by Brent Baker, was posted Monday night, with video, on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

     Neither the CBS Evening News nor NBC Nightly News on Monday evening advanced the Obama administration's PR efforts by showing the official photos.

     The January 26 CyberAlert item, "After 3 Days, Obama Delivers 'Sweeping Change' at 'Warp Speed,'" recounted:

ABC and CBS on Friday night delivered glowing assessments of President Barack Obama's first three days in office, with ABC's George Stephanopoulos declaring "this first week was disciplined and strategic" enabling "sweeping change." Fill-in anchor Diane Sawyer pronounced: "Change the tone and change it at warp speed."...

Admiring how Obama's discipline is meant to demonstrate he's "moving on all fronts to bring change," Stephanopoulos trumpeted how on day one and day two he's used executive orders to bring "sweeping change to open government," "sweeping change in foreign policy" and "then day three, today, two promises kept."

     Complete rundown: www.mrc.org

     With "Trillion $ Week" as the on-screen graphic, Sawyer teased the Monday, February 16 World News: "Welcome to World News. Tonight, the trillion dollar week has begun. Finally, the stimulus starts to flow. Help for homeowners on the way. And car-makers coming back for more."

     She led the newscast: "Good evening and welcome. Tonight, we embark on a week like no other in American economic history. From money in your pocket to mortgages to car-makers. A presidential whirlwind of spending against a recession. And David Muir is here to lead us off."

     David Muir: "Diane, as you know, it is a dizzying and daunting amount of federal spending that President Obama will tackle this week. The economy, the auto industry and on housing and by week's end, he will have covered a trillion dollars in federal spending...."

     Following Muir:

     DIANE SAWYER: Let's turn now, because today they released some photos, a kind of scrapbook, if you will, of the President's journey on the road to the stimulus package. I want to show everybody at home, because there is the President, it's Super Bowl night, and he's serving cookies to congressional leadership in the White House screening room, George?
     GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: These are just remarkable, Diane. We've never really seen anything like this before in real time. There were Republicans and Democrats at that first meeting. That's when the President hoped to get a lot of Republican support for the plan. It wasn't meant to be. We're about to see a picture, I think, right there, of the President meeting with the Republican caucus. You see that stern look on his face. He wasn't going to be getting much support from Republicans. The package started to lose some altitude and the White House believes that they turned the corner on getting support for this package, the President went on the road, right there going to Indiana, with the Indiana congressional delegation, going public with that prime-time press conference earlier this week [actually last week]. In Florida with Florida Governor Charlie Crist. And that built up public support for the plan as the week went on.
     As we all know, by last Thursday, right there, Rahm Emanuel, the President's Chief of Staff, received word that a compromise has been reached and you see the President taking a little bit of a well-deserved rest right there.
     SAWYER: Yeah, I wonder how often they'll take that scrapbook out and look through those pictures.

Carl Bernstein Lauds Obama's 'Masterful'
Leadership

     Veteran Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein appeared on Monday's Morning Joe to highlight the "masterful" leadership of Barack Obama in passing a stimulus bill and also to laud Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her dedication to service. Challenged by MSNBC analyst Pat Buchanan over how much impact Hillary Clinton would actually have as Secretary of State, Bernstein, author of the Hillary bio "A Woman in Charge," enthused, "You know, she is somebody who really believes in service. Both Clintons do. Whatever cynicism we might have about the Clintons, she believes in service."

     He also asserted that celebrity is important on the world stage and cooed, "And nobody is more celebrated. Nobody is more famous than Hillary Clinton. Nobody can have more effect abroad." Earlier in the segment, the former Washington Post journalist applauded Barack Obama for passing his stimulus bill in a way that maneuvered around a "dysfunctional" Congress. "...The reason Barack Obama is showing such masterful -- and I think we can use that word -- leadership so far is that he's in the process of solving the problem of the U.S. Congress, the fact that it is a largely dysfunctional institution," he explained.

     [This item, by the MRC's Scott Whitlock, was posted Monday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

     Host Joe Scarborough discussed with Bernstein the issue of how difficult it is to get things done in Congress. The author turned the question around on Scarborough, a former House member, and praised journalism as the place to get things done: "Look, what do you like better? You like better being on the air here or do you like being in the United States Congress? You can really do something and affect the way people think on the air." Of course, one would have to make the point that, in regards to Obama, the President has a large majority in the Senate. So, how is it "masterful" to pass a bill in that environment?

     A partial transcript of the February 16 segment, which aired at 8:38am EST, follows:

     JOE SCARBOROUGH: Let's bring in right now Carl Bernstein. He is the author of "A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton." Carl, how do you think Hillary Clinton is going to fit in as secretary of state in the new Obama administration?
     CARL BERNSTEIN: Pretty well. She knows who the president of the United States is. And happily for her, she recognizes she's out of the United States Senate. I think the most significant thing that I can say about that shot [onscreen video of Hillary coming off the tarmac in Japan] is that both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama understood the futility of being a member of the United States Congress. Everything we have been hearing this morning on this broadcast indicates that the reason Barack Obama is showing such masterful -- and I think we can use that word -- leadership so far is that he's in the process of solving the problem of the U.S. Congress, the fact that it is a largely dysfunctional institution. That he's got to work around it to get this economic program moving and through. That it is just bedeviled by partisan gridlock. That it runs behind the real problems of the United States. And as his biggest task is to move the country and that's what he is doing and part of that is putting Hillary Clinton in that job. She didn't want to be a part of that institution anymore. John McCain didn't want to be a part of that institution anymore. 'Cause they all recognized it does not work.
     JOE SCARBOROUGH: Carl, you know, it wasn't so long ago that being a United States senator was the plumb job in Washington, D.C. Run every six years. It was called the world's most exclusive club. But, now like you said, I've heard that Barack Obama was tired of the institution after being there for a couple of weeks. Hillary Clinton couldn't stand it.
     BERNSTEIN: That's just the point.
     SCARBOROUGH: Judd Gregg was willing to become secretary- if you'd asked a senator 20 years ago to quit his Senate seat to be secretary of Commerce, he would have laughed. You talk to any governor who becomes a senator, they hate their life. Jeb Bush didn't want to run for United States Senate, despite the fact he can walk into the position. Why has that job been so degraded, apparently, over the past decade?
     BERNSTEIN: Because it no longer- Congress of the United States and -- I would turn to ask you the same question. Look, what do you like better? You like better being on the air here or do you like being in the United States Congress? You can really do something and affect the way people think on the air. You really can't do very much as one member of the United States Congress unless you learn something there that I don't know about.

     8:43am
     PAT BUCHANAN: All, right, Carl. Let me get back to you, the subject of your book, Hillary Clinton. She's is secretary of state. But, Holbrook has got the Afghanistan/Pakistan franchise. Mitchell has got Israel/Palestine. Geithner has got China. He's already knocking 'em for manipulating their currency. You hear, Dennis Ross may get Iran. The general sees the President everyday. Is she really going to be an architect to foreign policy or just a salesperson?
     BERNSTEIN: Neither. I think that the architect of foreign policy is going to be Barack Obama. I think that Jones is next to the President of the United States. He sits next to him in the offices of the National Security Council. I think that Hillary Clinton is his executive officer. And I think she is relishing the opportunity. You know, she is somebody who really believes in service. Both Clintons do. Whatever cynicism we might have about the Clintons, she believes in service. It is a great opportunity for her to serve the country. She is a very good- can be a very good executive officer. She gets a good grasp of these concepts. George Mitchell and Holbrook are terrific appointments in terms of terribly complex problems. They are going to report to her. It is not just about making foreign policy. It is about making it work. And I think she's- she is really in a position there to help make it work. And, also, look, part of diplomacy is working on the world stage. And it involves celebrity today. And nobody is more celebrated, nobody is more famous than Hillary Clinton, nobody can have more effect abroad. Just looking in Asia now, on this trip, on the attention she is getting, is quite remarkable.

WPost's King Scoffs Idea Reagan Had 'More
Substance than Obama'

     Washington Post columnist Colby King scoffed Friday at the notion former President Ronald Reagan brought more substance to the White House than does President Barack Obama as King also raised the Iran-Contra scandal as evidence of Reagan's mismanagement of foreign policy.

     On Inside Washington, a weekly show produced and aired over the weekend by Washington, DC's ABC affiliate, but first broadcast Friday night on the local PBS station, King contended: "This President connects with people." That prompted fill-in moderator Mark Shields to ask columnist Charles Krauthammer: "Is it Reagan-like in that sense?" Krauthammer cautioned: "Well, except that Reagan, I think, had a lot more substance and he had a lot more ideas-" Cutting Krauthammer off, a chortling King jeered: "More substance than Obama?!"

     Krauthammer held firm and then pointed out how Obama's "never managed a candy store, and the way he put together his cabinet shows that he's got a long way to go," so while "he's very fluid in his speech," on foreign affairs he's "extremely slow on delivery because he's extremely unsure." To which King -- the Post's deputy editorial page editor from 2000 to 2007 -- derisively interjected: "He's managed as well as Reagan with Iran-Contra."

     At that point, Shields jumped in to switch the topic to "A-Rod."

     [This item, by the MRC's Brent Baker newsbusters.org

     From Inside Washington, as aired Friday night, February 13, on WETA-TV, channel 26:

     COLBY KING: Obama, you talk about his style, I think this is where he has his real strength, his ability to communicate with people beyond that press office and beyond Washington. And he is going to do what he did this week, which is to go back into the people whenever he has a problem to tell them what he's up to and they're going to be with him. We are missing it here in Washington, the same way we missed what was going on in the campaign. This President connects with people. And you look at the polls and the polls show that. The support for him, his approval rating is up where the approval rating for the Republicans is down, and for the Democrats.
     MODERATOR MARK SHIELDS: Charles, is it Reagan-like in that sense?
     CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: Well, except that Reagan, I think, had a lot more substance and he had a lot more ideas-
     KING: More substance than Obama?!
     KRAUTHAMMER, OVER KING'S CHORTLING: Yes, he had political ideas, he had an ideology which he understood he thought about, written about for thirty years, that he wanted enacted. Obama is coming in, and if you ask people what does he want to do, it's not exactly clear. But I would agree with Colby's facts about how he's performed on the stump. The problem is he knows how to campaign, and we know that, and he went out and he campaigned on behalf of the stimulus and the numbers on the stimulus rose. So he can persuade people, but can he manage? He's never managed a candy store, and the way he put together his cabinet shows that he's got a long way to go. And I would agree he's very fluid in his speech. However, if you watched him on the issues of foreign affairs, he was extremely slow on delivery because he's extremely unsure.
     KING: He's managed as well as Reagan with Iran-Contra.

     Web site for Inside Washington: www.insidewashington.tv

     Washington Post bio and column archive for King: www.washingtonpost.com

NY Times Editor Keller Denies Reporters
Fell 'In Love' w/ Obama

     NBC's Today show invited, on Monday, New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller to promote a new book featuring photos from the campaign called, Obama: The Historic Journey, and in his interview with Keller, substitute anchor David Gregory actually asked if the book adds to the "criticism of the news media that we're somehow cheerleaders for Barack Obama," to which Keller admitted it was "a fair question," but denied any pro-Obama tilt: "As a rule, reporters don't fall in love with candidates. They fall in love with stories."

     However earlier in the segment, Keller called Obama "a rock star," and exposed the fact his own children "had their front door of their bedroom plastered with Hillary paraphernalia...and by the end, you know I think every kid in America was asking their parents when they could go have a play date with Sasha and Malia."

     [This item, by the MRC's Geoffrey Dickens, was posted Monday morning on the MRC's blog, Newsbusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

     The following exchange was aired during the 8:30am half hour of the February 16 edition of the Today show:

     DAVID GREGORY: You know it's interesting I thought it was President Bush who was so notable in saying, the day after Election Day, that this was "a great moment for America." That's what President Bush said. He said, "It's a historic moment and something to be celebrated." Yet at the same time, I don't have to tell you, we're all subject to it, there is that criticism of the news media that we're somehow cheerleaders for Barack Obama, and then there's a book like this. Does it add to that criticism?
     BILL KELLER: It's, it's a fair question? You know I think, as a rule, reporters don't fall in love with candidates. They fall in love with stories though. And this one, it was pretty clear from early on it was gonna be a remarkable story. It was, the stakes were so high. The electorate was so angry and anxious and polarized. And the range of candidates, there was no heir apparent. So it was clearly gonna be a wide open race. And then this guy emerges, you know from seemingly no where. Not a lot of experience. We did think about that. You know, towards the end of the campaign McCain kept saying the press is in the tank-
     GREGORY: Right.
     KELLER: -for Obama. Although a year earlier they had been saying the press was in the tank for McCain because he was such a popular figure. But we, we thought about that in doing this book and we made a point of including some of the stuff about his controversial pastor Reverend Wright. His association with a sixties radical, Bill Ayers. And, and, and, you know, and, and the questions about his experience. So it's not a tribute book. It's a, I hope a slice of history.

     Below is the complete transcript of the interview with Keller from Monday's Today show:

     DAVID GREGORY: Back now at 8:38 on this Presidents Day morning and the folks at the New York Times are out with a new book that traces President Obama's road to the White House. It is called Obama: The Historic Journey and there's a young readers edition as well. Bill Keller is the executive editor of the New York Times. Bill, good morning, good to see you.
     BILL KELLER, NEW YORK TIMES: Good, thanks for having me.
     GREGORY: There's some terrific pictures that we're gonna be showing here including this one, which my friend Doug Mills your great photographer down at the White House and photo editor took on Inauguration Day. What got this project started for you?
     KELLER: I think somebody looked out the window on the day after Inauguration Day, and realized that there were hundreds and hundreds of people lined up outside our building to buy copies of that day's newspaper, and they said, you know, "A-ha, there's a real hunger for-
     GREGORY: Right.
     KELLER: -for some-, for something to hang on, some way to hang on to this event."
     GREGORY: And you, you went, took the extra step of doing something for young readers, too. And you have so many young people who engaged in, in the history of the first African-American president as well.
     KELLER: Right, as you know, this was something of a children's crusade early on and even, even, before-
     GREGORY: Sure.
     KELLER: -you know it became Obama's nomination. I have two little girls who had their front door of their bedroom plastered with Hillary paraphernalia. And by the end, you know I think every kid in America was asking their parents when they could go have a play date with Sasha and Malia.
     GREGORY: Right, exactly. Now we're looking at some of the photos. So many candid photographs on, on the trail, capturing the Obama, both at campaign rallies like this and more personal moments. You know, whether it's a pose or a gesture or, a smile like this. It's also a reminder of just how long, incredibly long this campaign was.
     KELLER: It went on forever. One, one of the things that's really striking is in the early portions of the book there's some photos by Ozier Mohammed, of, of the stage of the campaign before he was a rock star and before he was drawing these stadium capacity crowds. The sort of intimate moments of him, you know, looking at his Blackberry or walking through a diner and not being recognized. And, or knocking on doors in Iowa. And just, you know, it's hard to remember back that far to when he was a sort of unknown.
     GREGORY: This is also different, too. There young kids now living in the White House and who were on the campaign trail, Sasha and Malia, you mentioned. And obviously your photographers captured a lot of those images as well, as, of this family out on the campaign trail together.
     KELLER: Yeah it was a question we actually thought about a lot, on Election Night. So, because one of your big choices is, "What's the page one picture?" You know is it the guy? And usually it's the guy. But on this occasion we went with the family because the, this is extraordinarily new thing to have an African-American First Family, and, and you know an appealing family that got a lot of people excited.
     GREGORY: Lot of great images as well, we look at then candidate Obama signing books, his autobiography. A lot of interesting pictures during that transition in that time with President Bush. This is a great bowling shot here. Now that he's the president, now things have changed. He has moved from some of the high of the, the history making part of coming into office. What's an incredibly difficult time to be President.
     KELLER: It's, it is an incredibly difficult time to be president and he's found that out already. One, one thing that's made it harder, I think, is you know we live in this accelerated news era, thanks to the Internet and 24 hour cable where not only do people expect the news instantaneously, they expect snap judgments of people. So, you know, whereas FDR got 100 days, you know this guy got 100 hours before people were saying, you know, the thumbs up or thumbs down on his whole presidency which I think is a little early for that, myself.
     GREGORY: You know it's interesting I thought it was President Bush who was so notable in saying, the day after Election Day, that this was "a great moment for America." That's what President Bush said. He said, "It's a historic moment and something to be celebrated." Yet at the same time, I don't have to tell you, we're all subject to it, there is that criticism of the news media that we're somehow cheerleaders for Barack Obama, and then there's a book like this. Does it add to that criticism?
     KELLER: It's, it's a fair question? You know I think, as a rule, reporters don't fall in love with candidates. They fall in love with stories though. And this one, it was pretty clear from early on it was gonna be a remarkable story. It was, the stakes were so high. The electorate was so angry and anxious and polarized. And the range of candidates, there was no heir apparent. So it was clearly gonna be a wide open race. And then this guy emerges, you know from seemingly no where. Not a lot of experience. We did think about that. You know, towards the end of the campaign McCain kept saying the press is in the tank-
     GREGORY: Right.
     KELLER: -for Obama. Although a year earlier they had been saying the press was in the tank for McCain because he was such a popular figure. But we, we thought about that in doing this book and we made a point of including some of the stuff about his controversial pastor Reverend Wright. His association with a sixties radical, Bill Ayers. And, and, and, you know, and, and the questions about his experience. So it's not a tribute book. It's a, I hope a slice of history.
     GREGORY: Okay. Bill Keller thank you very much. The book is Obama: The Historic Journey. Bill Keller thank you, once again.

Ifill & Carlson: Prosecute Bush Question
'Perfectly Reasonable'

     During a segment in the "Reliable Sources" hour of CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, PBS's Gwen Ifill and Bloomberg's Margaret Carlson agreed that it was fine for President Obama to call on Sam Stein of the Huffington Post at his first press conference, and that the correspondent's left-wing question on a proposed "truth committee" investigation into the Bush administration was "perfectly reasonable." Carlson also agreed with host Howard Kurtz's assessment that the "White House press corps not exactly rolling over for the new President." Her response: "Never do, do they?"

     Ifill and Carlson participated in a panel discussion with The Washington Times' White House correspondent Christina Bellantoni at the beginning of the 10 am Eastern hour of the CNN program. Kurtz brought up the topic of the first presidential news conference, and specifically, how Stein was one of the reporters who asked a question: "So is this a new era for bloggers, in terms of the White House recognition?"

     [This item, by Matthew Balan, was posted Monday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

     Carlson first joked that Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington had "popped the champagne and cheered, because this is what bloggers have been waiting for, and he got it." Ifill then interjected that Stein "had a perfectly reasonable question." Carlson agreed, and continued that "Huffington Post is as much a player in this last campaign, and now in this White House coverage, as anybody."

     Kurtz then mentioned how The Huffington Post correspondent "asked a question about a proposal on Capitol Hill to start a truth and reconciliation commission to look into Bush-era wrongdoing." Stein's full question: "Today, Senator Patrick Leahy announced that he wants to set up a truth and reconciliation committee to investigate the misdeeds of the Bush administration. He said that before you turn the page, you have to read the page first. Do you agree with such a proposal, and are you willing to rule out right here and now any prosecution of Bush administration officials?" Obviously, this was a question from the Left.

     Ifill then repeated her "reasonable" point: "I was interested to hear what the president had to say, which was not much, because it was off-topic, but it was perfectly reasonable to ask it. I would be a little crazier if it was a blogger who'd never covered anything, who just showed up and said, 'You know, I was -- woke up this morning, thinking that, you know, I have a hangnail, Mr. President. Can you help me with that?'"

     Bellantoni threw the "partisan card" in her take on the issue: "...[I]t would have been, maybe, a little bit more interesting if he had called on someone like, say, Salon, or a new media outlet that hadn't just thrown a major party celebrating the inauguration of Barack Obama."

     The CNN host followed-up on her point, and brought up how liberal talk show host Ed Schultz had also been present at the press conference. He asked if their had been criticism of Former President Bush if Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity had been present at one of his press conferences. Ifill agreed, while Carlson became defensive of The Huffington Post's legitimacy.

     KURTZ: Well, you raise an interesting point, because Huffington -- you know, a conservative blogger didn't get a question. Huffington Post was just filled for two years with pro-Obama columns, and also the liberal radio host Ed Schultz was seated in the front row. He did not get a question. So I heard some people ask, 'Well, what if George Bush had put Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity in front? Well, wouldn't there have been a lot of criticism?'
     IFILL: Yes. There would have been a lot of criticism, no question.
     CARLSON: The Huffington Post broke the story that stuck with Obama through the whole thing about the bitterness and the guns.
     BELLANTONI: They've done -- they've done great work. There's no question about that, and it's nice to have that many broad outlets. I mean, Ana Marie Cox was there for Air America, as well, and I think that there's -- it's good to have that many different types of people in the room. But you've got to call on them, too.
     KURTZ: I wonder if conservatives will feel shut out.

     Earlier in the segment, Kurtz played excerpts of reporters' questions from the press conference, and commented that the "White House press corps not exactly rolling over for the new president." Carlson's reply:

     CARLSON: Never do, do they? I can't remember a time, except after 9/11, the press rolled over, but they don't roll over for a new president, necessarily. What disappointed the press there, most of all, was that, unlike Bush, who gave short answers, and a lot of reporters got questions in, he gave tutorials. Those answers were long, and there were not as many questions in. So they have to adjust to a new standard.

     That's an interesting answer from Carlson, since she knows something about "rolling over." After the 1992 election, she sucked up to George Stephanopoulos, who was about to become Bill Clinton's communications director: "His too-good-to-be-true face looks out from a gallery of photos lining the wall of his parents' apartment....Critics think the soft-spoken Stephanopoulos has insufficient heft to speak for the President; yet this brooding, dark presence has a quiet authority. His power whisper makes people lean in to him, like plants reaching toward the sun."

     The above quote from Carlson was cited in the December 7, 1992 edition of Notable Quotables: www.mrc.org

CBS: 'Obstructionist' GOP Opposes Needed
'Large-Scale' Spending

     On Monday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez asked Republican Congressman Eric Cantor about President Obama's proposed housing bill: "Unlike the stimulus, will you urge your fellow Republicans in the House to support this?" When Cantor criticized the proposed bill and the passage of the "stimulus" bill, Rodriguez declared: "But Congressman, it's clear that Americans are begging for help with foreclosures. Corporations are begging for bailouts. Can the Republican Party accept that there are situations when large-scale government intervention is necessary?" Cantor began to explain that Republicans supported some aspects of the "stimulus," but Rodriguez quickly interrupted him: "But everyone opposed it. Why? Where's the bipartisanship?" Before Cantor could respond, she added: "Are you afraid of being seen as obstructionist?"

     [This item, by the MRC's Kyle Drennen, was posted Monday morning on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

     Cantor replied by describing the lack of "bipartisanship" of congressional Democrats: "And if you look at the bill that was put together, it was brought to the floor after a couple of hours having just been printed. No one -- not one member of the Senate, not one member of the House -- was able to read the bill. And I believe the public's got a right to know. So the fashion in which this plan was put together by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Leader Harry Reid was just unacceptable."

     Here is the full transcript of the February 16 segment:

     7:08AM SEGMENT:
     MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: Joining us now from Richmond, Virginia, is the Republican House Whip, Congressman Eric Cantor. Good morning, Congressman.
     ERIC CANTOR: Good morning, Maggie.
     RODRIGUEZ: Let's begin with the -- the President's housing bill, since we were just talking about it. Unlike the stimulus, will you urge your fellow Republicans in the House to support this?
     CANTOR: Well, Maggie, I think, first of all, when we're looking at the housing situation, we ought to all be aiming for the fact that Americans should have every opportunity to achieve the American dream and own a home. We should also do everything we can to make sure that those who are in their homes stay in their homes. But when you're looking at the policy here, you've got to start with the fact that 93% of America's families are current on their mortgages, and frankly are out there wondering, you know, who is going to pay for this continued succession of bailouts? Homeowners right now are suffering under skyrocketing property taxes. And if we put the bill for $50 billion plus on top of all the bills that families have right now, you may very well be set to encourage more foreclosures. So I'm hopeful that we can set up a plan, frankly, where lenders can modify mortgages according to some type of federal guarantee that allows buyers who qualify, that allow homeowners who qualify, to actually stay in their homes. We just cannot continue to pay for the kind of things that this administration thinks that we can. So I'm very concerned about the direction I see us going, but I know that this president has continued to say he wants to work with us, and I hope we can get it right. You know, we're on the heels right now of the almost $800 billion stimulus bill, not having any real knowledge of what's in that 1100-page bill and frankly working to make sure that the public's right to know is realized.
     RODRIGUEZ: But Congressman, it's clear that Americans are begging for help with foreclosures. Corporations are begging for bailouts. Can the Republican Party accept that there are situations when large-scale government intervention is necessary?
     CANTOR: You know, there's no question that the last stimulus bill that passed last week, the nearly $800 billion bill, had some programs in it that we support. I mean, listen, for infrastructure, projects that are ready to roll, that we can create jobs within the first 12 months-
     RODRIGUEZ: But everyone opposed it. Why? Where's the bipartisanship?
     CANTOR: Well-
     RODRIGUEZ: Are you afraid of being seen as obstructionist?
     CANTOR: No, listen. We -- we presented a plan that was smarter, that was simpler, where we applied the analysis of President Obama's economic folks themselves, which said -- this analysis said that our plan created twice as many jobs at half the cost. I mean, let's be realistic here. We've got trillions upon trillions of dollars adding to our deficit and our long-term debt now each and every month we proceed. At some point, I think the people of this country are beginning to understand who is going to pay for all of this? Money doesn't come out of anywhere -- of nowhere. And if you look at the bill that was put together, it was brought to the floor after a couple of hours having just been printed. No one -- not one member of the Senate, not one member of the House -- was able to read the bill. And I believe the public's got a right to know. So the fashion in which this plan was put together by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Leader Harry Reid was just unacceptable. You know, President Obama-
     RODRIGUEZ: Alright, Congressman, we have to leave it there. Eric Cantor, I'm sorry, we're out of time. Thank you for taking the time this morning.
     CANTOR: Thanks, Maggie.

Ann Curry Lofts Softballs to Bill Clinton
on NBC's Today

     NBC's Ann Curry traveled down to Texas to speak with former President Bill Clinton, on Monday's Today show, to talk to him about his Global Initiative but never asked Clinton about all the troubles his Initiative, and his foreign ties, caused and could potentially still cause his wife in her role as Secretary of State. Instead Curry asked Clinton mostly softball questions about how Barack Obama and Hillary are doing in their first few weeks: "Your wife is front and center as Secretary of State at a time when this world, this country is in a world of hurt. What's your faith in her?" When Clinton gave Obama, not surprisingly, a positive review Curry called it, "A major vote of confidence."

     ANN CURRY: How is President Obama doing on this greatest near-term crisis facing the United States, the economy?
     BILL CLINTON: I think he's off to a good start. I think he's got a good team. Given the fact that they had to do it in a hurry and he had to deal with Congress and the inevitable compromises I think he got quite a good bill out of this. This package that he's gonna sign is our bridge over troubled waters.
     CURRY: That's a major vote of confidence.

     [This item, by the MRC's Geoffrey Dickens, was posted Monday morning on the MRC's blog, Newsbusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

     The one time Curry got a little tough with Clinton was when she asked him about a Time article citing him as one of the 13 people to blame for the current economic crisis, which only served to allow Clinton to puff himself up and slam George W. Bush's record all at once as Clinton whined: "But let me ask you this, my question to them is, do any of them seriously believe that if I had been President and my economic team had been in place the last eight years, that this would be happening today? And I think they know the answer to that is, no."

     The following is the full interview as it aired on the February 16 Today show:

     DAVID GREGORY: Now to Today's exclusive one-on-one with Bill Clinton. With his wife embarking on her first overseas trip as Secretary of State, the former President spent the weekend in Texas at an event for the Clinton Global Initiative aimed at the world's college students. That's where Ann Curry caught up with him and she began by asking the former president about his take on the economy.

     ANN CURRY: Do you agree the greatest threat to the United States today is this global economic crisis, even more than terrorism, as we heard just a few days ago from the new head of national intelligence?
     BILL CLINTON: In the short term. In the medium term, because I think we'll come out of the economic crisis, terror and the spread of weapons of mass destruction are. In the long term, the prospect that the climate will crater and we won't be able to preserve civilization.
     CURRY: How is President Obama doing on this greatest near-term crisis facing the United States, the economy?
     CLINTON: I think he's off to a good start. I think he's got a good team. Given the fact that they had to do it in a hurry and he had to deal with Congress and the inevitable compromises I think he got quite a good bill out of this. This package that he's gonna sign is our bridge over troubled waters.
     CURRY: That's a major vote of confidence. When you saw him recently, did you give him any advice?
     CLINTON: I did, but I think it should remain private. I talked more about like the nuts and bolts of how the White House is set up and how decisions get made and make sure that things don't fall within the cracks and I hope I gave some good advice.
     (Clip of Clinton at a podium)
     CLINTON: Thank you!
     (End clip)
     CURRY: Exactly a year ago you were stumping from, for Hillary Clinton here in Texas, and you were criticized for some comments that you made about Obama during the primaries, but it hurt you. It hurt you based on your record, what they said about you in terms of-
     CLINTON: Well I didn't, I didn't like it, but I, but what I was stunned by is the way that much more about the way that media seemed to take it seriously, since it was obviously a political moment. But it's over, and the main thing is, none of us have time now to look back.
     CURRY: Your wife is front and center as Secretary of State at a time when this world, this country is in a world of hurt. What's your faith in her? Any advice for her?
     CLINTON: Oh I'm very proud of her. If I know something that I think is helpful to her, I share it but she knows more than I do about it now. And she's doing great. I'm very, very proud of her.
     CURRY: You know this week people are gonna be reading this article in Time magazine that lists you as number 13 as, on the list of who to blame for our current economic crisis in the United States. Should you be 13 on the list, is what I'm asking?
     CLINTON: Oh no! But let me ask you this, my question to them is, do any of them seriously believe that if I had been President and my economic team had been in place the last eight years, that this would be happening today? And I think they know the answer to that is, no.
     CURRY: Mr. President you spent the weekend speaking with young people about the global issues and specifically trying to help them engage in what they might be able to do to help, what are you hoping that these young people will take away?
     CLINTON: In the 21st century, it's got to be important for every citizen not just to be an active, informed voter but also to do some kind of citizen service and that's what we're trying to do here.
     CURRY: You know people are pretty down about the world today and yet you seem to, from these young people, feel a sense of optimism. Why is that?
     CLINTON: Well, first because they realize that in any difficult time, there are always seeds of opportunity. The most important thing I can do now at this point in my life, besides try to save as many lives as possible, is to try to empower other people.
     GREGORY: President Bill Clinton with Ann Curry.

Flashback: In 2004, Donaldson Yucked
It Up at 'DisHonors Awards'

     After 41 years with ABC News, next week Sam Donaldson will retire from the network, though he will continue to appear monthly on This Week, the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz reported Monday. Often seen by conservatives as the embodiment of liberal media bias -- especially during the Reagan years -- Donaldson was an open-minded guy who respected conservatives and was willing to make fun of himself, so for many years he debated Bob Novak on liberal bias at CPAC and, in 2004, he appeared at the MRC's "DisHonors Awards." See: www.mediaresearch.org

     At our March 18, 2004 gala held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., as MRC President L. Brent Bozell III made closing remarks he was interrupted by Donaldson, who bound on stage in mock anger, railing at Bozell and the MRC for attacking the news media. Donaldson pledged, "I promise you that during this campaign we will treat both sides equally: the compassionate, intelligent liberals and you crazy, right wing kooks will get the same kind of treatment!"

     He also insisted: "This Mark Halperin is going to be fired!" That was a reference to a "The Note" posting by Mark Halperin, then ABC's political director, who conceded that the Washington press corps holds liberal views on all the key issues separating President George W. Bush and Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, thus giving an advantage to Kerry and a disadvantage to Bush. Full excerpt in the February 12, 2004 MRC CyberAlert: www.mediaresearch.org

     [This item, by the MRC's Brent Baker, was posted Monday afternoon, with video, on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

     Donaldson ended with how he writes under the "pen name" of Charles Pierce. That was reference to the winner of the "Ozzy Osbourne Award (for the Wackiest Comment)," which went to the Boston Globe's Pierce Charles for a January 5, 2003 Boston Globe Magazine profile of Senator Ted Kennedy in which Pierce effused: "If she had lived, Mary Jo Kopechne would be 62 years old. Through his tireless work as a legislator, Edward Kennedy would have brought comfort to her in her old age."

     More about that profile and a longer quote in the January 13, 2003 MRC CyberAlert: www.mediaresearch.org

     Kurtz's February 16 article: www.washingtonpost.com

     Check item #9 below to learn how to attend this year's gala.

Tickets Available for MRC's March 19
'DisHonors Awards' and Gala

     Every year, we sell out. So don't procrastinate. One of the biggest and best conservative events -- the Media Research Center's annual gala -- is fast approaching. Join us for this year's gala featuring the "DisHonors Awards for the Worst Reporting of the Year" and the annual "William F. Buckley Award for Media Excellence," this year to be presented to Brit Hume.

     It will take place on Thursday evening, March 19th, at the Grand Hyatt Washington.

     The MRC gala is one of the most fun events of the year. Rush Limbaugh called it "a terrific show...a great, great, great assemblage of people....Everybody just had a blast!" Sean Hannity exclaimed: "I love this event!"

     The DisHonors Awards winners will be announced "Oscar-style," with videos played of each nominated hilariously-biased quote followed by surprise guests on hand to accept each award in jest on behalf of a media figure.

     Cal Thomas will serve as Master of Ceremonies with awards presented by Ann Coulter, Joe Scarborough and Ken Cribb. And, as always, we'll have a fantastic cast of conservatives joining us to roast of the liberal media. "Joe the Plumber" and Andrew Breitbart are amongst the many who have already confirmed.

     DisHonors Awards categories: "The Media's Messiah Award," "The Obamagasm Award" "Half-Baked Alaska Award for Pummeling Palin" and the "Dan Rather Memorial Award for the Stupidest Analysis."

     Plus, there'll be lots of funny video clips as we mock the media's infatuation with Barack Obama. It's sure to be an entertaining evening.

     Tickets for the Gala are $250 per person. If you are interested in joining us or for more information, e-mail Sara Bell at: sbell@mediaresearch.org

     Or call, 9 to 5:30 PM EST weekdays: (800) 672-1423.

     We have limited space and this event fills up quickly, so please make your reservation soon. The MRC has a reduced rate for the Grand Hyatt Washington, but the deadline to reserve your room is February 18. To book your room, please call the hotel at (800) 233-1234.

     We hope you can join us!

     Online page with information: www.mediaresearch.org

     For a look at all the fun at last year's event, with videos: www.mediaresearch.org

     DisHonors/Galas from earlier years: www.mediaresearch.org

-- Brent Baker

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