1. Friendly Network TV Reception for Obama's Health Care 'Fix'
President Obama's health care summit at the White House played into receptive television news hands Thursday night as NBC displayed "Fixing Health Care" on screen before reporter Chuck Todd appropriated the coach who inspired "win one for the Gipper" by touting how "the President's drive to pass health care got a Knute Rockne-like boost with a surprise appearance" by Senator Ted Kennedy, while ABC's Dr. Tim Johnson, who on Sunday had decried as a "national shame" America's lack of universal health care, effused: "I was blown away by President Obama's grasp of the subject, how he connected the dots, how he answered the questions without any script." CBS's Chip Reid corroborated Obama's point about soaring costs by citing a business where "in 2005, it cost $75,000 to cover about 25 employees. In 2008, it cost $148,000," as if more government involvement to expand the number of people covered will lower costs. Reid also hailed Obama's fresh approach: "Instead of doing battle with insurance companies, drug companies, hospitals, and doctors, this time all those groups are in the room, most agreeing that now is the time for shared sacrifice."
2. Alter: GOP 'Party of Jell-O' for Not Standing Up to Limbaugh
During the 3:00PM EST hour on MSNBC on Thursday, anchor Norah O'Donnell teased an upcoming segment on Rush Limbaugh and the Republican Party: "Coming up, is the party of Lincoln in danger of becoming the party of jell-o? Why conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh could be a liability for the Grand Old Party." O'Donnell was referring to an Newsweek article by columnist Jonathan Alter and later spoke to him about it: "I want to read from your piece. You write, 'everyone knows he has jumped the shark culturally, becoming a black-shirted joke even as he dominates the headlines. But it's worse than that for Republicans, Limbaugh has taken the great GOP calling card -- toughness -- and shredded it. The party of Lincoln is in danger of becoming the party jell-o.' Explain further." Alter elaborated: "The great strength of the Republican Party for the last 75 years has been strength. The fact that they are a tough party and their rhetoric has been tough. They were tough against the New Deal. They were tough in a Cold War. They were tough on Monica Lewinsky. If you can't even stand-up to Rush Limbaugh, if the dittoheads come after you and you wilt and then apologize for perfectly legitimate criticism of a radio talk show broadcaster, how tough is that. You look wimpy, you look weak, you look whiney."
3. Shuster: GOP Members Who Don't Slam Rush 'Appear Unpatriotic'
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue host David Shuster on Wednesday stepped up his attacks on Rush Limbaugh and suggested that if congressional Republicans "align themselves with Rush's statements about wanting the President to fail, they appear unpatriotic." For the second day in a row, Shuster berated a conservative guest about the radio talk show host. He repeatedly encouraged former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer to disagree with Limbaugh and complained: "And, Ari, first of all, when Rush says that all Republicans want the President to fail, Limbaugh's wrong, right?" At one point, Shuster wondered why Republicans couldn't just denounce the "childish" comments by the radio host. He then seriously suggested that GOP members should say: "And we need to isolate Rush Limbaugh because we do have important issues to talk about." He challenged: "Ari, is it unpatriotic for somebody to say they hope the President fails?" After interrupting a responding Fleischer, he continued, "...Is it unpatriotic -- since patriotism was such a crucial theme in the run-up to the Iraq war in the way the Bush White House defended it -- is it unpatriotic to say that you hope the President fails?"
4. Ari Fleischer Zings MSNBC: Should Dems Denounce Keith Olbermann?
Former Bush White House press secretary Ari Fleischer appeared on the Thursday edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe and stopped the program cold when he challenged the hosts as to whether they were "going after Democrat members of Congress for why they aren't distancing themselves from Keith Olbermann?" Co-anchors Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, who had been discussing the battle between the White House and Rush Limbaugh, were silent for a moment before Brzezinski admitted, "That was a good one. We're all thinking."
5. Former NYT Reporter: 'Clown' Limbaugh a 'Sweaty, Swollen Man'
Liberal Times reporter turned liberal nytimes.com blogger Timothy Egan's latest rant against conservative radio giant Rush Limbaugh, "Fears of a Clown," was propped up on the front page of nytimes.com on Thursday for the delight of the paper's liberal audience. Eagan charged Limbaugh "has been transformed into car-wreck-quality spectacle, at once scary and sad."
6. Maddow on Leno: Limbaugh Should Back Socialism Once It's Enacted
Radical-left MSNBC host Rachel Maddow appeared Tuesday night on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and when the topic turned to Rush Limbaugh, Maddow insisted that it's one thing to oppose Obama's socialist agenda before it passes, but once it becomes law, Limbaugh should get behind it: "It is one thing to say, 'I hope that this guy's proposed policies don't pass. I hope those don't become the policies of our country.' But once they become the policies of the country, and they are designed to save us from this economic collapse, you ought to hope they succeed, unless you are hoping for your country to suffer worse in an economic collapse. I mean, actually rooting for the failure of your own federal government is pretty creepy." This was not Maddow's approach to the Iraq war.
Friendly Network TV Reception for Obama's
Health Care 'Fix'
President Obama's health care summit at the White House played into receptive television news hands Thursday night as NBC displayed "Fixing Health Care" on screen before reporter Chuck Todd appropriated the coach who inspired "win one for the Gipper" by touting how "the President's drive to pass health care got a Knute Rockne-like boost with a surprise appearance" by Senator Ted Kennedy, while ABC's Dr. Tim Johnson, who on Sunday had decried as a "national shame" America's lack of universal health care, effused: "I was blown away by President Obama's grasp of the subject, how he connected the dots, how he answered the questions without any script."
CBS's Chip Reid corroborated Obama's point about soaring costs by citing a business where "in 2005, it cost $75,000 to cover about 25 employees. In 2008, it cost $148,000," as if more government involvement to expand the number of people covered will lower costs. Reid also hailed Obama's fresh approach: "Instead of doing battle with insurance companies, drug companies, hospitals, and doctors, this time all those groups are in the room, most agreeing that now is the time for shared sacrifice."
[This item, by the MRC's Brent Baker, was posted Friday morning on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]
Unlike the reporters on ABC, CBS and NBC, FNC's Major Garrett, on Special Report with Bret Baier, caught an inaccurate claim made by Obama:
MAJOR GARRETT: In ten years, the healthcare tab could be 4.4 trillion dollars and 20 percent of GDP. And the President says there's a more immediate problem and it sounds alarming.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: The cost of health care now causes a bankruptcy in America every 30seconds.
GARRETT: But the White House could not provide a statistic to back this up. They pointed to a 2005 Washington Post column written by Harvard scholar Elizabeth Warren. In it, she said, quote: "Every 30 seconds in the United States, someone files for bankruptcy in the aftermath of a serious health problem." Serious health problem, not as the President said, the ordinary cost of health care. But Warren's data comes from a survey of bankruptcies in 2001, and it says 2.2 million Americans are "affected by bankruptcy," not filed for, but are "affected by." What's more, a Treasury Department survey in 2000, found medical costs were quote, "not a major factor" unquote in bankruptcies filed that year. A senior White House economist could not back up the President's bankruptcy every 30 seconds assertion.
CHRISTINA ROMER, COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS: I'm going to have to check the numbers for you. I think the important thing is the idea is absolutely true.
GARRETT: High health care costs do contribute to bankruptcies, accounting for about a third filed in 2006, but one every 30 seconds, not even close.
The March 2 CyberAlert item, "ABC: 'National Shame' Will Propel Obama's Health Plan to Victory," recounted:
"Ultimately," President Barack Obama will get his way on "universal" health coverage, because of "just one fact" ABC's Dr. Tim Johnson declared "I want to let everybody hear," and that is the "national shame" of how "we spend more than twice as much, per person, on health care in this country as the average of all other industrialized countries, yet we're the only one that doesn't have universal coverage."
Full rundown: www.mrc.org
From the Thursday, March 5 World News, after a story from Jake Tapper on the summit:
CHARLES GIBSON: Our medical editor, Dr. Tim Johnson, was one of those attending today's White House health care forum. And Tim, we don't yet know what the President's plans for health care reform might be, but he certainly did have everyone in the same tent today, those who support reform and the critics.
DR. TIM JOHNSON: Absolutely. Every special interest group and every politician who has a stake in this process was there. I have to tell you, Charlie, I was blown away by President Obama's grasp of the subject, how he connected the dots, how he answered the questions without any script. And I was in a breakout session with the head of the private health insurance industry that you just saw, and she was singing a very different tune. She said in that session, we have to make change, we have to earn a place at the table, we have to cut our administrative costs. A totally, totally different attitude than 15 years ago during the ads [Harry and Louise] we just saw.
GIBSON: All right, so it is a beginning. Dr. Tim, thank you.
The CBS Evening News coverage:
KATIE COURIC: President Obama says you can't fix the economy without fixing the health care system. And today, he brought dozens of experts to the East Room to talk about his prescription for change. Here our chief White House correspondent, Chip Reid.
CHIP REID: President Obama today boldly predicted quick success where so many before him have failed.
BARACK OBAMA: Our goal will be to enact comprehensive health care reform by the end of this year.
REID: It's not just about expanding coverage to America's 46 million uninsured, he said. It's a matter of economic survival.
OBAMA: By a wide margin, the biggest threat to our nation's balance sheet is the skyrocketing cost of health care. It's not even close.
REID: In 2008, national spending on health care totaled $2.4 trillion. Over the next decade, costs are expected to explode at about 6 percent a year with total spending soaring to $4.4 trillion in 2018.
OBAMA: If we don't tackle health care, then we're going to break the bank.
REID: Just ask Michael Anderson, owner of wagon work body shop in Northern Virginia.
REID TO ANDERSON: You treat this business like it's a family.
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely.
REID: In 2005, it cost $75,000 to cover about 25 employees. In 2008, it cost $148,000. Anderson says he had no choice but to ask them to shoulder must have more of the cost.
REID TO ANDERSON: What was it like for you to have to go to these guys and say, "hey, I can't afford to cover you?"
ANDERSON: It was very, very painful.
REID: He's worried the policy makers at the White House just six miles away don't get it.
ANDERSON: They're kind of living in their ivory tower and I think they need to get out and speak to the common person.
REID: The President said that's precisely why he invited people representing all side of the health care debate, including ordinary Americans. He says he learned the lessons of the health care reform failure of 15 years ago when then First Lady Hillary Clinton worked behind doors and put together a plan full of mandates.
OBAMA: If somebody has insurance they like, they should be able to keep that insurance.
REID: Instead of doing battle with insurance companies, drug companies, hospitals, and doctors, this time all those groups are in the room, most agreeing that now is the time for shared sacrifice.
OBAMA: To Sir Edward Kennedy.
REID: Senator Ted Kennedy, who's has led the battle for health care reform for years and is himself battling brain cancer, received a royal welcome.
TED KENNEDY: This time we will not fail. Thank you very much.
REID: Even so, the President made clear that everyone is going to have to share the pain.
OBAMA: That's right, I'm talking to you liberal bleeding hearts out there. Don't think that we can solve this problem without tackling costs.
REID: Republicans gave the President a bit of a pass today. Their criticism was quite gentle, but here at the White House they don't expect that to continue.
With "Fixing Health Care" on screen, the NBC Nightly News story:
BRIAN WILLIAMS: President Obama focused today on overhauling the nation's health care system. He held a health care summit at the White House. He basically filled a room with experts on the subject. It was highlighted by a dramatic appearance today and NBC's Chuck Todd has that story at the White House for us tonight. Chuck, good evening.
CHUCK TODD: Good evening, Brian. Health care reform is something that has bedeviled Presidents on both sides of the aisle. And today, President Obama kicked off his effort to do it by holding that health care summit right here on the grounds today. President Obama began his effort to reform the massive and complicated health care system, tying it to the economic crisis.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: It's one of the greatest threats not just to the well-being of our families and the prosperity of our businesses, but to the very foundation of our economy. And that's the exploding costs of health care in America today.
TODD: Drawing on a lesson from Hillary Clinton's failed attempt to deal with health care in the early '90s, which was criticized for its secrecy, President Obama opened up the process, inviting doctors, patients, business and labor leaders, even live streaming discussion groups on a new Web site, healthreform.gov. The President emphasized he wants to get this done by the end of the year before 2010 campaign politics get in the way.
WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY ROBERT GIBBS: In even-numbered years there's a bit of a silly season here in terms of getting things done. I think everyone would recognize that.
TODD: Every Democratic President since Harry Truman has vowed to tackle health care in a comprehensive way and somehow fallen short. Mr. Obama said he recognizes the challenge.
OBAMA: Nothing is harder in politics than doing something now that costs money, in order to gain benefits 20 years from now.
TODD: The President closed the health care summit by taking questions from the attendees, many of whom underscored the need for compromise.
SENATOR: To do this in a confident way-
CONGRESSMAN HENRY WAXMAN: We don't get everything we want-
WOMAN: All of us have to be willing to kind of give a little.
TODD: Even the head of the industry group that made the famous Harry and Louise TV ads-
TV AD: This was covered under our old plan.
TODD: -which torpedoed Clinton's reform effort, pledged cooperation.
WOMAN: We have to earn a seat at the table.
TODD: Finally, the President's drive to pass health care got a Knute Rockne-like boost with a surprise appearance.
OBAMA: To Sir Edward Kennedy.
TED KENNEDY: I'm looking forward to being a foot soldier in this undertaking. And this time, we will not fail. Thank you very much.
Alter: GOP 'Party of Jell-O' for Not
Standing Up to Limbaugh
During the 3:00PM EST hour on MSNBC on Thursday, anchor Norah O'Donnell teased an upcoming segment on Rush Limbaugh and the Republican Party: "Coming up, is the party of Lincoln in danger of becoming the party of jell-o? Why conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh could be a liability for the Grand Old Party." O'Donnell was referring to an Newsweek article by columnist Jonathan Alter and later spoke to him about it: "I want to read from your piece. You write, 'everyone knows he has jumped the shark culturally, becoming a black-shirted joke even as he dominates the headlines. But it's worse than that for Republicans, Limbaugh has taken the great GOP calling card -- toughness -- and shredded it. The party of Lincoln is in danger of becoming the party jell-o.' Explain further." Alter elaborated: "The great strength of the Republican Party for the last 75 years has been strength. The fact that they are a tough party and their rhetoric has been tough. They were tough against the New Deal. They were tough in a Cold War. They were tough on Monica Lewinsky. If you can't even stand-up to Rush Limbaugh, if the dittoheads come after you and you wilt and then apologize for perfectly legitimate criticism of a radio talk show broadcaster, how tough is that. You look wimpy, you look weak, you look whiney."
Alter's March 4 Newsweek "Web exclusive" article: www.newsweek.com
[This item, by the MRC's Kyle Drennen, was posted Thursday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]
Later, O'Donnell brought up an appearance by Newt Gingrich on Thursday's Today: "And he essentially turned his fire on Rahm Emanuel, President Obama's chief of staff, essentially comparing him to Nixon's chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman. What is with this demonizing of Rahm?" Alter defended Emanuel: "I -- you know, I think it was a perfectly fine thing for Rahm Emanuel to do...So I don't have any problem with Emanuel using that lever. It was -- it was a big fat one over the plate, so to speak, a real winner for the Democrats to go after Rush Limbaugh and obviously, the Republicans are stung." Alter added: "...to compare him to H.R. Haldeman, which is -- it's kind of lame, you know, to compare a guy who was convicted of crimes to the chief of staff at this juncture in an administration." Apparently it's still early to call Rahm Emanuel a criminal, but maybe in a few years.
Here is the full transcript of the March 5 segment:
3:38PM EST TEASE:
NORAH O'DONNELL: Coming up, is the party of Lincoln in danger of becoming the party of jell-o? Why conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh could be a liability for the Grand Old Party.
3:43PM SEGMENT:
NORAH O'DONNELL: Back to politics now, because it has been a busy day here in Washington. The chairman of the Republican Party says the GOP needs to go into rehab. That's right. As conservative radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh continue their verbal jabs at the White House, Michael Steele says he's trying to put his party in a position to offer positive solutions.
MICHAEL STEELE: I'm putting the party on a 12-step program of recovery. And this is going to take some time. It's going to take some effort. But we're prepared to move forward and to state the case, make the case to the American people that we've got something to offer. We're not the party that's just here to say no. We're not the party to be, you know, in opposition just for the sake of being in opposition.
O'DONNELL: Jonathan Alter is a senior editor and columnist for Newsweek as well as an NBC News analyst, he writes about this in Newsweek this week. Jonathan, good to see you.
JONATHAN ALTER: Hi, Norah.
O'DONNELL: I want to get to your article in just a minute and show of the -- what you wrote, because it's great stuff. But what about that latest sound bite from an interview that Steele did with WBAL radio, where he says he's going to put the party in a 12-step program, it's going to rehab?
ALTER: Sounds good to me. You know, the whole country's in recovery now, right. That 12-step idea, that could be the Obama plan for economic recovery. We're a nation of therapeutic thinkers and clearly the Republican Party is at a nadir and they need to kind of start over again and come up with some new ideas. So it's good that their chairman is thinking that way. I certainly believe in a strong two-party system.
O'DONNELL: I want to read from your piece. You write, 'everyone knows he has jumped the shark culturally, becoming a black-shirted joke even as he dominates the headlines. But it's worse than that for Republicans, Limbaugh has taken the great GOP calling card -- toughness -- and shredded it. The party of Lincoln is in danger of becoming the party jell-o.' Explain further.
ALTER: Okay. Norah, the great strength of the Republican Party for the last 75 years has been strength. The fact that they are a tough party and their rhetoric has been tough. They were tough against the New Deal. They were tough in a Cold War. They were tough on Monica Lewinsky. If you can't even stand-up to Rush Limbaugh, if the dittoheads come after you and you wilt and then apologize for perfectly legitimate criticism of a radio talk show broadcaster, how tough is that. You look wimpy, you look weak, you look whiney, you look all the things that they used to say about Democrats. So this has been the great strength of Republicans and they are squandering it by not being able to stand up to Rush Limbaugh.
O'DONNELL: I want to get your take on another thing, Jonathan, because I don't know if you got the chance to see Newt Gingrich on the Today show this morning, and he was asked about the state of the Republican Party. And he essentially turned his fire on Rahm Emanuel, President Obama's chief of staff, essentially comparing him to Nixon's chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman. What is with this demonizing of Rahm? And was it a wise idea for the chief of staff to play the role of political operative and first sort of launch that salvo about Rush Limbaugh being the head of the Republican Party?
ALTER: I -- you know, I think it was a perfectly fine thing for Rahm Emanuel to do. The chief of staff is a very political position. Even for all the talk of bipartisanship, staying above the fray, that's something the President needs to do. But forever, Norah, it doesn't matter who's president, his chief of staff, his people, will be political. So I don't have any problem with Emanuel using that lever. It was -- it was a big fat one over the plate, so to speak, a real winner for the Democrats to go after Rush Limbaugh and obviously, the Republicans are stung. So Newt Gingrich is trying to compare him to H.R. Haldeman, which is -- it's kind of lame, you know, to compare a guy who was convicted of crimes to the chief of staff at this juncture in an administration.
O'DONNELL: Jonathan Alter with Newsweek, there for the health care summit. Jonathan, good to talk to you, thanks so much.
ALTER: Thanks, Norah.
Shuster: GOP Members Who Don't Slam Rush
'Appear Unpatriotic'
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue host David Shuster on Wednesday stepped up his attacks on Rush Limbaugh and suggested that if congressional Republicans "align themselves with Rush's statements about wanting the President to fail, they appear unpatriotic." For the second day in a row, Shuster berated a conservative guest about the radio talk show host. He repeatedly encouraged former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer to disagree with Limbaugh and complained: "And, Ari, first of all, when Rush says that all Republicans want the President to fail, Limbaugh's wrong, right?"
At one point, Shuster wondered why Republicans couldn't just denounce the "childish" comments by the radio host. He then seriously suggested that GOP members should say: "And we need to isolate Rush Limbaugh because we do have important issues to talk about." Later in the segment, the MSNBC anchor reiterated his assertion that Republicans might be unpatriotic. He challenged: "Ari, is it unpatriotic for somebody to say they hope the President fails?" After interrupting a responding Fleischer, he continued, "...Is it unpatriotic -- since patriotism was such a crucial theme in the run-up to the Iraq war in the way the Bush White House defended it -- is it unpatriotic to say that you hope the President fails?"
[This item, by the MRC's Scott Whitlock, was posted Thursday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]
A calm Fleischer retorted: "David, I think it's the very nature of our system that people can believe that policies are not going to work. And you should stand on principles if you don't think the policies will work, you should say that."
On Tuesday's program, Shuster talked with Republican Congressman Ron Paul and repeatedly asked the same question: "How can we have that argument [about other issues], when even you, Ron Paul, are not willing to take this opportunity to say when Rush Limbaugh says that every Republican wants President Obama to fail, Rush Limbaugh is wrong?" See a March 5 CyberAlert posting for more: www.mrc.org
A transcript of the March 4 segment, which aired at 6:05pm EST, follows:
DAVID SHUSTER: As Jonathan pointed out, the White House and its allies have been happy to crown the controversial Limbaugh as king of the Republican Party and quick to call attention to the GOP leaders who kowtow to him. Clearly, many congressional Republicans are now in a tough spot. If they align themselves with Rush's statements about wanting the President to fail, they appear unpatriotic. But, if they criticize Limbaugh, they may face the wrath of the conservative base that listens to Rush. Joining us now to talk about this is Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary to President Bush. And, Ari, first of all, when Rush says that all Republicans want the President to fail, Limbaugh's wrong, right?
ARI FLEISCHER: Well, David, I think this entire issue is nothing but ridiculous. You know, I'm reminded of a president who at his inaugural address said the follow: "We have come to proclaim an end to the recriminations that have strangled our politics." He cited scripture and he said the time has come to set aside childish things. Well, Barack Obama's chief of staff is acting childish and so is everybody else in the Democrat Party who is picking this ridiculous fight at a time when they should be worried about fixing the economy.
SHUSTER: What about Rush Limbaugh, Ari? I mean, But, isn't the easiest way for Republicans to move beyond this is to say-
FLEISCHER: Rush Limbaugh was not elected- Rush Limbaugh was not elected to anything. The President was. And it was the very President who said put aside the childishness. What I think is happening here-
SHUSTER: Then, why are so many Republicans already kowtowing to him? Why did the Republican Party chair feel the need to apologize after first criticizing- why do so many Republicans this week- they have not been able to bring themselves to say, of course, Rush Limbaugh is wrong when he says they want the President to fail. What is it so difficult?
FLEISCHER: It's not the issue and I don't think Republicans should take the bait and talk about whatever Rush Limbaugh has said. Rush Limbaugh is a conservative radio host, a very popular one and I like him. But the issue is the behavior of the President of the United States and his staff. Which Barack Obama is it? Is it the post-partisan Obama? Or the Obama who sends his chief of staff out to act childish? This is the problem Barack Obama has. And he is acting more as a petty partisan instead of a president. This is the issue. These are our leaders. The economy is melting. It's been two weeks and we haven't even gotten the specifics of his banking proposal. Instead, he's reliving the moments, the worst moments of the campaign when we dealt with lipstick on a pig. Is this what Barack Obama wants his presidency to be about?
SHUSTER: Ari, you know politics- Ari, you know politics. You- I mean, wouldn't you acknowledge from a pure political play, that this is the wise White House strategy because you're marginalizing Republicans, you're painting the entire Republican Party, your opposition, painting them as being like Rush limbaugh?
FLEISCHER: This is just as foolish as it was when everybody got into a fuss about lipstick on a pig during the campaign. America is sick of this type of petty politics, and it was started by Barack Obama That's what I cannot get over. He is so different now than the Barack Obama he promised in the inaugural.
SHUSTER: Wait a second, Ari- Ari, wasn't it started by the Bush administration? I mean, I seem to recall during the Bush administration when Republicans had legitimate concerns and complaints about the direction of the war, there was a straw man set up involving General Petraeus. And that straw man was MoveOn.org and you played a pretty crucial role about trying to portray all Democrats as being unpatriotic and against General Petraeus as opposed to being against the strategy.
FLEISCHER: Well, my point was it was the Barack Obama administration that began this whole nonsense about Rush Limbaugh, which is what I thought you wanted to talk about. But, there's always room for differ [sic] with people involved in politics. But, coming from the President? The President's chief of staff to allege a radio host is the leader of the Republican Party? This is the petty nonsense that I don't think anybody expected from a Barack Obama. This is childish.
SHUSTER: Fair point. But, Ari, if it's nonsense and if it's childish, wasn't it nonsense and childish started by Rush Limbaugh?
FLEISCHER: Well, Rush Limbaugh didn't give an inaugural address promising to be somebody different. Rush Limbaugh, like the liberal hosts-
SHUSTER: Aww, come on, Ari! He's got 20 million listeners a day. He's got more power of the conservative listeners than anybody in this country.
FLEISCHER: David- The wings of both parties are entirely entitled to have vociferous voices represent each. That's why they're called wings. And Rush does a great job at it. The President of the United States, though? He's the one in 2004 who said there's not a red America or a blue America, there's one America. But then he doesn't act like it. He is trying to stir up-
SHUSTER: Then, why can't Republicans, Ari, say the same thing? Why can't Republicans say, "You know what, this is childish, ridiculous, Rush Limbaugh is wrong when he says Republicans want the president to fail. And we need to isolate Rush Limbaugh because we do have important issues to talk about?"
FLEISCHER: Because, then, they would be chasing the same childish game that Rahm Emanuel started. And I think it's to Republicans' credit if they have the discipline not to take the question and not to chase the issue. This is about Barack Obama and the manner and style, the tactics he's choosing to govern. Because, he held himself out as something very different and he's being just like all the rest of the politicians in Washington of both parties who came before him. But, that's not what people expected. How can you give an inaugural address saying to move beyond the childish things and let his chief of staff engage in the very childish things?
SHUSTER: Ari, is it unpatriotic for somebody to say they hope the President fails?
FLEISCHER: Patriotic? You know, I think-
SHUSTER: Is it unpatriotic if they say- is it unpatriotic- since patriotism was such a crucial theme in the run-up to the Iraq war in the way the Bush White House defended it- is it unpatriotic to say that you hope the President fails?
FLEISCHER: David, I think it's the very nature of our system that people can believe that policies are not going to work. And you should stand on principles if you don't think the policies will work, you should say that.
SHUSTER: Right, but they can also believe whether it's patriotic or unpatriotic.
FLEISCHER: It doesn't have anything to do with patriotism to say that. I don't think raising taxes and going on a spending spree is going to help the economy.
SHUSTER: But, it was unpatriotic, therefore, to criticize the surge in Iraq and to somehow issue some criticism with the surge and take issue with General Petraeus. That was unpatriotic, but it's not unpatriotic for Rush Limbaugh to say that it's okay for the President to fail.
FLEISCHER: No, what I think you're confusing here is MoveOn.org- What I think you're trying to throw into a Rush Limbaugh/Barack Obama conversation is an ad that Moveon put on that called General Petraeus General Betray Us. Now, they took their lumps for that as they should have taken their lumps for that.
SHUSTER: Right. An ad that Democrats- Here's the difference, Ari. Democrats roundly criticized MoveOn for that ad. I don't think you can find more than one or two Republicans this week who have criticized Rush Limbaugh. I hope the Republicans hope President Obama fails. That's the difference.
FLEISCHER: Well, I think what you're misleading in the statement, Republicans in philosophy believe the president's policies are not going to succeed. But, I can tell you, I want my 201K to be a 401K again. I want the economy to get going.
SHUSTER: It's fine to argue, it's fine to argue- It's fine to argue you think the President's policies are going to fail. It's a different matter when you say you hope the President fails. In any case, Ari, always great sparring with you.
Ari Fleischer Zings MSNBC: Should Dems
Denounce Keith Olbermann?
Former Bush White House press secretary Ari Fleischer appeared on the Thursday edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe and stopped the program cold when he challenged the hosts as to whether they were "going after Democrat members of Congress for why they aren't distancing themselves from Keith Olbermann?" Co-anchors Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, who had been discussing the battle between the White House and Rush Limbaugh, were silent for a moment before Brzezinski admitted, "That was a good one. We're all thinking."
Fleischer pressed: "That's my point. It's a one-sided debate because, largely, the press loves it because the press doesn't like Rush." The quip occurred after Brzezinski attempted to trap Fleischer into saying that he would be following the tactics of attacking the radio host, were he in the same situation as the Obama White House. After Fleischer's jibe, Scarborough started sipping from his coffee and attempted to toss the potential network hot potato over to the show's other guest, Mike Barnicle. Scarborough joked: "I'm going to have a -- I can't talk right now because I'm drinking. Mike?" A few seconds later, however, the token MSNBC conservative did admit: "No, that was good."
[This item, by the MRC's Scott Whitlock, was posted Thursday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]
A transcript of the March 5 segment, which aired at 8:04am EST, follows:
JOE SCARBOROUGH: All right, let's bring in right now former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. Ari, thank you so much for being with us.
ARI FLEISCHER: Good morning.
SCARBOROUGH: A lot of people don't realize Ari not only was the spokesman for the Bush White House, he also is running PR for Michael Steele, at least over the past two weeks.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Good. He can explain what's going on there.
SCARBOROUGH: You're doing a helluva job, Ari. What's going on there?
FLEISCHER: Good morning. It's great to be on your show where you make things up.
SCARBOROUGH: Well, we find it easier than reading newspapers. No, let's talk seriously about Michael Steele. What would you instruct the leader of the RNC to do at this point?
FLEISCHER: Frankly, I think the RNC, Michael Steele, should not have taken the bait on this whole issue. They fell into a silly political trap. But what I find most distressing though, Joe, is didn't President Obama say he wanted to change the way politics was done in Washington, be post-partisan. He talked at the inaugural address about not engaging in childish things and his Chief of Staff engages in one of the biggest childish things imaginable. This whole food fight over Rush Limbaugh is a distraction from the economy from health care and the things he should be working on. It just makes me think Barack Obama is like every other politician who just seeks political advantage.
SCARBOROUGH: While he was making that statement, you did have Carville and their teams doing polls on trying to find the most unpopular person-
BRZEZINSKI: Well-
SCARBOROUGH: Hold on. They found Rush Limbaugh. They said, you should target him. If that's not political gamesmanship, if that's not politics the way Washington's run for the past generation, I don't know what is.
FLEISCHER: Joe, listen to this. Here's what Barack Obama said in his inaugural address. We've come to proclaim the end of petty grievances, the recriminations that have strangled our politics. He cited scripture, and then he said, the time has come to set aside childish things and then his staff engages in those very things that his inaugural address talked about. You know, Barack Obama has huge popularity, but I think he is planting the seeds which could hurt him down the road if he really is no different from anybody else. And that's what I think this episode shows.
SCARBOROUGH: And, you know, Mike Barnicle, that makes me sad, I'm like the Indian that has the tear coming out the corner of his eye.
BRZEZINSKI: Oh, god.
SCARBOROUGH: I believed he would be different.
BRZEZINSKI: It was Ari. It was Ari.
MIKE BARNICLE: Ari, you can't seriously believe -- do you seriously believe that Obama and his staff, including Rahm Emanuel, what do you figure they're spending, two, three, four minutes a day on Rush Limbaugh? I mean, come on.
FLEISCHER: You know, Mike, how it works, you plant the bomb and you see where it goes off. But isn't that what he said he would stop in Washington? 2004 he said there's not a red America, there's not a blue America, there's a United States of America. My point is, what he is doing and what people on the cable shows have all picked up on, is exactly what people get weary of Washington for. And it's what every politician does. He wanted to be different, and I think he's squandering that chance to truly be different, especially to Republicans who question his policies, but really thought he might be a different type of leader. That's the big problem I have with all of this. This is -- this reminds me a lot of the lipstick on a pig issue during the campaign raised against Barack Obama. It's foolish, who needs to get into that?
BRZEZINSKI: Ari, if you were standing at that podium, would you have not taken the opportunity to do what they are doing with Rush Limbaugh?
SCARBOROUGH: Let's say Michael Moore.
FLEISCHER: You have to be careful when you stand at that podium, you don't realize until you're in that unique job how much weight your words have. When you previously as a Senator's press secretary or a party secretary, press secretary, could dismiss or take a slap at a political opponent, when you do it from the White House, you're bringing the weight of the government onto that private person. So, you really have to be careful about it and do it with some grace. Going after Rush Limbaugh, it's just -- to me it's the usual nonsense.
BRZEZINSKI: They're not going after him, they were just labeling him as the leader of the Republican Party and saying --
SCARBOROUGH: They targeted him, Mika.
FLEISCHER: It's gamesmanship.
BRZEZINSKI: I'm saying you wouldn't have pointed that out?
FLEISCHER: It's gamesmanship, what difference does it make? Are you going after Democrat members of Congress for why they aren't distancing themselves from Keith Olbermann?
BRZEZINSKI: That was a good one. We're all thinking.
FLEISCHER: That's my point. That's my point. It's a one-sided debate because largely the press loves it because the press doesn't like Rush.
SCARBOROUGH: I'm going to have a -- I can't talk right now because I'm drinking. Mike?
BRZEZINSKI: Mike Barnicle?
BARNICLE: I have to ask you, Ari, because you were really good when you were standing at the podium.
SCARBOROUGH: No, that was good.
BARNICLE: But did you have to soak your face in cement this morning to come out and say all of this with a straight face. I mean, come on!
FLEISCHER: You are so part of how Washington's always worked and this is why people give up.
BARNICLE: [Laughing] Me? What?
BRZEZINSKI: Barnicle?
FLEISCHER: You guys love this story. You love what Barack Obama and Rahm Emanuel are doing because it gives the left an excuse -- not you, Joe -- to go after people like Rush and conservatives and like they did to Newt. But don't you realize, this is why so many people in America tune out Washington? Especially at a time when we got so many bigger issues. Yeah, Mike, it's two or three minutes a day, that's all it took for them to plant the seeds of destruction they wanted to plant.
Former NYT Reporter: 'Clown' Limbaugh
a 'Sweaty, Swollen Man'
Liberal Times reporter turned liberal nytimes.com blogger Timothy Egan's latest rant against conservative radio giant Rush Limbaugh, "Fears of a Clown," was propped up on the front page of nytimes.com on Thursday for the delight of the paper's liberal audience. Eagan charged Limbaugh "has been transformed into car-wreck-quality spectacle, at once scary and sad."
(In February of 2008, Egan called Limbaugh "talk radio's leading gasbag." See: www.timeswatch.org )
This Thursday, after lamenting about the ubiquity of Limbaugh on the radio, he piled onto the White House-driven bash-Rush bandwagon, focusing on Limbaugh's speech to the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which was broadcast live on FNC, CNN and C-SPAN.
[This item, by Clay Waters, was posted Thursday on the MRC's TimesWatch site: www.timeswatch.org ]
An excerpt:
As someone who spends a lot of time on the road, I used to find Limbaugh to be an obnoxious but entertaining companion, his eruptions more reliable than Old Faithful. But now that Limbaugh has become something else -- the face of the Republican Party, by a White House that has played him brilliantly -- he has been transformed into car-wreck-quality spectacle, at once scary and sad.
Behold:
The sweaty, swollen man in the black, half-buttoned shirt who ranted for nearly 90 minutes Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference. He reiterated his desire to see the president of his country fail. He misstated the Constitution's intent while accusing President Obama of "bastardizing" the document. He made fun of one man's service in Vietnam, to laughter.
SUSPEND Excerpt
That "man" would be Sen. John Kerry, who ran for president against Bush in 2004. Why Egan didn't utter Kerry's name is a mystery, except perhaps to avoid getting into Kerry's exaggeration of his heroism during the war, not to mention his outright untruths (Christmas in Cambodia?), as exposed by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
RESUME Excerpt:
Race is an obsession with Limbaugh, one of the threads I noticed on those long drives on country roads.
When Colin Powell endorsed Obama during the campaign, Limbaugh said it was entirely because of race. After the election, Powell said the way for the party, which has been his home, to regain its footing was to say the Republican Party must stop "shouting at the world."
In 2003, Limbaugh said quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because the media wanted a black to succeed. Over the next six years, McNabb threw for nearly 150 touchdowns and went to a Super Bowl.
And Limbaugh launched the current battle when he said of Obama: "We are being told that...we have to bend over, grab the ankles, bend over forward, backward, whichever, because his father was black, because this is the first black president."
SUSPEND Excerpt
Then Egan launched some sly comparisons of Limbaugh to Joe McCarthy, all the more contemptible for being evasive:
For Democrats, this is all going to plan. It was James Carville and associates who first cooked up associating Limbaugh with the opposition, as Politico reported. Then on Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said Limbaugh was the "voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party."
Limbaugh played his role, ever the fool. A brave Republican could have challenged him, could have had a "have you no shame" moment with him, giving the party some other identity, some spine. Instead, they caved -- from Steele, to the leaders in the House, Eric Cantor and Mike Pence, to Gov. Bobby Jindal, who would be ridiculed by Limbaugh for his real first name, Piyush, were he a Democrat.
You could almost hear their teeth clattering in fear of the all-powerful talk radio wacko, the denier of global warming, the man who said Bill Clinton's economic policies would fail just before an unprecedented run of prosperity.
But Limbaugh has a fear of his own. If people see him purely as an "entertainer," as Steele suggested, he will be exposed for what he is: a clown with a very large audience.
END of Excerpt
Egan's March 4 at 10 PM EST blog posting: egan.blogs.nytimes.com
Maddow on Leno: Limbaugh Should Back
Socialism Once It's Enacted
Radical-left MSNBC host Rachel Maddow appeared Tuesday night on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and when the topic turned to Rush Limbaugh, Maddow insisted that it's one thing to oppose Obama's socialist agenda before it passes, but once it becomes law, Limbaugh should get behind it: "It is one thing to say, 'I hope that this guy's proposed policies don't pass. I hope those don't become the policies of our country.' But once they become the policies of the country, and they are designed to save us from this economic collapse, you ought to hope they succeed, unless you are hoping for your country to suffer worse in an economic collapse. I mean, actually rooting for the failure of your own federal government is pretty creepy."
[This item, by the MRC's Tim Graham, was posted Thursday on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]
This was not Maddow's approach to the Iraq war. After discussing the Obama recovery plans and the ongoing outrage over Bernard Madoff, Leno turned to Limbaugh:
JAY LENO: Okay. Now, Rush Limbaugh is in the news. This whole thing. And this, publicity, he's got to be loving this.
MADDOW: Oh, yeah.
LENO: Yeah, obviously. I'm watching him and Michael Steele. He says he wants Obama's policies to fail. Does this actually help Obama? Does it make -- does it turn moderates and people who are sort of on the fence?
MADDOW: Well, it's -- it's good news for people who want the Republican Party to fail at its efforts to get back into power. Because now with Rush Limbaugh saying that, every republican politician in the country, you can ask them, "Do you agree with Rush Limbaugh that you want the president to fail, or do you disagree?" Imagine being a Republican right now in that position. [Adopting silly voice] "No, I think Rush is wrong-"
LENO: Jay: To be fair, did Rush say he wants Obama to fail or he doesn't believe in his policy? I mean, it is America, and do you have the right to say, "I don't like his policies, I want them to fail."
MADDOW: He has said that he wants the president to fail. That's the way he put it.
LENO: Okay, all right.
MADDOW: It is one thing to say, "I hope that this guy's proposed policies don't pass. I hope those don't become the policies of our country." But once they become the policies of the country, and they are designed to save us from this economic collapse-
LENO: Right.
MADDOW: You ought to hope they succeed, unless you are hoping for your country to suffer worse in an economic collapse. I mean, actually rooting for the failure of your own federal government is pretty creepy.
LENO: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Especially wearing the black shirt and the whole deal. It looks a little creepy. Have you ever met him?
MADDOW: No, no. I don't think he'd want to meet me. I don't know. No. I mean -- it's great publicity for him. Right now, the Republican Party doesn't have any recognizable leaders, and so they've turned to a radio talk show host. And as a person who comes from the radio talk show world, he's got to be psyched. If I were a Republican, I would not be psyched.
Never root for your government to fail? This is not the approach Maddow took to the Iraq war: that she opposed it, but it became government policy, so she rooted for it to succeed. Take Maddow on Countdown with Keith Olbermann on September 13, 2007. She expects Limbaugh to support Obama, but she wasn't going to root for President Bush: "There's almost nothing weirder than hearing George Bush, of all people, warn ominously about people who want to topple Iraq's government. It's like getting a lecture on the evils of prostitution from David Vitter. It was so, such a weird way to start the speech, and I think it was kind of a harbinger of a lot of weird assertions by him." More in the September 14, 2007 CyberAlert: www.mrc.org
At the end of the Tonight show interview, as Leno discussed health care, he said a friend of his crashed his motorcycle and broke his arm and it cost $26,000. This inspired Maddow to denounce the American health care system as not just bad, but "stupid and embarrassing":
"It would be one thing if we spent this much money on health care and we all lived to be 300. That in America, yeah, sure, we spend a ridiculous amount of money on health care, but we are the healthiest, fittest longest living people in the world. But instead we're not. 15% of country doesn't have health insurance. We've got -- not great health outcomes. We -- you know, as a sedentary person, I don't want to say it, but we're not in the best shape, and so we pay a lot of money for something that's not very good. Which means it's not just a bad health care system, it's a a stupid and embarrassing health care system. And it ought to work better for what we're paying for it."
-- Brent Baker
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