Tag Archives: primary-runoff

Obama’s Knowing ‘Whose Ass to Kick’ Pledge Continues to Delight TV Network Journalists

More than 24 hours after NBC’s Matt Lauer prompted him to say it in an interview, the morning programs all showcased it – and even after day-long playback on the cable channels – CBS and NBC on Tuesday night delighted in again highlighting President Barack Obama’s boast that he’s gathering information on the oil leak “so I know whose ass to kick.” Katie Couric put the soundbite, from a competitor, at the top of the CBS Evening News: “In a TV interview aired today, the President said if BP’s CEO worked for him, he’d be fired. And Mr. Obama defended his handling of the disaster.” NBC Nightly News provided a re-run. A day after anchor Brian Williams trumpeted as “just into us” the bite illustrating how Obama “showed some anger on the topic of his handling of this spill so far,” reporter Anne Thompson touted: “Criticized for not conveying his anger over the nation’s greatest environmental disaster, President Obama fired back during an exclusive interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer.” Earlier, from Geoff Dickens: “ NBC’s Lauer Prompted Obama’s Use of the ‘A’ Word ” From the start of the Tuesday, June 8 CBS Evening News: KATIE COURIC: Good evening, everyone. The President is heading back to the gulf coast, his fourth trip there since the oil rig exploded seven weeks ago today. It will be a two-day visit to once again see for himself what’s going on in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Meanwhile, here’s what we’re seeing tonight– fire on the water as BP burns off some of the leaking oil. And this video just released shows the power of the gushing crude before the well was capped. Government scientists confirmed today that plumes of oil are spreading far below the surface of the gulf and far away from that leaking well. In a TV interview aired today, the President said if BP’s CEO worked for him, he’d be fired. And Mr. Obama defended his handling of the disaster. PRESIDENT OBAMA: I don’t sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick. From the NBC Nightly News: ANNE THOMPSON: …Criticized for not conveying his anger over the nation’s greatest environmental disaster, President Obama fired back during an exclusive interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer. OBAMA: A month ago I was meeting with fishermen down there standing in the rain, talking about what a potential crisis this could be. And I don’t sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick. THOMPSON: The President expressed particular displeasure with BP’s CEO Tony Hayward, who said last week he wanted his life back. OBAMA: He wouldn’t be working for me after any of those statements.

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Obama’s Knowing ‘Whose Ass to Kick’ Pledge Continues to Delight TV Network Journalists

HuffPo Column is a Microcosm of the Liberal Mindset – EVERYTHING is Bush’s Fault

Huffington Post writer and author of poetry and fiction, Anis Shivani, demonstrated what we have seen in bits and pieces throughout the liberal MSM, though it is rarely seen in such dramatic and sweeping fashion.  Shivani harnessed all of the rational thought he could muster, gathered a bevy of intelligent rhetoric, armed himself with a cache of well-reasoned arguments and… quickly dispensed with them prior to writing his recent column .  The gist of the piece?  Every major catastrophe to hit America can be traced to one singular event – George Bush and the 2000 Presidential election results. No, seriously. Shivani starts off by listing examples of American catastrophes – 9/11, Enron, Katrina, Wall Street, the BP spill. He then explains (emphasis mine throughout): ” It all began with the Florida election theft in 2000 (all of the now-familiar excuses were first used in full force, in total conjugation, for this first disaster). It gave a signal to everyone managing and regulating and overseeing any kind of operation, public or private, that henceforth it was the day of the jackals , that accountability and honesty and certitude were out the door.” For good measure – and in tune with his liberal colleagues – the BP oil spill is singled out as being directly Bush’s fault: “In such an open culture of deceit, why do we expect BP not to cut corners, or to be afraid of being brought to account should its recklessness go awry? Nobody has been held responsible for the eight years of war crimes under the Bush administration. Everyone knows that you can get away with whatever you want , and if you mess up on your watch, it’s all right. You’re certainly not going to jail.” Never mind those pesky Transocean/Deepwater safety awards handed out by the Obama administration.  Certainly the only culpability lies with the previous administration. On a side note, if getting away with whatever you want caused these catastrophes, then William Jefferson has some ‘splainin’ to do. The liberal media have consistently blamed Bush for every one of the aforementioned disasters.  That trend has continued with the disaster in the Gulf, as the following list demonstrates: Frank Rich Blames Oil Spill on Bush, Cheney, Beck, Palin, Tea Party and Rand Paul Behar on Oil Spill: Bush-Cheney ‘Started It, And Now This Poor Guy Has to Mop It Up’ Huffington on ABC’s This Week: ‘Absolutely a Thousand Percent Bush-Cheney’s Fault’ Now however, the bar has been raised by explaining away every single American catastrophe as being caused by the 2000 election.  No mention of what caused the devastation in Haiti, the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, or the earthquake in Chile, but the people of those nations should seriously consider the effect of hanging chads on plate tectonics.  In the middle of the article, Shivani does exhibit a moment of clarity, finally criticizing the Obama administration for not stemming the flow of these disasters because – wait for it – they didn’t prosecute Bush administration officials for war crimes. “At no point has the circuit been broken. Obama, if he’d prosecuted officials in the previous administration for war crimes, would have slowed down the flow of disasters. How is BP connected to torture? In every way imaginable. Once this administration took charge, it refused to send any signals that those who committed crimes against the people would be brought to justice.” Hold on there Crazy McCrazypants.  Election results cause earthquakes?  Fighting a War on Terrorism and more specifically, waterboarding, causes oil spills?  I’ve heard it all now.  Next you’ll be telling me that excessive cleavage causes … well, nevermind. The best part about this piece is the end, where Shivani wraps it all up by hinting that any eventual disasters will also be Bush’s fault. “It is a huge, unmistakable signal that lawlessness is all right. It goes back to Florida, the original sin, it really does , and there’s no putting this Humpty Dumpty back together again…  These disasters are merely the exclamatory end points of this particular bloated empire. Get ready for the next ‘completely unprecedented,’ even larger one .” In the meantime, we’ll simply get ready for the next bout of Bush Derangement Syndrome from the Huffington Post.  – Send comments or tips to rustyweiss@verizon.net . Please join me on Facebook.

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HuffPo Column is a Microcosm of the Liberal Mindset – EVERYTHING is Bush’s Fault

Matthews On Ark. Dem Runoff: ‘Gets Back to the Old Days of the Democratic Party Trying to Make Sure There’s a White Candidate’

The more Chris Matthews is on live television within a 24-hour period, the likelihood of him saying something completely strange increases dramatically as each moment passes. On MSNBC’s June 8 special coverage of electoral primaries around the country, Matthews, the host of MSNBC’s “Hardball,” expressed his views on the Arkansas Democratic primary runoff, which incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln narrowly defeated Bill Halter . (h/t @francesmartel ) “The fact that this might be a close race tonight tells you that neither of the candidates has a mandate coming out of this,” Matthews said. “The idea of a runoff is to get a mandate.” However, Matthews admitted he wasn’t a fan of the runoff and suggested it had ulterior racial motives dating back to “the old days of the Democratic Party,” [emphasis added] “I don’t even like these run-offs, do you?” Matthews asked. “I don’t know why they have them. It gets back to the old days of the Democratic Party trying to make sure there’s a white candidate or whatever. I don’t know what the gizmo in this whole thing is. But why do they have to have run-offs? I guess it was back when they were a one-party state. They were all Democrats. They wanted to have someone with something like a mandate for the general. I don’t get it.”

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Matthews On Ark. Dem Runoff: ‘Gets Back to the Old Days of the Democratic Party Trying to Make Sure There’s a White Candidate’