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Janeane Garofalo’s a Racist Redneck: Expresses Disappointment With Obama

Posted on June 26, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

If Janeane Garofalo says something bad about the Obama administration, does that mean she’s a racist redneck? After all, she’s been telling people almost since Inauguration Day that anyone that disagrees with this president does so because of the color of his skin. So when she told the A.V. Club Friday, “There are so many things in the Obama administration to be sick over that certainly didn’t change” and “I was surprised how disappointing the Obama administration has turned out to be,” there has to be a racist element in play, right? Not surprising to folks that have followed the career of this shameless left-wing activist, this wasn’t the only glaring hypocrisy in this interview (h/t Big Hollywood):  AVC: You gave an interview several years back, deep in the heart of the Bush administration, where you said that the reason that you didn’t do stand-up as much then was that you didn’t find anything funny anymore. So can we assume that you’re ready to laugh again? JG: Yeah, there was so much stuff that broke my heart during the Bush years that I honestly could not do stand-up without going down one of those tangents and getting very strident. But also I was working at Air America five nights a week, so it was very difficult to do stand-up, because I wasn’t leaving Air America until 11 p.m. So there was that. Now, granted, there are still as many heartbreaking things going on. There are so many things in the Obama administration to be sick over that certainly didn’t change. And also our media, if it’s possible, seems to be getting even worse. The alleged news media. And then there are the teabag racists adding insult to injury. But I don’t have that same heartbreak anymore, because it’s not fresh heartbreak anymore. It’s like I’m used to it. I’m sure we all are just used to it. I have to say I was surprised how disappointing the Obama administration has turned out to be. That did take me by surprise. Readers should recall what Garofalo said about folks expressing their displeasure with the Obama administration in April 2009: Which, let’s be very honest about what this is about. It’s not about bashing Democrats, it’s not about taxes, they have no idea what the Boston tea party was about, they don’t know their history at all. This is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up. So, when white conservatives express their displeasure with the Obama administration, it’s “racism straight up.” But when she does it, not so much. Not seeing the hypocrisy, Garofalo moments later reiterated her position about Tea Party members:  AVC: You did spend last year as a very visible target of right-wing hate because of that comment you made about teabaggers. JG: But I don’t know if it’s on anybody’s mind. It’s on the teabagger-type mind, but I don’t know if it’s on normal people’s minds. Does that make sense? The teabagger thing and the right-wing thing-they pick easy targets, and a female in the entertainment industry is low-hanging fruit. It’s very easy to mock and marginalize people in general who are in the entertainment industry, for some reason. But then definitely there’s the double standard and the misogyny that goes through it as well. They’ve got no problem with Will Ferrell or Alec Baldwin or Viggo Mortensen, but they tend to take issue when a female says something. It’s just an easier person to bully. And they just love making mountains out of molehills. It’s just a fact. If you don’t recognize the racist element in the teabag movement, you’re either dishonest, or you’ve never seen the teabag movement, or heard of it, or been acquainted with it in any way. Ah, so the reason folks on the right go after her is because they’re misogynists. Let’s add up the paranoia at play: when conservatives attack Obama, they’re racists; when they attack her, they’re sexists. Honestly, this is a woman in SERIOUS need of psycho-therapy. Regardless, let’s address her misogyny theory, shall we? Garofalo claimed the right-wing has no problem with Alec Baldwin. Maybe she ought to check our Alec Baldwin page to get a clue, as he’s been the subject of almost twenty reports since NewsBusters’ inception. We’ve also done pieces about Will Ferrell’s stupidity.  As for Viggo Mortensen, if he’s said anything you feel we need to address, Janeane, please feel free to send it to our tips line. But I digress:  AVC: You’ve also been called out by name and invited to tea parties by people like Deroy Murdock and other African-Americans within the Tea Party-people who probably don’t know you from anything else-ostensibly just so they can prove to you that there are minorities involved, so therefore they aren’t racists. JG: But not really. They’ve put that out on their side. They have never really invited me. They claim that they have, but they really haven’t. And having said that, I would never go. They will always say, “I invited so and so, and she declined,” when they’ve never gotten in touch with me. [Laughs.] But then also, a lot of the things they say I say, I’ve never said. They just make things up whole cloth. Really? You were never invited? Well, Garofalo appears to be conveniently forgetting that she was invited to attend the Dallas Tea Party’s gathering on July 4, 2009. They even put the invitation on YouTube: Did they make this up? Certainly not. Garofalo just refused to show up! Too bad, because as the following answer demonstrated, this woman doesn’t know anything about the movement she regularly disparages:  AVC: Last year, Lou Dobbs accused you of being hypocritical for encouraging people to protest during Bush’s administration, but then dismissing the Tea Party protests. How would you say the situations are different? JG: First of all, Lou Dobbs is ridiculous. Secondly, there was plenty to protest for the Bush administration. Protesting the color of a man’s skin is not a worthy protest. That’s what the teabaggers are about. The first Tea Party protest was scheduled for Inauguration Day. So what were they upset about? Which part of the job he was doing before he even did it were they upset about? Secondly, if they claim to be upset with government corruption, government takeover, crazy spending, where were they from 2000 to 2008? The first Tea Party protest was scheduled for Inauguration Day? Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the Tea Party’s roots go back to Florida in 1983.  According to Wikipedia, there were Tax Day protests associated with the Tea Party throughout the ’90s.  Furthermore, the modern iteration of this movement is tied to Ron Paul’s presidential campaign when a fundraiser in December 2007 was set up to commemorate the 235th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.  As for Garofalo’s claim that there was a Tea Party event the day Obama was inaugurated, Wikipedia lists the first such gathering in 2009 happened on February 10 in Fort Myers, Florida. As with just about everything this comedian says, whether intended or not, it’s typically a joke not to be taken at all seriously. 

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Ben Hoffman and Cat Woman: infoMania Tech Report Extra

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Ben Hoffman isn't interested in interviewing the usual suspects. Instead he's asking the tough questions of Cat Woman, a dude dressed as War Machine, and something called a Chaos Space Machine. Plus booth babes and other unidentifiable attendees at this year's E3. To see more from Ben's trip to E3, watch infoMania Tech Report: http://current.com/shows/infomania/92497104_tech-report-e3.htm The infoMania Tech Report is a weekly segment where technology guru Ben Hoffman takes a look at the newest tech products, gadgets and video games. It has been called “the funniest tech show on the web.” (No source for that quote is available at this time. In fact, there's a good chance it was made up.) For more Ben visit http://current.com/techreport/ and Current TV. infoMania is a half-hour satirical news show that airs on Current TV. The show puts a comedic spin on the 24-hour chaos and information overload brought about by the constant bombardment of the media. Hosted by Conor Knighton and co-starring Brett Erlich, Ben Hoffman, Bryan Safi, Sergio Cilli and Erin Gibson, the show airs on Thursdays at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific Times and can be found online at http://current.com/infomania/ or on Current TV. added by: Ben_Hoffman

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Jerry Seinfeld: Lady Gaga Should Apologize To Met Fans

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘Then I’m willing to forget the whole thing,’ the comedian says, hinting end to feud might be close. By James Montgomery Jerry Seinfeld Photo: Ray Tamarra/ Getty Images Jerry Seinfeld took to the broadcast booth during Wednesday night’s game between his beloved New York Mets and the Detroit Tigers, delivering four-and-a-half innings of play-by-play and, in the process, continuing his rather amazing feud with Lady Gaga. Earlier this week, Seinfeld called Gaga “a jerk” , after she flipped the bird at photographers during a June 10 Mets home game. The comedian also took issue with team staff at Citi Field for ushering the pop star into his empty private box seats. “You give people the finger and you get upgraded? Is that the world we’re living in now?” Seinfeld admonished on New York’s WFAN radio. “This woman is a jerk. I hate her. I can’t believe they put her in my box, which I paid for.” During a lull in the action during Wednesday night’s game, Seinfeld addressed the incident again, joking that he might not exactly get Gaga’s antics, but as a Met fan, he felt insulted by her actions. “It’s fair to say that we’re all big fans of Lady Gaga — lame, out-of-it white guys in their mid-50s is her core audience,” he laughed. “But I’m very protective of my Met fans. I love my Met fans and I did not like … the finger. It was disrespectful. “She should make a nice apology to the Met fans,” Seinfeld continued. “Come on. We had her as a guest and … then I’m willing to forget the whole thing.” During his time in the booth, Seinfeld was asked by SNY analyst Keith Hernandez — the Mets great and onetime “Seinfeld” guest star has been friendly for year with the comic — about the condition of his box seats, following Gaga’s impromptu visit. “They didn’t trash it?” Hernandez asked. “No,” Seinfeld said. “We brought the bedbug dog in, Rusty, what’s his name? The beagle. And it’s all clean.” Seinfeld was, of course, referring to Roscoe, the star of a series of bizarrely compelling commercials for the Bell Environmental Services company that are routinely shown throughout New York and New Jersey. At another point in the broadcast, SNY’s Gary Cohen needled Seinfeld about Gaga getting his box seats, asking how she could’ve been upset at anyone with seats that good. “We don’t understand the kids today and the music business,” Seinfeld joked. “Maybe, you know, I’m sure we’ll all be bigger fans now that she’s cursed us out.” Should Gaga apologize to New York Mets fans, as Seinfeld suggests? Tell us what you think in the comments! Related Artists Lady Gaga

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Al Gore Won’t Be Charged in Alleged Sexual Assault; Mistress Describes V.P.’s Nasty Moves Anyway

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

An Oregon massage therapist’s claim of “unwanted sexual contact” by former Vice President Al Gore has been dismissed by authorities, citing lack of evidence. The Multnomah County District Attorney’s office said it would not pursue the Al Gore sexual assault claim, but not before the police report was leaked online. The woman originally claimed Gore “moaned, groaned and moved” like a “crazed sex poodle” and delivered a “come hither” stare … you may vomit on cue. The alleged victim told detectives Gore attempted a “big tongue kiss,” “caressed” her “back and buttocks and breasts” and “shoved” her hand … you know. Gore, who recently split from wife Tipper after 40 years of marriage, fed her chocolate and attempted to coerce her to the bedroom to listen to a Pink song. The National Enquirer broke the story of the woman’s alleged Al Gore sex attack, which she reported four years ago and police revisited last year. He was not charged. But police, for reasons unknown, investigated the case further in 2009. According to the masseuse, it began as Gore booked a massage, saying “Call me Al.” On her arrival at Portland’s up-market Hotel Lucia, Al stretched out his arms to wrap her into an embrace before purposefully dimming the lights, she said. “It was apparent from the beginning he had been drinking,” she claimed. “The hug went on a bit too long and I was a bit taken aback by it. If it weren’t Al Gore I would have seriously questioned the situation right there.” In police documents, which identify “Mr. Stone aka Gore, Al” as the person of interest, the woman claims Gore said he wanted his inner thigh worked on. “I was taught that a massage of the adductors could cause an involuntary erection,” she said, later, for some reason, adding, “I even voted for him in the last election, although in truth I was more accurately voting against Bush.” She said, “When I began doing the requested abdominal area he became vocal with muffled moans, etc. He began demanding that I go lower and massaging on the abdominal area. I was shocked. He further insisted and acted angry.” Describing herself as a Licensed Massage Therapist, the woman said she “went into much deeper shock as it appeared he was demanding sexual favors.” The woman recounted a harrowning story of Gore progressing from moaning loudly during a massage, to launching a crazed attack, before breaking it off. He lured her into the bedroom where he threw himself on top of her, it was also alleged: “He was moaning, groaning, moving in a very suggestive way.” When the session was over, the woman said she left the room to wash her hands. But Gore came over and “caressed my back, and buttocks and breasts.” She said, “I squirmed to try to get out of his grasp telling him to stop.” She told the former V.P. that he was a “crazy sex poodle,” to which he giggled. “He then forced an open mouth kiss on me. I pushed back and said, ‘Stop it. You’re being way too frisky.’ I was distressed and shocked and terrified.” She managed to throw Gore off her body, she claimed, until he grabbed her hand and then started singing along to Pink’s song “Dear Mr. President.” She then asked him, “Just how long where you whacked out after the election? “He replied ‘six-and-a-half years so far,’ just giggling his head off.” As Gore, who has also been accused of having an affair with Laurie David , kept trying to have sex with her, the woman says she responded as such: “I told him he would just have to take matters into his own hands.” Not to be denied, the ex-Veep “pleaded, grabbed me… tongue kissed me… rubbed himself against my crotch saying, ‘You know you want to do it.’” She claimed she managed to break away from Gore and leave the hotel, and at home “took a long, long warm shower and brushed my teeth for a long time to get out the Grand Marnier and Al Gore’s tongue and germs out of my mouth.” In a moment Bill Clinton could probably sympathize with, the woman said she also noticed stains on the front of her pants, at which point “I wondered if it was soap or bodily fluids from Gore pushing up against me repeatedly,” she said. Those pants were saved in a bank safe deposit box, along with a chocolate bar with his fingerprints as evidence, she says. But her story is full of holes. She also described why she didn’t run out the room, claiming she was scared that if she did she would be shot or tased by the politician’s security detail. However, when Detective Cheryl Daul, of Portland Police, questioned the masseuse, she later admitted she saw no security in or near the hotel suite. The woman told investigators she did not want to make money from this, but the National Enquirer says she is trying to sell the story for $1 million. The interview transcript revealed police appeared to trip her up when asking about payment, after she claimed Gore reached for a pocket to pay her. When the police persisted in this line of questioning, the woman realized that in the version of the story she had just told, Gore was in a bathrobe. The case was not pursued “because detectives concluded there was insufficient evidence to support the allegation. Gore has not yet commented.

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Jerry Seinfeld Calls Lady Gaga A ‘Jerk’ After Mets Game Behavior

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Gaga took refuge from paparazzi in Seinfeld’s private box at Citi Field. By Mawuse Ziegbe Jerry Seinfeld Photo: Getty Images Jerry Seinfeld is calling out Lady Gaga for her crude conduct at a New York Mets game after the diva took refuge from paparazzi in his private box at Citi Field. Gaga stirred up headlines when she appeared at the June 10 baseball game in a befuddling outfit (a white coat draped over a black bikini) and held court from her front-row seat. When fans and photogs noticed her presence, they began snapping shots of the pop star. Gaga was not in a pic-taking mood, however, and started giving the flashbulbs the finger and moved to a private box to escape the attention. Turns out, the box belongs to Seinfeld. “You give people the finger and you get upgraded? Is that the world we’re living in now?” Seinfeld sounded off in an interview with WFAN radio, the New York Post reports. “This woman is a jerk. I hate her. I can’t believe they put her in my box, which I paid for.” Seinfeld also added that he didn’t know that the pop star usurped his box until he showed up later on for a night game. “I don’t know what these young people think or how they promote their careers,” said Seinfeld, slamming the diva’s rowdy antics. “I’m not one of these all-publicity-is-good people. People talk about ‘You need exposure’ — you could die of exposure.” While she hasn’t responded to Seinfeld’s scolding just yet, Gaga did take to her Twitter page a day after the public got wind of her rambunctious behavior. “A middle finger is more New York than a corporate ambush. I bleed for my hometown, and I’d die for my fans.” What do you think of Seinfeld’s harsh words toward Gaga? Let us know in the comments. Related Artists Jerry Seinfeld Lady Gaga

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Weird News: Times Square Naked Cowboy vs Naked Cowgirl Showdown | Snark Food

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

A popular New York Times Square performer known as The Naked Cowboy is facing off against another performer who styles herself The Naked Cowgirl, claiming the woman is stealing his act. added by: GossipandGab

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Fat Joe Denies Sexual-Assault Claims

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Rapper’s lawyer says woman making claims ‘posed as a fan’ and then made ‘false allegations.’ By Gil Kaufman Fat Joe Photo: Carlos Marino/ Getty Images A lawyer for rapper Fat Joe vehemently denied allegations by a Wisconsin woman who claimed she was a victim of sexual assault in the MC’s limousine on Sunday night. “Rapper Joseph Cartagena, known as Fat Joe, members of his entourage and security staff were briefly questioned by members of the Madison, Wisconsin, Police Department who were investigating false allegations made by a woman who initially posed as a fan and later claimed to be the victim of an assault after demanding money,” Joe’s lawyer, Dawn Florio, wrote in a statement, which was called “Groupie Pretender Targets Rapper for Shakedown.” The statement continues, “At no point did Mr. Cartagena or any member of his entourage assault or have any improper contact with the woman. It is truly unfortunate that false allegations such as these cause the public to doubt the claims of actual victims of sexual assaults.” Police are still investigating the claims made by an unnamed local 33-year-old woman who called police around 12:46 a.m. Monday to report the alleged incident. Joe was in town on Sunday night to perform a gig at the Orpheum Theater. The woman claimed that after the concert, she was invited to ride in the rapper’s Cadillac limousine with his entourage on the way to their hotel, according to an incident report from the Madison PD. She claimed that she was inappropriately touched while riding in the limo. Joe was detained for questioning, along with other unidentified members of his crew, but was not arrested, and he was released early Monday morning. No arrests have been made so far in the incident, and the investigation is ongoing. A spokesperson for the Madison Police Department said the alleged victim was scheduled to be interviewed a second time by police on Tuesday (June 22) but that no other information was available on the case at press time. Related Artists Fat Joe

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While Networks Ignore Obama Golf Outing, CNN Humorist Gets Story Right

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

CNN correspondent Jeanne Moos has a penchant for quirky, off-beat reporting, but what happens when the eccentric newswoman gives a more accurate picture of important events than the serious journalists? While media outlets relentlessly denounced BP CEO Tony Hayward for taking Saturday off to participate in a yacht race, they mostly glossed over or completely ignored President Barack Obama’s Saturday golf outing with Vice President Joe Biden. It was left to CNN’s resident humorist to connect the dots. “It’s the yachting versus golf smack down, round one,” declared Moos. “BP’s CEO gets pummeled for taking a day off to watch his yacht race…CBS White House correspondent Mark Knoller says already President Obama has played 39 rounds of golf, compared to the 24 George Bush played his entire presidency.” Moos’s evenhanded coverage of Obama’s and Hayward’s weekend misadventures contrasted markedly with reports filed by network news correspondents. ABC’s Sharyn Alfonsi covered the outrage surrounding Hayward’s yachting, but ignored criticism of Obama’s golfing. CBS anchor Charles Osgood parroted White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s derision of Hayward, but failed to present an Obama critic. The grown-up journalists might have selfishly ignored Obama’s 39th round of golf since taking office, but as Moos reported, at least the children shared both sides of the story. “My mom doesn’t take breaks like every two months,” proclaimed one child. “You don’t really need to take a break every two months to go see a yacht race.” “President Obama? I’m not sure he should actually be golfing right now,” argued another. The transcript of the segment can be found below: CNN American Morning 6/22/10 6:54 a.m. KIRAN CHETRY, co-host: 54 Minutes past the hour. Time now for the most news in the morning with Jeanne. BP’s CEO did manage to find cleaner waters over the weekend and many said it was a major PR fail for the company. JOHN ROBERTS, co-host: But many critics are saying that the president can’t say anything about it until he puts down the golf clubs. Here’s Jeanne. JEANNE MOOS, CNN correspondent: It’s the yachting versus golf smack down, round one. BP’s CEO gets pummeled for taking a day off to watch his yacht race. JOY BEHAR, co-host of “The View”: How dare he just take off. Sen. RICHARD SHELBY (R-Ala): The height of stupidity. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: How do you spell fool? MOOS: But before you could spell it – BP’s CEO – President Obama’s golfing came under attack. DANA PERINO, former George W. Bush press secretary: Almost five hours on the golf course with Biden. ELIZABETH HASSELBECK, co-host of “The View”: And it shouldn’t have been eight times between the spill and now. MOOS: Actually, seven times. CBS White House correspondent Mark Knoller says already President Obama has played 39 rounds of golf, compared to the 24 George Bush played his entire presidency, including some that got into a Michael Moore film. Former President GEORGE W. BUSH: Stop these terrorist killers. Thank you. Now watch this drive. MOOS: And while some equate president Obama’s golf to Tony Hayward’s yachting – two different men, two different jobs, one management style – the president’s defenders note a big difference. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: That’s the thing, he didn’t create that mess that is there. What do they want the man to do? Put a wetsuit on and go down and fix that pipe? MOOS: Meanwhile, Politico pondered the really important question, why is Tony Hayward’s yacht names “Bob”? Wondering if it has anything to do with the Bill Murray movie, “What About Bob?” Sailor so scared he has to be lashed to the mast. Now Tony Hayward is being lashed. UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I really think it was a disgrace. MOOS: On the other hand, surprisingly it was the first day off he’s had in two months. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I really don’t care. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Too bad. Look what he did. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Every day of his life is a day off. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I think he’s probably due for a little down time. MOOS: But downtime on the water can be a downer. Remember when presidential candidate John Kerry went wind surfing and it ended up in an attack ad. ANNOUNCER: Whichever way the wind blows. MOOS: BP’s CEO is being mocked in an animation by a Taiwanese tabloid website. He sits on the beach sending out a drink to a guy drowning in oil, from the mouths of babes. UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: My mom doesn’t take breaks like every two months. You don’t really need to take a break every two months to go see a yacht race. UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: In the two hours it takes to golf or to go yachting, another 1,000 to 10,000 tons of oil could leak out. UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: President Obama? I’m not sure he should actually be golfing right now. MOOS: Just plug the darn hole, Mr. president. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York. –Alex Fitzsimmons is a News Analysis intern at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.

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Officer reassigned after punching incident caught on camera.

Posted on June 16, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

1:00pm (central time) (CNN) — A Seattle police officer who was recorded on a cell phone camera punching an alleged jaywalker in the face has been temporarily reassigned, a department spokesman said Wednesday. Ian Walsh has been taken off patrol duty and placed in a training unit to review police tactics, Detective Mark Jamieson said. Walsh, who joined the force in November 2007, has not been disciplined in the Monday incident, which remains under investigation, Jamieson said. The event has been referred to the police's Office of Professional Accountability for review, he said. According to a police statement, Walsh was on patrol and in uniform Monday afternoon when he stopped a young man for jaywalking. While interacting with the man, Walsh observed four women jaywalking at the same location and ordered them to step over to his cruiser, police said. The department described the women as being “verbally antagonistic toward the officer.” One of the women began to walk away and appeared to raise her hand in a dismissive gesture after being ordered to step over to the car, police said. Walsh escorted the woman back to the cruiser, but she then started to yell at him and pull away, “breaking free of the officer's grip several times,” police said. When the officer tried to handcuff the woman, another woman placed her hands on the officer's arm, police said. “The officer pushed the second subject back, but she again came at the officer, at which time he punched her,” police said. The 19-year-old woman who allegedly grabbed Walsh's arm was booked for investigation of assault on an officer, police said. The other woman, who police said was 17, was booked for obstructing an officer. Both suspects were also cited for jaywalking. http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/06/16/police.jaywalker/?hpt=Sbin added by: AceMF

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Double Shock: ABC Shows Gulf Residents Panning Obama’s Oil Spill Speech; ABC’s Katrina Focus Group Praised Bush in 2005

Posted on June 16, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

A tale of two disasters: On ABC’s Good Morning America this morning, weatherman Sam Champion’s piece included reaction from several residents of Florida, Alabama and Louisiana to President Obama’s oil spill speech, and found three outright critics and no defenders of the administration’s handling of the disaster. One woman exclaimed: “ What I would have liked to heard from him – that he actually had a plan .” The kindest review came from a man in Alabama who merely hoped the federal response would improve: “I think we’re seeing a change in how he’s handling the situation. And I hope it’s for the better.” Five years ago, after President Bush spoke in New Orleans a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf coast, ABC assembled a focus group of six people displaced by the storm, and taking refuge in Houston’s Astrodome. But to the evident astonishment of ABC’s correspondent, not one member of that group would denounce President Bush, but instead leveled their criticism at local officials who failed to prepare the city ahead of time. As NewsBuster’s Brent Baker reported at the time : ABC News producers probably didn’t hear what they expected when they sent Dean Reynolds to the Houston Astrodome’s parking lot to get reaction to President Bush’s speech from black evacuees from New Orleans. Instead of denouncing Bush and blaming him for their plight, they praised Bush and blamed local officials. Reynolds asked Connie London: “Did you harbor any anger toward the President because of the slow federal response?” She rejected the premise: “No, none whatsoever, because I feel like our city and our state government should have been there before the federal government was called in.” She pointed out: “They had RTA buses, Greyhound buses, school buses, that was just sitting there going under water when they could have been evacuating people.” Not one of the six people interviewed on camera had a bad word for Bush — despite Reynolds’ best efforts. Reynolds goaded: “Was there anything that you found hard to believe that he said, that you thought, well, that’s nice rhetoric, but, you know, the proof is in the pudding?” Brenda Marshall answered, “No, I didn’t,” prompting Reynolds to marvel to anchor Ted Koppel: “Very little skepticism here.” You can read Brent Baker’s full item from 2005 here . (It’s also worth noting, ABC devoted a full hour of prime time to Bush’s 2005 speech, but — perhaps trying to help downplay expectations — provided only two minutes of analysis following Obama’s speech last night.) Coincidentally, a new poll released yesterday found Louisiana voters giving President Obama lower marks for his response to the oil spill than Bush’s response to Katrina. According to a report posted yesterday at FoxNews.com : Louisiana voters think President George W. Bush did a better job handling the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina than President Obama has done in the wake of the BP oil spill, according to a new poll. The Public Policy Polling survey showed 50 percent of state voters rated Bush’s performance in 2005 as better than Obama’s. Just 35 percent picked Obama…. Louisiana voters by no means are happy with the way the Bush administration handled the flooding in 2005. But while the PPP poll showed just a third of voters approved of the way Bush handled Katrina, the numbers were generally worse for Obama. Sixty-two percent said they disapproved of Obama’s handling of the crisis, compared with 58 percent for Bush. MRC intern Alex Fitzsimmons caught Sam Champion’s report from the Gulf this morning. Co-anchor Robin Roberts framed the reaction as one of “cautious optimism,” but the soundbites from the residents are much more negative than the reporters’ script: CO-ANCHOR ROBIN ROBERTS: People on the front lines of this spill, residents on the Gulf coast, watched President Obama’s address to the nation with cautious optimism. Sam Champion is in Pensacola, Florida and got some of their reactions. Good morning, Sam. WEATHERMAN SAM CHAMPION: Hey, good morning, Robin. Welcome back. We’ve spent a lot of time walking and talking with the people who live in this area. They’ve spent some time watching and waiting. And they really only have one course. You said it at the top of the show: action. Folks in Pensacola Beach usually come to the Flounder’s Chowder House to forget their worries. PRESIDENT OBAMA, HEARD ON THE RESTAURANT’S TV: Tonight, I’d like to lay out for you what the battle plan is going forward. CHAMPION: Tuesday, they faced him in wide-screen. UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: What I would have liked to heard from him – that he actually had a plan. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: If we’re in a war, as he says we are, then why aren’t we bringing everybody into the picture that’s offered their help? CHAMPION: On Alabama’s Orange beach, a sense that seeing things firsthand may have made a difference for the president. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I think we’re seeing a change in how he’s handling the situation. And I hope it’s for the better. CHAMPION: On New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, more skepticism. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I think it’s lacking. I don’t think he’s responded to what we’re going to do about the cleanup issues. OBAMA IN SPEECH: Our top priority is to – CHAMPION: But even before the President spoke, frustration had already given way to anger. ED Valmont (sp?), Gulf coast resident: They said the inner waters were safe. We thought they were protected. CHAMPION: Ed Valmont usually harvests blue crabs off his back yard. On Tuesday, he only harvested oil. VALMONT: I mean that stuff’s like glue. All you got to do is just touch it and it’s on you forever. CHAMPION: But for people who live here, forever is too long. ALLEN PRIEST, Gulf coast resident: We’re not waiting on the government to really take over. CHAMPION: When little Sabine Bay faced a different kind of pollution ten years ago, Allen Priest’s neighbors cleaned it up themselves. Give them the tools and they say they will do it again. (To Priest) The President keeps saying that they want to leave the Gulf coast better than it is right now, after the spill. What does that mean to you? PRIEST: I don’t really think that’s totally our president’s job. I think it’s our responsibility as citizens to do that, if we care about this place. CHAMPION: I’ll tell you, Allen Priest said it. But a lot of other people said it, too. They trust the people they know. He believes his area won’t be polluted because there’s someone he knows watching the water. George. STEPHANOPOULOS: Okay, Sam.

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Double Shock: ABC Shows Gulf Residents Panning Obama’s Oil Spill Speech; ABC’s Katrina Focus Group Praised Bush in 2005

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