CBS Comes to Obama's Defense on Vacation Time After They Cue Him Up to Prognosticate on the Economy

Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Thursday August 18, 2011 @ 09:44 AM ET

1. CBS Comes to Obama's Defense on Vacation Time After They Cue Him Up to Prognosticate on the Economy
Just as criticism builds over President Barack Obama’s plan to spend the next week-and-a-half on Martha’s Vineyard while the economy flounders, the CBS Evening News came to his defense, suggesting he’s been a workaholic compared to his Republican predecessors. While “Obama has taken 61 days of vacation so far,” anchor Scott Pelley noted over a photo montage of those he cited, “at this point in their presidencies, George W. Bush had spent 180 days at his ranch, where staff often joined him for meetings, and Ronald Reagan 112 days at his ranch. Among recent Presidents, Bill Clinton took the least time off -- 28 days.” Preceding Pelley’s vacation count, the newscast ran excepts from Anthony Mason’s interview with Obama. Instead of challenging Obama on the failure of his economic policies or pressing him to offer any solutions, Mason treated Obama as an economic prognosticator offering valuable insights.

2. Chris Matthews Spews: Rick Perry Would Have Opposed Integration, Takes Back 'Bull Connor' Line
One day after trashing Rick Perry as "Bull Connor with a smile," MSNBC's Chris Matthews took the statement back. But he also trashed the Republican presidential nominee, saying he probably would have opposed racial integration of schools. The Hardball anchor played a clip of Barack Obama touting bipartisan acts from the late Dwight D. Eisenhower. Matthews brought up Eisenhower's role in desegregating public schools and spewed, "Do you think Rick Perry would be for that? Do you think he'd be cheering for Ike today if he brought the troops in to desegregate the schools in Little Rock? I don't think so!"

3. NBC Frets Over Tea Party's 'In-Your-Face Tactics' and 'The Politics of Anger'
At the top of Wednesday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer declared: "In your face. The Tea Party puts its confrontational style on display during a stop on President Obama's bus tour." Later, chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd lamented how "uplifting moments" of Obama's Midwest tour were interrupted by "a bitter taste of the energy and confrontational style of the Tea Party." Throughout Todd's report, the headline on screen read: "The Politics of Anger; Tea Party Tactics Change Race for President." Todd noted how: "For their part, the leading Republican presidential candidates are going out of their way to defend the Tea Party's in-your-face tactics."

4. Welcome to the Race: Gov. Rick Perry 'Stumbled Into the Texas Miracle' Says NY Times
Reporter Clifford Krauss also pondered that if "Perry were to win the Republican nomination, he would face critics, among them Democrats, who have long complained that the state's economic health has come at a steep a price: a long-term hollowing out of the state's prospects because of deep cuts to education spending, low rates of investment in research and development, and a disparity in the job market that confines many blacks and Hispanics to minimum-wage jobs without health insurance."

5. George Stephanopoulos Scolds Companies Who Relocate Overseas Because of High Taxes: 'Unpatriotic'
According to Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos, companies that go overseas as a result of high taxes in America are "unpatriotic." The ABC host, who has repeatedly lobbied for higher taxes throughout his journalistic career, endorsed Warren Buffett's call for the rich to pay a higher percentage in taxes. Talking to Donald Trump, Stephanopoulos cajoled, "Warren Buffett made another splash, saying it's not right, he a billionaire, pays 17 percent in taxes when his secretaries and receptionists pay more. Isn't he right about that?"

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