Here's what the following media figures and outlets had to say about Obama's April 29 press conference:
During the April 29 edition of Fox News' Hannity, contributor Karl Rove said that the press conference "was boring," "flat" and "dull." He later stated: "There were a couple of very important moments in it — I don't deny that — but it was a boring, boring news conference."
During CNN's coverage of the press conference, contributor Ed Rollins stated: "I thought his opening statement was perfect. You know, what bothers me a little bit about it: As it goes on, it gets a little bit more boring. And, you know, you need to hold that attention span a good half-hour, a good 45 minutes. The answers are a little long. He doesn't know how to turn and pivot off of them. But nothing incorrect that I heard, it just — it gets a little boring."
On MSNBC's Hardball Late Night, host Chris Matthews asked political analyst Lawrence O'Donnell: "Why, Lawrence, are these press conferences that this guy holds so frighteningly boring?" He added: "Why does everybody act like they're in a sepulchre of some kind? They're so dutiful, it's boring beyond death."
During the April 30 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-host Gretchen Carlson stated, "I suddenly woke up from nodding off" when Obama was asked by a New York Times reporter "what had 'enchanted' him."
The movie Network wonderfully lampooned the merging of the "news" division with the "entertainment" division of major television networks. Sadly, I think many so-called "journalists" would look at Network now, and just not "get it".
Guess what? These press conferences consist of the President of the United States talking about the recession, flu pandemics, and torture (among other things). It's serious stuff for serious people. It's not supposed to be "American Idol". Idiots.
RICE: The president instructed us that nothing we would do would be outside of our obligations, legal obligations under the Convention Against Torture. So that's — And by the way, I didn't authorize anything. I conveyed the authorization of the administration to the agency, that they had policy authorization, subject to the Justice Department's clearance. That's what I did.
Q: Okay. Is waterboarding torture in your opinion?
RICE: I just said, the United States was told, we were told, nothing that violates our obligations under the Convention Against Torture. And so by definition, if it was authorized by the president, it did not violate our obligations under the Convention Against Torture.
You will recall that Matthew Shepard was the young gay man in Laramie, Wyoming who, a decade ago, was tied to a fence, Jesus-like, pistol whipped in the head some 50 times, then left for dead in the cold fall night, only to be found a day later clinging to life. Shepard died five days later.
Here is what this state's Republican representative, Virginia Foxx, had to say about Shepard's horrific murder:
If you didn't vote for this bill — against this bill and against this rule for anything else, you could vote against it because we are spending additional money. I also would like to point out that there was a bill — the hate crimes bill that's called the Matthew Shepard bill is named afte a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. it wasn't because he was gay. this — the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.
During the trial, Chastity Pasley and Kristen Price (the pair's then-girlfriends) testified under oath that Henderson and McKinney both plotted beforehand to rob a gay man. McKinney and Henderson then went to the Fireside Lounge and selected Shepard as their target. McKinney alleged that Shepard asked them for a ride home. After befriending him, they took him to a remote area of Laramie where they robbed him, beat him severely (media reports often contained the graphic account of the pistol whipping and his smashed skull), and tied him to a fence with a rope from McKinney's truck. Shepard begged for his life. Both girlfriends also testified that neither McKinney nor Henderson was under the influence of drugs at the time. The beating was so severe that the only areas on Shepard's face that were not covered in blood were those where his tears had washed the blood stains away.
This is why Virginia Foxx was Olbermann's "Worst Person in the World". And here's the "Hardball" takedown:
UPDATE:Foxx released a statement today, backtracking from her earlier statement (sort of), attributing it as "a poor choice of words":
"It has come to my attention that some people have been led to believe that I think the terrible crimes that led to Matthew Shepard's death in 1998 were a hoax," she said. "The term "hoax" was a poor choice of words used in the discussion of the hate crimes bill. Mr. Shepard's death was nothing less than a tragedy and those responsible for his death certainly deserved the punishment they received.
"The larger context of my remarks is important. I was referring to a 2004 ABC 20/20 report on Mr. Shepard's death. The 20/20 report questioned the motivation of those responsible for Mr. Shepard's death. Referencing this media account may have been a mistake, but if so it was a mistake based on what I believed were reliable accounts."
So she apologizes for the use of the word "hoax", but (apparently) stands by her belief that the death of Matthew Shepard was not gay-hatred motivated.
As for the "2004 ABC 20/20 report"? Well, that was a report where three people claimed that the killing of Matt Shepard was not out of gay hatred. Those three people were: (1) James McKinney (one of Shepard's killers); (2) Russell Henderson (the other killer); and (3) Kristen Price (McKinney's girlfriend).
Kristen Price is an interesting witness. At the trail, Kristen Price had a different story: she testified under oath that the boys intended to rob a gay man. And then there was Price's first interview with 20/20 in 1998, in which she said (of McKinney and Henderson's attack): "They just wanted to beat him bad enough to teach him a lesson, not to come on to straight people, and don’t be aggressive about it anymore."
So what are the "reliable accounts" that Foxx believes? The two killers (model citizens, them) and the girlfriend who changes stories all the time.
Coming soon to a battleground state near you: a new effort to revive the image of the Republican Party and to counter President Obama's characterization of Republicans as "the party of 'no.'"
CNN has learned that the new initiative, called the National Council for a New America, will be announced Thursday.
It will involve an outreach by an interesting mix of GOP officials, ranging from 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain to Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and the younger brother of the man many Republicans blame for the party's battered brand: former President George W. Bush.
In addition to Sen. McCain and Gov. Bush, GOP sources familiar with the plans tell CNN others involved in the new group's "National Panel Of Experts" will include:
*Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a former national GOP chairman *Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal *Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney
John McCain, the failed presidential candidate, and Jeb Bush, brother of the disreputed ex-president, are going to help rebrand the GOP?
Into what? This will be interesting.
I note, however, that the distinguished panel does not include the likes of people like Sarah Palin or Mike Huckabee [UPDATE: The Politico reports that although Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) had been invited to the join the National Council for a New America, she has not responded to the request.] [UPDATE SIDEBAR: Follow Sarah Palin on her new Twitter account!!!!] I suspect that if the panel does anything concrete (big if, there), it will be to abandon social conservatives and wave goodbye to the GOP's stances against gay marriage, and maybe even abortion.
Though the letter announcing the National Council promised an "open policy debate" with "not a Republican-only forum," Cantor disputed the notion that the initiative is actually a move to shift the party away from far-right ideas. Speaking on CNN last night, Cantor admitted it is "not so much a rebranding effort," but an avenue to "begin to lay out the solutions that Republicans have."
More likely, the new GOP "brand" will be just the old one — emphasizing tax cuts, tax cuts, spending cuts, and tax cuts.
Of further interest: Conspicuously absent from the list of Republican heavyweights participating in the effort is current RNC Chairman Michael Steele. Steele was elected on a platform to rebrand the GOP, promising an "off the hook" public relations campaign. But after a string of missteps, conservatives are now pushing a resolution to revoke the Chairman's power to dole out money.
Michael Goldfarb in the (conservative) Weekly Standardwrites:
Tonight President Obama said he was "absolutely convinced" that he had made the right decision in putting an end to the use of the harsh interrogation techniques employed by the Bush administration. After eight years of President Bush, it certainly is refreshing to have a leader who doesn't let himself become entangled by complexity and nuance but instead has absolute certainty in the righteousness of his own decisions. Obama said that "we could have gotten this information in other ways — in ways that were consistent with our values, in ways that were consistent with who we are." Maybe, but we'll never know. And if there is another attack on this country, we'll never know whether a more aggressive interrogation approach might have averted it.
Obama's supple mind is still capable of nuance and complexity though, as evidenced by his answer to a question about abortion. Obama said abortion is "a moral issue and an ethical issue" and that women "struggle with these decisions each and every day." Our president is clearly troubled by abortion, but not so troubled he would outlaw the practice. Instead the president wants "to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies."
There's a striking contrast between these two answers. Perhaps Obama ought to try and think of waterboarding like he thinks of abortion — as something that ought to be kept safe, legal, and rare. A last resort when all else fails. Unfortunately, he's now painted himself into a corner on the issue.
This is a false analogy.
Yes, both torture and abortion carry moral and ethical issues. But the salient characteristic distinguishing those two hot topics is WHO gets to decide. Torture of enemy combantents speaks to the values embodied in the national character; abortion speaks to the values embodied in the individual character.
Abortion, unlike torture, is not something that governments engage in (or, as the case may be, refuse to engage in). When a woman chooses to have an abortion, it is not done in the government's name. But the practice of waterboarding, carried about by my government, is carried out in my name.
It is therefore within the province of the President to draw a bright un-nuanced line banning torture as a matter of national policy. Abortion, controversial as it may be, does not fall within "national policy", in part because the choice of whether or not to have an abortion is fundamental to the concept of individual freedom. That's the distinction.
Looks like my home state of New Hampshire might become the fifth state to recognize same-sex marriages. Both houses have passed the bill, and I think the governor is going to sign it.
New Hampshire is a very strange breed politically. On the one hand, it is very progressive — full of granola-eating environmentalists and new-agers (not unlike its western neighbor, Vermont). On the other hand, it has become a haven for libertarians who rally around the whole "Live Free of Die" motto. And although libertarians ought to be supporting gay marriage, the particular breed of libertarians in New Hampshire tends to be libertarian on gun and tax issues only — not so much on other issues of government intervention. (The New York Times contradicts me on this point, I should note).
Anyway, it's not altogether surprising. Maine is next, and it won't be long before New England (including New York) are all SSM-supporting.
Under an accumulation of staggerers, no man can be considered a free agent. No man knocks himself down; if his destiny knocks him down, his destiny must pick him up again.
Instead of reflecting on Obama's first 100 days, let's reflect on Fox News's first 100 days of the Obama administration:
At last night's press conference, Obama took questions from every major news outlet — CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC — and a few other outlets (like BET), but he didn't go to the FOX News reporter.
Well, why should he? After all, Fox News didn't even carry the live press conference last night. That's right — after spending days talking about Obama's First 100 Days, Fox didn't even carry his press conference about those first 100 days.
I think we can now put to rest any myth that Fox News engages in actual "news". Although for most of us, we knew this a long time ago.
Actually, it's a week old. It's President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama participate in tree plantings at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington.
Except, the look on the First Lady's face is priceless: "Oh, I see. Too high-and-mighty to pick up a shovel, Mr. President Bigshot???"
Time to spread a little lovin' once again to "America's Worst Legislator"TM, Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN).
First of all, she weighs in with her thoughts about the swine flu pandemic alert:
"I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out then under another Democrat president Jimmy Carter," said Bachmann. "And I'm not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it's an interesting coincidence."
Interesting coincidence? How? If you're not blaming this on President Obama, then what is your point, Congresswoman?
Oh, and by the way, the swine flu outbreak occured in 1976…. under President Gerald Ford.
And earlier this week, Bachmann took the House floor to give a speech:
"As a matter of fact, the recession that FDR had to deal with wasn't as bad as the recession Coolidge had to deal with in the early 20s. Yet, the prescription that Coolidge put on that — from history — is lower taxes, lower regulatory burden, and we saw the 'Roaring 20s,' where we saw markets and growth in the economy like we'd never seen before in the history of the country. FDR applied just the opposite formula. The Hoot-Smalley Act, which was a tremendous burden on tariff restrictions. And then, of course, trade barriers, and the regulatory burden and tax barriers. That's what we saw happen under FDR that took a recession and blew it into a full-scale depression. The American people suffered for almost ten years under that kind of thinking."
Now, what is interesting about this is that she was reading from a prepared script, so she obviously had done some research.
Or maybe not.
First of all, there was never such a thing called "the Hoot-Smalley Act".
Secondly, "a tremendous burden on tariff restrictions"? What the fuck does that mean?
Now, there was something passed during the Great Depression called the Smoot-Hawley Act, and it did exacerbate the bad economic conditions. Except that FDR didn't pass it. It was signed into law by Herbert Hoover, a Republican, in June 1930. And the bill was sponsored by Sen. Reed Smoot and Rep. Willis Hawley. They were both… yes, you guessed it… Republicans. FDR showed up on the scene almost 3 years later, in March 1933.
Finally, the notion that "FDR took a recession and blew it into a full-scale depression" is simply false — you don't need me to tell you how to read graphs….
The World Health Organization raised it to a Phase 4. The U.S. stll has it at Stage 0, but expect that to go up tomorrow.
P.S. Yes, I know I'm blogging about this a lot. I don't think we're at death's door, or the fall of civilization is imminent. I just like the subject matter (I took a class in epidemilology once). I understand that mass media is going apeshit over it, basically trying to get everyone to believe that we'll all die tomorrow. Well, it IS sweeps week.
There are a handful of suspected swine flu cases in North Carolina, and investigators were gathering specimens in Raleigh to determine whether the outbreak had spread to the South, state health officials said Monday.
Dr. Jeffrey Engel, the state health director, said officials are involuntarily isolating patients who may have the virus. But he said the handful of suspected cases are sporadically located in various parts of the state.
"We're working very closely with providers, and they are investigating cases on a daily basis," Engel said. "It's a very fluid situation and there will be suspect cases. People travel all the time."
Investigators were gathering specimens and hope to know whether the cases are "probable" some time Tuesday and Engel said they will seek confirmations by Wednesday.
