Totally Objective MSM Observation of the Day: Obama is "The Greatest Orator of Modern Times"

So says Politico's Chief Political Columnist Roger Simon.

Apparently, he doesn't pay much attention to politics. Either that or he is so deep in the tank for Obama, he'd get the bends if he ever came up for air.

Seriously - has Simon not noticed that this gifted orator has a strange knack for sending his audience off to dreamland?

More like the Greatest Snorator of Modern Times.

Even Lady GaGa is a more engaging public speaker. Just imagine if she had a decent speechwriter!

But don't worry. Simon assures us that the bloom is almost off the rose between Obama and the press. Almost. Soon, skeptical reporters will begin holding Obama accountable for what he actually says. No, really! Any day now.



Via Newsbusters.

Cross-posted.

Embarrassing: Couric Recites Christmas Poem for ObamaCare

If there was even a shred of doubt the media is in the tank for the Democrats, this should remove it once and for all. It's hard to believe someone who pretends to be an objective news anchor would whore themselves out like this, but here it is. It wasn't seen on the actual CBS Evening News, but rather online. Still, can you imagine a Dan Rather or Walter Cronkite doing something like this. Oh wait a minute, yes I can.

I must ask: What's more humiliating? Prostituting yourself out for the Democrats or these photos.

H/T NewsBusters.

Muslim Prayer Day in DC Draws Sparse Crowd

This event was hyped up with claims up to 50,000 people would attend.

Yet a mere 1000 showed up, and that's probably being generous. Naturally, they blamed the mean old conservatives.

About 1,000 people gathered Friday morning on the west front lawn of the Capitol, with more streaming in via charter buses and Metro, for a day of Muslim unity that organizers said was about prayer, not protest.

"We are decent Muslims," said one of the organizers, Imam Ali Jaaher from Dar-ul-Islam mosque in Elizabeth, N. J. "We work, we pay taxes. We are Muslims who truly love this country."

Organizers had said they hoped 50,000 worshipers would show up for the traditional Muslim afternoon prayer at 1 p.m. But they said many people have been frightened away by the backlash against the event. Some conservative Christian groups and bloggers have been calling it anti-Christian and un-American.

Considering all the terrorism arrests in recent days, I'm surprised the capitol didn't clear out entirely.

Naturally CNN, which went out of their way to play down the hundreds of thousands who attended the 9/12 Tea Party, claims the paltry gathering attracted thousands.

Thousands of Muslims gathered Friday on Capitol Hill for a day of prayer that organizers said was intended to inspire American Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

They provide no evidence to support this claim.

Malik said attendees were traveling from all over the United States -- including Texas, Florida and Georgia -- as well as from other countries, such as Britain and Canada.

Sure.

Curiously one of the organizers is a lawyer who has defended terrorists in the past.

A major organizer of the prayer rally is attorney Hassen Abdellah, president of the Dar-ul-Islam mosque in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Abdellah represented several terrorists, including: Mahmoud Abouhalima, who was convicted in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and is serving a life sentence in Florence, Colorado, and Mahamed el-Atriss, who was convicted of selling fake IDs to two of the Sept. 11 hijackers. On Oct. 25, 1993, New York Times reporter Richard Bernstein described Abdellah as “by far the most aggressively combative of the lawyers in the case.”

Media Bailout Picks Up Steam: More Reporters Hired by Democrats

Considering the sorry state of the mainstream media, is it any wonder these "journalists" are bailing out and making the lateral move to go work for Democrats? They've been stealing money from their employers by shilling for Democrats all these years so it's only logical they go work for their pals.

On Monday we noted that the Chicago Tribune's Jill Zuckman took a job in the Obama administration, which Michelle Malkin noted was at least the fourth reporter to join up with the Hopenchange bandwagon.

Well now the Politico notes another reporter has signed on with failed presidential candidate John Kerry.

On Tuesday, Cox’s Scott Shepard joined Sen. John Kerry’s office as a speechwriter, becoming the second journalist this year to take a job under the Massachusetts Democrat. Investigative reporter Doug Frantz is now chief investigator under the Kerry-helmed Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

A week before Zuckman announced that she’s headed for Obama’s Transportation Department, her Tribune colleague Peter Gosselin signed on as speechwriter for Obama’s treasury secretary, Tim Geithner.

In December, Jay Carney relinquished his perch as Time’s Washington bureau chief to become Vice President Joe Biden’s communications director. Warren Bass left the Washington Post’s Outlook section to write speeches and advise Dr. Susan Rice at the United Nations. Daniel W. Reilly left Politico to become communications director for Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) Linda Douglass left the National Journal for the Obama campaign back in May, and is expected to become assistant secretary for public affairs in the department of Health and Human Services.

On Monday, Pew’s Project for Excellence in Journalism published a report on “The New Washington Press Corps,” grim statistics confirming the high rate at which regional newspapers are shuttering their D.C. bureaus while niche and foreign outlets grow.

Of the journalists flocking to government jobs, Pew Project Director Tom Rosenstiel says: “There’s no mystery here, and I don’t think the key to this is ideological as much as economic. The newspaper industry, in Washington in particular, is suffering mightily.”

So instead of propaganda disguised as news well get propaganda disguised as news releases.

Change!

Frantz isn’t alone in downplaying the partisan aspect of his new job. Maybe it’s based on a lifetime of non-partisan conditioning, but many of the reporters who’ve made the leap to government seem hesitant to admit that they’re no longer impartial observers.

“This is a Democratic administration; we’re obviously on that side of the aisle, but I don’t see this as a partisan job at all,” Carney told the Times a couple weeks back.

Carney told the Times that he had “an affinity” with Biden and Obama, but that it didn’t influence his coverage at the newsweekly. Time staffers have told Politico that they could never tell Carney’s politics during the 2008 race.

“I didn’t even know Jay was a Democrat,” Time’s Joe Klein said.

Clueless Joe was apparently the last to know. Memo to Klein: The whole world knew Carney was a Democrat. Are you really that stupid or are you just a bad liar?

Do these people think we're all complete idiots, unable to notice when media hacks are biased? It's so painfully obvious, which is why the media is in such dire straits. Their downfall began long before the economic downturn, so blaming it on the economy is just a weak copout.

Outrageously Biased CNN Headline: 'World rallies around Palestinians amid Gaza offensive'

The world rallies around them? What world are they talking about?

Israeli attacks on suspected Hamas strongholds in Gaza have triggered protests in more than a dozen countries.

Ooh, a dozen countries? So how does that translate into the world?

In London, England, dozens of protesters gathered outside the Israeli Embassy, waving flags and trying to push their way closer to the building, as police tried to hold them back and erect a barricade.

Oh my God! Dozens of protesters! Why, that sure seems like a healthy representation of the more than five billion people on the planet, no?

Dozens!

Protesters also have taken to the streets in Denmark, France, Italy and Spain, according to news reports. There also were reports of demonstrations in Caracas, Venezuela.

Iranian media reported that thousands took part in anti-Israel demonstrations in Tehran on Monday, which the government declared a day of mourning for the Palestinians in Gaza.

Sure, that Iranian media is always a trust source. Actually, they do have more credibility than CNN these days.

In Iraq, hundreds of supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr demonstrated in al-Mustansiriya Square in eastern Baghdad. The demonstrators carried Iraqi and Palestinian flags, banners and pictures of al-Sadr and his father.

The demonstrators threw an Israeli flag on the ground, put President Bush's picture on top of it and set both on fire.

Well, at least they scared up hundreds in Iraq.

Add up all the estimate from this bogus story and you probably count about 5000 people worldwide, including the professional protesters and other assorted human debris from the far left and sundry terror-supporting groups such as Code Pink and ANSWER.

But to CNN, that's the world rallying around the terrorists from Hamas.

Good grief.

I wonder if they count this moron?

Reaction to Speech: Palin Had a Speechwriter and Her Hair Style Is Outdated

They'll never learn, will they? Forget the fact Sarah Palin blew the doors off the XCel Center, she had Barack Obama stammering about George Bush's speechwriters. Lame. As if nobody writes his weak material. Here's a decent account of Palin's rousing speech.

And referring to Obama's acceptance speech in Denver a week ago, she added, "When the cloud of rhetoric has passed "... when the roar of the crowd fades away "... when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot — what exactly is our opponent's plan?''

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton called the speech "well-delivered, but written by George Bush's speech writer and sounds exactly like the same divisive partisan attacks we've heard from George Bush for the last eight years."

"She has the hockey-mom schtick down,'' said Bruce Cain, director of the University of California-Berkeley's Washington Center, and gave an address designed for "mostly white, working-class women that Hillary Clinton was pursuing.''

In a poignant moment, Palin also made an appeal to parents of children with special needs. Her 4-month-old son, Trig, was born with Down syndrome.

Jayne Ham, a delegate from Cupertino and mother of a child with epilepsy, said, "She's the real thing. Her personal statements on children with special needs brought tears to my eyes.''

Palin also used the night to promote finding new sources of energy, including drilling in Alaska. And she repeatedly praised McCain as someone who has dedicated his career to improving the country.

In a scene reminiscent of Obama's surprise appearance on the stage a day early to congratulate his running mate, Joe Biden, McCain showed up at the end of Palin's address. "Don't you think we made the right choice for the next president of the United States?'' McCain said to a cheering hall. "What a beautiful family,'' he enthused.

While Palin's pick is designed in part to woo disaffected Clinton voters, Palin overnight has become the darling of conservatives. Before her speech, "I thought I died and went to heaven,'' said the Rev. Lou Sheldon, founder of the California-based Traditional Values Coalition. The coalition is planning a nationwide get-out-the-vote effort.

In her speech, Palin presented her story as an endearing populist tale of a young mother who sought to improve the local schools. "I was just your average hockey mom, and signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids' public education better,'' Palin said. Then she interrupted her own narrative: "You know the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull: lipstick."

And she brought house down.

Showing how shallow some people are, one reaction I see today is about her appearance.

Yes, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin has a lot on her plate: a pregnant teen daughter, a son on his way to Iraq, an infant with Down syndrome and a looming national election.

But must her hair suffer? With her long, straight, often pinned-up locks, Palin looks one humid day away from fronting a Kiss cover band.

“It’s about 20 years out of date,” said Boston stylist Mario Russo of the Alaska governor’s ’do. “Which goes to show how off she might be on current events.”

For readers who are rolling their eyes about this nonissue - get real. People talk about hair - from Mitt Romney’s perfectly sprayed coif, John Edward’s Breck do, McCain’s unfortunate combover and Barak’s No. 3 buzz cut.

We know the former Miss Alaska runner-up’s stance on on stem cells and teaching creationism in schools, but what’s her position on scrunchies vs. banana clips?

Palin herself told Vogue magazine, “A reporter once asked me about it (her appearance) during the campaign, and I assured him I was trying to be as frumpy as I could by wearing my hair on top of my head and these schoolmarm glasses.”

“The color’s not bad,” Russo offered. “But I did see a picture of her showing up someplace with a fried-out perm. I was like, whoa.”

Whoa indeed. The 44-year-old Palin’s pulled-back, I’m-too-busy-for-blowouts-and-a-blunt-cut look says more than Joe Biden on the Senate floor.

This comment say it all.

Gimme a break. She's hotter than the surface of the sun. Her hair is fine.

Perfect Image of Media's Palin Coverage

This say it all.

Via Americans for Limited Government.

Thanks to Doug Ross for the link!

Four Years Later, Media Still Obsessing Over 'Swift Boat Attacks' on John Kerry

T. Boone Pickens has been all over the media of late with his plan for Big Wind and he's making the political rounds, today meeting with the Future President of Earth.

So instead of discussing what occured in his meeting with Obama, what does Reuters reporter Jeff Mason chronicle?

Why, the dreaded "Swift Boat attacks" four years ago on the hapless Jehn Kerry.

Get. Over. It. Already.

White House hopeful Barack Obama talked energy policy on Sunday with T. Boone Pickens, a billionaire oil investor who funded the "Swift Boat" attacks on Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry in 2004.

Pickens, a lifelong Republican, has endorsed neither his party's candidate, Arizona Sen. John McCain, nor Democrat Obama in the Nov. 4 election and wants to make energy a top campaign issue.

He has advocated a plan to cut U.S. oil use by converting cars to run on natural gas.

Pickens funded efforts in 2004 by a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which sought to discredit Kerry's military service in Vietnam. The Massachusetts senator's initially tepid response to the attacks was partially credited for his loss to President George W. Bush.

Obama brushed off Pickens' past at the start of a meeting that the Texas energy tycoon requested on Sunday.

"You know, he's got a lot longer track record than that," the Illinois senator told reporters when asked how it felt to meet with someone who tore down his Democratic predecessor in 2004.

"He's a legendary entrepreneur, and, you know, one of the things that I think we have to unify the country around is having an intelligent energy policy," Obama said.

Give Obama credit where it's due. Even he's mature enough to move past this pathetic media obsession. Would be nice if Reuters could move on.

How Did Obama Win? Why, Greek Mythology, Of Course

If you think the slobbering media idolatry has been bad during the primaries, you likely haven't seen anything yet.

The AP's resident bobby-soxer, Nedra Pickler, comes up with a doozy, relating a tale of Greek mythology to Barack Obama.

Why, he sprouted wings and learned how to fly.

To understand how Barack Obama won the presidential primary, you have to look at what he learned when he lost.

Obama defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton solidly in the Iowa caucuses in January, but five days later she beat him, painfully and unexpectedly, in New Hampshire. That loss showed him that toppling the royal family of Democratic politics would not come easily.

"I think this was meant to be," Obama said privately the next day, recalls adviser David Axelrod. "I think we were flying too close to the sun, like Icarus. When you're fighting for change, it's not supposed to be easy."

In Greek mythology, Icarus' father gives him wax wings that empower him to fly, but warns of the danger in soaring too high. Obama got similar warnings. When he arrived in Washington, Senate dean Robert Byrd cautioned him not to be in too much of a rush to leave for the White House.

But like Icarus, Obama wouldn't heed his elder's advice. Icarus would crash into the sea. Obama would learn from his own crash in New Hampshire and make history.

Good grief.

In Obama's victory speech, he gleefully responded to those who said he shouldn't reach for the sun.

"They said our sights were set too high," Obama said. "They said this country was too divided, too disillusioned to ever come together around a common purpose."

He didn't notice his wings were melting.

I suspect his wings will soon be clipped.