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This Might Be Scandalous If Anyone Watched CNN

Remember that massive media orgasm recently about the phone hacking involving some of Rupert Murdoch's news organizations? The feeding frenzy seems have have tempered somewhat since the climate of hate fostered by Murdoch foes resulted in his being physically attacked by some leftwing wacko while testifying before Parliament.

But while the hubbub here in the United States may have died down as we watch Barack Obama melt down over his debt mess, over in the UK it appears the scandal may be spreading to another news organization, which just happens to be the one formerly run by CNN's Piers Morgan.

Piers Morgan is facing questions on both sides of the Atlantic as a former employee claimed that phone hacking had taken place while he was editor of the Daily Mirror.

The CNN presenter has repeatedly denied allegations made in both the British and US media that he presided over a culture of illegal activity during his nine-year stint at the paper.

James Hipwell, a former Daily Mirror journalist, claimed on Saturday that phone hacking was "endemic" under Mr Morgan's editorship and that he would be prepared to testify to the judicial inquiry into the scandal.

"Piers was extremely hands-on as an editor. He was on the [newsroom] floor every day, walking up and down behind journalists, looking over their shoulders. I can't say 100 per cent that he knew about it. But it was inconceivable he didn't," he told the Independent.

Now from what we gleaned from Murdoch's testimony last week it appeared he was unaware of what was going on. From the above it sure looks like Morgan was hip-deep in the hacking.

So why isn't this big news? Well, for one, nobody watches Morgan, or CNN for that matter, so he's pretty much a non-entity here in the States. Yet it's curious how he's still on the air while when the News of the World was implicated in the hacking scandal that paper was shuttered before you could blink. Where are the howls of indignation from the Fox haters in the American media?

A spokeswoman for CNN said that Mr Morgan had been asked about the accusations and had strongly denied them.

Mr Hipwell's claims come in the wake of a New York Times article which quoted five former journalists at the People, the Mirror's Sunday sister paper, who claimed that phone hacking had take place between the late 1990s and early 2000.

The Sunday Mirror was also accused of "routinely" hacking the phones of celebrities in an effort to keep up with the News of the World.

A former employee of the paper told the BBC that the illegal technique was used on almost daily basis to hack the phones of Rio Ferdinand, Liz Hurley and others.

"One afternoon in the newsroom I saw Liz Hurley's phone being hacked and a reporter listen to her mobile phone messages and take a note of what was said.

There's some non-taxpaying outfit funded by George Soros that claims to monitor the media, but they haven't said a peep about this.

'It's a Great Gig To Be Paid by CNN So That You Can Promote Your Clients'

It's bad enough most of CNN's on-air "talent" wave their pom-poms for Barack Obama. Now they're actually putting one of his own pollsters on as a so-called corespondent. No doubt the tax-eating grifters at Media Matters will be all over this obvious conflict of interest.

The most trusted name in news, right?

Should CNN be using President Obama's pollster as a paid contributor to its network?

A Washington insider says dapper data guru Cornell Belcher represents a potential conflict of interest for the cable network, now that he's reportedly going to work for Obama's reelection effort.

In February, CNN announced that Belcher - who did polling for the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2008, including Obama's presidential campaign - was joining its team of on-air political contributors.

Since then, the president of Brilliant Corners Research has appeared on CNN's "The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer," "Anderson Cooper 360" "John King, USA" and the just-canceled "In the Arena" with Eliot Spitzer.

Then last April, The Washington Post reported that Belcher was going to work again for Obama.

Noting that the pollster had "spent the past several years studying Obama's electoral base of young voters and African-Americans," The Post added that Belcher would "bring that knowledge to bear for the reelection campaign."

With the numbers-cruncher slated to work on Obama's behalf for 2012, the Washington insider questions whether Belcher also can serve CNN's journalistic mission.

"It's a great gig to be paid by CNN so that you can promote your clients," says the source. "But for the Most Trusted Name in News, it doesn't work."

Belcher did not respond to requests for comment, but a CNN spokeswoman tells us the pollster is currently "not being paid by the Obama campaign. If he were," she added, "he would not be permitted to be a CNN contributor."

Presumably, Belcher will cease to appear on CNN when his work for Obama's campaign begins.

Another CNN insider calls the allegation of impropriety ridiculous, saying: "We bend over backward to make sure there's not a conflict of interest" with on-air contributors.

NAACP Blasts CNN's Lack of Diversity

It's tough to tone down the glare from that sea of white faces.

In a press release issued this morning, the NAACP condemned 24-hour cable news channel CNN for its recently announced prime time news lineup, calling the lack of diversity in its collection of news anchors a “glaring omission.”

“The NAACP is deeply concerned with the lack of African American journalists in prime time news, both on cable and national news shows,” NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous said in the statement. “We have come to expect this from the likes of Fox News, but not other networks. While we understand that news is now a 24-hour cycle, most Americans get their news from the morning and evening prime time broadcasts.”

The new CNN news lineup, which was announced yesterday, features John King, Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett and Piers Morgan.

Of course Fox employs more blacks, as well as liberals, than CNN employs conservative voices. But hey, they have to work that swipe in at Fox somehow.

Curiously escaping their ire was lily-white MSNBC.

Actual CNN Headline: 'Wingnut Debt Ceiling Demands'

So nice to see CNN using pejoratives in their headlines now. CNN: The most busted name in news.

After that embarrassing debate they staged last night, CNN might want to just call it a day.

H/T Rob Port.

While we can't say if the writer is the one responsible for the offending headline, she's already known to be quite biased. She's known to really hate it if people have too much money.

Update: CNN has scrubbed the headline, replacing Wingnut with Goofy. Probably not long after Rush Limbaugh mentioned it. What's the point? There are already dozens of sites with the original screen-grab. The time of the post now reads 2:18 pm, but doesn't note it was updated. Very weak.

Your Objective Media at Work: CNN Chronicles the 'Meanest Budget Cuts'

We could argue it would be mean to permanently saddle our children with trillions in deficits, but hey, why deal with reality when they can carry water for the Democrats?

Community health centers serve about 20 million people at 7,000 locations around the country. They primarily cater to those without health insurance.

Under the budget deal agreed to by Congress Thursday, the centers would see their funding slashed by $600 million for the remainder of 2011.

A Democrat staffer on the Senate Appropriations Committee said the cuts aren't as bad as they seem. In fact, he said that under the sweeping health care legislation passed last year, the centers will actually see a $400 million increase in funding.

So in CNN's world, a $400 million increase in funding is one of the meanest budget cuts.

Nothing like coming in with a preconceived story line and diligently sticking with it.

Next up is landmine removal. We're not the ones planting them, but apparently getting rid of them is on our dime.

The country is also the largest donor to projects that attempt to find and remove these deadly weapons. It funnels some $80 million to $100 million a year toward the cause, according to Zach Hudson, director of the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs.

The budget deal cuts funding to the State Department program that oversees land mine removal by $14 million a year.

The program also funds anti-terrorism and non-proliferation efforts oversees. It's not clear if the $14 million in cuts will come out of the land mine program's budget. If they do, Hudson said it would be "detrimental."

So they have no idea if a marginal cut from the $80 to $100 million being spent will actually happen, but if it does it would be detrimental.

So far we're at at least a $386 million spending increase, but damn, are those budget cuts that aren't happening really, really mean.

Now we have food stamps, and we all know how desperate Democrats are to keep people dependent on government. And of course it would be incredibly mean to keep people on the dole away from stuffing their faces with junk food.

The program served 9.1 million people in 2009 and had a 2010 budget of $7.3 billion.

A Senate Democrat staffer on the Appropriations Committee said the reduction is a result of fewer people needing the program.

The agency noted that the final cut was actually less than President Obama proposed.

So fewer people need the program, Obama proposed cutting more, but those Republicans are just being mean.

They're batting .000 after three tries. Let's see if they can actually find some real meanness.

How about heat for poor people?

The contingency budget is supposed to be used for unforeseen costs, like rising oil prices. The fund's main budget of $4.5 billion was unchanged from last year's level.

Supporters of the cuts note that this year's heating season is over, so it's unlikely the contingency funds will be needed.

So there are no cuts, but it's one of their meanest budget cuts? Huh? Is there anyone in charge at CNN that realizes this isn't quite going as planned? But wait, instead of freezing to death, they may sweat to death!

Critics say some of the money is also spent on air conditioning costs, and a disaster that causes energy prices to surge could happen at any time.

So a disaster could happen, oh, whenever, so let's just keep adding more money.

Just in case.

If you're keeping score at home, CNN is now 0 for 4. But they keep trying. Which bring us to housing assistance for Native Americans. Heck, I'm a native of America and I don't get any housing assistance.

Where's mine?

Lawmakers cut $50 million from the fund that provides housing assistance to Native Americans, bringing the budget for those programs down to $650 million.

A Senate Democrat staffer on the appropriations committee noted the funding was actually $70 million above what Obama requested.

So the heartless Obama apparently proposed cutting $120 million, but the evil GOP left it at a $50 million cut.

Oh, the humanity!

At this point, shouldn't CNN be taking Obama to task for his meanness?

Up next is a program you've likely never heard of and, honestly, is completely useless. The U.S. Institute for Peace. Silly me. I thought our military was there to enforce the peace.

This program aims to be a "catalyst for empowering others to prevent, manage and resolve international conflict without resorting to violence," according to its website.

As well all know the left has done so much to bring peace to the world; it's unimaginable how they'll be able to scrape by on $40 million this year. Just what we need more of: conflict resolution and dialogue.

Finally, there's old people, and as well all know, Republicans just want them all to die.

This agency, which helps senior citizens navigate the maze of federal bureaucracy and maintain independent lives, saw its budget of over $2 billion cut by $16 million.

To some, that's a small price to pay for an attempt to balance the budget.

Gee, maybe if seasoned citizens didn't have to navigate the maze of the massive federal bureaucracy they could save a little money. Just a thought.

Seriously, though, a cut of $16 million out of a $2 billion budget is mean? Are they for real? That's a cut of less than one percent. If we can't even make the most insignificant of budget cuts, how can we ever possibly tackle the $14 trillion debt we're saddled with?

If anyone needs to cut their budget, it the idiots at CNN. They're paying people to come up with this drivel? And of all the ironies, Obama comes off like the one looking mean if we're to use CNN's own standard of meanness.

H/T.

CNN Ignores The Black Guy...Again

Herman Cain is the only person who has taken the step of forming a Presidential Exploratory Committee and yet CNN leaves him out of their montage of potential GOP candidates. Why? Is their reporting just that shoddy, or do they not want to show a conservative black man?



Herman had me at his support of the Fair Tax, but once again the so called experts in the national media are going about picking and choosing who they want as candidates. By ignoring Mr Cain they gloming onto the more famous pop culture figures, probably because they feel they make better copy and therefore translate into better mileage for the organizations they work for which of course in the end leads to what they hope are increased revenues.

So while they play the woulda, coulda, shoulda game there is only one candidate on the GOP who has announced his serious intentions and is not merely batting his or her eyes at the press and giving them a flirty come hither stare.

One more observation on the collection of photos CNN has. There is not a smile to be seen, except for maybe on the face of the Huckster. All they had was pictures of the people frowning, sneering, or angry looking? Yet another way media can be used to manipulate your views and opinions.

Heh: Even Spitzer Questions CNN's Dubious SOTU Poll

The biggest joke the other night was some lame CBS poll that "reported" 92% gave Obama's plagiarized speech high marks. Meanwhile, over at CNN, the low-rated former john Eliot Spitzer questioned their dubious numbers.

Eliot Spitzer's CNN colleagues say he's trying to steamroll management. The "Parker Spitzer" co-host responded nastily to a mass e-mail from CNN's News Standards and Practices chief Rick Davis that offered guidance on how to report a poll on reaction to the State of the Union address. Shortly before the poll results aired Tuesday night, Davis advised CNN personnel to preface them with the expectation that there would be a positive reaction because more Democrats tend to watch a speech by a Democratic president than Republicans. But after the poll aired, Spitzer shot back in his own mass e-mail, "This poll is totally misleading and should not be aired as one who has studied these polls I woukd [sic] be embarassed to put these numbers on the air."

The poll released Tuesday night was given a misleading headline that 84% approved of the speech, but that combined 52% who were positive and 32% who were somewhat positive. That makes sense if you consider the sample.

The sample of speech-watchers in the poll were 39 percent Democratic and 19 percent Republican. Those numbers indicate that the sample is about nine to ten points more Democratic than the population as a whole. The audience for Obama's State of the Union address last year was 38 percent Democratic and 25 percent Republican.

So in CNN's universe, Democrats now outnumber Republicans by an even greater margin even though the country has gone in the opposite direction. You have to give Spitzer credit for seeing through the nonsense.

Yet this is a great example how the media just manufactures and makes up the news. Before anyone could digest the speech headlines blared around the world how either 92% or 84% of the public liked the speech.

CNN Shoots Itself in the Foot, Uses Hate Rhetoric "Crosshairs" in a Political Context. UPDATE: They Apologize.

Aw geez, now it looks like I must apologize for using such violent imagery in my headline.

Please forgive me.



Via Weasel Zippers. Cross-posted.

CNN Poll Still Trying to Link Palin to Arizona Shootings

A full week of leftwing insanity goes by and its thoroughly discredited, yet CNN figures it's time for a poll with leading questions about Sarah Palin and the dreaded harsh rhetoric and violent metaphors by politicians and commentators. They don't quite get the desired results.

Overall, how much do you blame each of the following for the shooting in Arizona -- a great deal, a moderate amount, not much, or not at all?

Palin is one of the choices:

A map on Sarah Palin's website that marked 20 congressional districts, including the district represented by the congresswoman who was shot, with an image that looked like the crosshairs of a gun

A total of 35% thought Palin had a great deal or moderate amount to do with it, while 59% said not much or none at all. Curiously enough, 35% of Democrats also think Bush knew about 9/11 in advance. Hmmm.

The media will continue to ignore that Jared Loughner and he alone is responsible.

Meanwhile, AP has a look at dangerous loners.

The gunman accused of trying to assassinate Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killing six others, Jared Lee Loughner, was not on any government watch list that might have warned someone not to sell him a gun or caused police to investigate his unstable behavior.

It turns out there is not a list in the United States for people like Loughner.

The same goes for Joseph Stack, who flew his plane into an IRS office in Austin, Texas, last February. Stack left behind a 3,000-word, rambling screed about his problems with the U.S. tax code.

The implication, of course, is Stack was one of those loony anti-tax teabaggers. Of course they fail to mention Stack was quoting from the Communist Manifesto. Funny how when that happened the usual suspects at Daily Kos reacting with the headline Teabagger terrorist attack on IRS buildingbefore it quickly went down the memory hole.

These folks sure are slow learners.

CNN Anchor Sucks Wind As He Delivers the News

I'm not sure if the elevators are out of order at CNN studios or if Martin Savidge is just super-excited about the white Christmas some of us enjoyed today.

Either way, it's a minor train wreck and a slow news day, so it's hard to look away.



Via Mediaite. Cross-posted.

Tail Wagging The Dog Story

This is a tail wagging the dog story if ever I saw one. Who do on air news teleprompter readers go to when they have an ax to grind? Why Media Matters of course.

Ex-CNN anchor Leon Harris, who’s working these days as an anchor at WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., says a reporter fired from his station and just-hired by Fox News may have intended to lose his local gig so he could land at Fox.

Harris tells Media Matters reporter Doug McKelway seemed to shed his professionalism in favor of seeking out a “YouTube moment” that might hasten a high-profile firing.

Really? Their outlet of choice for gossip is Media Matters? We all know, or at least should know what a straight arrow that George Soros funded group over there is. The normal flow is leak it to Media Matters, or rely on them to fabricate a story out of fairy dust, disseminate it further through the Huffington Post which gets it into the Yahoo news feed and then into the New York Times and finally onto MSNBC's breathless story of the day. Trace any of your favorite anti Fox, Palin bashing or Republican supposed dirty tricks stories and you will discover this is the normal trail. Sometimes it works in the reverse direction, but they have all of their online, print and mass market media covered and all singing the same tune so that the public are constantly hearing about so many non story stories, but they must be true cause I saw, read, or heard it here.

Anyway the story sounds like a lot of sour grapes from the folks no doubt facing their own uncertain future over at WJLA and more then a little bit strange that all their stories have the same key points.

Last week, several WJLA staffers offered criticisms of McKelway to Media Matters.

Only Harris is quoted but the piece is written to give the impression that the other employees said the same things.

BTW Mr Harris, why did you leave CNN?

As heady as the stories were, Harris began to grow restless as another American war loomed in the Middle East in 2002. Now an established anchor, Harris had been getting job feelers from stations around the country, including WJLA. He demurred, hoping that CNN would give him a choice reporting assignment during the coming conflict in Iraq. "It was a classic all-hands-on-deck situation, and I wanted to be one of the hands," Harris said. "I needed to know I wouldn't be doing cut-ins."

Except that's exactly what CNN had in mind. As the war started, Harris became the cut-in king, popping up for hours on end with one-minute progress reports. He began to keep count: At one point, he did cut-ins for 34 consecutive days.

Harris called his agent.

"It was clear to me that they didn't think I was as good as I thought I could be," he says. "I got frustrated. I just wanted to feel like a grown-up. The way I came up, maybe they didn't think I could be a real journalist. I think they thought I was a good guy, a team player, but I wasn't a real news grown-up. ... If I didn't leave, I knew I wouldn't feel like a grown-up."

Oh, you wanted to be treated like a grown up as opposed to Mr McKelway who is going the other way on the news business food chain. You had your chance. You felt that CNN was screwing you over and you moved on but you want to criticize somebody else who may feel the same way?

Hey Leon, grow up!

Surprise: Strife on the Set of Ill-Fated 'Parker Spitzer' Debacle

Gee, who'd ever expect problems on a show that features a disgraced Democrat and a faux conservative on a network with zero ratings? Ironically, the supposed conservative is upset her megalomaniac co-host is hogging the spotlight. Check your ego at the door, honey.

Eliot Spitzer's TV sidekick is so fed up with playing second fiddle to the hooker-loving ex-gov that she's threatening to walk, sources told The Post yesterday.

Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker actually stormed off the set of the "Parker Spitzer" show during a pre-taping a few weeks ago -- furious that her co-host is continually allowed to take charge of their nightly CNN chat-fest, the insiders said.

Although still fuming, Parker did return to wrap up the segment, they said.

But she's angry that the show's producers are allegedly doing nothing to play up her strengths on the ailing show, the sources said.

Some staffers said Spitzer -- the hard-charging, former state attorney general who resigned as governor in 2008 after admitting to patronizing prostitutes -- thrust himself up front and center right out of the gate, leaving Parker without a chance.

But other insiders said the Pulitzer Prize-winning Parker has only herself to blame.

While Parker -- a conservative, nationally syndicated newspaper journalist -- is widely respected, she's no TV personality, critics said.

"Her weaknesses are felt internally," a source said.

Meanwhile, Spitzer is exceeding everyone's expectations, a source said.

"He's smart, tenacious -- he turned out better than they thought," the source said.

Incensed over her lesser position on the one-hour show, Parker has now been privately grumbling that the show's executive producer, Liza McGuirk, isn't making the changes needed to boost Parker's image, the sources said.

Someone could soon be shown the door over the behind-the-scenes battling -- and over the fact that show has done so poorly in the all-important Nielsen ratings, the sources said.

Maybe Parker ought to get back to bashing Sarah Palin every night.

CNN Host: 'I Wish I Brought a Gun to Work'

What's the deal with these hacks from the low-rated cable news networks? A few months back we saw the nutty MSNBC blowhard Ed Schultz threatening to torch the MSNBC studios, then another MSNBC host sits idly by as some lunatic calls for violent revolution in this country. Now we learn the folks at CNN are getting in on the act.

CNN anchor John King's "magic wall" sent him over the edge when his beloved touch screen jammed.

The DC-based anchor had a meltdown while anchoring his 7 p.m. show, "John King USA," from CNN's New York studio just days before the midterm elections.

After a slew of technical and editorial errors, King lost his cool when his signature and somewhat overworked touch screen malfunctioned.

"I wish I brought a gun to work," King yelled at studio operators on Oct. 29, according to several CNN sources.

According to a source, Turner Broadcasting System CEO and chairman Phil Kent called King into his office to reprimand him. "Phil has always been a huge fan of King and has always protected him when people were tired of his hothead antics, so this is a blow to him," the insider said.

A CNN rep didn't deny King's onset meltdown, but denied that King was called into a meeting with Kent over it. The rep said, "There are always frustrations -- it's live TV -- but this is not an accurate portrayal."

OK, then someone needs to produce video so we can decide.

What is it with these liberals and their violent rhetoric? Sadly for Media Matters, this stuff never happens at Fox. On the upside, King seems to be a perfect fit for MSNBC if he gets the boot from CNN. Hopefully he first gets help for his anger management issues.

Instapundit links. Thanks!

'John is a Tyrant, Freaking Out Over Stories and Guests, and Kiran is Dumb as a Rock'

Fun times over at the Most Trusted Name in News. So much fun they can't even trust their own people to not leak stories to the media.

CNN anchor Kyra Phillips' pregnancy with John Roberts could bring big changes at "American Morning," insiders say. Roberts, who broadcasts from New York, is likely to move to Atlanta to be with his fiancée, who's expecting twins. Since CNN ex-president Jon Klein recently rebuilt the prime-time lineup, insiders say his replacement, Ken Jautz, will focus on daytime, and his first step will be to dismantle "American Morning," the lowest-rated cable morning show. We hear the staff is frustrated with co-anchors Roberts and Kiran Chetry. "John is a tyrant, freaking out over stories and guests, and Kiran is dumb as a rock," a staffer said. "He has a chip on his shoulder because he was considered the heir apparent to Dan Rather at CBS." During an interview with David Axelrod last month, Roberts snapped at Chetry on-air for typing too loud. Chetry could be the first go.

Maybe Roberts could be the heir-apparent to Rather at the obscure HDNet.

Compounding the Idiocy: CNN Looking to Hire Couric?

Already facing disaster with the ill-fated Eliot Spitzer fiasco, the knuckleheads at CNN may have a master stroke at the ready: Hiring the low-rated Katie Couric at some ungodly bloated salary.

Friends of Katie Couric are saying the chances of her remaining at CBS are getting slimmer.

CNN appears especially eager to sign Couric now that the new show starring ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer is off to a stumbling start.

Jeff Bewkes, the CEO of CNN's parent company, Time Warner, yesterday said that CNN has the money "to pay for some of the biggest talent in TV news" -- just when CBS was saying that the era of the big-salary anchor is ending.

"The Katie Couric deal will be the last big deal of that kind ever done," Les Moonves, the head of CBS, said this week. "Those days are over."

Couric makes a reported $16 million a year, tops among the three network news anchors -- but her contract ends in May.

"People are getting the news elsewhere," Moonves said. "When there were only three networks, you did have that public service component, where we were informing America. Now, there is nothing that Katie Couric is saying that everybody doesn't know already."

Exactly. And at $16 million per, she's probably the most overpaid person in recorded history With business decisions like this it's a wonder any executives at the networks and cable outlets (save for FNC) still have jobs. Granted, it's not a stretch to think Couric could do better than Spitzer, but she'd never compete against O'Reilly. Even the MSNBC clown on at that time would likely fare better.

'The Fact This Guy Now is Going to Tell America How to Function After What He Did to New York is a Disgrace'

Three days after firing bigot Rick Sanchez, CNN tonight rolls out another disgrace, Eliot Spitzer. According to CNN employee Howie Kurtz, Spitzer's show with pretend conservative Kathleen Parker will be a civil chat, about the "shoutfests" the rest of knuckle-dragging America so enjoys.

This who know the real Spitzer aren't impressed.

Then there was the Spitzer who promised a new ethical day in Albany and yet tried to cover up his and his staff's role in trying to smear a political foe by misusing the state police.

And there was the Spitzer with the political tin ear.

The self-proclaimed "steamroller," who waged an early battle with the Legislature over the selection of a new controller, even though he had no formal role in the process of picking the person who would audit the executive branch. It wound up costing him his needed Democratic support and torpedoing his agenda.

And then there was the Spitzer who made national headlines for weeks when he proposed granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. At one point, he actually managed to alienate his strongest supporters by floating a compromise that they hated while doing nothing to appease critics.

The controversy not only raged for weeks until he backed off the plan, but also led to Hillary Clinton's first big gaffe on the presidential campaign trail when she fumbled for an answer when asked about the proposal during a Democratic debate.

By the time the hooker scandal forced him from office in March 2008, his poll numbers were down, he had no friends left in the Legislature, his administration was under investigation and he broke his key campaign promise that on day one, everything in dysfunctional Albany would change.

"He was not a good governor, he didn't get anything accomplished and he created chaos - otherwise he was fine," said veteran Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf.

"The fact this guy now is going to tell America how to function after what he did to New York is a disgrace."

Look at the bright side. There won't be many people watching.

Huge Surge for GOP in CNN Poll

They weakly try to spin this as both parties are unpopular and everyone in in an anti-incumbent mood. But the numbers of people saying they'll vote GOP in November is rising with a massive upswing in independents leaning to the Republicans. When November 2 rolls around there sure will be plenty of incumbents tossed out of office and the overwhelming number of them will be Democrats.

With November's midterm elections less than two months away, a new national poll indicates that the Republicans' advantage over the Democrats in the battle for Congress is on the rise.

According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday, the GOP leads the Democrats by 7 points on the "generic ballot" question, 52 percent to 45 percent. That 7-point advantage is up from a 3-point margin last month.

The generic ballot question asks respondents if they would vote for a Democrat or Republican in their congressional district, without naming any specific candidates.

"The survey indicates that independents and voters who dislike both parties are starting to break toward the GOP," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "In a year when anger at incumbents is a dominant political force, the key to the election lies among those who aren't rooting for either side."

According to the poll, the two parties are equally unpopular. Forty-nine percent of all Americans have an unfavorable view of the Democrats, with the same percentage feeling the same way about the Republicans. Just over one in five questioned dislike both parties.

Back in April, Americans who dislike both parties appeared to mildly favor the GOP on the generic ballot, by a 43-to-39 percent margin, with a large number saying at the time that they would pick a minor-party candidate or stay at home.

"Now, a lot of those voters appear to be bolting to the GOP," Holland said. "Republicans now have a whopping 38-point advantage on the generic ballot among voters who dislike both parties."

Republicans also have a large and growing advantage among independents. Sixty-two percent of independents questioned say they would vote for the generic Republican in their district, with three in 10 saying they'd cast a ballot for the generic Democrat. That 32-point margin for the Republicans among independents is up from an 8-point advantage last month.

So that's a 24-point boost in one month, but let's just keep pretending it's simply an "anti-incumbent" mood rather than what it is: anti-Democrat.

Update: Even more good news.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 48% of Likely Voters would vote for their district's Republican congressional candidate, while 36% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent. The survey data was collected on the seven days ending Sunday, September 5, 2010.

This matches the largest advantage ever measured for the Republicans. Three weeks ago, the GOP also held a 12-point lead.

Still, while the margin has varied somewhat from week-to-week, Republicans have been consistently ahead in the Generic Ballot for over a year. During 2010, the GOP edge has never fallen below five points. When Barack Obama first took office as president of the United States, the Democrats enjoyed a seven-point lead on the Generic Ballot.

Thanks to Ace and Hot Air for the links.

'It's a Very, Very Unusual Situation . . . African-Americans Have Felt This Before'

Maybe when this attempt at playing the race card fails Charles Rangel can whip out the anti-Hispanic card and try dealing that one. Let's do anything but confront the obvious, this sleazebag figures.

Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel (right) yesterday played the race card for the first time in the ethics probe against him.

"It's a very, very unusual situation . . . African-Americans have felt this before," said Rangel, who claimed he's been treated unfairly. He made the comment on CNN's "Situation Room.'

At one point, reporter Soledad O'Brien asked whether the charges brought against him and California Rep. Maxine Waters, a fellow black Democrat, were racially motivated.

"I think that the numbers look odd in terms of the number of African-Americans that have been brought before the ethics committee," Rangel responded.

So nice to see these CNN twits so graciously deal the race card for this hack to play.

Someone's Still Watching CNN?

This might be scandalous if the low-rated cable outfit actually had some ratings.

At CNN's Washington bureau, the cable news network's call letters could stand for Castellanos News Network.

Politics junkies were incredulous to see CNN using spin doctor Alex Castellanos on air as a paid political contributor Wednesday, given the crisis-relations work he did for BP this summer. Even more startling, says one CNN Washington insider, the network didn't tag Castellanos' relationship with the oil giant during his appearances on "The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer" and "Anderson Cooper 360."

Castellanos didn't discuss BP matters on the air, but our insider says CNN, which prides itself on being "The Most Trusted Name in News," should have clued viewers in to the PR executive's work for BP, given that the environmental disaster has leached into so many aspects of America's political discussion. In fact, the insider says, CNN ran a constantly changing tag that mentioned just about every other affiliation or potential conflict that Castellanos had.

We suspect the stormtroopers from Media Matters are likely behind this since Castellanos has ties to the GOP.