ABC Touts School for Obama Kids: 'Complete With Organic Lunches' --1/6/2009

1. ABC Touts School for Obama Kids: 'Complete With Organic Lunches'
Various Good Morning America hosts and reporters on Monday glowingly commented on the first day of school for young Sasha and Malia Obama at posh private institution Sidwell Friends. At the same time, they ignored the contradiction of President-elect Barack Obama opposing vouchers which would allow poor inner-city children in Washington D.C. to do the same thing. Instead, reporter Claire Shipman cooed over Sidwell Friends and the exciting opportunities awaiting the Obama children. Speaking of ten-year old Malia and the school, she enthused: "It's an award winning, entirely green building, complete with organic lunches, one of the many things that appealed to her and her family."

2. CNN and Post's Quinn Gush Over Obama Kids' New 'Magical' School
CNN correspondent Joe Johns' report on Monday's American Morning heaped praise upon Sidwell Friends School, the new school for the Obama daughters. Johns read from one of the school's own mission statements about its "Quaker values" and later described how President-elect Obama apparently "often seems in tune with Quaker principles -- seeking consensus with others; talking rather than fighting with opponents; and, at least in the case of Iraq, if not Afghanistan, opposing war even when the majority supports it." The correspondent also featured three clips from the Washington Post's Sally Quinn, who gushed over school: "Sidwell is a happy school....it can be a really magical place."

3. CBS's Schieffer to Cheney: 'Is Anything President Does Legal?'
On Sunday's Face the Nation on CBS, host Bob Schieffer seemed to be acting out a scene from Frost/Nixon as he questioned Vice President Dick Cheney about the terrorist surveillance program: "Do you feel you went too far, Mr. Vice President, in your surveillance?...Do you -- do you believe that the President, in time of war, that anything he does is legal?" Later, Schieffer again questioned the legality of Bush administration policies: "Let me talk to you a little bit about torture. You have said that you do not believe that waterboarding, for example, was torture...Would you do it again if you had to make those same decisions again? Because a lot of people now say that some of the things that happened here may be the reason that some of our casualties happened...because people saw the publicity of these things, the kinds of things that happened at Abu Ghraib." In fact, it was CBS News that broke the Abu Ghraib story, so by Schieffer's logic, CBS caused American casualties by showing the pictures.

ABC Touts School for Obama Kids: 'Complete
With Organic Lunches'

Various Good Morning America hosts and reporters on Monday glowingly commented on the first day of school for young Sasha and Malia Obama at posh private institution Sidwell Friends. At the same time, they ignored the contradiction of President-elect Barack Obama opposing vouchers which would allow poor inner-city children in Washington D.C. to do the same thing.

Instead, reporter Claire Shipman cooed over Sidwell Friends and the exciting opportunities awaiting the Obama children. Speaking of ten-year old Malia and the school, she enthused: "It's an award winning, entirely green building, complete with organic lunches, one of the many things that appealed to her and her family." Regarding Sidwell Friends, which costs over $30,000 a year to attend, Shipman touted: "Seven-year-old Sasha has a 25-minute trip to the lower school campus in Bethesda, Maryland where the emphasis is on Quaker values." At no time did Shipman, or any other host in the three segments that followed, mention Obama's opposition to school choice programs and vouchers.

[This item, by the MRC's Scott Whitlock, was posted Monday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

On November 12, Shipman filed a similar story on the first daughters and, just as on January 5, failed to note any Obama contradictions. Instead, she rhapsodized that "the D.C. social world is obsessed with where these new, coolest kids on the block will wind up." See a November 13 CyberAlert posting for more: www.mrc.org

In a follow-up segment at 7:30, co-host Robin Roberts played video footage of the children and haltingly worried: "Don't you- all of a sudden I'm, like, queasy just thinking about the first day of school, starting a new school. But they have a lot of support, a lot of friends there with them."

At the top of the 8:30 hour, as pictures of Barack and Michelle Obama talking to their daughters appeared on screen, co-host Diane Sawyer suggested: "They're sending them off with some advice there. Don't you think?" GMA news anchor Chris Cuomo, son of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, speculated, "No fighting. Don't cause any trouble for us." Speaking from experience, perhaps?

A transcript of the first segment, which aired at 7:17am, follows:

7:01am tease
DIANE SAWYER: We're all thinking of Malia and Sasha this morning. First day of school in a new place and, of course, all that attention being paid to you and we'll have a little more on that. And the President-elect said he choked up thinking about it.
ROBIN ROBERTS: Home alone in Chicago. One of Malia's friends came over and had a little scrapbook that he wanted her to deliver to his ten-year-old and he was flipping through it. And, I would imagine, got a little choked up.

7:17am
SAWYER: And we turn back now to another family getting ready for their new morning in their new life. As we said, the Obamas' first day in Washington and a big day for Malia and Sasha. Malia, aged ten. Sasha aged seven heading off for their first day at school. And GMA senior national correspondent is in fact just a few feet away from their new digs in Washington at the Hay-Adams. Claire?

CLAIRE SHIPMAN: Good morning, Diane. Well, that's right. We happen to broadcast from the Hay Adams hotel. Now, we've turned an ordinary room into a studio and I think you can see why when you see the view over my shoulder. The Obamas are in a room that looks a little bit different. It is a suite. They've decided to come early to Washington because they wanted their daughters to have a smooth transition to their new school, Sidwell Friends, which starts today. It's a transition that would be tough for any kids, president's daughters or not. New school, new teachers, new friends. Ten-year-old Malia makes the 15-minute drive to Sidwell middle school campus in Washington where she will be in fifth grade. It's an award winning, entirely green building, complete with organic lunches, one of the many things that appealed to her and her family. Seven-year-old Sasha has a 25-minute trip to the lower school campus in Bethesda, Maryland where the emphasis is on Quaker values. She'll be in second grade there. The family has asked for as much privacy as possible. What they want to avoid is scenes like this. Amy Carter's first day at school under siege by reporters.
SALLY QUINN (The Washington Post): Amy Carter had a really terrible time in the beginning because she went to a public school and the public schools were just not really equipped to deal with a child of a president.
[brief "Saturday Night Live" clip]
SHIPMAN: "Saturday Night Live" had great fun imagining a day at school trailed by Secret Service agents.
["Saturday Night Live" clip]
SHIPMAN: While it is the case that Secret Service protection will always be nearby, sometimes in the classroom, the agents know from experience how to blend in and give kids the space they need. From all accounts, Chelsea Clinton who also went to Sidwell managed to have a surprisingly normal existence.
LISA CAPUTO (Fmr. Press secretary for Hillary Clinton): What I saw with Chelsea Clinton was the development of such amazing friendships, friendships that she forged that are very strong to this day. When she was the first daughter attending school in Washington, her friends were very protective of her.
SHIPMAN: Obama aides say the girls were especially drawn to Sidwell because they'll have ready-made friends. The Biden grandchildren also go to school there and the Obama girls apparently bonded with them on the campaign trail. Ahh, the quest for a normal life. It will certainly be hard but they will get an adventure. At least the girls will get a chance to play Eloise here at the Hay-Adams for a couple weeks. Diane and Robin?
SAWYER: Yeah. Staying up late dialing room service, I hope. I hope they get to.

CNN and Post's Quinn Gush Over Obama
Kids' New 'Magical' School

CNN correspondent Joe Johns' report on Monday's American Morning heaped praise upon Sidwell Friends School, the new school for the Obama daughters. Johns read from one of the school's own mission statements about its "Quaker values" and later described how President-elect Obama apparently "often seems in tune with Quaker principles -- seeking consensus with others; talking rather than fighting with opponents; and, at least in the case of Iraq, if not Afghanistan, opposing war even when the majority supports it." The correspondent also featured three clips from the Washington Post's Sally Quinn, who gushed over school: "Sidwell is a happy school....it can be a really magical place."

Johns began introducing Sidwell Friends as "among the elite private schools in Washington," and set the laudatory tone of the report by playing the first clip from Quinn, who described the school as "very much about peace and community" and that it's "very progressive." He continued by highlighting how "the Obamas selected the school that was the best fit for what their daughters need right now."

[This item, by the MRC's Matthew Balan, was posted Monday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

After reading an excerpt from Sidwell Friends' "Quaker values" statement, the correspondent played a clip from Bo Lauder, the principal of Friends Seminary, another elite Quaker school in New York City. Mr. Lauder, in true "hope and change" fashion, emphasized that "[w]ith Obama's position on war, and his own commitment to hope and to the future, I think that he feels probably that the school will equip his children well for bringing about a better world." Johns continued in this vein with his statement on how Obama "seems in tune with Quaker principles."

The report concluded with two clips from Quinn. She gave a bit of history on the children of presidents and vice-presidents who went to Sidwell Friends in the first clip, and then went over-the-top about how great the school was in the second: "Sidwell is a happy school. I think the children who go there are children who really feel good about themselves at the end of the day. They're happy children. It's -- it can be a really magical place."

The full transcript of Joe Johns' report, which began 21 minutes into the 6 am Eastern hour of Monday's American Morning:

ROB MARCIANO: It's the first day at a new school for the Obama girls. The soon-to-be First Daughters, Malia and Sasha Obama, start classes at Sidwell Friends. CNN's Joe Johns has a closer look at the Washington private school that's no secret to students with Secret Service in tow.
JOE JOHNS: Sidwell Friends, founded in 1883 by a Quaker teacher, is among the elite private schools in Washington.
SALLY QUINN, THE WASHINGTON POST: Sidwell Friends is a Quaker school, first of all, and it's really infused with Quaker values. It's very much about peace and community. It's very progressive. It's about 40 percent minority.
JOHNS: Michelle Obama's spokesperson says a number of great schools were considered. In the end, the Obamas selected the school that was the best fit for what their daughters need right now. So what's so special about Sidwell? There is the philosophy. Sidwell says its students and faculty are on a search for truth and the school follows a Quaker belief 'that of God in each of us inspires everything we do, inspires us to show kindness and respect toward one another, and apply our talents and service to others.'
BO LAUDER, PRINCIPAL, FRIENDS SEMINARY: I think it's a great fit for the Obama family because the school is a very rigorous academic place that places a lot of value on intellectual inquiry. With Obama's position on war, and his own commitment to hope and to the future, I think that he feels probably that the school will equip his children well for bringing about a better world.
JOHNS: And Obama often seems in tune with Quaker principles -- seeking consensus with others; talking rather than fighting with opponents; and, at least in the case of Iraq, if not Afghanistan, opposing war even when the majority supports it. The Obama girls aren't the only First Family children who have opted for Sidwell.
QUINN: Chelsea Clinton went there. Al Gore -- young Al Gore went there. The Nixon girls went there. Teddy Roosevelt's children went there. The Biden grandchildren go there. They're very, very good about security. They understand about that, and they also understand about children who are in the public eye a lot.
JOHNS: Sidwell isn't cheap. For the lower school, where Sasha will attend second grade, tuition is nearly $29,000, and more for the middle school, where Malia will be in fifth grade. But Sidwell can afford to ask top dollar.
QUINN: Sidwell is a happy school. I think the children who go there are children who really feel good about themselves at the end of the day. They're happy children. It's -- it can be a really magical place.
JOHNS: And by the time the president-elect takes the oath of office, the Obama girls will have two weeks of Washington schooling under their belts. So today, in a way, they're getting a head start on their dad. Rob and Kiran?
CHETRY: Joe Johns, thanks.

CBS's Schieffer to Cheney: 'Is Anything
President Does Legal?'

On Sunday's Face the Nation on CBS, host Bob Schieffer seemed to be acting out a scene from Frost/Nixon as he questioned Vice President Dick Cheney about the terrorist surveillance program: "Do you feel you went too far, Mr. Vice President, in your surveillance?...Do you -- do you believe that the President, in time of war, that anything he does is legal?" Cheney shot back with some historical context: "I can't say that anything he does is legal. I think we do, and we have, a historic precedent of taking action that you wouldn't take in peacetime...If you hark back in our history you can look at Abraham Lincoln, who suspended the writ of Habeas Corpus in the middle of the Civil War...or FDR in World War II...when he provided for internment camps for Japanese-American citizens. Most people now look back and say that was wrong. But what we did was modest by those comparisons."

[This item, by the MRC's Kyle Drennen, was posted Monday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

Later in the interview, Schieffer again questioned the legality of Bush administration policies: "Let me talk to you a little bit about torture. You have said that you do not believe that waterboarding, for example, was torture...Would you do it again if you had to make those same decisions again? Because a lot of people now say that some of the things that happened here may be the reason that some of our casualties happened...because people saw the publicity of these things, the kinds of things that happened at Abu Ghraib." In fact, it was CBS News that broke the Abu Ghraib story, so by Schieffer's logic, CBS caused American casualties by showing the pictures.

Schieffer also asked about Guantanamo Bay: "Guantanamo. You've said it should remain open, but for how long, Mr. Vice President?" Cheney replied: "Well, Guantanamo's there to hold people we believe are unlawful combatants that we captured in the war on terror, many of them members of al-Qaeda...Now, if you bring them onshore into the United States, they immediately fall heir to certain legal rights and privileges that'll create problems. And there also, I don't know many congressional districts that are eager to have 200 al-Qaeda terrorists deposited on their soil."

On December 2, Schieffer talked to four liberal authors about the incoming Obama administration. One author, the New Yorker's Jane Mayer, who wrote The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals, said of the Bush administration: "They were not constitutional scholars and they enacted policies that -- including legalizing torture for all purposes -- that really were not constitutional." Apparently Schieffer holds a similar view.

For Schieffer's December 2 discussion with a liberal roundtable: newsbusters.org

Here is a transcript of the relevant portion of the January 4 interview:

SCHIEFFER: And we're back again with the Vice President. Mr. Vice President, in an interview last month with Chris Wallace over at Fox, you said that starting in 2001 the administration -- and in many cases, you personally -- kept congressional leaders fully briefed on the program to monitor America's international phone calls without a warrant. You said that the Republican and Democratic leaders were unanimous, when you briefed them, that the programs were essential and did not require further congressional action. But The New York Times has noted that Senator Rockefeller wrote you a letter in 2003 reiterating concerns that he said he had expressed at those meetings, that the programs raised profound issues and created concern regarding the direction the administration was taking. So were congressional leaders kept fully informed or were they not?
CHENEY: They were kept fully informed.
SCHIEFFER: Well, why would he have written that letter?
CHENEY: I have no idea. I know when -- what happened was the -- everybody who was in the room that day, for example, when I got the leadership down, chairman and ranking member of the Intelligence Committees, including Senator Rockefeller, and asked them if we thought they should continue -- if they thought we should continue the program, they said yes. Do we need to come to Congress to get authorization for it? They said no. And he was there. He never objected or opposed that in any way. Later on, when this became public, when The New York Times broke the story -- which, frankly, I think was an outrageous decision on their part; they were asked by the President of the United States not to on the grounds it would damage national security -- then Senator Rockefeller decided he wanted to hark back to this letter. But the fact was he couldn't even find it. He had to call my office for a copy of the letter that he allegedly had written some years before raising some questions that he had about the program. But I always-
SCHIEFFER: Well, I mean, do you-
CHENEY: I always felt it was a bit if a CYA letter. And in those crucial meetings when we sat down to debate the program and tell them about it, in fact, everybody in the room signed up to it. Nobody objected.
SCHIEFFER: Do you feel you went too far, Mr. Vice President, in your surveillance?
CHENEY: Absolutely not. I think what we did was one of the great success stories of the intelligence business in the last century. I think what the National Security Agency under General Mike Hayden, working with the CIA and at the direction of the president, was masterfully done. I think it provided crucial intelligence for us. It's one of the main reasons we've been successful in defending the country against further attacks, and I don't believe we violated anybody's civil liberties. This was all done in accordance with the president's constitutional authority under Article II of the Constitution as commander in chief, with the resolution that was passed by the Congress immediately after 9/11. And subsequently, we have gotten legislative authority signed up to last year when we passed a modified FISA statute.
SCHIEFFER: Do you -- do you believe that the President, in time of war, that anything he does is legal?
CHENEY: I can't say that anything he does is legal. I think we do, and we have, a historic precedent of taking action that you wouldn't take in peacetime but that you will take sometimes in wartime in order to do the basic job that you sign up to when you take the oath of office, to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. If you hark back in our history you can look at Abraham Lincoln, who suspended the writ of Habeas Corpus in the middle of the Civil War.
SCHIEFFER: But nobody thinks that that was legal.
CHENEY: Well, no. Well, it was -- certainly was in the sense he wasn't impeached. And it was a wartime measure that he took that I think today history says, yeah, that was probably a good thing to do. There have been other examples. Lyndon -- or FDR in World War II when he provided for internment camps for Japanese-American citizens. Most people now look back and say that was wrong. But what we did was modest by those comparisons. And I would also emphasize that what we did, we did with the support and involvement, for example, of the Justice Department. Every single time the president reauthorized the terrorist surveillance program, which he did every 30 or 45 days, it was only after the secretary-
SCHIEFFER: Would have -- is it not true that the courts and others have now said that some of those orders that the Justice Department was putting out proved to be-
CHENEY: That was -- that was the -- those were the rules-
SCHIEFFER: -not correct?
CHENEY: -that we had to operate by. And the Attorney General of the United States signed off on every single one of those exceptions. The president would not extend the program without the attorney general's authorization and approval on there. In terms of all of our actions, we worked to stay close to the Office of Legal Counsel. We followed the guidance we got, which is what you're suppose to do and where you're suppose to do it. There've subsequently been some controversies that -- the Supreme Court's s made some decisions that didn't agree with what we did at the time, but what we did was authorized by legal authorities that were to be the source of that kind of advice.
SCHIEFFER: Let me talk to you a little bit about torture. You have said that you do not believe that waterboarding, for example, was torture.
CHENEY: Right.
SCHIEFFER: You and members of the Cabinet sat in the White House and approved the methods of interrogation that were used by the CIA. Why would something like that reach your level, Mr. Vice President?
CHENEY: Well, because the CIA did not want to proceed without having a very clear understanding of what was authorized and what was appropriate. And they'd seen situations, I'd seen situations before, where the CIA would get out and undertake an assignment or a mission and then find that the politicians would all run for the hills, like Iran-Contra. In fact, what we had here was a situation in where the CIA was being very careful and very cautious. They had prisoners like Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who was the mastermind of 9/11, in custody. They wanted to know what kind of techniques they could use going forward and still maintain consistency with the statutes and the international agreements that we're party to.
SCHIEFFER: Would you do it again if you had to make those same decisions again? Because a lot of people now say that some of the things that happened here may be the reason that some of our casualties happened-
CHENEY: Yeah.
SCHIEFFER: -because people saw the publicity of these things, the kinds of things that happened at Abu Ghraib.
CHENEY: I would absolutely do it again, Bob. I think the loss of life if there had been further mass casualty attacks against the United States over the last seven and a half years fully justifies it. Think of what would happen if there had been an attack and we hadn't taken any of these measures? Then you'd be sitting here today, you know, grilling me, saying, `Why didn't you guys do everything you could to stop it? Why didn't you find out what the enemy was planning to do? Why didn't you interfere with the attacks?'
SCHIEFFER: So you would suggest that Barack Obama continue those things?
CHENEY: I would. If he were to seek my advice -- he hasn't -- but if he were to seek my advice, I'd say, look, before you go out and start to make policy based on the campaign rhetoric we heard last year, what you need to do is to sit down and find out what we've done, find out how we did it, what the justification was for it, what kind of results it's produced, and then make a informed judgment about whether or not you want to keep these things. But I would hope he would avoid doing what others have done in the past, which is letting the campaign rhetoric guide his judgment in this absolutely crucial area. We were very careful, we did everything by the book and, in fact, we produced very significant results. And I would hope that, for the sake of the nation, that this administration and future administrations will continue those policies.
SCHIEFFER: Guantanamo. You've said it should remain open, but for how long, Mr. Vice President?
CHENEY: Well, Guantanamo's there to hold people we believe are unlawful combatants that we captured in the war on terror, many of them members of al-Qaeda. They're well treated. Their cases are reviewed annually by military commissions to see whether or not they should stay or go. We've released more than we've held. There've been hundreds who have been sent back to their home country. But the problem you've got is what do you do with the prisoners that are there? Now, if you bring them onshore into the United States, they immediately fall heir to certain legal rights and privileges that'll create problems. And there also, I don't know many congressional districts that are eager to have 200 al-Qaeda terrorists deposited on their soil.
SCHIEFFER: About 30 seconds left.
CHENEY: Yeah.
SCHIEFFER: What's next, Mr. Vice President? You're leaving government for what, about the fifth time-
CHENEY: Something like that.
SCHIEFFER: -in the last 40 years?
CHENEY: Yeah.
SCHIEFFER: Will you -- what now?
CHENEY: Well, I don't know yet. I'm looking forward to spending time with the family, obviously. We've got six grandchildren now, and I always enjoy that. We'll split our time between Washington and Wyoming. Maybe I'll write a book. I haven't made any final, firm commitments yet.
SCHIEFFER: Alright. Thank you so much, and I hope we'll have you back again.
CHENEY: I'd like to come back, Bob.
SCHIEFFER: Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

-- Brent Baker