At the top of the 8PM ET hour on Tuesday's CBS Early Show, senior White House correspondent Bill Plante touted President Obama's comments about the midterm elections in a recent interview [1]: "[He] told Rolling Stone magazine that for those people not to come out, those so-called 'surge voters,' would be 'inexcusable and irresponsible'....'people need to shake off this lethargy and buck up.'"
News reader Erica Hill then brought up another part of the interview: "Also in that Rolling Stone article, on a little bit lighter note, I understand the President is perhaps expanding his musical library a little bit?" Plante responded: "...there are 2,000 tunes on his iPod. We got a look inside, it's Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan....He's got Nas, Lil' Wayne, some of the hip-hop artists. And his daughters are getting into the act, too. Sharing their musical tastes with him." Hill remarked: "Ah, I imagine that could include the Jonas Brothers, from everything we've heard about the Obama girls."
What was missing in the discussion of the President's Rolling Stone interview were his attacks on the tea party movement and Fox News. Of the tea party, Obama declared: "...there are probably some aspects of the Tea Party that are a little darker, that have to do with anti-immigrant sentiment or are troubled by what I represent as the president." As NewBusters' Lachlan Markay pointed out [2], Obama also proclaimed that Fox News has a "point of view" that is "ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country." Neither Plante nor Hill made any mention of those controversial comments.
-Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here. [3]8:02AM ET
ERICA HILL: One of President Obama's top advisers may soon be leaving the White House to pursue his own political dreams. CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante is standing by at the White House this morning. Bill, good morning.
BILL PLANTE: Good morning to you, Erica. That would be Rahm Emanuel. The White House Chief of Staff, who wants to run for Mayor of Chicago, and we learn that he may leave as early as this coming Friday. Earlier today, Maggie asked the chairman of the Democratic Party, Tim Kaine, what this does to the President's aggressive campaign plans to kind of try to keep control of Congress.
TIM KAINE: I don't really think it's going to affect the party. I mean, you know, Rahm will make his decision as he makes it. Then the White House will, you know, move forward with other folks in place to make sure that the work of the country's being done.
PLANTE: The President will be campaigning hard over the next five weeks. He's going to try and get those uncommitted voters on campuses, like the campus of the University of Wisconsin, where he goes today, and Madison. The idea is to get the people who voted for him in 2008 to come out again. And the President told Rolling Stone magazine that for those people not to come out, those so-called 'surge voters,' would be 'inexcusable and irresponsible,' for the unenthusiastic Democrats to sit out the midterm elections. He said to Rolling Stone, 'people need to shake off this lethargy and buck up.' Erica.
HILL: Some strong words there. Also in that Rolling Stone article, on a little bit lighter note, I understand the President is perhaps expanding his musical library a little bit?
PLANTE: Well, it looks like it. We learn that - in this Rolling Stone article - there are 2,000 tunes on his iPod. We got a look inside, it's Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, you might expect that, the Stones. But then some of his aides, like Reggie Love and the younger aides, have improved his stuff, a little more - a little more hip. He's got Nas, Lil' Wayne, some of the hip-hop artists. And his daughters are getting into the act, too. Sharing their musical tastes with him.
HILL: Ah, I imagine that could include the Jonas Brothers, from everything we've heard about the Obama girls. Bill Plante at the White House, thanks.