ABC’s World News on Thursday continued its week-plus blackout of any of the new revelations about the Obama administration’s dissembling on what occurred before and after the Benghazi terrorist attacks, yet made time to tout Michael Bloomberg’s endorsement of President Obama and for an excerpt of Diane Sawyer’s gauzy “Portrait of a Candidate” interview with Obama from early October.
“Our brand new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows” Obama “with a one-point edge,” Sawyer announced, leading into touting: “He also got a big helpful endorsement today.”
George Stephanopoulos failed to explain how the endorsement, from the liberal Mayor of a city in a very blue state which borders two other states Obama is already sure to win, would be “helpful” to Obama. Stephanopoulos heralded how “independent Mayor Michael Bloomberg had criticized President Obama in the past, said he was not going to endorse. Today he came out and said he’s endorsing President Obama because he believes he’s best positioned to lead on the issue of climate change...”
The former Democratic operative who now advances liberal interests via ABC News as its chief political correspondent, then showcased more great news for Obama, noting the endorsement “comes on top of that praise from Governor Chris Christie” and ABC’s poll which found “nearly eight out of ten Americans think the President has done a good job handling this hurricane.”
(The CBS Evening News didn’t find Bloomberg’s endorsement newsworthy, but on the NBC Nightly News, Peter Alexander highlighted it: “At the center of the response to that storm, New York City’s politically independent Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who said climate change contributed to the destructive hurricane, and today endorsed Mr. Obama as the best candidate to tackle climate change, insisting he could still ‘fulfill the hope he inspired four years ago,’ despite what Bloomberg called a ‘disappointing’ first term.”)
From the Thursday, November 1 ABC World News:
DIANE SAWYER: Tonight, our brand new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows this. The President with a one-point edge. He also got a big helpful endorsement today and I want to bring in Good Morning America co-anchor, anchor of This Week, George Stephanopoulos. George?
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: That’s right. Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City, independent Mayor Michael Bloomberg had criticized President Obama in the past, said he was not going to endorse. Today he came out and said he’s endorsing President Obama because he believes he’s best positioned to lead on the issue of climate change, which the Mayor believes had an impact on this hurricane.
Of course, that comes on top of that praise from Governor Chris Christie, the Republican Governor of New Jersey yesterday, and the poll you cited, Diane, also shows that nearly eight out of ten Americans think the President has done a good job handling this hurricane.
-- Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here [1] to follow Brent Baker on Twitter.