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1. Tapper: Bush Veto 'Reminder of Everything Unaccomplished' in Iraq
ABC's Jake Tapper concluded his Thursday World News story, on the House and Senate Iraq funding bills which include timetables for the withdrawal of troops, by adding a gratuitous zinger about President Bush's much-derided "Mission Accomplished" speech. Noting how Democrats intend to send their final conference bill to the President on Tuesday, for an expected veto, Tapper helpfully pointed out how that "just so happens to be the fourth anniversary of the President's 'Mission Accomplished' photo-op aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln." Tapper then bore in, asserting, "of course" that "would be an uncomfortable reminder of everything in Iraq that remains unaccomplished." War supporters would see it as a reminder of how the Democratic effort to show they support the troops remains unaccomplished.
2. CNN's Ware: Pullout Debate 'Delusional,' Would Hand Iraq to Qaeda
Left-wing blogs loved it when CNN's Michael Ware rebuked Senator John McCain a few weeks ago, after McCain suggested he could safely walk through areas of Baghdad. But on Thursday's American Morning on CNN, Ware took dead aim at Democratic schemes for pulling out of Iraq, saying that debating a U.S. troop withdrawal was "delusional" and such a step would amount to "giving Iraq to Iran...and al Qaeda. That's who would own it."
AUDIO&VIDEO
3. GMA Salutes 'Bold' Health Care Plan from Democratic 'War Horses'
ABC News, on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, jumped to promote a government-mandated health care plan proposed by Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy and Democratic Congressman John Dingell. "There's a new political push tonight for universal health care," World News anchor Charles Gibson announced Wednesday night in setting up a favorable assessment of it from ABC's Dr. Tim Johnson. The next day on Good Morning America, Johnson spouted liberal talking points in pushing the plan by the "two old war horses." Johnson described the plan as "bold" and "politically brilliant." Additionally, he rhapsodized about its liberal sponsors, saying that Dingell and Kennedy are "trying to do what I think is the right thing."
4. 'Fat Cat' Matt Lauer Whines About How 'Rich Get Richer'
Leave it to NBC's Today show to find the downside of a booming stock market. Playing the class envy card, Today co-host Matt Lauer teased a Thursday story on a supposedly widening gap between rich and poor as he incredulously asked the audience: "Do you feel like you're working harder and harder these days just to stay financially afloat while fat cats get richer and richer?" Lauer, not exactly a pauper himself, then threw it to CNBC's Scott Cohn who claimed: "Not only are the rich getting richer they're leaving everyone else behind. In fact the last time the rich were this much richer than everyone else was the Great Depression." Cohn provided a supporting soundbite from just one expert, Robert Greenstein of the far-left Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which NBC didn't bother to label as such.
5. CBS Hypes Iranian Nuke 'Exclusive' That Echoes ABC's 'Exclusive'
"Exclusive" hype. Three weeks and three days after ABC's World News led with an "exclusive" about how Iran could have a nuclear weapon in two years, the CBS Evening News on Thursday led with an "exclusive" about how Iran could have a nuclear weapon in three years. Will NBC soon tout an "exclusive" about Iran getting a nuclear weapon in four years?
6. ABC and CBS Morning Shows Ignore O'Donnell's 9/11 Conspiracy Rant
The ABC and CBS morning shows on Thursday managed to review Rosie O'Donnell's tenure at The View without mentioning her most inflammatory 9/11 World Trade Center conspiracy theory-mongering. CBS's Jeff Glor briefly noted, with a soundbite, that O'Donnell has "gone after President Bush," but he ignored her many controversies, including the September 11 conspiracy theory, Iran's British hostage conspiracy theory, anti-Catholic remarks, and downplaying the terrorist threat several times. ABC's John Berman touted O'Donnell as "something of a pioneer" before a montage of the comedienne's greatest hits, including her attacks on President Bush and the feud with Donald Trump. But strangely absent was her rant from March 29 which NBC's Lisa Daniels briefly touched: "But it was Rosie's controversial political statements that stirred the pot." NBC viewers then saw O'Donnell from March 29: "It is impossible for a building to fall the way it fell without explosives being involved. World Trade Center 7."
 Tapper: Bush Veto 'Reminder of Everything
Unaccomplished' in Iraq
ABC's Jake Tapper concluded his Thursday World News story, on the House and Senate Iraq funding bills which include timetables for the withdrawal of troops, by adding a gratuitous zinger about President Bush's much-derided "Mission Accomplished" speech. Noting how Democrats intend to send their final conference bill to the President on Tuesday, for an expected veto, Tapper helpfully pointed out how that "just so happens to be the fourth anniversary of the President's 'Mission Accomplished' photo-op aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln." Tapper then bore in, asserting, "of course" that "would be an uncomfortable reminder of everything in Iraq that remains unaccomplished." War supporters would see it as a reminder of how the Democratic effort to show they support the troops remains unaccomplished.
Tapper's spin matched the second paragraph of a story, by Jonathan Weisman, on the front page of Thursday's Washington Post: "Democrats hope to send the measure to the White House on Monday, almost exactly four years after President Bush declared an end to major combat in a speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. That would be a particularly pungent political anniversary for Bush to deliver only the second veto of his presidency."
The April 26 Washington Post article: www.washingtonpost.com
[This item was posted Thursday night on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]
From Capitol Hill, Tapper concluded his April 26 World News story: "Democrats are thinking about sending this bill to the President, for his signature or a veto, on Tuesday, which just so happens to be the fourth anniversary of the President's 'Mission Accomplished' photo-op aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. That, of course Charlie, would be an uncomfortable reminder of everything in Iraq that remains unaccomplished."
 CNN's Ware: Pullout Debate 'Delusional,'
Would Hand Iraq to Qaeda
Ware also provided an interesting insight into how the battle in Iraq has shifted from Anbar province and Baghdad, areas where the U.S. has built up troop levels, to Diyala province, which he described as "the new frontline against al Qaeda."
Apparently Ware has no doubt that al Qaeda has made Iraq a central front in their battle against the U.S., and that the U.S. pulling out would hand al Qaeda a huge victory.
[This item, by Rich Noyes, was posted with video Thursday morning on the MRC's NewsBusters blog. The audio/video will be added to the posted version of this CyberAlert. But in the meantime, to listen to the MP3 audio of Ware's comments, or to watch the Real or Windows Media video, go to: newsbusters.org ]
Baghdad correspondent Ware was joined on Thursday's American Morning with Kyra Phillips, who has also been reporting from Iraq for the past several months. Both were in New York and talked to co-host Kiran Chetry during the program's 8am EDT hour.
After Phillips talked about how U.S. General David Petraeus is "a straight shooter" who has admitted difficulty in some provinces in Iraq, Ware focused on the fighting northeast of Baghdad:
"Diyala is now the new frontline against al-Qaeda. I mean, to be honest, it's a tragically bloody affair. The brigade that was there last year lost 19 troops in 12 months. The brigade there now has lost 50 in six months.
"And you listen very carefully to what General Petraeus says, he says 'This is what we would like to see, a representative government.' When I was in Diyala province, I interviewed a two-star general on camera for CNN, and he admitted for the first time from anyone in the military that they're now prepared to accept options other than democracy.
"Now this is what this war was sold to the American public on, yet they're now saying democracy isn't mandatory, it's an option, and that they're prepared to see a government that can protect itself, give services to its people, and it doesn't have to be democratic. In fact, the general said, most of our allies in this region are not democratic. So that fundamentally addresses the root cause of why America says it went to war, and now the military is saying, well, we may not get there."
Then, after talking about the difficulty of daily life in Iraq, Chetry asked the pair "would all of us, all the American troops pulling out, help the situation?" Phillips and Ware both loudly protested: "Oh, no! No. No way!"
Phillips zeroed in on the problems a U.S. withdrawal would cause for the Iraqis: "It would be a disaster. I mean, I had a chance to sit down with the Minister of Defense, to General Petraeus, to Admiral Fallon, head of CENTCOM. I asked them all the question whether Iraqi or U.S. military -- there is no way U.S. troops could pull out. It would be a disaster. They're doing too much training, they're helping the Iraqis not only with security, but trying to get the government up and running. I mean, this is a country of 'Let's Make a Deal,' there's so much corruption still. If the U.S. military left -- they have rules of engagement, they have an idea, a focus. It would be a disaster."
Ware agreed, but argued that winning the war was in America's best interest: "Well, even more than that, if you just wanted to look at it in terms of purely American national interest, if U.S. troops leave now, you're giving Iraq to Iran, a member of President Bush's 'Axis of Evil,' and al Qaeda. That's who will own it. And so, coming back now, I'm struck by the nature of the debate on Capitol Hill, how delusional it is. Whether you're for this war, or against it; whether you've supported the way it's been executed, or not; it doesn't matter. You've broke it, you've got to fix it now. You can't leave, or it's going to come and blow back on America."
 GMA Salutes 'Bold' Health Care Plan from
Democratic 'War Horses'
ABC News, on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, jumped to
promote a government-mandated health care plan proposed by
Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy and Democratic Congressman John
Dingell. "There's a new political push tonight for universal
health care," World News anchor Charles Gibson announced Wednesday
night in setting up a favorable assessment of it from ABC's Dr.
Tim Johnson. The next day on Good
Morning America, Johnson spouted liberal talking points in pushing
the plan by the "two old war horses." Johnson described the plan
as "bold" and "politically brilliant." Additionally, he
rhapsodized about its liberal sponsors, saying that Dingell and
Kennedy are "trying to do what I think is the right thing."
[This item is adapted from a posting, by Scott Whitlock, on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]
GMA co-host Robin Roberts introduced Johnson by noting just how excited the medical expert was over the legislation: "And, of course, health care a big issue out there on the campaign trail. So, imagine universal health care for everyone? That's what a bold new plan on Capitol Hill is proposing. It's the brain child of Senator Edward Kennedy and Representative John Dingell. And they say it would make universal health care for every American a reality within five years. So, can it work? For answers we're joined by ABC medical expert Dr. Tim Johnson. You're very happy about this. You say it's bold and politically brilliant."
Dr. Tim Johnson: "It's bold, because it does propose to cover all Americans, including the 47 million now who are uninsured within five years. And I say it's politically brilliant because one of the options they're offering is for people to choose from the federal employee plan, the menu of options that Congress gets every year. It's going to be very hard for Congress, I think, to say, 'Well, we can have it but you can't.' So, I think that it's a good strategy on their part."
Shortly thereafter on the April 26 show, Roberts asked Johnson just how this universal health care plan would be financed. The ABC analyst began his explanation by noting that "the government finances both plans." Roberts didn't press him as to where, exactly, the government gets money: "Many people, of course when they hear about this, they're like, okay, Tim, cost. How do you pay for this?"
Johnson: "Well, as you know, the government finances both plans, but in this particular case, what they're talking about doing is shifting the way employers now pay for health care, directly to the insurers on behalf of their employees to a payroll tax for all businesses. And they've estimated that the current cost for the employers who do pay is about 13 percent of payroll. They say that if they spread it around all businesses, entire country, they can reduce that to about seven percent of the payroll tax. So for big companies, like the car companies who are now paying big amounts, it could mean a major reduction, according to the way they calculate it."
Rather than question Johnson, Roberts simply noted that the plan "sounds good." There were no queries as to what effect the payroll tax would have on businesses. Would it spur them to hire less? Will smaller companies be adversely effected?
Roberts didn't ask. She simply wondered if the bill would pass. Johnson contended the legislation's success is contingent on a Democrat's election to the White House next year:
"Well, there are going to be many proposals. This one certainly raises the bar. I love seeing these two old war horses out there trying to do what I think is the right thing. Maybe you disagree with the details of how they do it, but it will certainly raise the debate. And I think, if a Democrat President is elected, there is a good chance this or something like it, will pass, because the public is getting very nervous about health care. Businesses are getting very worried about health care. The present system is a mess."
Though ABC's medical expert is often portrayed on GMA as a wise purveyor of medical wisdom, his liberalism has long been apparent.
In January of 1994 on World News Tonight he advocated universal health care by citing people dying in the street: "Everyone is applauding, I think, in the health care community, the emphasis on universal access, because they know that unless they're going to let some people just die in the streets, it makes sense to get medical care early, when it's going to be more effective and less costly....the insurance companies are the focal point for the dynamics of denial that are part of our present for-profit system."
And in July of that same year, on Good Morning America, he told then-First Lady Hillary Clinton that her plan for universal health care had his support: "So at least from the physicians represented here, you get a 100 percent vote, including mine, for universal coverage."
 'Fat Cat' Matt Lauer Whines About How
'Rich Get Richer'
Leave it to NBC's Today show to find the downside of a booming stock market. Playing the class envy card, Today co-host Matt Lauer teased a Thursday story on a supposedly widening gap between rich and poor as he incredulously asked the audience: "Do you feel like you're working harder and harder these days just to stay financially afloat while fat cats get richer and richer?" Lauer, not exactly a pauper himself, then threw it to CNBC's Scott Cohn who claimed: "Not only are the rich getting richer they're leaving everyone else behind. In fact the last time the rich were this much richer than everyone else was the Great Depression." Cohn provided a supporting soundbite from just one expert, Robert Greenstein of the far-left Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which NBC didn't bother to label as such.
Cohn did mention the wealthy are giving more to charity but only highlighted liberal billionaire Bill Gates' good deeds.
[This item, by Geoffrey Dickens, was posted Thursday on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]
The following is the full story as it aired on the April 26th Today show:
Matt Lauer: "Do you feel like you're working harder and harder these days just to stay financially afloat while fat cats get richer and richer? It's not just a feeling and you're not alone. The story now from CNBC's Scott Cohn."
[On screen headline: "Share the Wealth? The Rich Get Richer."]
Scott Cohn: "Richard David Story is feeling it. The editor-in-chief of American Express's magazine for its most elite card members. He's on a constant quest for the glitziest, glamorous. For an audience that just keeps wanting more."
Richard David Story, Departures magazine: "They're looking for that one perfect bottle of wine. They're looking for that one perfect not hotel room, not suite, that one perfect villa and they're extremely demanding right now."
Cohn: "They can afford to be with a record stock market and hedge funds creating a new crop of billionaires. But then there's the rest of us."
 Man: "The rich do keep getting rich and the poor keep getting poorer."
Woman: "I can make ends meet but I have to think about it more."
Cohn: "Not only are the rich getting richer they're leaving everyone else behind. In fact the last time the rich were this much richer than everyone else was the Great Depression. A University of California study shows the top one percent of Americans now make 22 percent of the nation's income -- their biggest piece of the pie since 1929. While middle-class Americans, by in large, are stuck. Rising energy prices cancelling out any increase in wages."
Robert Greenstein, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: "It makes it harder to achieve the basics of the American dream for the millions of families that get up, work hard, play by the rules everyday."
Cohn: "Like a house. For all the talk of a slowdown the National Association of Realtors says homes are still less affordable as a percentage of family income than they were three years ago. Not that there's anything wrong with being rich and Richard David Story says he's writing more and more about the newest trend among the wealthy, philanthropy. Following the lead of billionaires like Bill Gates the rich getting so rich they have money to give away. For Today, Scott Cohn, NBC News, New York."
 CBS Hypes Iranian Nuke 'Exclusive' That
Echoes ABC's 'Exclusive'
"Exclusive" hype. Three weeks and three days after ABC's World News led with an "exclusive" about how Iran could have a nuclear weapon in two years, the CBS Evening News on Thursday led with an "exclusive" about how Iran could have a nuclear weapon in three years. Will NBC soon tout an "exclusive" about Iran getting a nuclear weapon in four years?
Katie Couric announced at the top of Thursday's newscast, "Tonight, a CBS News exclusive: U.S. intelligence now believes the Iranians may be within just three years of building their first nuclear weapon." David Martin reported the subsequent story. Back on April 2, ABC anchor Charles Gibson trumpeted "an alarming acceleration of Iran's nuclear program. Iran could have material for a bomb in two years. A Brian Ross exclusive." Ross soon explained how "in the last three months Iran has more than tripled its ability to produce enriched uranium -- meaning, according to weapons experts, that it could have enough material for a nuclear bomb within two years..." See: www.mrc.org
[This item was posted Thursday night on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]
 ABC and CBS Morning Shows Ignore O'Donnell's
9/11 Conspiracy Rant
The ABC and CBS morning shows on Thursday managed to review Rosie O'Donnell's tenure at The View without mentioning her most inflammatory 9/11 World Trade Center conspiracy theory-mongering. CBS's Jeff Glor briefly noted, with a soundbite, that O'Donnell has "gone after President Bush," but he ignored her many controversies, including the September 11 conspiracy theory, Iran's British hostage conspiracy theory, anti-Catholic remarks, and downplaying the terrorist threat several times. ABC's John Berman touted O'Donnell as "something of a pioneer" before a montage of the comedienne's greatest hits, including her attacks on President Bush and the feud with Donald Trump. But strangely absent was her rant from March 29 which NBC's Lisa Daniels briefly touched: "But it was Rosie's controversial political statements that stirred the pot." NBC viewers then saw O'Donnell from March 29: "It is impossible for a building to fall the way it fell without explosives being involved. World Trade Center 7."
For O'Donnell's most outrageous remarks, check the MRC's "Profile in Bias" on Rosie O'Donnell, "The Full Rosie: Daytime Host's Long Record of Mean-Spirited Left-Wing Ravings," a compilation of her most obnoxious comments -- many with video clips -- uttered on The View and earlier, go to: www.mrc.org
A transcript of the April 26 story on CBS's Early Show, as produced for a NewsBusters posting by Justin McCarthy: newsbusters.org
Hannah Storm: "By now, we expect Rosie O'Donnell to shock us. But it was still stunning to hear that she's leaving The View after only one year. Right now, we want to welcome the newest member of our Early Show family, national correspondent Jeff Glor, who has that story. It's nice to have you here. So she leaves, but we gain you Jeff. It's great to have you."
Jeff Glor: "Oh, how nice of you to say that. I'll give you that 20 a little bit later. Thank you very much. It is good to be here, great to be here. Rosie O'Donnell takes pride in what she calls provocative comments. As we've seen, her supply of them is seemingly endless. Her time on The View is not."
Rosie O'Donnell: "Breaking news. I've decided that we couldn't come to terms with my deal with ABC so next year I'm not going to be on The View."
Glor: "O'Donnell is saying the negotiation came down to number, not dollars, years."
O'Donnell: "They wanted me three years. I wanted one year. And then they were like 'okay, well, [grunts a groans]' I was like [grunts and groans]' and it just didn't work. And that's show biz, but-"
Glor: "She joined the show last year at Barbara Walters' request."
Barbara Walters: "I hoped that it would be more than one year."
O'Donnell: "Yeah."
Walters: "We have had, to say the least, an interesting year."
O'Donnell: "We certainly have."
Glor: "Rosie has gone after President Bush."
O'Donnell: "All the things that he's done, you know, the screwing up Katrina, the torture, habeas corpus, the war, illegal-" Glor: "The way American Idol is run, fellow talk show host Kelly Ripa."
Joy Behar: "I'll tell you who is really sad."
O'Donnell: "Who?"
Behar: "Donald Trump."
Glor: "Her ongoing spat with Donald Trump that got the most attention."
O'Donnell: "He annoys me on a multitude of levels. He's the moral authority. Left the first wife, had an affair. Left the second wife, had an affair. Had kids both time. But he's the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America. Donald, sit and spin, my friend."
Glor: "Trump responded by calling her a loser and a slob. And was no less restrained about her impending departure."
Donald Trump: "I said she will self-destruct because she always does. Some executive at ABC day time made the decision. Give me a break. I mean, does anybody believe that? Ultimately Barbara got back at Rosie."
Glor: "Audience members we talked to were more sympathetic. You were sitting there, she makes the announcement. What do you think?"
Woman #1: "Very disappointed."
Glor: "Why?"
Woman #1: "Because I think she makes the show."
Woman #2: "She's so talented, and she's so honest. She sang. She danced. She told jokes."
Glor: "Variety's TV editor Michael Schneider thinks O'Donnell turned The View into the hottest show on daytime TV. Now she might need to cool down."
Michael Schneider: "Maybe it was tiring and maybe after a year she decided it was enough."
Glor: "Just don't believe she's gone for good."
Schneider: "Well, she's managed to move on to the next thing so clearly it's not the last we've heard of Rosie O'Donnell."
Glor: "Indeed, O'Donnell will be with The View through June and says after that she'll still come back to guest host and even do one-hour specials on issues like autism and depression."
Storm: "Heard she's interested in Broadway maybe?"
Glor: "That's a possibility. Short term, they're talking about 'Les Mis on Broadway. Long term, possibly, getting her own one hour show back."
Storm: "Yeah I think that's probably a very good possibility. Meanwhile The View has a couple holes to fill, right?"
Glor: "They do indeed. Yesterday, Barbara Walters said they had not even thought about it because they wanted Rosie back. No doubt, by this morning, they had thought about it."
In another NewsBusters posting, Scott Whitlock looked at the Good Morning America story: newsbusters.org
GMA co-host Robin Roberts introduced the segment, which aired at 7:32am on April 26, by describing O'Donnell as a person who has been "butting heads, taking on critics and speaking her mind."
Berman began his piece by labeling the talk show host a "pioneer": "Good morning, Robin. You know, I think this is headline news on Saturn this morning. Everyone want to know what makes Rosie O'Donnell tick. Well, one analyst told me she has the rare ability to make a sleeping puppy seem controversial. It's a radioactive talent, to be sure. But also one that's made her something of a pioneer."
The ABC reporter followed with a montage of the comedienne's greatest hits, including her attacks on President Bush and the feud with Donald Trump. Strangely absent was this rant from March 29, 2007:
Elisabeth Hasselbeck: "Do you believe that the government had anything to do with the attack of 9/11? Do you believe in a conspiracy in terms of the attack of 9/11?"
O'Donnell: "No. But I do believe the first time in history that fire has ever melted steel. I do believe that it defies physics for the World Trade Center Tower Seven, building seven, which collapsed in on itself, it is impossible for a building to fall the way it fell without explosives being involved, World Trade Center Seven. World Trade Center one and Two got hit by planes. Seven, miraculously, for the first time in history, steel was melted by fire. It is physically impossible."
Hasselbeck: "And who do you think is responsible for that?"
O'Donnell: "I have no idea. But to say that we don't know it was imploded, that there was implosion in the demolition, is beyond ignorant. Look at the film. Get a physics expert here from Yale, from Harvard. Pick the school. It defies reason." See: www.mrc.org
Other than Trump, who has a personal grudge against O'Donnell, Berman featured no guests who disagreed or challenged the talk show host's numerous liberal assertions. He did, however, find a columnist, Linda Stasi of the New York Post, to gush over Rosie's "smart" opinions:
Berman: "But Rosie O'Donnell did more than just create controversy."
Stasi: "Her fireworks had a lot of content. She knew what she was talking about for the most part."
Berman: "On her own talk show, the issue was gun control, with guest Tom Selleck."
[File footage from Rosie's debate with Tom Selleck]
O'Donnell: "I think the Second Amendment is in the Constitution so we can have muskets when the British people come over in 1800."
Berman: "On The View, it was the war in Iraq."
O'Donnell: "The United Nations said no, you cannot invade Iraq and the President did it anyway."
Berman: "Plenty of people didn't like her opinions, not to mention her behavior. But she was provocative in a way that, in the past, that had been the domain of male shock jocks."
Stasi: "I think she's a pioneer for television, because we're not used to bad girls. We're not used to bad girls who are bad in a smart way, as opposed to bad because they're taking off their clothes."
It's odd, but ABC didn't seem to celebrate the "provocative" nature of Don Imus.
The MRC's Geoff Dickens provided a transcript of the story on NBC's Today:
Meredith Vieira: "But we're gonna begin with Rosie O'Donnell leaving The View after one unforgettable, tumultuous year. Here's NBC's Lisa Daniels."
Lisa Daniels: "A bombshell announcement from Rosie O'Donnell."
Rosie O'Donnell: "I've decided that we couldn't come to terms with my deal with ABC so next year I'm not gonna be on The View."
Daniels: "Rosie claims contract talks collapsed but the news had tongues wagging. Was Rosie being forced out by the patriarch of the show, Barbara Walters?"
Barbara Walters: "It was between your-"
O'Donnell: "Yeah."
Walters: "-representatives and-"
O'Donnell: "My agents."
Walters: "ABC Daytime."
O'Donnell: "Yeah."
Walters: "This is not my doing or my choice."
Harvey Levin, TMZ: "I think The View would've done anything to keep here and if it's just that she wanted one year and they wanted three, one year is better than none. I think Rosie just wanted to move on."
Daniels: "Just this week Rosie's raunchy humor raised eyebrows when she hosted a media luncheon in New York City, once again going after her favorite target, Donald Trump."
O'Donnell: "It has been my goal for many years to give a bald billionaire a [bleep]."
Daniels: "The latest insult in an infamous feud that began with this."
O'Donnell: "And there he is, his hair looping, going, 'Everyone, everyone deserves a second chance...Donald, sit and spin my friend!"
Donald Trump: "Rosie is a loser. Rosie's been a loser for a long time."
Daniels: "Rosie's rap extended to other celebrities as well. She accused talk show host Kelly Ripa of making a homophobic remark about singer Clay Aiken."
Kelly Ripa: "I don't know where that hand's been honey."
O'Donnell: "If that was a straight man, if that was a cute man, if that was a guy that she, you know, didn't question his sexuality she would have said a different thing."
Daniels: "But it was Rosie's controversial political statements that stirred the pot."
O'Donnell: "It is impossible for a building to fall the way it fell without explosives being involved. World Trade Center 7."
Daniels: "That remark sparked another feud. This time with Bill O'Reilly."
Bill O'Reilly: "Now in my opinion O'Donnell has single-handily besmirching ABC's reputation and it is sad to watch."
Daniels: "But no one infuriated Rosie more than President Bush."
O'Donnell: "The teacher calls me, 'Um hi Ms. O'Donnell, I just wanted to let you know that today in class Parker announced that President Bush was not the real president because he cheated.' And I said, well that's known as truth in our house."
Daniels: "Comments that led some to believe her time at The View would be short-lived. Here at ABC studios fans of The View say they were disappointed but not surprised by Rosie's announcement."
Woman #1: "I have a feeling she's been asked to leave or asked to reconsider."
Woman #2: "She says a lot of things people think and they don't want to say. I definitely admire her."
Daniels: "Admired by some, hated by others."
Trump: "Things will go on. Life will go on. Rosie will probably get a show of some kind. It'll go on. It'll start strong and then it'll fail. And that's the way it is 'cause Rosie will always fail ultimately."
Daniels: "One thing's clear Rosie sure got people talking about her views."
Joy Behar: "I'm gonna miss you!"
Daniels: "For Today, Lisa Daniels, NBC News, New York."
-- Brent Baker
|
ABC's Jake Tapper concluded his Thursday World News story, on the House and Senate Iraq funding bills which include timetables for the withdrawal of troops, by adding a gratuitous zinger about President Bush's much-derided "Mission Accomplished" speech. Noting how Democrats intend to send their final conference bill to the President on Tuesday, for an expected veto, Tapper helpfully pointed out how that "just so happens to be the fourth anniversary of the President's 'Mission Accomplished' photo-op aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln." Tapper then bore in, asserting, "of course" that "would be an uncomfortable reminder of everything in Iraq that remains unaccomplished." War supporters would see it as a reminder of how the Democratic effort to show they support the troops remains unaccomplished. 
ABC News, on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, jumped to
promote a government-mandated health care plan proposed by
Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy and Democratic Congressman John
Dingell. "There's a new political push tonight for universal
health care," World News anchor Charles Gibson announced Wednesday
night in setting up a favorable assessment of it from ABC's Dr.
Tim Johnson. The next day on Good
Morning America, Johnson spouted liberal talking points in pushing
the plan by the "two old war horses." Johnson described the plan
as "bold" and "politically brilliant." Additionally, he
rhapsodized about its liberal sponsors, saying that Dingell and
Kennedy are "trying to do what I think is the right thing."
Leave it to NBC's Today show to find the downside of a booming stock market. Playing the class envy card, Today co-host Matt Lauer teased a Thursday story on a supposedly widening gap between rich and poor as he incredulously asked the audience: "Do you feel like you're working harder and harder these days just to stay financially afloat while fat cats get richer and richer?" Lauer, not exactly a pauper himself, then threw it to CNBC's Scott Cohn who claimed: "Not only are the rich getting richer they're leaving everyone else behind. In fact the last time the rich were this much richer than everyone else was the Great Depression." Cohn provided a supporting soundbite from just one expert, Robert Greenstein of the far-left Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which NBC didn't bother to label as such. 
Man: "The rich do keep getting rich and the poor keep getting poorer." 
"Exclusive" hype. Three weeks and three days after ABC's World News led with an "exclusive" about how Iran could have a nuclear weapon in two years, the CBS Evening News on Thursday led with an "exclusive" about how Iran could have a nuclear weapon in three years. Will NBC soon tout an "exclusive" about Iran getting a nuclear weapon in four years? 
The ABC and CBS morning shows on Thursday managed to review Rosie O'Donnell's tenure at The View without mentioning her most inflammatory 9/11 World Trade Center conspiracy theory-mongering. CBS's Jeff Glor briefly noted, with a soundbite, that O'Donnell has "gone after President Bush," but he ignored her many controversies, including the September 11 conspiracy theory, Iran's British hostage conspiracy theory, anti-Catholic remarks, and downplaying the terrorist threat several times. ABC's John Berman touted O'Donnell as "something of a pioneer" before a montage of the comedienne's greatest hits, including her attacks on President Bush and the feud with Donald Trump. But strangely absent was her rant from March 29 which NBC's Lisa Daniels briefly touched: "But it was Rosie's controversial political statements that stirred the pot." NBC viewers then saw O'Donnell from March 29: "It is impossible for a building to fall the way it fell without explosives being involved. World Trade Center 7."