Scandal Watch: Michael Steele on GMA Monday

By GottaLaff

Get out the popcorn and your point-and-laughing finger...

George Stephanopoulos reports that Michael Steele will be doing his first interview since the Big Voyeur Scandal on ABC's Good Morning America tomorrow.

Who knew GMA was a comedy show?

VIDEO- Will on Iraq: "A bit of dithering might have been in order "; Podesta: BushCo only spent 1 hour on Afghanistan report

By GottaLaff



Via Think Progress, Who neglected what again?

Recently, Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-DE) — a former top aide to Biden and co-chair of the Vice President’s transition team — said that the Bush administration basically just “threw” the report “to the transition team as they were going out the door”:

KAUFMAN: So for him [Cheney] to come in at the end and say, “Well, we did it wrong for eight years. But then, in the end, we gave them a plan which really is what they should have used.” Let me tell you something: This administration came in. Rahm Emanuel was there. I was on the transition team on this. They started from scratch on Afghanistan. They took a blank piece of paper out and said, “What are we going to do to get this thing done?” … It was absolutely the perfect time to take a hard look at what we’re doing.

VIDEO- Peggy Noonan: Obama is "boorish"

By GottaLaff

I referred to this in my Cliff Notes version of the Sunday Talkers here. Peggy Noonan has always turned my stomach. She could be telling George Stephanopoulos that President Obama is the best commander in chief in U.S. history, and I'd still feel nauseous.

It's her unctuous, phony-baloney, deliberately and painfully "sincere", faux heartfelt delivery... only to be matched by content.

Exhibit A:

Is Obama overexposed? Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan sure thinks so, telling George Stephanopoulos on This Week that the excessive televised appearances are slowly damaging his presidency. ABC

See, here's the thing, all you "he's overexposed" blatherfaces out there: He's the president. He is the ultimate spokesman, salesman, and expert on his own policies. When the public is clamoring for him to get out there and explain himself, whaddya know, he listens and does exactly that.

Coincidentally, seems the times that he's "overexposed" himself are the times his/his policies' poll numbers perk up. Go figure.

boor·ish (brsh)

adj.

Resembling or characteristic of a boor; rude and clumsy in behavior.

• Main Entry: boor
• Pronunciation: \ˈbu̇r\
• Function: noun
• Etymology: Dutch boer; akin to Old English būan to dwell — more at bower
• Date: 1551

1 : peasant
2 : a rude or insensitive person

Anyone notice President Obama being rude, insensitive, or clumsy? Anyone seen a peasant in the White House lately? Hands?

Amazing, isn't it, how he went from elitist to peasant in 9 short months?

VIDEO: Howard Dean Debunks Gingrich Lies: "Nobody Is Forcing You In To The Public Option"

By GottaLaff



Via Think Progress:

On ABC’s This Week today, former Republican House speaker Newt Gingrich claimed that most government-run health systems are disasters. He said that the Veterans Health Administration is “the one system that actually works reasonably well,” and dismissed Medicare as “basically a private system with a government funding.” [...]

Medicare is a government-run program. [...]

Later in the segment, host George Stephanopoulos had to personally call Gingrich out on one of his falsehoods. Last week, Sarah Palin said that the Obama administration was advocating “death panels” that would determine whether a person was “worthy of health care.” Gingrich tried to lend that myth credence by bringing up the writings of “Dr. Zeke Emanuel, who’s the chief adviser to the president and brother of the chief of staff.”

First, as Stephanopoulos pointed out, Emanuel is “not the chief health care adviser.” Second, Emanuel’s comments on end-of-life issues were part of “academic discussions of theoretical constructs” — not expressions of his personal beliefs on the current health care debate. Stephanopoulos noted that Emanuel had “written three articles between 1996 and 2008 that include some of those phrases.” “Those phrases appear nowhere in the bill,” he added.

Just keep pushing those lies, Rushpublics. If you repeat them enough, America will believe you. Here's an idea: We swat them down enough, and this time America will believe us.

Rick Warren canceled TV date due to "inhalation of fumes from the newly refurbished pulpit "

By GottaLaff

Yesterday I posted about Rick Warren's sudden cancellation of his appearance on George Stehanopoulous's Tee Vee show. It seemed he did so to avoid a confrontation over his latest flip-flop over Prop 8 and same-sex marriage.

Not so fast, says his spokesperson. The abrupt cancellation was due to much more urgent reasons than some piddly controversial topic that affects millions of lives. A Warren aide e-mailed the following:

“I received a call from a Saddleback colleague (Pastor Rick’s chief-of-staff) [Saturday] morning that Dr. Warren awoke ill. He had already preached the first four services, beginning Thursday night (two of the Friday services were taped for broadcast six times over the weekend on the Fox News Channel.) I was informed that he would have to clear his schedule of interviews and preaching appearances yesterday in order to regain his strength to get back in the pulpit on Easter Sunday.

“My understanding was that Dr. Warren’s condition was related to fatigue and exhaustion — which affected his voice — exacerbated by inhalation of fumes from the newly refurbished (but still drying) pulpit used in the televised services the previous night. After initially informing George Stephanopoulos of his inability to pre-tape on Saturday, I put him directly in touch with his chief-of-staff after doctor consultation to pursue the remote possibility of an early [Sunday] AM pre-tape. That turned out to not be a possibility as he had to cancel half of his sermons today, though he was able to preach several of the six services at which he was scheduled to preach.

“There has been a lot of blog chatter trying to connect the dots with the interviews this weekend and comments Dr. Warren made on CNN Larry King Live, but his cancellations were related to health and fatigue…. I was looking forward to the opportunity for him to clarify his position with Messrs. Stephanopoulos and Huckabee (the latter with whom he was to interview live at 2:45 PM EDT on Saturday) to reframe the picture for television viewers the way we had been trying to do on a per-inquiry basis with print outlets by sending out the statement below:

“Throughout his pastoral ministry spanning nearly 30 years, Pastor Warren has remained committed to the biblical definition of marriage as between one man and one woman, for life — a position held by most fellow Evangelical pastors. He has further stressed that for 5,000 years, EVERY culture and EVERY religion has maintained this worldview.

“When Pastor Warren told Larry King that he never campaigned for California's Proposition 8, he was referring to not participating in the official two-year organized advocacy effort specific to the ballot initiative in that state, based on his focus and leadership on other compassion issues. Because he's a pastor, not an activist, in response to inquiries from church members, he issued an email and video message to his congregation days before the election confirming where he and Saddleback Church stood on this issue.

“During the King interview, Pastor Warren also referenced a letter of apology that he sent to gay leaders whom he knew personally. However, that mea culpa was not with respect to his statements or position on Proposition 8 nor the biblical worldview on marriage. Rather, he apologized for his comments in an earlier Beliefnet interview expressing his concern about expanding or redefining the definition of marriage beyond a husband-wife relationship, during which he unintentionally and regrettably gave the impression that consensual adult same sex relationships were equivalent to incest or pedophilia.”

Unfortunately, I don't have time to get snarky or pull up contradictory quotes. Let me just say that I found it hilarious that Rev. Rick canceled due to pulpit inhalation. I do wish him a speedy recovery, though.

As for the Prop 8/same-sex marriage/incest statements, we've posted about them often. Feel free to expand on those topics in Comments.

Rick Warren cancels ABC appearance

By GottaLaff

So I'm thumbing through my L.A. Times, and I notice that Rev. Rick Warren would be on George Stephanopoulososlousolsousoluos. "Oh, good!" I exclaimed. "Now Rev. Rick can explain this!" I bounded around the house, rubbing my little liberal fascist, communist, socialist hands together in anticipation. My hopes were so high!

But then....

But then.... this happened:

Pastor Rick Warren, after making apparently contradictory statements about his stance on a gay-marriage measure, canceled an Easter Sunday appearance on ABC’s “This Week” just “moments before the scheduled interview,” host George Stephanopoulos told viewers.

Stephanopoulos said Warren’s representatives said the best-selling evangelical author was “sick with exhaustion.” The host told viewers that he wished the pastor a speedy recovery.

He must be exhausted. He'd just executed one of the most strenuous flip-flops in history. Yes, history, and that's no easy feat. Here's hopes for a speedy recovery and the ability to rebound, both physically and morally.

John McCain Refuses To Condemn Laura Ingraham’s Attacks On Daughter Meghan

By GottaLaff

I just posted the latest gory details of the ongoing Laura Ingraham-Meghan McCain feud. Now Pappy McCain has gotten into the mix. However, he doesn't lift a finger to defend MegMac. Is he playing politics... at his own daughter's expense?

Today, in his “Twitterview” with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) shied away from condemning Ingraham’s gratuitous attacks on his daughter. Stephanopoulos asked McCain, “What do you think of Meghan’s feud with Coulter and Ingraham?” :

[...] [I]n the past, McCain has courted the extreme right of the GOP, granting an interview to Ingraham as late as October 2008. Throughout the presidential election, McCain, long considered too liberal by the extreme right, frequently appeared on hate radio shows, and he has a history of defending the bigoted remarks of right wingers.

Way to stick up for MegMac, Dad. It's sadly cringeworthy when "kissing [Laura InGrim's] fat ass" appears to take priority over loyalty to your own family.

VIDEOS: Obama on appointing special prosecutor to investigate Bush crimes, + Jonathan Turley on Rachel Maddow Show

By GottaLaff

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

As I said in Comments, I'm with Jonathan Turley on this. I think Obama is being shortsighted. It's a huge mistake to not go after BushCo, because it sets a terrible precedent.

That said, Obama didn't specifically rule out an investigation, but unfortunately, he sure sounded like he was leaning the other way.

However:

Dawn Johnsen, Obama’s choice to lead the Office of Legal Counsel, rejects Obama’s “look forward” approach. In March 2008, she told “the next president” to avoid “any temptation to simply move on”:

We must avoid any temptation simply to move on. We must instead be honest with ourselves and the world as we condemn our nation’s past transgressions and reject Bush’s corruption of our American ideals. Our constitutional democracy cannot survive with a government shrouded in secrecy, nor can our nation’s honor be restored without full disclosure.

And there's this:

But let's not leave this to chance. Let's all tell Attorney General Eric Holder what we want through a petition to Holder to appoint a Special Prosecutor for Bush's crimes:
http://www.democrats.com/special-prosecutor-for-bush-war-crimes

I've already signed it. I urge everyone to do the same.

Interview tomorrow: Obama Calls for 'Grand Bargain' on Economy: 'Everybody's Going to Have to Give'

By GottaLaff

George Stephanopouloploploploplopagus interviews President-elect Obama tomorrow on "This Week":

"And eventually sacrifice from everyone?" I asked.

"Everybody’s going to have to give. Everybody’s going to have to have some skin in the game," Obama said. [...]

In his most comprehensive interview since the election, we discussed…

-- objections to his economic stimulus plans from both Democrats and Republicans, and why Obama believes it must get done by President's Day;

-- his plans for the next $350 billion of the TARP

-- the conflict between Israel and Gaza, and his plans for the Middle East, including a potential crisis with Iran;

--the potential for a Mumbai-style terrorist strike here in the U.S.;

--how and when the Obama Administration will revise U.S. counterterrorism policies and close the Guantanamo prison;

--Vice-President Cheney's advice for Obama, and whether an Obama Administration will move to investigate and prosecute Bush Administration officials for war crimes;

--the controversy over Eric Holder's nomination for Attorney General;

--how Obama is preparing for his Inaugural Address and his search for a church in Washington.

The big treat of the day was having Malia and Sasha Obama tour visit our This Week control room. The girls got on my executive producer's headset and gave me the question they most want their Dad to answer.

The goils alone are worth the price of admission.

VIDEO: Meet the David Gregory Press

By GottaLaff

The video is about a year old now.

So many David Gregory stories, so little time. First, the Big Ooops! Here's the original AP announcement:

NEW YORK (AP) -- NBC names named David Gregory as new host of "Today" program.

Next, the Big Question Mark:

As he takes over moderating duties at Meet the Press, David Gregory gives up anchoring his 6pmET MSNBC show, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines tells TVNewser, "David Shuster will anchor the show this week. We'll have an announcement about a permanent new host soon."

Finally, the Big List-O'-Things Gregory needs to know, via the host with the Big Long Name, George Stephanopoulos:

10.) Monday night is the new Saturday

9.) Saturday Night Live is a pretty cool wake-up call

8.) Dennis Kucinich is a biter

7.) You'll never have to anchor another car chase -- ever

6.) No more OJ stories either

5.) Remember to wink at the camera when you say "stimulus package"

4.) Never let Chuck Todd drive you to work

3.) Don't sit Doris Kearns Goodwin next to David Broder. Long story

2.) Rapping with Karl Rove is a guaranteed bump during sweeps

1.) Most important, don't forget we move our clocks back next Sunday.

0.) Leave the Top Ten lists to David Letterman.