tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post8634864540317077729..comments2023-10-07T05:29:20.923-07:00Comments on McClatchy Watch: Thursday December 10 -- Got news or an update?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-77400967517202356492009-12-31T16:22:55.965-08:002009-12-31T16:22:55.965-08:00Good fill someone in on and this post helped me al...Good fill someone in on and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Say thank you you on your information.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-90904169945422677822009-12-10T13:10:16.364-08:002009-12-10T13:10:16.364-08:00Good news of the day from latest cable news nightl...Good news of the day from latest cable news nightly viewership ratings:<br /><br />Glenn Beck 2,600,000 viewers<br />Chris Matthews 496,000 viewers<br /><br />Can we say Beck beats that worm Matthews head-to-head five times over? Yes!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-76987563337066679752009-12-10T10:25:21.851-08:002009-12-10T10:25:21.851-08:00Editor & Publisher closing after 108 years
Da...Editor & Publisher closing after 108 years<br /><br />Dan Goodman AP Photo<br />An issue of Editor & Publisher is shown atop newspapers in New York, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009. The journalism trade journal Editor & Publisher is shutting down after 108 years of publication.<br /><br />By ANDREW VANACORE; AP Business Writer<br />Published: 12/10/09 9:15 am | Updated: 12/10/09 10:21 am<br /><br />NEW YORK –<br /><br />The Nielsen Co. is selling some of its most prominent trade journals - including The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard - and shutting down Editor & Publisher, which has chronicled the newspaper business for 108 years.<br /><br />In all, Nielsen is selling eight titles to e5 Global Media LLC, a new company formed by private equity firm Pluribus Capital Management, and Guggenheim Partners, a financial services company. James Finkelstein, who founded Pluribus this year with George Green and Matthew Doull, will serve as e5's chairman.<br /><br />Thursday's closure of E&P "was a shock," said its editor, Greg Mitchell. "We knew that something big was happening but we didn't think the aftermath was that we wouldn't be sold and it would be folded."<br /><br />Mitchell said Editor & Publisher appeared to have turned things around after struggling at the beginning of the decade. The magazine switched to a monthly format from weekly in 2003 and heightened its focus on the Web.<br /><br />Nielsen said both the print and online operation will shut down immediately. But Mitchell hopes Editor & Publisher will return in another form.<br /><br />"I would hope because of our special history and our role as a watchdog in journalism that it would be more likely in this case that there will be someone that's going to say, 'Hey, we're not going to let this die.'"<br /><br />Along with Editor & Publisher, Nielsen is also shuttering the book review title Kirkus Reviews. The two publications have 18 employees combined. Nielsen would not reveal details about the financial performance of E&P or Kirkus.<br /><br />Spokesman Gary Holmes said Nielsen is still reviewing its properties to make sure the company is focused on businesses with "the highest potential for growth." Nielsen is keeping a handful of other media properties, including Contract Magazine and Progressive Grocer.<br /><br />Lachlan Murdoch, 38, the eldest son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, was expected to be among the buyers of the Nielsen publications, but he was not part of the deal, according to two people familiar with the matter. They were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. A message left early Friday with Murdoch's investment firm in Australia was not immediately returned.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-87888027636144971132009-12-10T10:02:19.950-08:002009-12-10T10:02:19.950-08:00E&P is folding? Holy deadline! Our world IS cr...E&P is folding? Holy deadline! Our world IS crumbling. Scary.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-44336429628439395552009-12-10T08:53:06.819-08:002009-12-10T08:53:06.819-08:00Romanesko is reporting that "Editor & Pub...Romanesko is reporting that "Editor & Publisher" will be ceasing publication. That bodes well for the newspaper biz.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-79341796680566923972009-12-10T07:08:33.272-08:002009-12-10T07:08:33.272-08:00"How is that 'hoax & change' work..."How is that 'hoax & change' working for you now?"<br />--<br />Hoax & Change, a new bumper sticker for the "Debt President"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-4109423863156254772009-12-10T04:57:50.836-08:002009-12-10T04:57:50.836-08:00Capping Emissions, Trading On The Future - West...Capping Emissions, Trading On The Future - West's goals in Copenhagen are tantamount to suicide (Forbes)<br /><br />Whatever the results of the Copenhagen conference on climate change, one thing is for sure: Draconian reductions on carbon emissions will be tacitly accepted by the most developed economies and sloughed off by many developing ones. <br /><br />In essence, emerging economies get to cut their "carbon" intensity--a natural product of their economic evolution--while we get to cut our throats. <br /><br />The logic behind this prediction goes something like this. <br /><br />Since the West created the industrial revolution and the greenhouse gases that supposedly caused this "crisis," it's our obligation to take much of the burden for cleaning them up.<br /> <br />Plagued by self-doubt and even self-loathing, many in the West will no doubt consider this an appropriate mea culpa. <br /><br />Our leaders will dutifully accept cuts in our carbon emissions--up to 80% by 2050--while developing countries increasetheirs, albeit at a lower rate. <br /><br />Oh, we also pledge to send billions in aid to help them achieve this goal. <br /><br />The media shills, scientists, bureaucrats and corporate rent-seekers gathered at Copenhagen won't give much thought to what this means to the industrialized world's middle and working class. <br /><br />For many of them the new carbon regime means a gradual decline in living standards. <br /><br />Huge increases in energy costs, taxes and a spate of regulatory mandates will restrict their access to everything from single-family housing and personal mobility to employment in carbon-intensive industries like construction, manufacturing, warehousing and agriculture. <br /><br />You can get a glimpse of this future in high-unemployment California. <br /><br />Here a burgeoning regulatory regime tied to global warming threatens to turn the state into a total "no go" economic development zone. Not only do companies have to deal with high taxes, cascading energy prices and regulations, they now face audits of their impact on global warming. <br /><br />Far easier to move your project to Texas--or if necessary, China.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-75697879605303904872009-12-10T04:55:54.113-08:002009-12-10T04:55:54.113-08:00Climate deal likely to cost trillions of dollars (...Climate deal likely to cost trillions of dollars (msnbc)<br /><br />If negotiators reach an accord at the climate talks in Copenhagen it will entail profound shifts in energy production, dislocations in how and where people live, sweeping changes in agriculture and forestry and the creation of complex new markets in global warming pollution credits. <br /><br />So what is all this going to cost? <br />The short answer is trillions of dollars over the next few decades. <br /><br />It is a significant sum but a relatively small fraction of the world’s total economic output. <br /><br />In energy infrastructure alone, the transformational ambitions that delegates to the United Nations climate change conference are expected to set in the coming days will cost more than $10 trillion in additional investment from 2010 to 2030, according to a new estimate from the International Energy Agency.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-83020804158923945792009-12-10T04:55:17.977-08:002009-12-10T04:55:17.977-08:00Krauthammer: Environmentalism is the New Socialism...Krauthammer: Environmentalism is the New Socialism, EPA Regulating CO2 Could Spark Revolution (Fox News)<br /> <br />Video Either you do cap and trade or we do cap; no trade... Government given power to regulate every aspect of your life through EPA... The new socialism... States there will be a new revolution... watch video.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-25078795780934919332009-12-10T04:54:56.850-08:002009-12-10T04:54:56.850-08:00Gore: 'Climategate' e-mails misunderstood ...Gore: 'Climategate' e-mails misunderstood (CNN)<br /><br />Hacked e-mails from top environmental researchers, which appear to question whether humans influence climate, have been misunderstood, former Vice President Al Gore said Wednesday. <br /><br />"The climate deniers tried to create the impression that that's what was in those stolen e-mails, but when you put them in context, it's clear that's not what [scientists] were doing, " Gore said on CNN's "American Morning."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-14850159088510496892009-12-10T04:54:27.254-08:002009-12-10T04:54:27.254-08:00Climategate: the inaugural Al Gore prize poetry co...Climategate: the inaugural Al Gore prize poetry competition (The Telegraph)<br /><br />Al Gore has written a moving poem about climate change. Perhaps readers of Telegraph blogs would care to follow his example. <br /><br />There’s a prize in it for the best one. The winner will receive a copy of Christopher Booker’s superb The Real Global Warming Disaster. <br /><br />The competition closes midnight on Sunday. Just post your entry below. (Entries only please; save your comments for my non-poetry-related blogs). <br /><br />Here are some themes you might want to consider: <br /><br />Thoughts of a majestic polar bear as he gazes mournfully over the warming oceans from his melting ice cap. <br /><br />Does anything rhyme with George Monbiot? <br /><br />How the heroic MSM is threatening to put the internet out of business with its full and frank coverage of the Climategate scandal. <br /><br />Ode to Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping. <br /><br />How each drip of a melting glacier is like the tear of a dying child. <br />ManBearPig <br /><br />“I have a mansion, forget the price...” The Al Gore song.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-58364842402290222032009-12-10T04:53:29.423-08:002009-12-10T04:53:29.423-08:00Sensenbrenner: No New Laws Until Climate Data '...Sensenbrenner: No New Laws Until Climate Data 'Scientific Fascism' Ends (FOXNews.com)<br /><br />A Republican lawmaker said Tuesday he is going to attend the Copenhagen conference on climate change to inform world leaders that despite any promises made by President Obama, no new laws will be passed in the United States until the "scientific fascism" ends. <br /><br />A Republican lawmaker said Tuesday he is going to attend the Copenhagen conference on climate change to inform world leaders that despite any promises made by President Obama, no new laws will be passed in the United States until the "scientific fascism" ends. <br /><br />Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., also wrote to Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, on Monday to demand that researchers who authored e-mails and documents that demonstrate climate change data were manipulated should not be allowed to participate in the latest report written by the U.N. panel. <br /><br />"I call it 'scientific fascism,'" Sensenbrenner said during a press conference with fellow climate change skeptics. <br /><br />"The U.N. should throw a red flag. .... They relied on these scientists unjustifiably in my opinion."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-78134504672683872292009-12-10T04:52:49.288-08:002009-12-10T04:52:49.288-08:00Jimmy Carter's Grandson Eyes State Senate Seat...Jimmy Carter's Grandson Eyes State Senate Seat (AP) It’s gonna be a dynasty straight outa the trailer park!<br /><br />Jason Carter Will Run For DeKalb Seat. <br /><br />The Atlanta lawyer and Democrat says he will run for a seat representing part of DeKalb County. <br /><br />The District 42 post is currently held by David Adelman, who has been nominated by President Barack Obama to be ambassador to Singapore. <br /><br />If Adelman is confirmed in January, a special election will be held March 16.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-2367241751891114022009-12-10T04:52:18.106-08:002009-12-10T04:52:18.106-08:00Higdon declares victory in special (Kentucky) stat...Higdon declares victory in special (Kentucky) state Senate race (Lexington Herald-Leader)<br /><br />Central Kentucky voters rejected an attempt by Gov. Steve Beshear to erode Republican control of the state Senate Tuesday, choosing the GOP’s Jimmy Higdon over Democrat Jodie Haydon in a special Senate election. <br /><br />The election — one of the most expensive legislative races in state history — marks a setback for Beshear and the horse industry, who had hoped to advance a proposal to allow electronic slot machines at racetracks by narrowing the Republican majority in the Senate to one. <br /><br />[Snip] <br /><br />Though he was outspent, Higdon said it was “great strategy” by the state Republican Party to nationalize the race. <br /><br />His ads often attempted to tie Haydon with Democratic U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, particularly on the issue of health care. <br /><br />U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Louisville, called the decision to focus on national issues shrewd and suggested the race may be a bellwether beyond Kentucky’s borders. <br /><br />“I think the district reflects the current national mood,” McConnell said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-24597958716253985352009-12-10T04:51:36.613-08:002009-12-10T04:51:36.613-08:00Harry Reid is Wrong on History and Wrong on Health...Harry Reid is Wrong on History and Wrong on Health Reform (US News & World Report)<br /><br />I am black. I am a woman. And, with all due respect, I think Harry Reid has lost his mind. <br /><br />Yesterday, on the Senate floor, Majority Leader Reid compared those who oppose his healthcare reform package to those who opposed ending slavery, fought against women's suffrage, and thwarted civil rights. <br /><br />What's next, Holocaust comparisons? <br /><br />Many assume that given my race and gender, I would support the Senate health reform bill as a savior of the masses. I do not. <br /><br />And thousands, if not millions, of blacks, Hispanics, women, low-income, and at-risk communities feel the same. <br /><br />There are many reasons why I don't support the proposed healthcare legislation. <br /><br />I worry about how Congress's regulations will drive up insurance premiums, a "public" option might strangle private health insurance, employer mandates might exacerbate the job crisis, and that ultimately this program will add to our already exploding debt. <br /><br />(SNIP) <br /><br />If comparisons to slavery are now fair game, Majority Leader Reid should consider this one. In 1839, slaves being transported on the ship La Amistad revolted and killed many of those holding them captive; when the matter was eventually taken up by the Supreme Court, the would-be slaves were found not guilty of wrongdoing and were freed. <br /><br />Today, Reid and members of Congress are steering America toward a land of government-run healthcare, in spite of the fact that polls consistently show that most Americans don't want to go in that direction. <br /><br />Just 27 percent of Americans polled have a favorable view of Congress, and just about 40 percent of Reid's constituents plan to vote for him again. <br /><br />It's not a perfect analogy, but I hope it gets a point across: If Reid and his fellow congressman continue on their present course, they may be facing a mutiny of their own.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-38561899502731068462009-12-10T04:50:11.743-08:002009-12-10T04:50:11.743-08:00The Mystery of Harry Reid (WSJ)
Some have specul...The Mystery of Harry Reid (WSJ) <br /><br />Some have speculated that Reid is simply "losing it"--but from the years in which we've been observing Reid, we'd say he never had it in the first place. <br /><br />Yesterday's statement on the Senate floor was vintage Reid. He has a propensity for saying things that are splenetic, inappropriate and ignorant, such as his embarrassing series of claims a few years ago that Clarence Thomas was unintelligent. <br /><br />This, however, raises a question that has long puzzled us about Reid: How did such an unappealing man who says so many foolish things get so far in politics? <br /><br />He has been elected to Congress six times, and the Senate's Democrats chose him as their leader. Maybe he has exceptional backroom skills, or comes across better in person than on television. <br /><br />And of course the polls show he is in trouble with the voters back in Nevada. Still, his success to this point seems something of a miracle--an inspiration to dour, foolish men everywhere.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-10104193258250003032009-12-10T04:49:24.383-08:002009-12-10T04:49:24.383-08:00Dems Stimulate Dem Pollster With Gift of $6 Millio...Dems Stimulate Dem Pollster With Gift of $6 Million in Stimulus Cash(GatewayPundit)<br /><br />It’s nice to be with the in crowd...when you’re blowing other people’s money.<br /><br />Democratic pollster Mark Penn was gifted $6 million in Stimulus money from his buddies in Washington.<br /><br />The Hill reported, via Jammie Wearing Fool: Nearly $6 million in stimulus money was paid to two firms run by Mark Penn (photo above), Hillary Clinton’s pollster in 2008.<br /><br />Federal records show that $5.97 million from the $787 billion stimulus helped preserve three jobs at Burson-Marsteller, the global public-relations and communications firm headed by Penn.<br /><br />Burson-Marsteller won the contract to work on a public-relations campaign to advertise the national switch from analog to digital television. Nearly $2.8 million of the contract was issued to Penn’s polling firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, according to federal records.<br /><br />But at least democrats created or saved 3 jobs with that $6 million in Stimulus cash. That’s important.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-17231537847389001902009-12-10T04:48:23.498-08:002009-12-10T04:48:23.498-08:00Civil Liberties Group Loses $20 Million Donor [Dav...Civil Liberties Group Loses $20 Million Donor [David Gelbaum-Hedge Fund Manager!] (NYTimes)Communist front group loses money as communists in Washington destroy US economy.<br /><br />A longtime anonymous donor to the American Civil Liberties Union has withdrawn his annual gift of more than $20 million, punching a 25 percent hole in its annual operating budget and forcing cutbacks in operations. <br /><br />Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the A.C.L.U., acknowledged in a written statement that a “family” had told the organization in September that it could not make its annual gifts, at least for next year. <br /><br />“This family, that has sought to protect its privacy by arranging its gifts anonymously, notified us last month that due to market conditions it will be unable to make its expected sizable donations of over $20 million,” Mr. Romero said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-84184079246191777872009-12-10T04:47:04.145-08:002009-12-10T04:47:04.145-08:00Audit: Taxpayers lose $61B on AIG, auto bailouts (...Audit: Taxpayers lose $61B on AIG, auto bailouts (Yahoo)<br /><br />WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department is acknowledging for the first time that it lost $61 billion on two key programs designed to stabilize the economy after the largest financial crisis in decades. <br /><br />The government is losing more than $30 billion on lifelines extended to insurance giant American International Group Inc., according to Treasury data released Wednesday in an audit by the Government Accountability Office. <br /><br />It also is losing more than $30 billion on rescues of struggling automakers Chrysler and General Motors.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-49288992225546092882009-12-10T04:46:34.797-08:002009-12-10T04:46:34.797-08:00Obama predicts $30B loss on auto bailout(Says he w...Obama predicts $30B loss on auto bailout(Says he would make same "courageous" decision again)(Google)<br /> <br />The Obama administration will tell Congress Wednesday that it expects to lose about $30 billion of the $82 billion government bailout of the auto industry. <br /><br />Gene Sperling, senior counsel to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, confirmed in an interview late today that the administration's forecast is that it will lose $30 billion on its auto investments -- but that's down from an earlier estimate of $44 billion. <br /><br />"The real news is the projected loss came down to $30 billion from $44 billion," Sperling said, noting that auto sales have improved ahead of what many analysts had forecast. <br /><br />The administration still holds out hope that if things improve, the administration could still recover more. <br /><br />Saving General Motors and Chrysler saved hundreds of thousands of jobs, President Barack Obama said today. <br /><br />"It was right decision then and the right decision now," Sperling said, calling it a "courageous decision by the president" to give the two automakers a "rebirth even though he knew it was not going to be politically popular."<br /><br />"The real news is the projected loss came down to $30 billion from $44 billion," Sperling said. <br /><br /><br />WOW, New DNC talking point “More good news. Obama saved us $14 billion.”Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-58169233803357097572009-12-10T04:45:37.532-08:002009-12-10T04:45:37.532-08:00Obama Tells GOP to Stop Scare Tactics As Dems Agre...Obama Tells GOP to Stop Scare Tactics As Dems Agree to Blow Billions More on Another Failed Jobs Creation Plan (GatewayPundit)<br /><br />More Hope and Change...Barack Obama told GOP leaders to stop with the scare tactics today at a rare bipartisan meeting on the dems latest jobs creation legislation.<br /><br />Obama and Democrats tripled the national deficit in less than one year.<br /><br />They’ve increased the national debt to $12 Trillion.<br /><br />Obama promised his stimulus plan would create 3.7 million new jobs.<br />Instead America has lost 3.6 million jobs. <br /><br />Now they want to try it again...<br />And they are upset that Republicans are not backing their toxic plans to spend their way out of this economic downturn.<br /><br />The Hill reported: President Barack Obama told House Republican leaders to “stop trying to frighten the American people” even as he and Democrats said they see a possibility for bipartisan cooperation on job creation legislation.<br /><br />snip<br /><br />But moments later, Republicans made it clear that they want to see a “spending freeze” and a “no-cost” jobs plan that consists largely of tax cuts.<br /><br />“We can’t keep spending money we don’t have,” House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said.<br /><br />House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) pushed back on Obama’s request for an end to Republicans’ scare tactics by saying that Obama’s policies have led to a hiring freeze, and the GOP is simply telling constituents what is happening.<br /><br />“The president wants to blame us for informing the American people and how this will affect them,” Boehner said.<br /><br />...Despite the GOP opposition, Democratic leaders seemed optimistic they can move quickly on a jobs bill that contains much of what the president outlined in a speech Tuesday.<br /><br /><br />Just last week Barack Obama told the American public that government spending was not the answer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-18611838377071166582009-12-10T04:44:00.397-08:002009-12-10T04:44:00.397-08:00Dems to lift debt ceiling by $1.8 trillion, fear 2...Dems to lift debt ceiling by $1.8 trillion, fear 2010 backlash (politico)<br /><br />In a bold but risky year-end strategy, Democrats are preparing to raise the federal debt ceiling by as much as $1.8 trillion before New Year’s rather than have to face the issue again prior to the 2010 elections. <br /><br />“We’ve incurred this debt. We have to pay our bills,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told POLITICO Wednesday. And the Maryland Democrat confirmed that the anticipated increase could be as high as $1.8 trillion — nearly twice what had been assumed in last spring’s budget resolution for the 2010 fiscal year. <br /><br />The leadership is betting that it’s better for the party to take its lumps now rather than risk further votes over the coming year. <br /><br />But the enormity of the number could create its own dynamic, much as another debt ceiling fight in 1985 gave rise to the Gramm-Rudman deficit reduction act mandating across-the-board spending cuts nearly 25 years ago. <br /><br />Already in the Senate, there is growing pressure in both parties for the creation of a novel bipartisan task force empowered to force expedited votes in the next Congress on deficit reduction steps now shunned by lawmakers. <br /><br />As introduced Wednesday, the legislation sets no specific targets for deficit reduction, but its 18-member task force — 16 of whom would come from Congress — is promised immense leverage to force change if they can first come together behind a plan. <br /><br />“This is a defining moment,” said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), one of the lead sponsors, and New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg, the panel’s ranking Republican, is already maneuvering to try to add the legislation as an amendment to any bill tapped to carry the debt increase.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-995129325265739792009-12-10T04:43:18.017-08:002009-12-10T04:43:18.017-08:00Obama to GOP: 'Stop trying to frighten the Ame...Obama to GOP: 'Stop trying to frighten the American people (The Hill) Translation: “Hey GOP, stop telling the American people the truth! It’s killing my presidency!!”<br /><br />President Barack Obama told House Republican leaders to "stop trying to frighten the American people" even as he and Democrats said they see a possibility for bipartisan cooperation on job creation legislation. <br /><br />Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters that Obama made the admonition during a bipartisan meeting at the White House on Wednesday, producing a chart to show Republicans that "things are a lot better."<br /><br />Democrats own congress since 2006. And ahh yes, the ever growing debt, the government takeover of healthcare, Cap & Tax, and the ever growing unemployment rate isn’t the reason people are frightened. <br /><br /><br />It’s all due to Republicans. lol, what happened to accountability Obama. Seems all he continues to do is point fingers at the reason the public is growing weary of his administration.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-77769757799771635722009-12-10T04:42:28.228-08:002009-12-10T04:42:28.228-08:00My Kingdom for a Poll? (Gibbs Rant) PATTERICO
Pr...My Kingdom for a Poll? (Gibbs Rant) PATTERICO<br /><br />Press Secretary Robert Gibbs claims the Obama Administration doesn’t care about today’s Gallup Daily Obama Job Approval poll, which is fortunate since it and other polls show Obama at the lowest rating of any modern President at this stage in his term:<br /><br />“White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs slammed Gallup’s daily tracking poll on Tuesday after it showed President Obama’s approval rating had fallen to 47 percent, the lowest approval rating for any president at this stage of his presidency dating back to President Harry S Truman.<br /><br />***<br /><br />Despite the scope of Gallup’s data and its reputation for professional political polling, Gibbs dismissed its survey.<br /><br />“I don’t put a lot of stake in, never have, in the EKG that is daily Gallup trend. I don’t pay a lot of attention to the meaninglessness of it.”<br /><br />And it’s not just Gallup: <br />“Rasmussen’s recent survey has Obama’s approval at 47 percent.<br /><br />CNN/Opinion Research found Obama’s approval rating to be 48 percent.<br /><br />Fox News/Opinion Dynamics pegged Obama’s approval rating at 46 percent.<br /><br />The last poll to show Obama above 50 percent approval was conducted in mid-November by CBS News.”<br /><br />As a candidate in Iowa, Obama promised to lead “not by polls, but by principle” although he nevertheless employed six campaign pollsters. <br /><br />Some of them now work for him as President. Even Gallup’s Editor in Chief noticed the inconsistency between what the Obama campaign did and what the Obama Administration says:<br /><br />“And I’m sure the Obama campaign in 2008 paid a great deal of attention to their own tracking polls measuring how his candidacy was doing as the events of the campaign rocketed across the news each day.”<br /><br />I think President Obama cares about polls as much as candidate Obama cared — because the polls impact his ability to lead and govern. <br /><br />At this rate, Obama will undoubtedly focus more and more on the urgency of acting immediately and sweepingly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4726844761468242273.post-52789145111638774392009-12-10T04:41:17.074-08:002009-12-10T04:41:17.074-08:00Gibbs Touts Gallup Numbers When They Support Obama...Gibbs Touts Gallup Numbers When They Support Obama (NewsBusters)<br /><br />White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, recently ridiculed a Gallup poll which showed the President's approval ratings at a record low for this stage of his presidency, for seemingly no other reason than they showed the President in a negative light. <br /><br />Gibbs referred to the Gallup polling organization as a wildly fluctuating EKG, labeling their results as the equivalent of ‘a 6-year-old with a crayon.' <br /><br />Predictably, this administration has managed to throw a temper tantrum at every instance of failure that has defined them. <br /><br />The only surprise here, being that Gibbs was capable of taking the pacifier out of his mouth long enough to make the analogy.<br /><br />On the other hand, it was mere months ago that Gibbs himself used Gallup poll numbers to demonstrate support for President Obama's economic stimulus plan - a stimulus plan that a 6-year-old with a crayon would have voted ‘no' on.<br /><br />Yes, Mr. Gibbs was so giddy over the Gallup survey - which showed roughly two-thirds of the public approved of the way Obama was handling the passage of the economic stimulus package - that he sent out an e-mail to reporters which praised the findings. <br /><br /><br />As the Washington Post reported on February 9th, 2009 (emphasis mine):<br /><br />"As President Barack Obama heads to Indiana and Florida over the next two days to sell his economic stimulus plan to a somewhat skeptical Congress, White House and congressional Democrats are moving around new poll data that suggests the public is broadly supportive of the bill.<br /><br />White House press secretary Robert Gibbs sent out an email to reporters this morning touting the data -- from a Gallup survey -- that showed roughly two-thirds of the public approves of the way Obama is handling the passage of the economic stimulus package while just 31 percent say the same of congressional Republicans."<br /><br /><br />MSNBC also covered the then Gallup-loving Gibbs: "Aides David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs, both of whom were fixtures of the campaign plane, accompanied the president to this swing state, which he won narrowly in November. <br /><br />The pair spoke with the press aboard Air Force One on the flight from Washington, arguing that the latest Gallup poll showed there was strong support for the stimulus package."<br /><br /><br />CNN also reported on how Obama echoed the comments made by Axelrod and Gibbs throughout the week, which continued the theme of citing Gallup as the be-all/end-all poll of choice regarding the stimulus:<br /><br />Speaking to journalists aboard Air Force One Tuesday, President Obama continued to make the case his top aides have pressed this week: that public support for his stimulus proposal is far stronger than many reports have reflected. <br /><br />"I think if you took a look at the Gallup poll yesterday, the American people don't need convincing," he said.<br /><br />Apparently, Gallup is an important polling source only if the numbers support the President's decisions. <br /><br />This is pretty much typical behavior for the Obama administration - cite polls and fuzzy numbers to push a radical agenda, and if any organization dares dissent, ridicule them as being irrelevant and partisan.<br /><br />Gibbs condescension is rather stunning, considering he is the press secretary for the lowest rated President at this stage of the game since Harry Truman. Then again, give a 6-year-old a podium...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com