John McCain Obama’s Biggest Critic
Shockingly, John McCain is working to make life difficult for the man who beat him last November. Barack Obama began his presidency with an open hand toward the man he had just defeated in a race that was at times bitter. "There are few Americans who understand this need for common purpose and common effort better than John McCain," said Obama at ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on December 11, 2009 15:58
NYT Dreaming of a Colored Christmas
The New York Times' "Of Color" holiday gift guide, featuring is drawing some bemusement from all corners of the blogosphere. But it's a pretty good idea. The premise is both amusing and self-contradictory: Somali fashion, do-it-yourself henna kits, children's books that draw inspiration from the lives of Barack Obama and Sonia Sotomayor: it's not hard to find gifts created for and by ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on December 10, 2009 09:21
Anne Applebaum’s Car Explodes! Rumors Follow!
I was alerted via Radio Free Europe's Twitterfeed to their story "Anne Applebaum's Car Explodes." In it, Luke Allnut excerpts this from a London Times report: The American author Anne Applebaum, wife of Radoslaw Sikorski, the Polish Foreign Minister, has been given special police protection after the engine of her jeep exploded in as yet unexplained circumstances. Ms Applebaum, 45, author of ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on December 9, 2009 13:29
Taking Media Control “To A New Level”?
In a post earlier today, my colleague James complains about Obama's criticism of the media, saying that it is a "difference in kind" to what Presidents have done in the past.Obama has taken it to a new level to such an extent that a difference in degree may be a difference in kind. Not only is his team spending ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on December 7, 2009 14:58
Tyranny of Clichés Million Dollar Book?
The news that National Review's Jonah Goldberg has received a one million dollar advance from Penguin imprint Sentinel to write a book tentatively titled The Tyranny of Clichés has drawn some eye rolling from Steve M. and Steve Benen. I have my doubts that the July 2002 column of the same name can be stretched to fill 300 pages. Then again, ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on December 7, 2009 13:55
Editor-in-Chief Obama
[caption id="attachment_44691" align="alignright" width="400" caption="President Obama takes an impromtu tour of the press area just after taking office in 2009 (Getty Images)"][/caption] President Obama is frustrated by the national media's obsession with silly stories, Time's Michael Scherer reports. We are past, for the moment, the White House "war" on Fox, such as it was. (Obama did an interview with Fox News' Major ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on December 7, 2009 09:42
Stephanopoulos “Good Morning America” New Host?
Howard Kurtz reports that the "Good Morning America" gig is George Stephanopoulos' if he wants it. ABC has offered George Stephanopoulos the coveted job of co-hosting "Good Morning America," and intensive negotiations are under way, sources familiar with the situation said Thursday. While the network's chief Washington correspondent has not yet accepted the job, he was in New York this week, as ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on December 3, 2009 17:36
Anderson Cooper’s Ratings Plummet
I'm sure I'll see dumber stories as the day wears on but Business Insider's "Anderson Cooper's Ratings Plummet" is the early morning leader. Anderson Cooper is fading in the ratings. The respected CNN anchor has seen his numbers slip significantly through the past year. His 10 p.m. show, "Anderson Cooper 360," has declined 62% in total viewers and 70% in adults 25-54 ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on December 3, 2009 10:03
More Afghanistan Speech Reactions
As promised, "Obama's Afghanistan Speech: Reactions From Around the World" is up at New Atlanticist. The focus is on European reactions which are rather mixed. The key players are, with the glaring exception of Germany's Angela Merkel, all saying the right things. But there are few indications that the president changed anyone's mind last night. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on December 2, 2009 15:27
Chris Matthews: West Point ‘Enemy Camp’
Along with serious discussions about President Obama's newest new Afghanistan strategy, a minor brouhaha has errupted over Chris Matthews' labeling West Point "the enemy camp" last night. Jeff Porter has the scoop at Newsbusters: "It seems like in this case, there isn't a lot of excitement," Matthews said. "I watched the cadets, they were young kids - men and women who ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on December 2, 2009 10:29
White House Takes On Politico
Marc Ambinder reports, "It's not just Fox News that's become subject of White House derision. The following is an excerpt from a joke e-mail that is circulating among White House staffers." 7 narratives politico is fighting in their efforts to get an interview with the President 1. They are more interested in readers than accuracy 2. Its okay to be wrong everyonce in ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on December 1, 2009 12:35
Journalistic Ethics and Illegally Acquired Documents
Ed Driscoll, Jonathan Adler and Glenn Reynolds take the New York Times and other mainstream outlets to task for their decision to not republish the stolen emails from climate scientists on the grounds that they were illegally obtained and written with the expectation of being kept private. After all, these outlets famously publish illegally obtained classified national security information at ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 23, 2009 14:02
Glenn Beck, Community Organizer
Glenn Beck has a plan. Actually, the Plan. Which he reveals on his website. Today, I have stopped looking for a leader to show us the way out because I have come to realize that the only one who can truly save our country...is us. To change America's course we need to change ourselves, our expectations and our willingness to accept ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 22, 2009 09:52
Fox Fake Crowd Videos
For the second time in a week, Fox News has been caught using old video to give the false impression of larger-than-actual turnout at appearances of politicos they supported. Sufficiently embarrassed at having been caught, Fox executives are promising "serious disciplinary action" for those responsible. While the incidents add fuel to the fire that Fox is a Republican shill outlet rather ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 19, 2009 16:08
Douthat Blogging Again
A few months ago, when Ross Douthat became a New York Times columnist, I was pretty excited that the Times had chosen a fresh, conservative perspective for its editorial pages. Since then, I admit I've been a little disappointed. Douthat's columns have, by and large, been pretty lackluster--there was none of the depth, wit, or thoughtfulness that made ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 19, 2009 12:22
