CBS’s Plante Trumpets Hunger Strike at Guantanamo: ‘Is It Any Surprise…That They Would Prefer Death?’
During a Tuesday press conference at the White House, CBS's Bill Plante channeled his colleague Bob Schieffer's 2009 "open sore" pronouncement about Guantanamo Bay as he asked President Obama about an ongoing hunger strike among many of the detainees there. Plante hinted at sympathy for the prisoners as he wondered, "Is it any surprise, really, that they would prefer death rather than – have no end in sight to their confinement?"
The correspondent's leading question allowed the President to revisit the issue and call for the closure of the facility, just over three months after his administration closed the office tasked with shuttering the prison camp [audio available here; video below the jump]:
CBS’s Pelley Hails Trilogy of Thomas Jefferson, John F. Kennedy and Now Barack Obama
Does journalistic insistence on catapulting President Barack Obama into historic greatness and relevance know no bounds? CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley on Tuesday night insisted upon trumpeting Obama’s proposal, to spend $100 million to map the human brain, through the hagiographic maneuver of putting Obama into a trilogy with the triumphs of Thomas Jefferson and John Kennedy:
"Finally tonight, for Thomas Jefferson it was the Louisiana Territory; for John F. Kennedy, the moon. Well today, as Bill Plante reports, President Obama announced a mission to explore and map another frontier filled with mystery and possibility."
CBS’s Pelley Hails Trilogy of Thomas Jefferson, John F. Kennedy and Now Barack Obama
Does journalistic insistence on catapulting President Barack Obama into historic greatness and relevance know no bounds? CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley on Tuesday night insisted upon trumpeting Obama’s proposal, to spend $100 million to map the human brain, through the hagiographic maneuver of putting Obama into a trilogy with the triumphs of Thomas Jefferson and John Kennedy:
"Finally tonight, for Thomas Jefferson it was the Louisiana Territory; for John F. Kennedy, the moon. Well today, as Bill Plante reports, President Obama announced a mission to explore and map another frontier filled with mystery and possibility."
CBS’s Bill Plante: Obama Administration ‘Undercutting First Amendment,’ ‘It’s State-Run Media’
Bill Plante, CBS News Senior White House Correspondent, made a rather shocking statement Sunday about the Obama administration's media strategy.
Appearing on CNN's Reliable Sources, Plante said that to the extent the White House is able to "put out their own material" without the Washington press corps, "they're undercutting the First Amendment...it's state-run media" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
CBS Hypes ‘Deep’, ‘Massive’ Spending Cuts; Slants Toward Obama, Democrats
Wednesday's CBS This Morning played up the supposedly gargantuan cuts in government spending that would go into the effect if the sequester goes into effect on March 1. Charlie Rose trumpeted the "massive spending cuts" set to take effect, while Gayle King underlined that the "deep automatic spending cuts" were quickly approaching. But neither anchor pointed out that $85 billion in cuts come out of a $3.5 trillion federal budget.
Correspondent Bill Plante hyped the effect of the possible "massive layoffs" on the Washington, DC region. But he only included one soundbite from a Republican/conservative, while playing three clips from President Obama and second Democrat.
CBS Actually Covers Gun Self-Defense Case Promoted By NRA; ABC, NBC Punt
On Friday's CBS This Morning, Bill Plante refreshingly spotlighted how firearms are used to protect the lives of ordinary Americans. Plante noted how the National Rifle Association "Tweeted a story...about Melinda Herman, a Georgia woman who shot an intruder in self-defense as she waited with her two children in a closet....She fired at the man multiple times with a .38 caliber handgun."
The two other Big Three morning shows failed to mention this story during their coverage of the current gun control debate. ABC's GMA actually minimized the air time they devoted to the issue. News anchor Dan Harris gave just one news brief to the next meeting of Vice President Joe Biden's gun violence task force:
Ten Outrageous Anti-Gun ’Journalists’
The media agenda against guns is nothing new. But recent mass shootings have encouraged supposedly neutral journalists to push for gun regulation instead of reporting the facts surrounding the tragedies.
One thing the media seldom mention is that both the Newtown and Aurora shootings occurred in gun free zones. In the Clackamas Town Center Shooting in Oregon, however, a gunman was stopped when someone with a concealed carry permit intervened. There were only two casualties in this shooting which received little media attention. If this incident was mentioned, the concealed carry part of the story was almost completely ignored.
CBS’s Bill Plante Minimizes Pro-Gun Rights Voices; Slants 3 to 1 In Favor of Gun Control
Bill Plante apparently couldn't be bothered to find more than one conservative/Republican for his report on Wednesday's CBS This Morning. Plante aired one soundbite from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, but followed it with three straight clips from liberals/gun control supporters - White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, the Brady Campaign's Dan Gross, and Kentucky Rep. John Yarmuth, who attacked the NRA's leadership as "bullies".
The correspondent hyped supposed "public outrage over the massacre [that] has also emboldened members of Congress to challenge the power of the gun lobby." Plante also spotlighted the NRA's multi-million dollar lobbying campaign in 2012:
CBS Uncritically Promotes Obama Campaign’s Attack Hinting Romney is ‘Less than Truthful’
On Friday's CBS This Morning, Nancy Cordes trumpeted that the Obama campaign is "turning lemons into lemonade" as she reported that the Democratic operation is "arguing that Romney had a great performance at the debate, but only because he was untethered from the truth." Not once did the correspondent or colleagues Norah O'Donnell and Bill Plante critically examine the claims from the incumbent or his operatives.
O'Donnell even spotlighted how "we heard David Axelrod say that they're going to change some things. They're even suggesting that Mitt Romney is a liar for what he said in the debate."
CBS This Morning Fawns Over Obama’s Oratory Skills, Wonders If Kennedys Are ‘Magic’
Immediately following Bill Plante's declaration on Thursday that Barack Obama is "one of the greatest orators of his generation," CBS This Morning co-anchors Charlie Rose and Norah O'Donnell conducted an interview with Caroline Kennedy. Instead of discussing her upcoming speech at the Democratic National Convention, they excessively flattered her family and party affiliation.
While reminiscing about the last presidential campaign season, O'Donnell spoke of the transference of "Kennedy magic" to Obama when he received an official endorsement from the former president's daughter and her more recently deceased uncle in 2008. [See video below. MP3 audio here.]
CBS Face-Plante: Reporter Claims White Men Helped Obama Win, When They Favored McCain By 16 Points
On Thursday's CBS This Morning, Bill Plante pointed out that "a new poll shows President Obama's support slipping in one key demographic that helped him win in 2008: white men." However, Pew Research Center's presidential exit poll from that year found that Obama actually lost 57 to 41 percent to Republican candidate John McCain.
Plante noted "concern in Mr. Obama's own party that his economic message in recent months is not connecting with voters," but led his report with a silver lining for the chief executive: "The President...has been claiming for months that he inherited the nation's economic problems, and in the new Gallup poll, more than two-thirds of Americans agree. They say that former President George Bush deserves either a moderate amount or a great deal of blame."
The correspondent turned to the issue of Democratic "concern" over the President during the second half of the segment. Plante cited an unnamed "senior Democrat" who advised that Obama "needs to say something new...talk about his agenda for the future." After playing a soundbite from former Clinton pollster Mark Penn, the journalist made his claim about white male support being a "key demographic" for the incumbent during the last presidential election.
An unsigned article from U.S. News and World Report on November 6, 2008 (two days after the election) acknowledged that Obama only "had the support of 41 percent of white men," but added that "no Democrat since Jimmy Carter had earned more than 38 percent of the white male vote." This might have been what Plante was referring to, but he didn't give any explanation or attribution to his claim.
The full transcript of Bill Plante's report from Thursday's CBS This Morning, which aired six minutes into 7 am Eastern hour:
CHARLIE ROSE: Now to campaign 2012 - President Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney are both going to Ohio today to talk about jobs and the economy.
ERICA HILL: As Bill Plante reports, the President's speech has long been planned, and will be closely watched. Bill, good morning.
[CBS News Graphic: "Race For The White House: Obama Speech To Frame Economic Contrasts"]
BILL PLANTE: Good morning, Erica. Well, the President, you know, has been claiming for months that he inherited the nation's economic problems, and in the new Gallup poll, more than two-thirds of Americans agree. They say that former President George Bush deserves either a moderate amount or a great deal of blame. Only 52 percent blame President Obama. But today's speech, the first of a series, is to frame the difference between the President and Mitt Romney on how to grow the economy. But here's the thing: Democrats outside the White House circle are anxious for something more. Many of them think that the President needs to talk more about what he would do to lay out a plan for the future.
[CBS News Graphic: "Blame For The Economy: George W. Bush, 68%; Barack Obama, 52%; Source: Gallup Poll: Margin of Error: +/- 4% Pts."]
PLANTE (voice-over): President Obama heads to the crucial swing state of Ohio today, where he plans to reframe his economic message, drawing a sharp contrast with Governor Mitt Romney. His Republican rival will be across the state in Cincinnati, giving a speech at nearly the exact same moment. He took a preemptive swing Wednesday at Obama's message.
ROMNEY: My own view is that he will speak eloquently, but that words are cheap, and that the record of an individual is the basis upon which you determine whether they should continue to hold on to their job.
PLANTE: That criticism is expected, but there's also concern in Mr. Obama's own party that his economic message in recent months is not connecting with voters. As one senior Democrat told CBS News, the President needs to say something new - to talk about his agenda for the future.
Another long-time Democratic operative feels the same. Mark Penn has done political strategy and polling for many Democrats, including Bill and Hillary Clinton.
MARK PENN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST AND POLLSTER: He needs a new message and a new economic policy, because the old economic policy and the old message just isn't working.
PLANTE: The race is in a statistical dead heat, and a new poll shows President Obama's support slipping in one key demographic that helped him win in 2008: white men.
PENN: I think he's got to target soccer dads - suburban men, professional, well-educated - those professional households where he got, basically, half the vote last time - are actually the ones who, most likely -- to make the big decision here in this election.
PLANTE (on-camera): Today marks the President's twenty-first visit to Ohio since he took office. And that's no accident, because Ohio is a key swing state. The only places he's been to more often are New York, where he raises lots of money; and Maryland and Virginia, an easy commute from here at 1600 Pennsylvania. Charlie, Erica?
ROSE: Bill Plante, thank you.
Bob Schieffer Laughs Off ‘Campaigner-In-Chief’ Charge Against Obama
Bob Schieffer didn't think much of the accusation that President Obama is the "campaigner-in-chief" on Friday's CBS This Morning. When anchor Erica Hill wondered if that charge could be "harmful" to the President, Schieffer laughed aloud and replied, "If he raises enough money, it won't hurt him at all."
Just a day earlier on the morning show, correspondent Bill Plante actually pointed out that as of early June, Obama "will have done 153 fundraisers since formally declaring his candidacy for reelection a little over a year ago. That's nearly double the number President Bush had done at the same point in 2004."
The Face The Nation host's remark came in the midst of two segments on the "week to forget for the Obama administration," as Hill put it. During the first segment, correspondent Jan Crawford outlined that Mitt Romney's fundraising lead over the President in May ($76.8 million for Romney versus $60 million for Obama) was "just the latest example of a not-so-great week for Mr. Obama's reelection bid."
Crawford continued by highlighting the "off message" statements from former President Bill Clinton and former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, and how Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's defeat of the union-led recall effort on Tuesday was "a bad sign for Mr. Obama. Unions have long been important organizing and fundraising forces in Democratic politics." She concluded her report by stating that "those fundraising numbers are important, but so is another bad number: the unemployment rate. It was up slightly in May."
Co-anchor Charlie Rose then brought on Schieffer. The veteran CBS News personality echoed what Crawford had spotlighted, that "the thing that would worry the people at the White House the most is that fundraising number," and adding that "the numbers that are really going to count is what will the economic numbers be in October."
Hill's "campaigner-in-chief" question came near the end of the segment. Despite the larger "week to forget" context, Schieffer tried to find a silver lining, and also took the opportunity to slam the campaign finance system:
HILL: We can't ignore the money factor here. You touched on some of those figures, Bob. There's been a lot of criticism about President Obama being the campaigner-in-chief. How harmful could that be to him?
SCHIEFFER: (laughs) If he raises enough money, it won't hurt him at all. (Hill laughs) I think the -- I think he's got to do it. I mean, think about this: both of these candidates are going to raise in the neighborhood of a billion dollars. I mean, that might be -- they might say it's necessary, and I suppose if one is out there raising money, the other one has to, too. But what are the rest of us to say about this? Should we be proud of this, that it takes a billion dollars to run for president, that this is all about money?
We know money is not the only thing. I mean, you know, look at Meg Whitman out there in California last time out. In that governor's race, she raised a hundred and something million of her own money in the race and still lost to Jerry Brown. So money does not ensure victory, but how obscene, that we have reached this stage, that both of these candidates have to raise this much money in order to be competitive.
Miley Cyrus, Miss USA Get More Time Than Wisconsin Recall on Big Three
The Big Three networks certainly have their priorities straight. ABC, CBS, and NBC's morning shows on Wednesday dedicated more time to entertainment news than the results of the Wisconsin recall election. On CBS This Morning, Disney's new ban on junk food ads from its kids programming received a minute and a half more than the political story. The same gap occurred on ABC's Good Morning America, but instead of junk food, the Miss USA pageant got the extra time.
NBC's Today, however, one-upped its competitors, as they devoted over six minutes to former Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus getting engaged, while Republican Governor Scott Walker's victory received under four and a half minutes. Today also spent over five minutes on the Miss USA story.
All three networks led their morning newscasts with the Wisconsin election results. CBS This Morning spent the most time covering the story, at five minutes, 45 seconds. The relatively new program aired three full reports back-to-back from correspondents Dean Reynolds, Bill Plante, and Jan Crawford on the election at the top of the 7 am Eastern hour. However, an hour later, at the beginning of the 8 am hour, they led with a report from Jim Axelrod on the Disney junk food ban, followed by a panel discussion on the issue, which together, lasted seven minutes and 14 seconds.
Good Morning America devoted the least amount of time to Governor Walker's recall, with just over three and a half minutes. ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl reported on the story six minutes into the 7 am Eastern hour, and news anchor Josh Elliot gave a brief an hour later at the top of the 8 am hour. But in between, during the 7:30 half hour, the morning show spent almost five minutes on the court battle between actors Kevin Costner and Stephen Baldwin.
Twelve minutes after Elliot's news brief, correspondent Paula Faris gave a report on an accusation from a contestant that Miss USA officials fixed the annual beauty pageant. Anchor George Stephanopoulos then interviewed Donald Trump, who owns the Miss USA franchise. Overall, Good Morning America devoted just over five minutes to the controversy, for a total of about 10 minutes on the celebrity stories.
NBC News correspondent Peter Alexander gave the sole report on the Wisconsin election just after the top of the 7 am Eastern hour of the Today show. News anchor Natalie Morales also gave two news briefs on Walker's victory during the four-hour broadcast, for a total of four minutes and 27 seconds of coverage. But like ABC, they spent over five minutes on the Miss USA story, which also included an interview of Trump.
Cyrus's engagement to actor Liam Hemsworth, however, was apparently bigger than either Wisconsin or Miss USA. Morales gave a report on the story during the 7:30 am Eastern half hour. Anchor Ann Curry then brought on Kate Coyne of People magazine to discuss the entertainment news. Together, the two segments lasted six minutes and 20 seconds, more than two minutes longer than all of the Wisconsin coverage.
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CBS’s Bill Plante: Bill Clinton’s Reputation ‘Bathed in Nostalgia’
CBS This Morning on Tuesday heralded President Obama and former President Bill Clinton's joint fundraising appearances in New York City, playing up the "star-studded lineup" that appeared with the two. Correspondent Bill Plante gushed that Obama "shared the stage and the spotlight with former President Bill Clinton...his reputation now bathed in nostalgia as he made the case for his fellow Democrat."
Political director John Dickerson also likened Clinton to a lumbering dog throwing its weight around: "He's [Clinton] also, sort of, a big St. Bernard bounding around the political landscape, saying what he wants, and it's difficult for the Obama team to quiet him down if he says something that might be slightly off message."
Anchor Charlie Rose noted in his introduction to Plante's report that "Clinton said that Mitt Romney's qualified to be president. President Obama's reelection campaign was not happy about that. But last night...the current and former presidents were side by side and on the same page." The correspondent continued that "this started out as a rocky relationship, between the new upstart and the former champ. But they have grown to appreciate one another. In New York last night, they appeared together, the two biggest stars in the Democratic Party."
The veteran CBS journalist used his "bathed in nostalgia" phrase soon after. Plante then highlighted their past tension between the Democrats: "Things haven't always been so cordial. In 2008, when Hillary Clinton was battling then-Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination, their relationship was tense." Plante soon added, though, that "the one-time icy relationship has settled into a marriage of convenience. With Hillary Clinton's future in politics still a possibility, Bill Clinton needs to be a friend to all Democrats. And President Obama knows that Clinton can reach out effectively to voters."
Rose brought on Dickerson at the end of Plante's report to discuss the presidential joint appearance. He first asked the CBS political director, "So how important is Bill Clinton to President Obama's reelection?" Dickerson touted how Clinton is "about as important as a surrogate can be for a candidate...he's, obviously, beloved within the Democratic Party. He can raise money; he can rally the troops; and he's got a natural political instinct, which means that he can coin a phrase or lay out an attack line the President never could." Dickerson continued with his alpine dog comparison.
The CBS anchor followed up with a leading follow-up question: "Bill Clinton's political instincts are as good as any anybody in the Democratic Party, aren't they?" The political director quipped in reply, "Well, that's right, and he thinks that's certainly the case, too."
Earlier, Plante surprisingly reported how the President confused rival Mitt Romney with his father:
PLANTE: Fundraising Monday, both men [Clinton and Obama] took turns hitting Mitt Romney, even though President Obama momentarily forgot which Romney he was targeting.
OBAMA: You know, George Romney -- wrong guy. (audience laughs) Governor Romney!
The full transcript of the Bill Plante and John Dickerson segments on Tuesday's CBS This Morning, which aired back-to-back at 12 minutes into the 7 am Eastern hour, is available at MRC.org.