Mitt Romney - FishbowlDC

MSNBC’s Tamron Hall on What Really Happened During That Tim Carney Interview

Mona Zhang — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 12:11:33 +0000

From interviewing world leaders to hurling water balloons during a lighthearted segment, Tamron Hall is as at home reporting on the world’s pressing issues as she is doing what “some people would see as fluff.” In the latest installment of Mediabistro’s So What Do You Do? interview series, the MSNBC anchor and Today substitute co-host gives her thoughts on objectivity and talks about her infamous on-air ‘throw down’ with Washington Examiner columnist Tim Carney over Mitt Romney’s background.

“I just handled a situation that wasn’t best for my audience and my viewers,” Hall recalled. “We were having a conversation and I was asking a legitimate question, and I felt at the time that we were cheating the viewer with what was just political gamesmanship. I’m not here to judge anyone’s opinions, but I would like to have a question answered. So, for me, it was not about admonishing him or creating a moment or trying to be controversial. My job is to ask questions and get to the bottom of the story or the issue at hand, and I felt that we were being unfair to the viewer in having a conversation that was not about the issue at hand.”

Read the full interview in So What Do You Do, Tamron Hall, Anchor of MSNBC’s NewsNation?

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What’s Weingarten Writing?

Peter Ogburn — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 13:00:17 +0000

Last week was TORTURE! Gene Weingarten, our favorite “humorist” from WaPo was on vacation leaving us with a “Best Of” column. Have no fear! Our Pulitzer Prize-winning Putz is back in action with a new piece. Actually, I SAY that it’s a new column, but Gene is clearly having a hard time getting back in the saddle because he outsources his piece to comedienne Gina Barreca. They spend the entire piece dissecting Mitt Romney’s recent loss in the Presidential election. Months ago, Barreca predicted that women would have a hard time voting for Romney because he creeps them out.

Unlike Gene, Gina is genuinely funny, so I don’t have a real problem with this. But, is Gene really going to collect a paycheck for this piece? The whole thing is material from Barreca. Don’t believe me? The numbers do not lie… continued…

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President Obama Invites Mitt Romney to the White House for Lunch: Who’s Covering it Best?

Peter Ogburn — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 11:44:48 +0000

It’s a big deal that POTUS invited Mitt Romney over for lunch at the White House this afternoon. The event is closed to press, so outlets tried to have some fun with the story. HuffPost’s Sam Stein tweeted, “Tomorrow, I will dress up as a waiter/butler and will try to maneuver my way in towards serving Obama/Romney during their lunch.”

Fantasyland…WaPo’s Alexandra Petri imagined what the lunch would have been like if she was there. Imagine lots of awkward banter and nervous laughter from Romney.

Others took the matter more seriously… continued…

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Daily Caller‘s Feud With Ben Smith Persists

Peter Ogburn — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 10:00:12 +0000

There is still plenty of bad blood between The Daily Caller and websites that employ Ben Smith. We’ve devoted plenty of time to the fights between The Daily Caller and Politico, but it seems that they are turning their attention to Buzzfeed.

The Daily Caller’s Jeff Poor called out Buzzfeed’s McKay Coppins in a piece that took on pundits who blamed the conservative media for losing the election for Mitt Romney. Poor opens his piece by saying, “Only in the delusional world of online journalism, a world saturated with narcissists fueled by Twitter followers and TV appearances, could one come to the following conclusion: The “conservative” media lost Mitt Romney the election. That’s the new theory being advanced by one of this bubble’s occupants, BuzzFeed’s McKay Coppins.” This all stems from this piece from Coppins.

A snappy Coppins reacted to Poor’s story on Twitter, saying… continued…

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BuzzFeed Campaign Scribe McKay Coppins May Wear ‘Strange, Exotic’ Mormon Underpants

Eddie Scarry — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:45:41 +0000

Throughout the election it became common knowledge that BuzzFeed‘s McKay Coppins was the Mormon covering the Mitt Romney campaign. Coppins tweeted about being Mormon several times and Politico called him “the Mormon on Mitt’s trail.”

Even so, it was never an issue extensively covered by Coppins. Today, however, he has a lengthy first-person account about his experience covering Romney headlined “A Mormon Reporter On The Romney Bus.”

Coppins writes about Romney aides who were uneasy talking to him simply because, like Romney, he’s a Mormon and the campaign didn’t want it to be a high-profile issue. He says he approached his coverage of Romney knowing how the faith had shaped his world view. Despite Romney’s own obvious avoidance of of discussing his religion, Coppins says Romney’s candidacy has, at least to some degree, demystified it.

Most importantly, Coppins begins and ends the story with personal stories of fellow reporters chatting about the underwear Mormon’s wear… continued…

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Politico’s Allen Delivers Powerful Message

Peter Ogburn — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:15:38 +0000

Tuesday’s election is the culmination of a LOT of hard work from reporters. Many have been on the road for months on end. Barely ever sleeping in their own bed. Not being able to eat a home cooked meal. We get it. It’s a rough schedule to keep up and we thank you for it. Don’t ever say it’s a thankless job. (All that being said, it’s not exactly ditch digging.)

In Tuesday morning’s Politico Playbook, Mike Allen pays tribute to all the hard working journos who have lived the road life and comes across like a Hallmark card…

continued…

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Romney is Butt of Late Night, Study Finds

Betsy Rothstein — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 11:15:21 +0000

No wonder GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney avoids late night talk shows. The Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University has a new study out today that reveals that late night talk show hosts hit Mitt more than just about all Democrats combined since the party nominating conventions.

From Aug. 27 to Oct. 3, 2012, the Center analyzed targets of jokes about public figures in the opening monologues of the highest rated late night talk show hosts — Jay Leno, David Letterman, Craig Ferguson and Jimmy Fallon.

CMPA Prez Robert Lichter surmised, “Romney is leading in the humor race, but being the biggest joke is a race nobody wants to win.“

Highlights:

Romney was the butt of 148 jokes in late night talk show monologues, over twice as many as President Obama. Obama finished second with 62 jokes.
The disparity is greatest seen on David Letterman, who told 44 jokes about Romney and nine about Obama. All four comedians told more jokes about Romney over Obama.

See how Romney stacks up with the top 10 joke targets after the jump… continued…

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MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry: Presidential Style Is Not the Business of Politics

Mona Zhang — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 12:46:21 +0000

If there’s one thing MSNBC host and Tulane professor Melissa Harris-Perry dislikes most about this election, it’s all the talk about the candidates’ style. With headlines like “Mitt Romney Narrows Gaps On Likability And Appearing Presidential,” it’s no wonder the outspoken academic thinks it’s a distraction.

“Whether or not President Obama is cool or whether Mitt Romney is likable, I really do not care,” she told Mediabistro. “I assume that Mitt Romney’s wife loves him and Barack Obama’s wife loves him, and they both can probably tell a funny joke when they want to. I mean, really, who cares about style? Some of our greatest presidents have been absolute dorks, and some of our most horrible presidents have been affable, lovely, engaging human beings. That’s not the business of politics.”

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Frank Rich on the ‘Great Theater’ of Politics and Pop Culture

Donya Blaze — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:24:40 +0000

In the final installment of this week’s Media Beat interview, Frank Rich, New York magazine columnist and executive producer of HBO’s Veep, discusses the meshing of politics and pop culture. Having covered Broadway for years, he says the nonstop spectacles, gaffes and minutiae that become “news” just make his job more fun.

“To watch [President Obama and Mitt Romney] grapple on the one hand with the changes in the news media [and] on one hand with the world of The Voice and American Idol, The Daily Show, and SNL, it’s fascinating,” Rich explained. “But people forget this didn’t used to be the case. It was considered a huge deal when Bill Clinton played the saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show 20 years ago. It’s a development that’s spiraling; it’s developing. It’s interesting to watch. It’s great theater.”

Watch the full video for Rich’s take on that supposed liberal media bias and to find out what he thinks the “real danger” in today’s news reporting is.

For more videos, check out our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

Part 1: Veep Executive Producer on DC: ‘Young People Jockeying for Power in Offices that Look Crummy’
Part 2: Frank Rich Compares New York Times and New York Magazine

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Miami Herald, Gawker Revive Hume Suicide

Betsy Rothstein — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:30:50 +0000

Gingrich, Molinari and Paxon in happier times. The infant is Susan Ruby, the couple’s child.

Earlier today the Miami Herald reported on an anti-Gingrich conference call set to transpire today between GOP Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, former Rep. Susan Molinari and former Sen. Jim Talent. They describe the relationship between GOP Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich and Romney backer Molinari as complex. The story by Marc Caputo reports that Molinari’s “hatred” for Gingrich dates back more than a decade. He brings up the longtime rumors of Molinari’s husband, former Rep. Bill Paxon, having an affair with FNC Brit Hume‘s son Sandy, who committed suicide in February 1998. At the time, he was a star reporter for The Hill. Hume had written that Paxon was believed to be a threat to Gingrich.

Gawker picked up where the Florida publication left off, questioning whether Gingrich had spilled the beans on the supposed affair — hence Paxon’s sudden disappearance from Congress and Hume’s death. An excerpt:

“The rumor, in brief, is as follows: In the summer of 1997, the Hill’s Sandy Hume—the then-28-year-old son of Fox News’ Brit Hume—broke a blockbuster story about four GOP congressman who plotted, and failed, to overthrow Newt Gingrich as Speaker. One of those men was Bill Paxon, a New York Republican who was married to fellow Congresswoman Susan Molinari. Another of the plotters, Majority Leader Dick Armey, scuttled the coup when he learned that Paxon, and not he, would replace Gingrich. Armey later disavowed the whole attempt and claimed not to have been involved.”

It’s the Washington mystery few dare to discuss in public.

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Morning Reading List 08.07.09

Christine — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:33:21 +0000

Good morning FishbowlDC! Got a blind item, interesting link, funny note, comment, birthday, anniversary or anything of the sort for Morning Reading List? Drop us a line.

The latest Auto-Tune the News (featuring Pat Buchanan!) above. Plenty of upcoming birthdays to celebrate this morning- Alex Baldinger, Marc Ambinder and David Bass, plus a special birthday we’ll celebrate more on the blog later. For now, what we know and what we’re reading this Friday morning…

NEWSPAPERS

NYT has finally confirmed that the Boston Globe is up for sale.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed by the Senate yesterday just after 3pm- what it looked like on cable.

More on Richard Wolffe on and not on MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann.”

And WaPo‘s Howard Kurtz‘s Media Notes on the Olbermann/Bill O’Reilly feud: “Out and a Bout.”

Lastly in TV, why Joe Scarborough is cool.

RADIO

GWU is launching a radio and web-based educational series exploring the role of press in democracy. “This Just In,” produced in association with the Newseum, will air weekly for an hour and will be hosted by veteran network correspondent Sam Litzinger with support from GWU students in the School of Media and Public Affairs. More dets here.

ONLINE

Slate‘s Jack Shafer hasn’t been served enough “Mouthpiece Theater” just yet.

More this morning from Shafer: “Will Marcus Brauchli Please Grow a Spine?”

And on that note- Dana Milbank‘s loss has been Andy Cobb‘s gain. Politico reports “Two Dudes and a Web Cam” hasn’t been a wild YouTube success- that is, until Milbank’s beer summit video flopped, opening the door for Cobb’s satire.

FT looks to introduce a pay-per-article system by next summer.

Politico‘s Jonathan Martin‘s filling in for Ben Smith on the blog (h/t Playbook).

BOOKS

Playbook also reports this morning that Mitt Romney has named his book due out in March- “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness.”

NEWS NOTES

Anderson Cooper had the first interview with Lisa Ling on CNN’s “360″ last night. Ling revealed that her sister Laura Ling and Euna Lee, American reporters for Current TV who were detained in North Korea until this week, did “very briefly” cross into the country.

HAT TIPS: mediabistro, TVNewser

REVOLVING DOOR and JOBS after the jump…

continued…

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Weekend Show Preview 06.27.09

Matt Dornic — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:45:28 +0000

NBC’s Meet the Press with David Gregory: Senior White House Adviser David Axelrod, Mitt Romney and Lindsey Graham. Roundtable with David Brooks, E.J. Dionne, Mike Murphy and Dee Dee Myers.

CBS’ Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer: UN Ambassador Susan Rice and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.

ABC’s This Week:

Fox News Sunday: Topics: Health care, with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Iraq, with Gen. Ray Odierno, Commanding General, Multi-National Force, Iraq.

CNN’s State of the Union with John King: Gen. Ray Odierno, Commander, Multi-National Force-Iraq and Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)on Iraq, Iran and war on terrorism. Mary Matalin and James Carville on health care debate and Obama’s response to Iran and T. Boone Pickens, chairman and CEO, BP Capital on energy.

CNN’s Reliable Sources with Howard Kurtz: WaPo’s Dana Milbank, HuffPo’s Nico Pitney and TWT’s Amanada Carpenter for media analysis. Diane Dimond, former reporter for Court TV, CNBC and MSNBC and pop culture commentator, Toure to discuss the coverage of Michael Jackson.

CNN’s GPS with Fareed Zakaria: Former Prime Minister Tony Blair and Robert Baer, author, “The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower” on Iran and election. NYT’s Paul Krugman and Hoover Institute’s John B. Taylor on economy and health care.

NBC’s The Chris Matthews Show: Dan Rather, HD Net; Helene Cooper, NY Times Washington correspondent; David Ignatius, Washington Post columnist; and Katty Kay, BBC Washington correspondent.

Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal: NBC’s Pete Williams, NYT‘s David Sanger, Slate’s John Dickerson and CNN’s Gloria Borger

Bloomberg’s Political Capital with Al Hunt: Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and interviews with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger.

Will update as we learn them.

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Weekend Show Preview: June 13-14, 2009

Matt Dornic — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:43:11 +0000

The Situation Room w/ Wolf Blitzer: Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) will discuss gas pipeline, Letterman feud, Obama and 2012. Dir. OMB Peter Orszag, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to discuss healthcare, budget and economy and author of “Myths, Illusions and Peace,” David Makovsky.

NBC’s Meet the Press w/ David Gregory: VP Joe Biden and roundtable with Republican strategist Mike Murphy and MSNBC’s Fmr. Rep. Joe Scarborough (R-FL)

ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos: Sec. H&H Kathleen Sebelius, Former MA Gov. Mitt Romney and a roundtable with Dem. Strategist & ABC News Consultant Donna Brazile, Nat Journal’s Ron Brownstein, WSJ’s Kimberly Strassel and columnist George Will to discuss the battle over a public insurance plan, the opposition from Congress over key provisions, and how the President plans to rally public support for reform.

CBS’ Face the Nation: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) to discuss health care, Guantanamo Bay, the Supreme Court nom. of Sotomayor, and the state of the Republican Party.

Fox News Sunday: Sen. Chris Dodd, (D-CT) / Chairman, Banking Committee with Sen. Charles Grassley, (R-IA) / Ranking Member, Finance Committee. Tom Donohue, President and CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce. Steve Chaconas, National Bass Guide Service.

CNN’s State of the Union w/ John King:Sec. H&H Kathleen Sebelius, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) to discuss health care debate and the latest on H1N1.

CNN’s Reliable Sources with Howard Kurtz: CNN’s Rick Sanchez, CBS Sportsline’s Gregg Doyel to discuss Twitter: phenomenon or passing fad? TIME’s Mark Halperin, Air America’s Ana Marie Cox and Jim Geraghty of National Review to discuss Palin-Letterman and Obama comedy

NBC’s The Chris Matthews Show: BBC’s Katty Kay, ABC News’ Claire Shipman, NYT’s Helene Cooper and Norah O’Donnell of MSNBC will discuss why Republicans are struggling to find the right path to oppose Obama

Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal: WaPo’s Ceci Connolly on health care reform, Bara Vaida of National Journal on health insurance lobbyists, Tom Gjelten of NPR on TARP bailout funds and Politico’s John Harris on VA and NJ gubernatorial races.

Bloomberg’s Political Capital with Al Hunt: Sen. Joe Lieberman on the Middle East peace process, Bloomberg’s Lizzie O’Leary and Christine Harper report on executive pay issues, Hans Nichols on health care reform and Margaret Carlson and Kate O’Beirne discuss Sotomayor’s confirmation process, Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin.

Will update as we learn them.

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Sunday Show Preview for 05.31.09

Matt Dornic — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:00:56 +0000

So our headline has become a bit misleading…really should read “Weekend Show Preview.” That said, I think it is just about complete.

NBC’s Meet the Press with David Gregory: Chairman of the Judiciary Committee Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to discuss Sotomayor confirmation hearings.

ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos: Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and John Cornyn (R-TX) and roundtable with former Bush adviser Ed Gillespie, PBS’ Gwen Ifill, New York Times columnist and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, and ABC News’ Legal correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg and columnist George Will will discuss the impact of a potential GM bankruptcy, the North Korean nuclear threat, and the rest of the week’s politics.

CBS’ Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer: Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and roundtable with WaPo’s Bob Woodward and NYT’s David Brooks

Washington Week with Gwen Ifill: Peter Baker of The New York Times, Joan Biskupic of USA Today and James Kitfield of National Journal will have analysis of the Obama administration’s efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and secure a new arms reduction treaty with Moscow.

Bloomberg’s Political Capital w/ Al Hunt: World Bank president Robert Zoellick will discuss global financial conditions.

Fox News Sunday: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) with Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

CNN’s State of the Union with John King: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to discuss Obama’s Sotomayor nom., the economy and the future of the GOP.

Roll Call TV with Robert Traynham: Rachel Brand, Former Assistant Attorney General; Emily Pierce, David Drucker and Emily Heil from RC newspaper.

The Chris Matthews Show: NY Mag’s John Heilemann, NYT’s Helene Cooper,NBC DC Bureau Chief Mark Whitaker, WaPo’s Anne Kornblut will discuss Sotomayor and the Prez’s trip to Egypt.

CNN’s Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer: David Axelrod & Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)on Sotomayor, Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA)on Penn Senate race, Alberto Gonzales on interrogation investigations and Richard Ben-Veniste on his new book “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”

FAREED ZAKARIA GPS: Henry Kissinger on diplomacy with rivals, Selig Harrison and Charles Prichard on N. Korea tests, Joshua Cooper Ramo and Niall Ferguson on global recession.

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Sunday Show Preview

Patrick — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:21:25 +0000

Meet The Press: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and a roundtable with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, BBC World News America’s Katty Kay, Al-Arabiya’s Hisham Melhem, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell and The New York Times’ David Sanger.

This Week: Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY), U.S. Senate Appointee Roland Burris (D-IL) and a roundtable with The Nation’s Katrina vanden Heuvel and ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, Cokie Roberts, and George Will.

Fox News Sunday: Former President George H.W. Bush and a panel with Brit Hume, Washington Managing Editor of Fox News, Mara Liasson, National Public Radio & Fox News, Bill Kristol, Weekly Standard & Fox News and Juan Williams, National Public Radio & Fox News.

Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer: Saeb Erakat, chief Palestinian negotiator, Gov. Jon Corzine (D), Governor of New Jersey, Gov. Mark Sanford (R), Governor of South Carolina, Mitt Romney (R), former presidential candidate; former Governor of Massachusetts, Ed Rollins, Republican strategist; CNN political contributor, James Carville, Democratic strategist; CNN political contributor, Amy Walter, CNN political contributor; editor-in-chief, The Hotline, Gloria Borger, CNN senior political analyst and Ed Henry, CNN senior White House correspondent.

Chris Matthews Show: Erin Burnett of CNBC; David Brooks of the New York Times; Joe Klein of Time magazine; and Norah O’Donnell of MSNBC.

Reliable Sources: Jonathan Martin, Politico, Carol Marin, anchor, WMAQ Chicago, Michel Martin, host, “Tell Me More” NPR, Jim Warren, former managing editor, The Chicago Tribune, Phil Bronstein, executive editor, The San Francisco Chronicle, Len Downie, executive editor, The Washington Post and Jessi Klein, writer and comedian.

C-SPAN’s In Depth: Author and journalist Bill Gertz

Inside Washington: Newsweek’s Evan Thomas, The Washington Post’s Colbert King, Politico’s Jeanne Cummings, and syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer.

Fareed Zakaria — GPS: Sam Palmisano, CEO, IBM and Gilles Kepel, author, “Beyond Terror and Martyrdom”

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