Mediaite: CNN's John Roberts to Join Fox News

CNN's John Roberts will join Fox News as senior national correspondent based in Atlanta and will be reporting on major domestic and international stories for the network, reports Colby Hall of Mediaite.

Some industry insiders are sure to see this as somewhat of a coup for Fox News, as Roberts will shore up the news side of FNC’s news programming. Anytime a news network can add an award winning journalist who has covered nearly every major news story of the last two decades for both CBS News and CNN. Some suggested that Roberts was poorly utilized at CNN hosting a morning news program, but Roberts did have some terrific reporting moments when he was brought out of the studio, namely while interviewing BP COO Doug Suttles, asking him “how he slept”?

It appears that Fox News will use Roberts in a similar vein, getting him out of the studio and reporting in the field on major news stories. Not only is this a win for FNC, but for fans of old school journalists as well.

Fox is Even a Bigger Winner Tuesday Than the GOP By Trouncing CNN, MSNBC

Fox had its biggest midterm election night ever, reports Brian Stelter of The New York Times, by clubbing its competitors by about 300 percent.

Fox pulled in 6.96 million viewers in prime time, while CNN averaged 2.42 million viewers, and MSNBC averaged 1.94 million viewers. That's 287 percent more than CNN and 358 percent more than MSNBC.

Stelter reported that the Nielsen Co. would not have comparison numbers against the broadcast networks until tomorrow, but early indications are that Fox would beat them, too.

Among viewers 25 to 54 years old, Fox News averaged 2.43 million in prime time, Stelter writes. CNN averaged 1.03 million among that demographic and MSNBC, 669,000.

Fox averaged 3.06 million viewers during the midterms in 2006, when there was a Democratic wave, Stelter reports. Fox has grown significantly in popularity since then.

CNN, by contrast, has shrunk — it had averaged 2.97 million viewers in the midterms in 2006. MSNBC’s prime-time averages were almost the same in 2006 and 2010.

(On the night of the presidential election in 2008, CNN averaged 12.3 million viewers in prime time, Fox averaged 9 million, and MSNBC averaged 5.9 million.)

The cable news channels’ ratings were inflated all day because of the election, but Fox ratings were inflated more than the others. Fox averaged 3.02 million viewers from 6 a.m. Tuesday to 3 a.m. Wednesday.

CNN Ratings Hit 4-Year Low in Total Viewer Average

TV Newser is reporting tonight that CNN hit new low viewership totals during prime time Friday night (8-11 p.m.) in both Total Viewers and A25-54 viewers.

Up against NBC's Olympic Opening Ceremony coverage, CNN averaged just 85,000 A25-54 viewers during Campbell Brown (8p), Larry King (9p) and Anderson Cooper (10p). An average that low has not been seen since May, 23, 2001. And the Total Viewer average of 382,000 was the lowest since Dec. 23, 2005.

And while all the cable news channels saw reduced viewing levels due to the massive audience that flocked to NBC -- only CNN saw its audience cut in half from Thursday night in both younger viewers and Total Viewers.

CNN Won't Apologize for Jumping the Gun on Coast Guard Story

CNN is unapologetic for jumping a story about Coast Guard vessels shooting at a boat near the Pentagon today (9/11) during an appearance by President Barack Obama. The story was incorrect as it turns out, and despite being told twice by the Coast Guard that nothing was going on, CNN ran with it.

This comes right after Obama used a story about Walter Cronkite holding a story about a fire because he did not have confirmation (Walter was right, the story wasn't what it seemed, and everyone else was wrong.)

Here's the CNN statement:

CNN staff were monitoring law enforcement activity this morning given the 9/11 anniversary. After hearing a U.S. Coast Guard radio transmission that a boat had breached a security zone on the Potomac River a short distance from the Pentagon where the President had just attended a 9/11 anniversary ceremony, CNN contacted the Coast Guard public affairs office at the agency's headquarters. The Coast Guard spokeswoman said she was unaware of any activity taking place on the Potomac River.

After hearing a further radio transmission about 10 rounds being expended, and after reviewing video of rapid movement by Coast Guard vessels as the President's motorcade crossed the Memorial Bridge, CNN reported the story. Simultaneously, during a second phone call, the Coast Guard spokeswoman informed us that its National Command Center and other command posts knew nothing about any activity in the area.

Given the circumstances, it would have been irresponsible not to report on what we were hearing and seeing. As with any breaking news story, information is often fluid and CNN updated the story with the official explanation from the Coast Guard as soon as it was provided.

Uncle Walter would have handled it differently!

During a memorial service for Cronkite two days ago, the president talked about how Cronkite wanted to get the story first, but "he understood the importance of getting it right." He described how Cronkite was working a story early in his career about an allegedly massive blaze at a city hall. His boss demanded he get on the air immediately. But Cronkite said no, he first wanted to confirm the extent of the fire with the fire department.

"You don't need to confirm it," yelled the station manager, "my wife's watching the whole thing," and went on the air himself. Cronkite found it was a small fire, not a big one. No fatalities as rumored before.

"He lost his job," said Obama, "but he got the story right."

Was CNN Poll a Success or a Failure?

I always hated poll stories. To me, they were a poor substitute used by news organizations for genuine investigative reporting, which is much harder to do than to hire a pollster to ask silly questions. But they populate our media every week, giving some political junkie on either side of the aisle to parade around for a few days to say "Look, most people think like me!"

Today brings another example of a poll that for this news cycle will bring joy to the right, but is so meaningless its embarrassing.

CNN Opinion Research Poll interviewed 1,136 adult Americans, including an oversample of African-Americans, by telephone by Opinion Research Corporation on July 31-Aug. 3, 2009. The margin of sampling error for results based on the total sample is plus or
minus 3 percentage points.

On Question 3, pollsters asked, "Do you consider the first six months of the Obama administration to be a success or a failure?" Fifty-one percent said "success," 37 percent said "failure," 11 percent said "too soon to tell," and 1 percent had no opinion.

Then it compares a similar poll conducted in August 2001 about then-President George Bush. Fifty-six percent said "success," 32 percent said "failure," 7 percent said "too early to tell," and 5 percent said they had no opinion, and now the poll is being touted as proof of Obama's failure as a president.

Quickly, this was touted on Drudge as "CNN POLL: After 6 Months, More View Obama Presidency a 'Failure' Than Bush..." and on RealClearPolitics as "After 6 Months, More View Obama's Presidency as a 'Failure' Than Bush's."

The problem is, only 11 percent got it right this year, as compared to 7 percent in 2001.

You can't judge any president as a success or failure after six months. It's ludicrous. We like stories that nurture this instant gratification world. It's easy to put a number on a president's success or failure and say "Here it is!" But in reality, Obama's policies will only be judged for their effectiveness decades down the road.

Six months into Abraham Lincoln's first term, all 11 states in the South had seceded; the battle of Bull Run had been a disastrous loss, and the country was in the first days of its ugliest war. If we had polls back then, I would imagine his numbers would be worse. But I would also doubt anyone now thinks of Lincoln as a failure -- at any point in his life.

You simply cannot judge a president's success on only six months of work. Sometimes a president's impact can only be seen through the light of history. Heck, even Nixon is getting kudos for some of his accomplishments 40 years after the fact.

Instead of spending the money on a poll, CNN should do some of the hard work no one else seems to want to do. A start could be actually getting a few reporters to read through the thousands of pages in the various health-care bills, and get insurance and health experts together to analyze them. Then report on what each bill would really do to Americans. Heck, that's more than our congressmen are doing. It's harder work, but it's better journalism.

It's Tea Time! Cable Networks More Concerned About Competition's Viewpoint Than Good Journalism

While certainly multiple protests around the country are worthy of attention from news organizations, some cable TV journalists have started sniping at each other in regards to coverage. Much of it is predictable, but through the course of the day it has become a bit of a side show.

James Rainey at The Los Angeles Times notes the different perspectives offered by FOX News and MSNBC:

You'd expect conservative commentators like Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity to be hyping today's wave of anti-tax "tea parties." But Fox personalities labeled "news" anchors are right there with their blessings too -- one telling us the protests will focus on "how much of our hard-earned money is going to the federal government," another assuring us the tea parties themselves are sparking economic activity.

The Fox promotions people have been pumping up the volume, with ads celebrating hundreds of rallies and citizens who are "demanding real economic solutions." That's in contrast, you see, to the fake solutions President Obama wants to foist on the American people. ...

That said, some liberal media voices seem just as intent on squelching the protesters before they've shoveled a single bag of Lipton into a single pond. At MSNBC, commentators Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews wrote off the demonstrations as the work of nothing more than crackpots or political stooges.

I've got a novel idea: How about if we wait and see what happens at these rallies? Maybe journalists can watch, report how many people are there, describe the kinds of things they say and tell us what they plan to do next.

CNN correspondent Susan Roesgen became an activist defending the federal government while pretending to cover the event as a unbias journalist. She interrupted one of the protesters and slammed the event for being “anti-government,” “anti-CNN,” and “not really family viewing.”

Roesgen asked a man holding his toddler, “Why are you here today?” The man started to respond saying, “Because I hear a president say that he believed in what Lincoln stood for. Lincoln’s primary thing was he believed people had the right to liberty and they had the right”

She then interrupted him by asking, “But sir, what does that have to do with taxes? What does this have to do with your taxes?” She continued asking questions over his as he asked her to “let me finish my point.” One crowd member was heard to yell “shut up” to the Roesgen.

When the man finished his statement about people having the “right to the fruits of their own labor” and “government should not take it,” Roesgen began arguing with him again and other protesters began to get upset.

She closed by saying “you get the general tenor of this. Anti-government, anti-CNN since this is highly promoted by the right-wing conservative network FOX and since I can’t really hear much more and I think this is not really family viewing. Toss it back to you Kyra.”

Not exactly down-the-middle reporting by a long shot. Her report is here:


MSNBC’s commentators have been hammering FOX all week long, going as low as to use some vile humor in their discussions.

On Tuesday’s “Countdown,” Keith Olbermann played clips of Fox personalities talking up tea parties. “As ever,” he said, Fox was “showing both sides ‘fair and balanced’ — supporting the tea baggers and sponsoring the tea baggers.” Rachel Maddow said that “our colleagues at Fox News are not just reporting on tea bagging, they are officially promoting it."

David Shuster had this piece:



On the other side of the discussion, FOX is serving up the tea parties by promoting them. “Fox appears to be promoting these events at the same time it is presenting them in a way that looks like reporting,” said Stephen Burgard, director of Northeastern University’s School of Journalism, told POLITICO's Michael Calderone.

Burgard called the practice “pseudo-journalism,” adding: “We have seen this before from Fox News Channel, but its role as galvanizer of opposition to President Obama's policies and leadership posture appears to be emerging.”



A Fox spokesperson said the network did not have an executive available to speak about its tea party coverage. A second Fox representative declined repeated offers to address the charge that it was blurring the lines between journalism and advocacy.

While tea party organizers say their movement is nonpartisan, the protests lean hard to the right: Newt Gingrich and Michelle Malkin are on board, as is Freedom Works, an organization run by former Republican Majority Leader Dick Armey. And more than a dozen prominent Republicans were set to participate in tea party protests Wednesday, including South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and a slew of other Republicans from Congress.

Fact Checking CNN's Fact Checking on Obama Meeting Ahmadinejad

CNN's fact checking site called misleading the GOP assertion that Sen. Barack Obama has said in the past that he would meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Sen. Joe Biden said at the debate "it is simply not true" that Obama said he would "sit down" with Ahmadinejad.

CNN's conclusion is that while Obama has said he wouldn't rule out meeting with any foreign leader, he never specifically said he'd meet with the Iranian president.

But that in itself is misleading.

Here is Obama in a July 27, 2007 debate when he made the famous statement about meeting Iran's leader without preconditions:

Question, July 27, 2007 debate: In 1982, Anwar Sadat traveled to Israel, a trip that resulted in a peace agreement that has lasted ever since. In the spirit of that type of bold leadership, would you be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea, in order to bridge the gap that divides our countries?

Obama: I would. And the reason is this, that the notion that somehow not talking to countries is punishment to them — which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of this administration — is ridiculous.

And here is Obama in a recent press conference where he confirms his position:

Houston Battles Ike's Fury; 4.5 Million Without Power

Raw video from AP on a fire in Galveston during Ike:



An idiot in a bear suit walks along the Galveston beach as Ike approaches:



AP report on Ike:



Air Station Houston HH-65C rescue helicopter crew pulling citizens out of flood waters on a rescue mission along Bolivar Peninsula during Hurricane Ike along the southeastern Texas coastline:



Houston's KHOU (Channel 11-CBS) is streaming its live coverage of Hurricane Ike, and can be found here.

The Houston Chronicle's Liz Austin Peterson and Lindsay Wise write this morning that Houston officials are asking residents to stay inside and to conserve water:

"Let's finish riding out the storm, and this afternoon we'll assess the damage and we'll make sure that the assets, resources get to where they need to be," [Harris County Judge Ed] Emmett said, adding tropical storm-force winds could continue through mid-afternoon.

Hurricane Ike knocked electricity offline for virtually the entire Houston area as it continued to roar across the area today.

CenterPoint Energy said about 90 percent of its roughly 2 million customers were in the dark before daybreak even as the storm continued to pack a 100 mph punch with the eye still near Kingwood as of 6 a.m. That means nearly 4.5 million residents were without power and doesn't include the service area of Entergy Texas.

CenterPoint spokesman Floyd LeBlanc said downtown Houston and the Medical Center, both of which have underground power lines, were the only large areas with reliable electricity. He said CenterPoint had braced for more than half its customer base losing service, and full restoration could take "several weeks."

Entergy spokesman David Caplan said 96 percent of its customers throughout its service area - or 380,000 - are in the dark. Two generating stations in Bridge City and Willis are down, so they and transmission lines have to be back up before crews can focus on restoring power to customers. Caplan says the process could take weeks.

"As soon as it's safe to travel - it's still blowing out there - we will get a couple hundred scouts to go out and do the assessments, either in vehicles or in helicopters, to fly over the lines, see where the damage is and begin to pull together a restoration plan. That could take 24 to 48 hours, depending on the weather."

The Chronicle's Dane Schiller writes that the storm has virtually swallowed up Surfside Beach in Galveston:

"Everybody is on their own for now," Mayor Larry Davison said of what was believed to be a small group of people who refused to leave their homes.

Looking out over his submerged city hours before Ike's landfall, Davison said damage would be far worse, especially if winds got over 100 mph or the tide got much higher.

Wearing shorts, a Hawaiian shirt and protective rubber boots, Davison literally led the way for the would-be rescue crew as he waded through water in front of the Mack truck and cleared debris, such as floating wood, tool boxes and barrels.

Police and firefighters who rode in the bed of the high-clearance truck appealed to holdouts to leave in order to save their lives.

There were blunt words for those who wouldn't.

"We asked them to write their Social Security numbers on their arms for us," Police Chief Randy Smith said solemnly.

President Bush said this morning that state and federal officials will work to make sure consumers will not be gouged at the gas pumped because of the storm, CNN reports:

In a brief televised statement, Bush said the Environmental Protection Agency waivers on certain reformulated gasolines were suspended Friday night to make it easier for imports to get into U.S. markets.

"In the meantime, the Department of Energy, the Federal Trade Commission and, I know, the state authorities will be monitoring the gasoline prices to make sure consumers are not being gouged," the president added.

He said that additional generators were being moved into areas without electricity and that other concerns such as water and ice were being addressed.

Bush said he had asked Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to travel to Texas to review the federal response to Ike. Chertoff was to arrive in Texas on Saturday evening.

CNN also reported that the freighter that had been adrift in the Gulf of Mexico made it through Hurricane Ike safely and was awaiting a tugboat to bring it to shore Saturday morning. All 22 people aboard the Antalina, a Cypriot-flagged freighter, were safe, U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Mike O'Berry said Saturday. It is about 170 miles southeast of Galveston.

The Associated Press reports that Louisiana is also feeling the effects of the storm.

Officials along the Louisiana coast are reporting serious flooding from Hurricane Ike.

Now that the winds are calming, rescue teams are starting to venture out and answer calls for help. Hundreds of homes have been flooded. Gov. Bobby Jindal says 160 people were rescued Friday and more would likely need help Saturday.

Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach says flooding there is worse than in Hurricane Rita three years ago. Ike's storm surge has breached levees and flooded areas still recovering from Hurricane Gustav earlier this month.

Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden have cancel campaign events today, including Obama's scheduled appearance on "Saturday Night Live."

Rapper Kayne West Arrested at LAX on Vandalism Charge

Rapper Kanye West was arrested Thursday morning at Los Angeles International Airport on felony vandalism charges after an altercation with two paparazzi, police reported this afternoon.

CNN reports:

The incident, near the airport's Terminal 4, involved the rap star, Don Crowley -- his road manager and body guard -- and a photographer and a cameraman who were taking their photos, airport police said.

The cameras of the paparazzi were damaged in the altercation, police said.

The pair were outside of passenger security screening when the incident took place. Both men were taken to a Los Angeles police station for booking, airport police said.

Ike Devastates Turks and Caicos; Strikes Cuba as a Cat 3

After devastating the Turks and Caicos Islands Sunday morning, Hurricane Ike hit the eastern shores of Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane this evening.

"It pretty much looks like an episode of 'The Twilight Zone,' " Audley Aftwood, a reporter for a radio station on Grand Turk Island, told CNN. "It's like the end of the world." Aftwood said at least 90 percent of homes he saw on the island were missing roofs and hundreds, if not thousands, of people have been made homeless. "This is definitely similar to Katrina in New Orleans or worse," Aftwood said. "It's going to take years to bring this island back to the way it was."

The CNN report can been seen here.



Ike is expected to enter the oil-producing Gulf of Mexico as a severe Category 4 storm, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said during a news conference on Sunday. "It looks like it will be a very severe storm," Bob Powers, FEMA deputy assistant administrator for disaster operations said, as reported by Reuters.

Florida officials were making preparations in the lower Florida Keys, including Key West, where tourists were told to leave starting at 8 a.m. Eastern today. Residents of the Upper Keys and mainland Monroe County began evacuating at 4 p.m. Eastern today. Keys residents can evacuate their pets to a shelter at Florida International University as long as the pet is properly caged, Monroe County Emergency Management Director Irene Toner said in a statement.

About 15,000 tourists left the area Saturday as a hurricane watch was issued for the Florida Keys from Ocean Reef southward, Key West Mayor Morgan McPherson told CNN.

"If it tracks toward Florida instead of heading over to Cuba, it will become too late to evacuate," Powers said.

The projected five-day National Hurricane Center forecast shows that there is a chance that the storm could strike southern Louisiana, which was hit by Hurricane Gustav last week. But at this point there are no guarantees as to exactly what course the storm would take.

"The storms can take a variety of courses and we'll be prepared for all of those," Powers said.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Sunday already issued a state of emergency declaration for Louisiana.

Jindal's declaration states that "Hurricane Ike may impact the coastal parishes of Louisiana with hurricane strength winds, wave surges, high tides, torrential rain and tornado activity. The storm may make landfall on the Louisiana coast on or about September 13, 2008, with the expectation that hurricane force winds will reach the Louisiana coast prior to landfall." The declaration is in effect until Oct. 5.

Mike Wooten, Palin's Ex-Brother-in-Law, Talks to CNN About 'Troopergate'

Mike Wooten, the Alaskan state trooper and former brother-in-law of Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin, talked to Drew Griffin and Kathleen Johnston of CNN today regarding the allegations against him and the investigation into whether Palin had pressured his superior to have him fired.

Wooten denied the driving while drinking allegation, but admitted an error in judgment in a Tasering incident that involved his stepson.

"I made mistakes. I fessed up to them. I was punished appropriately, and I'm moving on," Wooten told CNN.

He said that he was a new Taser instructor, and his stepson was asking him about the equipment. "I didn't shoot him with live, you know, actual live cartridge," Wooten said.

Instead, he said, he hooked his stepson up to a training aid "with little clips. And, you know, the Taser was activated for less than a second, which would be less than what you would get if you touched an electric fence. ... It was as safe as I could possibly make it."

He said his stepson was on the living room floor surrounded by pillows, that he "was bragging about it," and that the family laughed about it.

Asked whether it was a dumb decision, Wooten told CNN, "absolutely."

He said that John McCain's choice of Palin as a running mate was "absolutely wonderful for the state of Alaska."

The investigation centers on whether Palin used her office to try to get Wooten fired. Eventually she dismissed Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, who had refused to fire Wooten. Palin has denied any wrongdoing. She has confirmed that her staff discussed Wooten with Monegan or members of Monegan's department, but she has said she never abused her power in the case or urged that Wooten be fired. Wooten, 36, had undergone a bitter divorce battle with Palin's sister.

Mixed Reviews on McCain's Speech

Most pundits followed the expected line after John McCain's acceptance speech last night at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. The ones who you would expect to like it praised the speech, and the commentators who are backing Barack Obama did't see much to get excited about it. Clearly, McCain had a tough act to follow after Sarah Palin's performance.

In my book, Chuck Todd said it best when he said that McCain was probably happy it was over with, and is eager to get to the more intimate settings of the debates.

David Gergen gives high marks on CNN:

A few thoughts as John McCain takes his bows: one cannot leave that speech without having enormous respect for him as a war hero and patriot. His retelling of his story tonight was extremely moving. I have long been a fan of John McCain the human being and I came away even more impressed tonight. It is worth remembering that a McCain has fought in every American war since 1776.

In terms of addressing America's big challenges, however, I found the speech much less compelling. It was a very general recitation of fairly standard Republican approaches (how is he really different from Bush on policy?), and it did not address many issues such as getting us out of an economic ditch, heading off the worst financial crisis since the Depression, exploding health care costs, and more. Overall, I thought that part of the speech was thin.

Kudos to McCain for leaving personal partisan rancor out of the speech. Personally, I wish that he had curbed some of that earlier in the convention.

Overall, I came away believing that the McCain-Palin ticket will be very formidable this fall. And even though the speech was long, I thought that when one judges its political impact, I would give it an A.

Peter Baker of The New York Times says McCain is not running to the center, he's running to become the opposition:

The effort to position Mr. McCain and the Republicans as the true agents of change benefited this week from his selection of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate. Known for taking on her own state party over corruption and wasteful spending, Ms. Palin projects the image of the ultimate Washington outsider, literally from more than 2,800 miles outside the Capital Beltway. And she would be the first woman to serve as vice president.

But as a matter of history, it is easier to run as the opposition party if you actually are the opposition party.

“When the president of the United States is from your own party, to present yourself as a change agent is not the easiest thing to pull off,” said Joe Trippi, a Democratic strategist. Referring to Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, Mr. Trippi added, “All Obama has to do is say, ‘Bush-McCain, Bush-McCain.’ ”

Chuck Todd said McCain missed the mark. "the convention will not be remembered for this acceptance speech. It will be remembered for Sarah Palin." He also noted there was no humor in the speech and that McCain is probably relieved that it's over. He said McCain is probably looking forward to the debates, where he might fare better.

Chris Matthews said McCain was separating himself from the party and George Bush. "This crowd is applauding his divorce from this administration." He went on to say that the delegates might not like the tone of his tact, but they may see a winner here.

David Gregory said that in the course of three days that McCain gave the Republicans the picture that he is a fighter, and that he has some fight in him left.

McCain: Palin Thoroughly Vetted

The Associated Press is reporting today that John McCain said he is happy with the process in selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate, and he is excited with its outcome.

Asked about whether Palin's background was thoroughly checked out before he selected her, McCain told reporters in Philadelphia: "The vetting process was completely thorough and I'm grateful for the results."

Later, after visiting a firehouse outside Cleveland in Brecksville, Ohio, McCain added: "I just want to repeat again how excited I am to have Sarah Palin, the great governor of Alaska, as my running mate."

"America is excited and they're going to be even more excited once they see her tomorrow night," he said. "I'm very, very proud of the impression she's made on all of America and I look forward to serving with her."

Here is CNN video of McCain talking about the vetting process today in Philadelphia.

Evangelicals Still Backing Palin

CNN reported Monday that evangelicals are still backing the nomination of Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential candidate despite the revelation that her 17-year-old daughter is five months' pregnant.

"Before, they were excited about her, with the Down syndrome baby," conservative, anti-tax activist Grover Norquist said. "But now with this, they are over the moon. It reinforces the fact that this family lives its pro-life values."

"Fortunately, Bristol is following her mother and father's example of choosing life in the midst of a difficult situation," Family Research Council president Tony Perkins said. "We are committed to praying for Bristol and her husband-to-be and the entire Palin family as they walk through a very private matter in the eyes of the public."

Evangelical leader Richard Land also backed Palin completely.

"This is the pro-life choice. The fact that people will criticize her for this shows the astounding extent to which the secular critics of the pro-life movement just don't get it," Land said in a statement.

"Those who criticize the Palin family don't understand that we don't see babies as a punishment but as a blessing. Barack Obama said that if one of his daughters made a mistake and got pregnant out of wedlock, he wouldn't want her to be punished with a child. Pro-lifers don't see a child as punishment."

"Being a Christian does not mean you're perfect. Nor does it mean your children are perfect," said James Dobson, founder of ultra-conservative Focus on the Family and a key figure in the pro-life movement. Conservatives have been outraged at speculation about the Palins on liberal blogs, and any Democratic comments critical of the family are likely to meet a fierce response.

GOP to Media: Lay Off Palin's Daughter

Alexander Burns of Politico wrote about today's breakfast panel discussion at the GOP convention where Republicans groaned loudly in reaction to a question about 17-year-old Bristol Palin’s pregnancy.

“Lay off the kid,” said former Republican strategist and NBC news analyst Mike Murphy, responding to an audience member who asked how conservatives would respond if similar information arose about a Democratic candidate’s child.

Idaho Lt. Gov. Jim Risch, another panelist, dismissed the subject, tersely saying: “Next question.”

Panelists defended Palin at a discussion hosted by Politico, the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Yahoo News. Joining Murphy and Risch at the event were California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Ohio Rep. Deborah Pryce and Michigan Rep. Candace Miller.

Here is Bill Bennett arguing with Wolf Blitzer over coverage of Bristol Palin and her pregnancy.

Media Scramble to Cover Gustav

Most journalists who were planning to cover the GOP convention in St. Paul this week started to head out of town for the Gulf Coast today to shift its focus on Gustav.

CNN's Anderson Cooper, CBS' Katie Couric, NBC's Brian Williams, FOX's Shepard Smith, who had planned to anchor the convention from the Twin Cities, left for the Gulf Coast on Sunday afternoon. Others were diverted from other points in the country.

Executives for major news organizations are torn between the two stories. Michael Calderone of Politico asked David Bohrman, CNN’s senior vice president for programming, about what CNN will focus on this week. Bohrman replied: “Is it a hurricane? Is it the convention? Or is it a blend of the two?” Jay Wallace, Fox News’ vice president of news editorial, told Calderone, "It almost feels like having a two-front war.”

Several Fox anchors will travel to the Gulf from New York, including Geraldo Rivera, Trace Gallagher and Jon Scott. At this point, Fox’s anchors slated to arrive in St. Paul are still going as planned. The group going to St. Paul includes Greta Van Susteren, who told TVNewser last week that she’d “expect to be on the first plane to the hurricane."

“We haven’t made any plans to send her,” Wallace said when asked about Van Susteren’s statement. “Like any good journalist, they’re all eager to go down there.”

GOP Scales Down Convention for Gustav

John McCain announced today that the Republican Party will pare down its activities at least for the first day of its convention in St. Paul, Minn., on Monday.

"So of course this is a time when we have to do away with our party politics and we have to act as Americans. We have to join with 300,000,000 other Americans on behalf of our fellow citizens. It's a time for action. So were are going to suspend most of our activities tomorrow except those absolutely necessary," he said.

"It's time to open our hearts, our efforts, our wallets, our concerns, our care for those American citizens who are now under the shadow and the probability of a natural disaster," he said. "We will act together."

President Bush and Vice President Cheney both scrapped plans to speak on Monday. The program on Monday has been cut from seven hours to two-and-half hours. McCain has chartered a jet to get Gulf state delegates back home to deal with the storm. Here is the Associated Press story.
As for the other days of the convention, McCain said decisions will be made on a day-by-day basis.

CNN: Will Palin Neglect Child as VP?

CNN's John Roberts cached reporter Dana Bash off-guard on Friday asking if Sarah Palin will neglect her child, who has Down's syndrome, if she become vice president. "The baby is just slightly more than four months old now. Children with Down's syndrome require an awful lot of attention. The role of Vice President, it seems to me, would take up an awful lot of her time, and it raises the issue of how much time will she have to dedicate to her newborn child?"

Bash, who was visibly troubled by the question, kept her composure. "That's a very good question, and I guess -- my guess is that, perhaps, the line inside the McCain campaign would be, if it were a man being picked who also had a baby, but -- you know, four months ago with Down's syndrome, would you ask the same question?"

Putin Take Notes From Olbermann, Maddow

Are Vladimir Putin and Keith Olbermann on the same page?

Putin said in an interview with CNN on Thursday that "The suspicion would arise that someone in the United States created this conflict on purpose to stir up the situation and to create an advantage for one of the candidates in the competitive race for the presidency in the United States. ... They needed a small victorious war."



Olbermann on Aug. 12 offered his thoughts on why he believes the McCain camp needs a war to help win this fall. In this clip, Rachel Maddow says McCain "sees war as the answer to everything":

Obama Surprises DNC With Appearance

Some highlights from the Pepsi Center in Denver on Wednesday night.

The big moment of the night? Barack Obama made a surprise appearance for the party faithful in Denver after Joe Biden's speech.

The night started with Hillary Clinton moving to have the roll call be offered by acclamation:



Bill Clinton says that Barack Obama is ready for the Oval Office. This is 22 minutes long:



Joe Biden in his speech "slips" when referring to John McCain as "George":