Mike Allen: Olbermann Refused On-Camera Mea Culpa

Mike Allen of POLITICO reports today that MSNBC sources said that Keith Olbermann was suspended because he refused to deliver an on-camera mea culpa, which would have allowed him to continue anchoring “Countdown.”

Olbermann told his bosses he didn't know he was barred from making campaign contributions, although he is resisting saying that publicly. Olbermann may not hold as many cards as he thinks. He makes $7 million a year and MSNBC's prime time is not as dependent on him as it was before the addition of Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell, who make considerably less.

MSNBC Suspends Keith Olbermann Without Pay Over Political Contributions

UPDATE, Nov. 5 at 4:49 p.m. Eastern: Brian Stelter of The New York Times just tweeted "MSNBC now says Chris Hayes will *not* be the sub tonight. No word yet on who will be."

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Keith Olbermann has been suspended without pay from MSNBC because of his contributions to three political candidates.

The unusual move happened this afternoon after POLITICO reported that he had contributed to the campaigns of three Democratic candidates.

MSNBC President Phil Griffin released the following statement: “I became aware of Keith's political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay."

Usually journalists are bound by ethical standards not to contribute to political campaigns or to be aligned with any political party or movement. Ethic rules concerning partisan commentators on cable TV networks  and political advocacy have been debated for some time now. Many believe they are held to the same standards of new reporters. Others have felt that they are advocates, and do not fall under the same guidelines.

Indeed, journalists have contributed thousands to political campaigns and efforts and not faced suspension. MSNBC published a list of 143 journalists who gave to political campaigns. On that list, published on July 15, 2007, was Joe Scarborough, NBC's "Dateline" correspondent Victoria Corderi, MSNBC.com's Rachel Schwanewede, senior editor of TodayShow.com, and MSNBC.com's Joel Widzer, travel columnist. I cannot find any report that they suffered the same penalty that Olbermann did today.

One other distinction could be that NBC News policy does not prohibit making political contributions, just that you need prior approval from NBC executives to do so. It is possible that Scarborough and the others did receive such prior approvals and Olbermann did not.

Olbermann made campaign contributions to two Arizona members of Congress, Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords, and Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway. Conway lost his bid to Republican and Tea Party candidate Rand Paul. Olbermann made the legal maximum donation of $2,400 to each.

What might be the troubling point to MSNBC brass is the fact the Olbermann made the donation to the Arizona candidates pair on Oct. 28 — the same day that Grijalva appeared as a guest on Olbermann’s “Countdown” show.

POLITICO is also reporting that Chris Hayes, the Washington editor for The Nation and a previous fill-in for Rachel Maddow, who will fill in for Olbermann tonight has also made contributions to political candidates. POLITICO reports that he gave $250 to the congressional campaign of a good friend, Alabama Democrat Josh Segall.

POLITICO: Williams Defends His Statement About Muslims

Juan Williams was back on Fox today defending his statements concerning Muslims, the very statements that earned him a pink slip from his employer, NPR.

As reported by POLITICO's On Media blog:

Juan Williams took to Fox to discuss the circumstances of his firing today, saying it happened over the phone and he was given no chance to come in and make a case for himself to the news organization that had employed him for a decade.

He said he got a voicemail Wednesday afternoon from Ellen Weiss, NPR’s senior vice president for news. When he called back, she asked him: “What did you say? What did you mean?”

He defended his statements.

“I said what I meant to say, which is that it’s an honest experience that, when I’m in an airport, and I see people who are in Muslim garb, who identify themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I do a double take. I have a moment of anxiety or fear given what happened on 9/11. That’s just a reality.”

Weiss said “that crosses the line,” and went on to say that he had made “a bigoted statement,” Williams said.

“It’s not a bigoted statement,” Williams said he argued back. “In fact, in the course of this conversation with Bill O’Reilly, I said that we have, as Americans, an obligation to be careful to protect the constitutional rights of everyone in the country. And to make sure we don’t have any outbreak of bigotry.

“But, that there’s a reality. You cannot ignore what happened on 9/11. And you cannot ignore the connection to Islamic radicalism. And you can’t ignore the fact of what has even been recently said in court with regard to ‘this is the first drop of blood in a Muslim war on America.’”

According to Williams, Weiss said the decision to fire him had been made “up the chain” and “there’s nothing you can say that will change my mind.”

Michael Calderone to Leave POLITICO for Yahoo!

Michael Calderone is leaving POLITICO for Yahoo News in a matter of weeks. Here is the memo:

Michael Calderone, who has built a reputation as one of the top writers covering media and helped build POLITICO's reputation along the way, is moving on....

He has an interesting job at a new venture being sponsored by Yahoo. The post will allow him to continue to draw on his deep expertise about the personalities and debates within modern media that was his signature here.

I imagine that those of us here will continue to be in Michael's crosshairs...not a new experience for me, either before or during his time at POLITICO. I know first-hand that Michael is a dogged and fair-minded reporter, and I hear similar comments from journalistic colleagues all the time. We all wish him luck at Yahoo.

The media beat is critically important for us-a terrific opportunity for an energetic and creative reporter. We would welcome all ideas—either if you are interested for yourself, or have good thoughts on people we should be recruiting.

Please do let me know, or check in with Beth Frerking.

John
Jim

POLITICO: Biden Goes on the Offensive Against Cheney on 'Meet the Press'

POLITICO'S Whiteboard got the advance tape of Vice President Joe Biden's harsh appraisal of his predecessor:

Vice President Joe Biden told NBC's "Meet the Press" that his predecessor, Dick Cheney, is trying to "rewrite history" with his criticism of the President Barack Obama's terrorism policies.

"I'm not gonna guess about his motive," Biden told "Meet the Press" moderator David Gregory in an advance excerpt released by the network of the interview taped Saturday night from Vancouver, where the vice president is leading the U.S. delegation to the winter Olympics. "All I know is he's factually, substantively wrong. On the major criticisms he is asserting... He either is misinformed or he is misinforming. But the facts are that his assertions are not accurate."

Biden's harsh appraisal came in an interview designed to counterprogram Cheney's appearance Sunday morning appearance on ABC's "This Week," where he is to be interviewed at 9 a.m. by guest anchor Jonathan Karl.

"Dick Cheney's a fine fellow," Biden said. "He's entitled to his own opinion. He's not entitled to rewrite history. He's not entitled to his own facts... It's one thing to criticize. It's another thing to sort of rewrite history. What is he talking about? . It's one thing to be outspoken. It's another thing to be outspoken in a way that misrepresents the facts. .. [I]t's almost like Dick is trying to rewrite history... I'm not being facetious. Maybe he's not fully informed of what's going on.

Here are some of Cheney's comments today as transcribed by The Oval:

Cheney, by the way, was also asked Biden's 2008 opponent Sarah Palin, and isn't sure she's ready to be president. "I haven't made a decision yet on who I'm going to support for president the next time around," Cheney said. "Whoever it is, is going to have to prove themselves capable of being president of the United States."

Here are some other highlights:

Afghanistan.

Cheney: "I'm a complete supporter of what they are doing in Afghanistan. I think the President made the right decision to send troops into Afghanistan. I thought it took him a while to get there."

The Christmas Day bomb plot.

Cheney says "enhanced interrogation techniques" -- including waterboarding -- should have been available for suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab: "I think you ought to have all of those capabilities on the table. Now, President Obama has taken them off the table. He announced when he came in last year that they would never use anything other than the U.S. Army Manual which doesn't include those techniques. I think that's a mistake."

Biden on conservative criticism over Abdulmutallab being read his Miranda rights: "Let me choose my words carefully here. Dick Cheney's a fine fellow. He's entitled to his own opinion. He's not entitled to rewrite history. He's not entitled to his own facts. The Christmas Day Bomber was treated the exact way that he suggested that the Shoe Bomber was treated. Absolutely the same way."

Iraq.

Cheney on Biden's comments praising Obama's handling of Iraq: "They opposed the surge that was absolutely crucial to our getting to the point we're at now with respect to Iraq. And for them to try to take credit for what's happened in Iraq strikes me as a little strange ... So if they're going to take credit for it, fair enough, for what they've done while they're there, but it ought to go with a healthy dose of "thank you, George Bush" up front."

Calderone: Balanced Reporting Losing Ground to Partisan Media

Michael Calderone of POLITICO this morning looks at a possible connection between declining circulation in American newspapers and CNN's dead-last finish in ratings behind the partisan competitors of Fox and MSNBC.

Eric Alterman, a media columnist for the Nation, and a frequent critic of the MSM, thinks they are. "Non-partisan news, and news aimed at a broad audience, doesn't have the cache, and therefore the consumer base it once had,” Alterman said. “The whole notion of citizenship has been declining for decades now.”

With the proliferation of media across platforms these days, there’s less shared knowledge among people, who are increasingly heading to niche outlets for information. At the same time, there’s a large appetite for the new media world where the MSM gatekeepers no longer hold as much clout, and “he said, she said” journalism gives way to strong point-of-view. Just last night, NYU hosted a debate among prominent journalists on the subject: “Good Riddance to Mainstream Media.”

And in today’s cable news universe, Alterman said, “politics without a slant, without a point-of-view, is interesting to very few people.”

That’s probably one thing that the Nation writer and Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly agree on.

O’Reilly, host of the top-rated cable news show, told an audience last week that networks need to give viewers “a product that is entertaining and informative.” As for his 8 p.m. rival on CNN, O’Reilly said: “Nobody watches Campbell Brown. You have to evolve if you want to survive in the commercial world. If you are going to do a straight newscast in primetime, you are going to lose.”

Brown is not only losing to O’Reilly and a partisan on the left, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann, but also to Nancy Grace, who hosts a more tabloidy show at the same time on sister-network, HLN.

White House Press Corps Gives Gibbs a Mixed Grade for First 100 Days

After 100 days on the job, the White House Press Corps is giving Press Secretary Robert Gibbs a mixed grade, according to Michael Calderone of POLITICO:

Although White House reporters praise some aspects of President Barack Obama's press shop, there’s grumbling about Gibbs' handling of the daily press briefings, where a handful of television correspondents dominate; griping about press management on the president's European trip; and complaints about Gibbs' tendency not to return e-mail messages.

And for a team that rode to Washington on a lot of talk about "transparency," reporters said in interviews with POLITICO this week that the Obama White House has been awfully opaque.

"I guess it depends what your definition of the word 'transparent' is," said Chuck Todd, chief White House correspondent for NBC News.

Adds Wall Street Journal White House reporter Jonathan Weisman: "I think by the press' definition, they have not been transparent at all."

Still, has a reporter ever complained about an administration that's too transparent?

Deputy White House press secretary Bill Burton said that "no reporter would ever in good conscience" admit to getting too much access from the people he covers. That's because, Burton said, "no amount would truly satisfy any good reporter."

By the way, Gibbs gave the press corps an "A".

Balanced Media? Pew Center Funded Study Say No Way This Election Year

The perception in the real world is that the mainstream media has been overly kind to Sen. Barack Obama and unduly harsh on Sen. John McCain this election year. Now there is a study by the The Project for Excellence in Journalism, funded by the Pew Research Center, that seems to back that up.

The study reports:

Press treatment of Obama has been somewhat more positive than negative, but not markedly so.

But coverage of McCain has been heavily unfavorable—and has become more so over time. In the six weeks following the conventions through the final debate, unfavorable stories about McCain outweighed favorable ones by a factor of more than three to one—the most unfavorable of all four candidates—according to the study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.

For Obama during this period, just over a third of the stories were clearly positive in tone (36%), while a similar number (35%) were neutral or mixed. A smaller number (29%) were negative.

For McCain, by comparison, nearly six in ten of the stories studied were decidedly negative in nature (57%), while fewer than two in ten (14%) were positive.

John F. Harris and Jim VandeHei wrote in Politico today about their personal observations:

Politico political editor Charles Mahtesian was e-mailing the other day with a Republican lobbyist who signed off with a plea that sounded more like a taunt: “Keep it balanced.”

A reader e-mailed us with the same sentiment in different language. “Are you f***ing joking! Your bias has stooped to an all-time low. Wait, it will probably get worse as election day nears.” Those asterisks, by the way, are hers, not ours.

And get a load of this one, from someone in Rochester, N.Y., who did not like our analysis of the final presidential debate. “You guys are awfully tough on McCain. There may be some legitimacy to the claim of press bias. Mom.”

We were all set to dismiss Harris’ mother as a crank. Same for VandeHei’s: a conservative dismayed by what she sees as kid-glove treatment of Barack Obama. Then along came a study — funded by the prestigious Pew Research Center, no less — suggesting at first blush, at least, that they may be on to something.

The Project for Excellence in Journalism’s researchers found that John McCain, over the six weeks since the Republican convention, got four times as many negative stories as positive ones. The study found six out of 10 McCain stories were negative.

What’s more, Obama had more than twice as many positive stories (36 percent) as McCain — and just half the percentage of negative (29 percent).

You call that balanced?

Later in the story, the writers justify Politico's reporting by saying that Obama is doing better, so he should be getting better coverage.

There have been moments in the general election when the one-sidedness of our site — when nearly every story was some variation on how poorly McCain was doing or how well Barack Obama was faring — has made us cringe.

As it happens, McCain’s campaign is going quite poorly and Obama’s is going well. Imposing artificial balance on this reality would be a bias of its own.

Politico was not included in the Pew study. But our researcher Alex Burns pulled out his highlighter pen and did his own study of Politico's October stories last week: 110 stories advanced a narrative that was more favorable to Obama than McCain. Sixty-nine did the opposite.

But isn't that a chicken-and-the-egg argument? Did Obama rise in the polls in October because of all the positive press or did he get all the positive press because of his rise in the polls?

Politico's Top Editor: Obama Poised for a Blowout

Politico's chief editor John F. Harris told students at St. Lawerence University in upstate New York this week that there is a fundamental political shift in the wind, and that the Republicans will be on the outside looking in.

"Republicans are on the verge of a rout that could leave them virtually powerless in Washington. The era of trench warfare between the parties might be over," Harris said. "I'll be back by Thanksgiving if I'm wrong."

"We are on the brink of an Electoral College blowout, and there is a possibility for huge Democratic gains in the Senate, which means Barack Obama could be the most powerful president we've seen since George W. Bush in the years immediately following 9-11, or Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. That shows how starkly the premises of national politics have changed.

"Reporters like me that started covering politics in the 1980s thought Republicans were better at the game. They were skilled in the dark arts. This year, what's different is we've found a candidate who at first blush looks to be more vulnerable because of his background, but turns out to be much more disciplined and effective at controlling his public image."

McCain Defends Obama to Angry Supporters and Gets Booed

It's a bad sign for your presidential aspirations when you are forced repeatedly to defend your opponent at your own rallies.



Sen. John McCain faced a booing crowd today for rebuking a man who said he would be "scared ... to bring a child up" if Sen. Barack Obama was elected president. "I have to tell you he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States," McCain said.

McCain supporters have become increasingly vocal during the past two days, voicing their concerns about Obama, but using the long discredited rhetoric that he is Muslim, a terrorist or an Arab. When McCain has come to Obama's defends, the crowds have booed him.

One woman at a town-hall meeting in Minnesota told McCain, "I can't trust Obama. I have read about him and he's not he's not uh—he's an Arab. He's not—" before McCain reached out for the microphone and told the rally: "No, ma'am, he's a decent family man and citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues and that's what this campaign's all about. He's not an Arab."

Jonathan Martin and Amiee Parnes of Politico pick up the story:

In addition to the man who said he feared Obama as president, another predicted the Democrat would “lead the country to socialism.”

“The time has come and the Bible tells us you speak the truth and that the truth sets you free,” the man added.

Yet another voter implored McCain in plain terms: "The people here in Minnesota want to see a real fight."

McCain promised the audience he wouldn’t back down—but again sought to tamp down emotions.

"We want to fight, and I will fight," McCain said. "But I will be respectful. I admire Sen. Obama and his accomplishments and I will respect him."

At which point he was booed again.

"I don't mean that has to reduce your ferocity," he added over the jeers. "I just mean to say you have to be respectful."

The anger is plainly worrying McCain and his campaign. Already viewed with skepticism by the conservative base, they don’t want to throw a proverbial wet blanket over the enthusiasm of the worker bees of the party. But they also fear a backlash from less partisan—and still undecided—voters seeing clips of the angry activists on TV and online.

“He’s not going to stand there while somebody says something he disagrees with and not make his view known,” said Brian Rogers, a McCain spokesman after the Minnesota event. “He’s never been afraid to get boos from his own audience. That’s always been John McCain’s thing.”

But Rogers said the campaign would continue its own increasingly character-based line of assault.

“There are legitimate questions about Barack Obama. We’re going to raise them and do that compellingly. But when people go over the line in John McCain’s opinion he’ll be open and honest about it.”

Asked if some of the shots McCain and Palin have taken against Obama on the stump and in TV ads may be contributing to the raw emotions, Rogers said such sentiments were “garbage.”

“The idea that we should not question Obama’s record and readiness to be president is offensive to democracy,” he said.

GOP to Let Palin be Palin and Unleash Her to Media

Apparently I have more pull on the Internet than I thought ...

Johnathan Martin of Politico wrote in his blog late yesterday that the McCain campaign has read the reviews about Gov. Sarah Palin's performances in the media interviews and are planning to unleash her to radio talk shows, and at the same time free her from the GOP talking points and let Sarah be Sarah.

Some excerpts from Martin's report:

"She's seen the reviews and heard the criticism, but she's a fighter," said this aide. "And now she's in a fighting mood."

Palin heads to McCain's cabin in Arizona today to prepare for her Thursday debate, and while she's there she'll do a round of conservative talk radio interviews.

"Talk radio is a convenient, powerful and effective outlet," said the aide.

Rush Limbaugh, who hosts the most popular radio show in the country, noted in an e-mail that he doesn't invite guests on and alluded to his rocky relationship with the top of the GOP ticket.

"The McCain camp doesn't trust me," Limbaugh said.

But asked if he'd welcome a call from Palin, the conservative talker said: "Of course."

The move to reintroduce Palin comes after much criticism for a stumbling interview she gave to CBS’ Katie Couric last week; increased conservative grousing about the campaign's decision to roll out the GOP vice presidential nominee through high-stakes and high-profile mainstream media interviews; and the suggestion by some observers that she even drop off the ticket.

Quite the contrary, Palin, her family and aides are determined to remind voters what they so liked about the governor in the first place.

After the debate and talk radio hits, the plan is to find a way to let Palin be Palin, moving her away from the pre-fab talking points and letting the down-home daughter of Wasilla be herself.

"She wants to tell her story more, and people around her do, too," added the source. "This is a governor very much on her toes, very much fed up with inaccuracies and fictions about her own life and career."

To this end, Palin was far more aggressive in another interview with Couric today, this aide said

Sitting with McCain for their first joint interview a week after the widely panned sit-down with Couric, Palin interjected when the CBS anchor brought up a report about the Wasilla Assembly of God, the governor's childhood church and one she still attends at times, seeking to pray gays away from homosexuality.

"Sarah Barracuda showed up today," the aide said, reprising the feisty former point guard's high school basketball nickname and one that has been largely forgotten since her post-convention cosseting.

"We're encouraging CBS to run entire thing," the aide said of today's session. "Run it end to end online."

Last week I wrote this after the first Katie Couric interview:

What the McCain campaign should do is to give her the best pre-debate education of the issues it can. Get her up to speed on foreign affairs and domestic problems. But don't craft the answers for her. Let her develop what she is going to say in her own voice. In other words, on Oct. 2, let her be Sarah Palin.

If she's going to be criticized for her answers (she will, MSNBC and others will dissect them syllable by syllable) she might as well give her own thoughts, and not the spin of the campaign. The McCain campaign should unleash her. She can handle Biden on her own. From what we have seen, when allowed to be herself, she can do quite well.

Now, seriously, I doubt John McCain's campaign team is relying on my advice. But that posting has had the most unique viewers since I started this venture. About 13 percent of this blog's total unique viewers saw that post. The second most viewed post was the video of Palin's appearance at her former church in Wasilla, which 5 percent of News Cycle's unique viewers saw.

Did Pelosi's Speech Sink Bailout Plan?

Here is the video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's speech, which in part is being cited as a reason why House Republicans voted against the $700 billion bailout proposal. Many saw it as a partisan attack.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi's speech this morning (Part 1):



Pelosi's speech this morning (Part 2):


Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) said her speech for incited partisan sentiment by blaming Republicans and the administration for the flaws in regulation and failures of oversight that she said drove the financial system to the brink of collapse.

“I know members who said ‘If I wasn’t a no before, I am now,’” Simpson told CQ.

Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) told Politico's David Rogers that Pelosi had the votes before the speech.:

"We could have gotten it if it were not for this partisan speech that Speaker Pelosi gave,” said Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), the House minority leader.

Added Rep. Chris Shays, a Connecticut Republican who also voted for the bill: “Nancy blew it.”

"That is an absurd accusation at a time when our country is in deep economic distress," a Pelosi spokesman fired back.

"You don't vote on a speech, you vote on a bill."

Should Palin Step Down for the Good of the GOP?

A call from a conservative commentator for Gov. Sarah Palin to step aside from the GOP ticket because of her performances in media interviews has ignited questions of whether the Alaskan governor is hurting, not helping, the Republican chances.

The issue started with a column by conservative Kathleen Parker in The National Review. Her thesis is that recent interviews have shown the Alaska governor is "out of her league" and should leave the GOP presidential ticket for the good of the party:

As we’ve seen and heard more from John McCain’s running mate, it is increasingly clear that Palin is a problem. Quick study or not, she doesn’t know enough about economics and foreign policy to make Americans comfortable with a President Palin should conditions warrant her promotion.

Yes, she recently met and turned several heads of state as the United Nations General Assembly convened in New York. She was gracious, charming and disarming. Men swooned. Pakistan’s president wanted to hug her. (Perhaps Osama bin Laden is dying to meet her?)

And, yes, she has common sense, something we value. And she’s had executive experience as a mayor and a governor, though of relatively small constituencies (about 6,000 and 680,000, respectively).

Finally, Palin’s narrative is fun, inspiring and all-American in that frontier way we seem to admire. When Palin first emerged as John McCain’s running mate, I confess I was delighted. She was the antithesis and nemesis of the hirsute, Birkenstock-wearing sisterhood — a refreshing feminist of a different order who personified the modern successful working mother.

Because of Paker's opinion piece, others in the mainstream media are starting to wonder if she is hurting John McCain rather than help him.

Alexander Burns and David Paul Kuhn of Politico wrote yesterday:

Tony Fabrizio, a GOP strategist, says Palin’s recent CBS appearance isn’t disqualifying but is certainly alarming. “You can’t continue to have interviews like that and not take on water.”

“I have not been blown away by the interviews from her, but at the same time, I haven’t come away from them thinking she doesn’t know s—t,” said Chris Lacivita, a GOP strategist. “But she ain’t Dick Cheney, nor Joe Biden and definitely not Hillary Clinton.”

There is no doubt that Palin retains a tremendous amount of support among rank-and-file Republicans. She draws huge crowds, continues to raise a lot of money for the McCain campaign, and state parties report she has sparked an uptick in the number of volunteers.

Asked about Palin's performance in the CBS interview, a McCain official briefing reporters on condition of anonymity said: "She did fine. She's a tremendous asset and a fantastic candidate."

But there is also no doubt many Republican insiders are worried she could blow next week’s debate, based on her unexpectedly weak and unsteady media appearances, and hurt the Republican ticket if she does.

Nancy Gibbs of Time magazine wrote yesterday:

Now that confidence seems gone, replaced by cockiness — which is just insecurity on steroids. With Charlie Gibson the waters were smooth if shallow; with Katie Couric she seemed forever at risk of drowning in her own syntax. But if she's growing less surefooted with each passing day of cramming, who can blame her, when the highly experienced Republican pols around her don't seem to trust her to talk past her talking points. Talk about undermining your brand; if she was picked as the Outsider Original Maverick with the experience and courage to help clean up Washington, you can't argue that she's not giving interviews because the press is so mean to her. She's ready for a cage fight with Nancy Pelosi but won't sit down with Campbell Brown?

But maybe the problem isn't Palin herself but the campaign handlers. She is a successful politican by her own right. It wasn't by chance that she became governor of her state, she earned it through the political process. She has shown to have tremendouse fortitude in dealing with countless smears, e-mail hackings, attacks om her religious beliefs and baseless attacks on her family matters.

What the McCain campaign should do is to give her the best pre-debate education of the issues it can. Get her up to speed on foreign affairs and domestic problems. But don't craft the answers for her. Let her develop what she is going to say in her own voice. In other words, on Oct. 2, let her be Sarah Palin.

If she's going to be criticized for her answers (she will, MSNBC and others will dissect them syllable by syllable) she might as well give her own thoughts, and not the spin of the campaign. The McCain campaign should unleash her. She can handle Biden on her own. From what we have seen, when allowed to be herself, she can do quite well.

BlackBerry Was a Miracle McCain Helped Invent, Campaign Adviser Says

Did he steal this from Al Gore?

Politico's Jonathan Martin, with the help of Amie Parnes, has been blogging this morning about a claim from a John McCain supporter that the Arizona senator helped invent the BlackBerry.

Asked what work John McCain did as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee that helped him understand the financial markets, the candidate's top economic adviser wielded visual evidence: his BlackBerry.

"He did this," Douglas Holtz-Eakin told reporters this morning, holding up his BlackBerry. "Telecommunications of the United States is a premier innovation in the past 15 years, comes right through the Commerce Committee. So you're looking at the miracle John McCain helped create and that's what he did."

Martin then posted the denial later in his blog, noting that the McCain staff disavowed the comment:

Matt McDonald, a top McCain aide, said the candidate "laughed" upon hearing Holtz-Eakin's claim.

"He would not claim to be the inventor of anything, much less the BlackBerry," McDonald said. "This was obviously a boneheaded joke by a staffer," McDonald said.

Obama, McCain Call Truce on 9/11 at Ground Zero

Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain will put their political campaigning aside for a day as the nation remembers the fallen heroes of Sept. 11th. They will make an unprecedented joint appearance at a Ground Zero commemoration and lay a wreath, without making any speeches.

Afterward, they will separately appear at a public form on civic engagement at Columbia University. Several cable news outlets plan to televise the forum live at 8 p.m. Eastern.

"Both parties have used it [9/11] for their own political benefits, but it is risky," Trent Duffy, a former aide to President George W. Bush and a partner at the Washington communications firm HDMK, told Julianna Goldman of Bloomberg. The candidates "realize that the best statesmanship, and hence the best political move, is to not play politics on 9/11."

Richard Stengel, managing editor of Time magazine and a co-moderator of the forum, told Politico.com's Mike Allen that he will encourage the candidates to be “both eloquent and intimate about their beliefs in this area.”

“I hope they will be able to blend the personal with the political on this subject, so that they can talk about what is it in their own lives that made them believe and care about this, as opposed to just saying, ‘Here’s my policy,’

“Their lives have revolved around service. Both men, from an early age, had the idea of service built into their own view of their lives and what they would do with their lives. I think whoever is president will make service a big part of their administration.”

Obama: 'You Can Put Lipstick on a Pig; It's Still a Pig'

The Democrats are stepping up their personal attacks on Gov. Sarah Palin, and it starts from the top of the ticket.

Ben Smith of Politico writes in his blog today that Sen. Barack Obama is using questionable references on the stump in regards to his characterization of Gov. Sarah Palin. In this case, he talked today about a "pig.":

Amie Parnes reports from Lebanon, VA:

Obama poked fun of McCain and Palin's new "change" mantra.

"You can put lipstick on a pig," he said as the crowd cheered. "It's still a pig."

"You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It's still gonna stink."

"We've had enough of the same old thing."

The crowd apparently took the "lipstick" line as a reference to Palin, who described the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull in a single word: "lipstick."

Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen reported today that the line was used elsewhere:

Democratic Congressman Russ Carnahan on Tuesday – introducing Joe Biden at a campaign event – ripped into Palin’s record and punctuated it with this snarky jab. “There’s no way you can dress up that record, even with a lot of lipstick,” he said. Later in the day, Obama used a variation of the lipstick line, though he was clearly talking about the McCain-Palin reform rhetoric. "You can put lipstick on a pig," he said. "It's still a pig."

This comes a day after Keith Olbermann used his MSNBC show to attack Palin's faith, labeling it as "extreme" and asking if Americans should be terrified.

Media Defends Palin Coverage, Attacks Speech

Keith Olbermann describes Sarah Palin's speech as condescending, insulting, and dismissive of community activists:



Olbermann here see a lot of sarcasm:



Before the speech, Olbermann had a tough time figuring out who Palin was referring to when she talked about the media elite, and how she could care less if she's not in their good graces. This excerpt is from Geoffrey Dickens of Newsbusters.org:

OLBERMANN: We're getting some of the excerpts now Andrea and I think it's fair to say there don't seem to be any excerpts anyway, any significant attacks on Obama or the Democrats, however guess who has been attacked? That would be probably us, as collective us. Let me read one before we go back to the floor at the Excel Center. "Why She Is Going to Washington D.C." is the headline on this excerpt.

"I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment, she says, and I've learned quickly these past few days that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, than some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone. But here's a little newsflash for all those reporters and commentators, I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion, I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country."

Who those reporters and commentators might be she does not say, at least not in the excerpt. It will be interesting to see if they're named in that speech. There's no one I can think of, off the top of my head, who did what she is apparently complaining of tonight, but she will be doing the complaining herself.

Jennifer Harper, writing for the Washington Times today, said that the honeymoon period was short-lived and is over. She talked to some media experts about the Palin coverage:

Some say the press is clearly awry.

"It's completely fair to question Palin's experience, question her record, and question her judgment. Every candidate should expect that. But what's jaw-dropping here is how a supposedly feminist media elite can so abruptly drop all their principles and start questioning whether a mother of five can handle this job. They don't only look biased, but extremely partisan and opportunistic," said Tim Graham of the Media Research Center.

Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, agreed. "The choice of Governor Palin is exposing the rank hypocrisy of the 'enlightened' gatekeepers of the mainstream media."

"While some blame bloggers or Democrats for the most appalling rumors or smears, the mainstream media has also been eager to focus their obsessive coverage - not on Governor Palin's accomplishments - but her personal decisions as a woman. Decisions for which the media clearly have visceral contempt," she said.

A sympathetic public could ultimately favor Mrs. Palin, she added, faulting journalists who offer more favorable coverage to Sen. Barack Obama, and those who appear to think "that the Palins should have chosen abortion over giving life to a special-needs child or teenage pregnancy."

Phil Pedlikin, president of the Down Syndrome Association of Northern Virginia, said the coverage of Mrs. Palin as the mother of a child with Down syndrome has been very mixed.

"We have found it frustrating that, even though Governor Palin has never suggested it, quite the opposite really, the emphasis of many reports has been on the 'burden' that she faces because her child has Down syndrome. Also, she is sometimes portrayed as a hero because of this additional 'burden.' We are not heroes because we have children with Down syndrome. Our children are the heroes," Mr. Pedlikin said.

In a column dripping with his own sarcasm, Roger Simon apologises for the media (well, NOT) in Politico:

On behalf of the media, I would like to say we are sorry.

On behalf of the elite media, I would like to say we are very sorry.

We have asked questions this week that we should never have asked.

We have asked pathetic questions like: Who is Sarah Palin? What is her record? Where does she stand on the issues? And is she is qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency?

We have asked mean questions like: How well did John McCain know her before he selected her? How well did his campaign vet her? And was she his first choice?

Bad questions. Bad media. Bad.

Dems' Research on Palin Reveals Her Phone Number and Part of Her Social Security Number

Ben Smith and John Bresnahan of Politico have posted the internal Democrat memo on research in Sarah Palin's political and personal life, including a partial release of her Social Security number, a list of vehicles she has owned with VIN numbers, her home address, former addresses and phone number. The pdf file is here. The 63-page document includes subsections called "Vindictive, Firings", "Creating Bureaucracy", "Powerful Mayor" and "Can't Handle Criticism" under a management style section.

Democrat Tony Knowles, her opponent in the 2006 Alaska gubernatorial race, put together a detailed, 63-page research document — obtained by Politico — cataloging Palin’s strengths and weaknesses. And the Obama campaign, in particular, knows Palin well: A key Obama consultant, Anita Dunn, worked on Knowles’ campaign.

“We’re running against John McCain — the issues raised around his decision and the fact that he clearly bowed under to the right wing of his party and let them exercise veto power over his vice presidential pick,” Dunn said, suggesting the Obama campaign wouldn’t be recycling the 2006 Democratic criticism of Palin.

“Whether it was Sarah Palin or Tim Pawlenty or Mitt Romney or somebody else, fundamentally that wasn’t going to alter the dynamic — which is that John McCain believes we don’t need to change the fundamental economic policies in this country,” Dunn said.

The Democratic opposition research document, which was not obtained from Dunn or from the Obama campaign, is largely a catalog of the day-to-day decisions of a small-town mayor. It contains examples of her sometimes confrontational tenure and colorful details of an ordinary woman who was thrilled to meet Ivana Trump and who began the process of opening a marketing company whose name — Rouge Cou — was supposed to be a French version of “redneck.”

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.”