I see that the BBC has flown James Naughtie all the way over to Denver (What about all those C02 emissions?) to cover the coronation of the Chosen One, Obama, at the DNC. The Today programme (7.09am) had a wonderful treat for us this morning when Naughtie interviewed Justin Webb on Obama’s chances and as you can imagine, a strong stomach was the order of the day just to get through this love-in. Justin was in good form, emoting about the “audacity” of the “mesmeric” young “black man” Obama and reminding us f the “staggeringly unpopular” President Bush. Surprised Justin didn’t have time to reflect on the “staggeringly unpopular” Democratic-controlled Congress but I suppose there is only so much time given to provide praise for the BBC-approved candidate. Looking forward to Michelle’s speech tonight and the BBC coverage to follow….
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH.
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why does Al Beeb give so much air time to something that does not concern any of us
MrLouKnee | 25.08.08 – 9:24 am
…. something that does not concern any of us
MOST POPULAR STORIES
From World in the past week
* SUNDAY : US warship reaches Georgian port
* SATURDAY : Obama picks Biden as running mate
* FRIDAY : Obama set to reveal running-mate
What ARE they going to do when Obama loses big time? (as seems quite likely).
If Osama loses (he will) the BBC will do what it always does. It will say it was a FIX and that Americans are thick racists. They will get Greg Palast to do a Newsnight special making up all sorts of lies and stories about people not being able to vote.
You know the rest.
BrianSJ | 25.08.08 – 9:51 am |
cry some bitter tears…then
play the “america is rascist” card to make themselves feel better.
MrLouKnee
It is Obama that the BBC has given excessive time to. I agree – it does not warrant being top news all week the way the Today prog will treat it, and there was no justification for Obama’s choice of running-mate to be top news at the weekend and still second-main-news today.
But focussing on Obama lets them get endless Bush-bashing in. And that is the favourite BBC sport.
I noticed this morning that Naughtie turned to two bloggers at the end for their comments. Two liberal bloggers, of course ! It will be interesting to see if he turns to two Repub bloggers next week – or to liberals again.
Also – there are some heavyweight Repubs in Denver this week, Romney for example, available for all the TV channels during the convention.
A balanced BBC would have Romney on like a shot some time this week, to giver the opposing position – and for entertainment value. Any bets we’ll hear Naughtie with Romney ?
“The Democrats’ name problem”
http://amnation.com/vfr/#011251
and what is biased-bbc likely to do if mccain loses? at first i think throw a tantrum about how the loony leftist sopping wet liberals are taking over blah blah moslem blah blah hilarious pun on obama’s name or ethnicity
but then what for the next four years, i’m having trouble working that out
CO2 emissions: Left wing BBC, Labour and all.
CO2 emissions are only important for others but not for themselves. Typical ‘Do what I say, not what I do’
You’re all assuming we’ll find out if Obama loses. Maybe the Beeb just won’t report it.
Rapix – are you familiar with the concept of the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’?
GCooper | 25.08.08 – 11:30 am
Rapix – are you familiar with the concept of the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’?
Fair point. But the truth is I AM interested in the US elections.
And from the frequency of comments on that topic (many of which display considerable detailed knowledge of the minutiae of US politics) I’d bet a fair few of the visitors to this site are too.
I think may people across Britain find US Presidential elections interesting and relevant to their own political concerns and I do not want the BBC to stint on covering this story.
Though I am not particularly interested in the ‘race angle’ of this story – I have to admit that I’m a damn sight more curious to find out if a black man will be elected President than I am about which black man will win the Olympic gold for the hundred metres etc.
Rapix
Yes, some here are very interested in the US election.
But the majority of BBC viewers – their licence tax payers – are not particularly interested, I’d wager. Probably bored stiff with the over-emphasis.
Especially at this stage. Most people don’t have a clue who Joe Biden is, and really don’t care.
Public interest here in the US election starts to increase in the final weeks, when both sides are hammer-and-tongs and the result is looming.
There was no cause whatsoever for Biden’s selection to be top news – it was just the BBC parading Obama again. And I have heard nothing on the BBC saying that Biden’s selection fell flat. If his selection was judged so important by the “BBC” – surely the fact that the selection was a damp squib should have been reported just as prominently ? I didn’t hear a cheep about it on Today, for example, let alone in any of the headlines the “BBC” has been running all weekend.
The one thing the feverish lefties at the BBC have ignored is the fact that Obama is not black (his mother was white ) . Never let the facts get in the way of a good multiculturalism promotiional story.
hahah hugh what on earth are you talking about
Hugh:
You’re all assuming we’ll find out if Obama loses. Maybe the Beeb just won’t report it.
————————————————
Of course we”l know, by the tears running down the newsreaders faces, their grave expressions and sombre tones.
Ok, I’m not serious about the tears but I am about the grave expressions and the tones…
JohnA | 25.08.08 – 11:51 am
the majority of BBC viewers – their licence tax payers – are not particularly interested
So what? I have to sit through (or turn over to avoid) the crap they like: soaps, reality TV, football, Bonekickers, Andrew Marr looking down on us from a great height, Antiques Roadshow and all the rest of it.
The “mass audience” gets more than its fair share of programmes.
The BBC has a duty to cater for a variety of tastes and interests. Including mine.
Most people don’t have a clue who Joe Biden is, and really don’t care.
Well I care that they don’t know who Biden is.
I don’t want the people who decide who governs Britain at our next election to be so ignorant. The BBC is supposed to ‘educate’ as well as entertain, so they should bloody well tell them who he is.
surely the fact that the selection was a damp squib
Who says? Too soon to tell isn’t it?
d | 25.08.08 – 12:07 pm
The one thing the feverish lefties at the BBC have ignored is the fact that Obama is not black (his mother was white ) .
Duh. Unlike being Jewish, being black is not something passed down the maternal line.
It’s mostly a function of how much melanin you have in your skin, though the psycho-cultural types are probably at least half right when they say it can also be partly a matter of how you see yourself in relation to white folks and how they see you in relation to themselves.
By any of those criteria Obama is black.
Will Naughtie be repeating his “When we win the election” gaffe? It’s perfectly set up for it!
James: We’ve had the Tories lose the last 3 elections here. I don’t remember any people on the right complaining?
It was simply get on with it and try to win next time.
UNLIKE Ken Livingstone and the liberal left who can’t take a defeat.
Rapix
I just don’t think the Biden selection warranted so much coverage. And the BBC reports seemed breathless in making the announcement, as if it was an exciting event.
It is a measure of the BBC’s disregard for its audience that it focusses on what the BBC obsesses about – especially if there can be a sideswipe at Bush (or Bush-McCain).
The rest of the British media did not give the story such high and continuous prominence. Some might like more coverage of the US election – but I think it is too early yet.
But then – the rest of the media have to satisfy their news-consumers’ interests. Or fail to have consumers / revenues.
And yes, polling over the weekend suggested that Americans were not particulary excited by the Biden pick. (Picking Hillary would I think have caused far more excitement)
This poll found that 70% of electors don’t think Biden’s selection will affect their decision. “Joe Who” was the refrain among many Americans :
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-08-23-biden-poll_N.htm
And the CNN poll released yesterday seems to say that Obama received no blip in support from the Biden announcement. They say the race is currently tied – down from a 51-44 Obama lead last time they polled :
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/24/election.2008.poll/index.html
But the worst thing about all the BBc’s coverage of the Biden selection is that it was so slanted. It was presented as a good thing for Obama, and there was very little examination of the abundant weaknesses of the selection. For example – Biden is arch-liberal, which puts the Dem ticket way out of the centre. Isn’t that newsworthy ?
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-08-23-biden-poll_N.htm
JohnA | 25.08.08 – 12:44 pm
This poll found that 70% of electors don’t think Biden’s selection will affect their decision.
Well you wouldn’t expect the majority of voters to base their decision on who they wanted to be President on the basis of his VP pick, would you?
Frankly I’m surprised 90% didn’t say it wouldn’t affect their decision. And that is almost certainly the case among those who’ve already decided.
You seem to have a funny way of reading news stories. You appear to have concluded that Biden was a poor pick on the basis of two articles you link • but these articles, your own chosen links, can be read to say something else entirely:
Barack Obama’s choice of Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate gets generally positive reviews by voters nationwide, especially among Democrats, an instant USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds…..
The choice of Biden, the 65-year-old chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, brought praise from many of the Democratic regulars gathering in Denver for the opening of the Democratic National Convention Monday……
Among Democratic voters nationwide, 29% call the choice of Biden excellent and another 36% say it is “pretty good.” Just 16% say it is “only fair” and 6% call it poor.
And 45% of independents call the pick excellent or good, 35% fair or poor.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-08-23-biden-poll_N.htm
The majority of registered voters, 54 percent, say Obama’s choice of Biden, D-Delaware, as his running mate is an “excellent” or “good decision.” That number jumps to 73 percent when just asked of registered Democrats….
A majority rate the Biden selection as excellent or pretty good. Voters think he is qualified to be president, and with the exception of Al Gore in 1992, the public ranks Biden as the most qualified running mate in recent times….
his favorable rating is 13 points higher than his unfavorables.
I have quoted selectively there, I admit. But the selection was the right selection.
After all, the fact that registered Republicans don’t rate Biden is not very significant or newsworthy really.
And as for the “Joe Who?” guys – if they don’t know Biden they sure as hell wouldn’t know Evan Bayh, Kathleen Sibelius or Tim Kaine would they?
No – I think Biden could be a poor pick :
1 Because he has nil executive experience
2 He is extremely liberal – 3rd most liberal voting record in the Senate, I believe. Putting the whole ticket way off the centre ground that wins elections.
3 His selection does not appear to woo the Clintonites – or the blue-collar workers she beat Obama hands-down on
4 He is gaffe-prone, and has never run an effective campaign at national level.
5 His words against Obama – and there are enough of them – will be used remorselessly to show Obama as inexperienced, unready.
The CNN poll shows nil upward tick for Obama’s poll rating by the selction. After all the damn fuss – zilch.
One theme of recent threads is that the BBC gave far too much prominence to the VP story. They appear to have played along with the Obama campaign’s aim of securing maximum attention – but it all sounded overblown, a damp squib.
http://townhall.com/columnists/CarolPlattLiebau/2008/08/25/obamas_american_idol_veepstakes
Isn’t Bush’s approval rating something like three times greater than the Democratic-controlled congress’ approval rating?
Did the Beeb’s coverage mention how 20% of Hilary – who got more votes than Obama – supporters would rather vote for JMac than Obama?
leftist intolerance at its finest
(spin it around – you dont see rightists saying “fuck the bbc” at the rallies, do you?)
Gibby,
Great points – and IF the BBC was balanced and not biased then this would be provided as context. Naturally any unhelpful context is avoided.
i can imagine Al Beebs 10pm news leading with:-
Obama farts and follows thru, democrat spokesperson reveals its a shitty mess
Personally I think the Biden pick is inspired. Obama’s big problem is that he cannot disguise how full of himself he is. Hence he needs someone so arrogant that Obama’s giant ego seems positively shy and retiring beside him. First pick – John Kerry. Slightly soiled from last time. Second pick – Ted Kennedy. Nearly dead. How lucky can you get to find a man as arrogant as Biden as your third pick from your Senate colleagues. You could scour the world in vain for another man who could make Obama look modest. Assuming Al Gore was still off planet during your search of course.
Perhaps the Beeb should tell its captive british listeners that the tide seems to have turned against Obambi…but thats not in the script is it?
I wasn’t going to contribute to pulling this thread off topic (it’s about the BBC, not Obama), but Lee Moore nailed it.
Promising “Change” for nine months then picking a time serving DC hack as your running mate: you must admit, it is “audacious”. Well, it’s one word for it. I have others.
The sad and funny thing about the BBC’s ‘analysis’ of the US presidential race is that it gives the impression that the BBC thinks it is an important part of that contest rather than just a news provider about it.
MrLouKnee | 25.08.08 – 9:24 am |
Why does Al Beeb give so much air time to something that does not concern any of us
Mark Thompson and other Beeboids have been quite open about their belief that this is the most important election in human history. Of course, one only has to listen to silly Justin Webb to hear confirmation of what I’ve been saying all along: this is also really about defeating George Bush.
The BBC grabbed onto the lie that a McCain Presidency will merely be another four years of Bush, and have been pushing it mightily ever since. Every once in a while reality forces one of them to mention that McCain was often out of step with the Administration, not to mention the rest of the Republican leadership. That gets forgotten quickly enough, though. If McCain had been VP, even for one term, then they would have at least the tiniest kernel of a case that he would be a continuation of the incumbent Administration.
But facts don’t matter to the BBC when emotion is involved. The Story they see is that this is finally the world’s chance to defeat George Bush. It sounds stupid, I know, seeing as he’s not running. But that’s how they see it, and that’s how some BBC talking heads have framed it on air.
“But facts don’t matter to the BBC when emotion is involved”
which is exactly what denis prager points out on his radio show each week – the left is emotional. it thrives on emotions, not rationality.
As a slight aside, it’s also worth pausing to reflect that this is the same BBC that is anxious to hurry us into the arms of the EU superstate, because ‘what happens in the EU is far more important to us’.
Rapix – If the world was full of black people, Obama would be called white. Obama is mixed race. My point was that the BBC sees black as good and white as bad.
interesting… Iain Dale is guessing that Romney will be McCain’s VP
http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2008/08/ten-reasons-mccain-will-pick-romney-as.html
even though Dale doesnt like Romney.
Justin Webb is a wanker. Plain and simple.
Dale missed another reason – following Obama’s choice of Biden, McCain broadcast an attack ad playing on the fact that Clinton came second in votes cast. Romney was second among the Republicans.
If Romney is the choice, and given the fact that Giuliani will be making the keynote speech at the Republican convention, Justin Webb will be in his element; Webb hates Rudy and can’t get past the fact that Mitt is a Mormon. Whatever happens, the BBC’s treatment of the Republican convention will be very different to the star-struck gushing analysis we’re getting from Denver.
(Am I the only person who thinks Iain Dale is the Peter McKay of the blogosphere? Private Eye aficionados will know what I mean.)
Why does Al Beeb give so much air time to something that does not concern any of us?
If you are not concerned about who will be the next ‘king’ of the strongest country on Earth, you should be. When America sneezes we all catch cold, e.g. the collapse of the subprime mortgage market in the US led, to a large degree, to the collapse of Northern Rock Bank in the UK. Does anyone think British troops would be in Iraq today if the US wasn’t involved?
The BBC gives a disproportionate amount of time to covering one candidate and uses such effusive language to the point where it seems partisan.
For all those who ‘know’ who will win this election I suggest you bet a substantial amount of money. The rest of us will have to wait until election day.
I know John McCain will win the US election for one simple reason. They won’t vote for a total airhead like Osama.
The BBC hides the truth about Osama, his terrorist links and the racist preachers he hangs out with.
and the americans are VERY well informed about obama.
mccain will win it. by a landslide.
“Why does Al Beeb give so much air time to something that does not concern any of us?”
obviously somebody who doesnt realise that theres such a thing called the “free world”
i realise the sigficance of the US, however, Al Beebs Obama luv fest is very OTT
and i dont fall for that crap about the US being the beacon of freedom, it wasnt that long ago blacks couldnt vote
That’s because the constitution was protecting them from voting.
Listening to the footy on 5Lite I couldn’t help but notice the frequent announcements that Obama is about to become ‘officially’ America’s first black Presidential candidate.
As others have pointed out, he is not ‘officially’ black, but is in fact half white. For an organisation that has spent several decades incessantly preaching on this subject, the Beeb seems to have curiously stringent notions about racial purity. Apparently anyone not of undiluted European stock is to be classified as ‘black’ in their book.
Or perhaps they feel Mr Obama has to be black because his father was black, his mother’s DNA being less significant on account of her being only a woman.
Poor old Beeb. All the breast-beating and tub-thumping only serves to highlight their essentially racist and sexist outlook.
MrLouKnee: Yes and of course we’ve been a beacon of freedon for black people here in the UK haven’t we?
I know.
If only they’d had a constitution to protect them like they did in America.
PHILADELPHIA – A Lafayette Hill attorney filed a lawsuit in federal court Thursday challenging Sen. Barack Obama’s claim to United States citizenship. The action seeks to remove the Democratic candidate from the November ballot.
http://www.obamacrimes.com/
Will the BBC report it?
Forensic analysis of Obama birth certificate
http://www.obamacrimes.com/index.php/component/content/article/1-main/4-forensic-analysis-of-obama-birth-certificate