Category Archives: obama

ONE NATION MARCH IN DC

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Interesting report here from the BBC on the “One Nation” rally that has just taken place in Washington DC. They don’t tell us how many turned up but they do emphasise on several occasions that the rally was organised by “left-wingers” and that it featured “left wing activists”. Not only that but that this was all about rekindling support for Obama! And there was me thinking from so many previous BBC reports that Obama was a centrist, a moderate, not a hard left wing ideologue that needs rancid race hustlers like Al Sharpton and Communist lovers like Harry Belafonte to turn out and support him. The tone of the report is downbeat and the BBC seems to accept that Obama is going to get a bloody nose in just a few short weeks time. It will be interesting to see how they handle the GOP resurgence and in particular the Tea Party factor which is driving this.

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The Bias That Keeps On Coming

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Mark Barlex (BBC News On Demand Editor) quoted on the BBC College of Journalism twitter account:

The link takes you to this BBC video report of the Iraqi guy throwing his shoes at George Bush, complete with different camera angles and a slow motion replay.

A few minutes later there was a further tweet highlighting another one of Barlex’s favourite BBC online items:

The BBC’s position on American politics summed up in two tweets.

On the subject of BBC echo-chamber Obama-loving Republican haters, there was a typically biased discussion about Sarah Palin hosted by self-important left-luvvie coke-snorting fame junkie ex-children’s TV presenter Richard Bacon on his Radio Five Live show yesterday. A perfectly nice American woman who – horror of horrors! – likes Sarah Palin had to endure Bacon’s continuous sneering and the negative comments of two journalists from anti-Republican publications (Newsweek and the Guardian). Another fine example of what passes for balance on the BBC.

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"But I stole this for you,"says the plunderer

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Further to Natalie’s excellent fisk of Dr Runciman, here’s King Banaian at Hot Air:

Responding to the election of Scott Brown, the BBC carries a column by David Runciman, a British academic political scientist of high birth (how else to describe someone whose Wikipedia entry notes his viscountcy?) that cannot understand why town halls are filled with people repulsed by Democrats health care reform… My friend Marty Andrade tweeted this link with the comment “But I stole this for you,” says the plunderer. “Why do you not take it? Why do you not vote for me?”

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John Lloyd on BBC Obama Bias

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In an article published this week, John Lloyd – not exactly a voice of the right – argues that Obama supporters can’t place the blame for The One’s unpopularity simply on right-wing media outlets. It’s worth reading in full, but I can’t resist sharing this section:

…the swooning of much of the American and nearly all of the foreign media over Obama as he emerged as the most powerful candidate was bound to stimulate a reaction. Then, and even now – see the tributes to Obama in the past two weeks, including an extraordinary hagiography on his route to power on BBC2 on Saturday 16 January – the conflation between joy expressed at the first black US president and a sober analysis of his governance still goes on. It was a point I made at a self-congratulatory breakfast organised by the BBC on their Obama coverage a year ago – to widespread disapproval.

Excellent. Oh, to have been at that BBC back-slapping Obama love-in when Lloyd killed the morning buzz.

(Kirsty Wark should read Lloyd’s article. She was pushing the “blame Fox News” meme on her utterly dreadful new Review Show last night. Five self-important members of the chatterati talking over each other for an hour in a taxi waiting room. And only one token non-leftie – David Brent look-alike Ross Douthat, a middle-ground anti-Tea Party liberal conservative. There’s BBC balance for you.

Samizdata’s Brian Micklethwait wasn’t impressed either.)

Update. A couple more critical assessments of The Review Show from bloggers JC Thomson and Mantex. The reviewer for The Arts Desk at least wished the programme well but even she admitted it had been “a slightly shaky start” and noted that the panel “was perhaps a little too skewed towards liberals”. When arts luvvies are complaining about liberal bias you know there’s a problem.

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Hewitt on Obama

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A celebratory tip of the Red Sox cap to David Preiser for pointing out this rather fine commenter’s fisk of Gavin Hewitt’s latest blog.

It’s a bit rich of Hewitt to now pass comment on the Europeans who “had fallen for Obama” when his own presidential campaign diary read like a romantic novel. Even I was inspired at the time, offering this as a suggestion for a book cover:

Unfortunately it didn’t get past the BBC moderators.

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GOD BLESS OBAMA…

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The BBC continues to provide comment on Obama by using hard left commentators such as Dennis Kucinich. Today @ 7.52am. In essence, the line peddled by Kucinich is that the US needs an “NHS” model of health-care and so the Obamacare model does not go far enough. It’s amazing how the BBC is only prepared to provide a forum for those who seek to attack Obama from the far left. Mind you, in an attempt at “balance”, Mark Mardell was on at 7.13am to sing the praises of Obama. Fair and balanced, as ever.

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More Mardell

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Mark Mardell:

There has been a lot of debate, here and elsewhere, about whether politicians and the media have played down possible religious motives of the killer. The president did not: “No faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favour. For what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice – in this world, and the next.”

I think there’s a “(me included)” missing after the word “media”. As for Obama’s words, George Stephanopoulos thinks they signify the President’s acceptance that this was indeed an Islamic terrorist act, while Andy McCarthy takes issue with the statement that “no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts”.

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"Horrible for Chicago!"

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Tweets from BBC Sports News Correspondent James Pearce today. (H/T David Preiser in the comments).

First…
“Both Obamas were brilliant. In some ways Michelle upstaged her husband. She spoke with real passion”

Then…
“My analysis of Chicago presentation: Michelle Obama absolutely fantastic. President Obama very good. Rest average”

And then…
“Just been speaking to Lord Coe. He reckons IOC members loved Michelle Obama”

Finally, heartache:
“Wow. Vow. Vow. Vow! We always knew first round would be close. But this is horrible for Chicago.” (I think those are all meant to be “Wows”, not “Vows”.)

This guy wasn’t as impressed as Mr Pearce:
“Pass the sick bucket – just listened to the Obamas’ begging for the Olympics and having their usual luv-in. Enough schmaltz already.”

Neither, apparently, were the Radio Five Live listeners:
“Michelle Obama: Listeners phoning 5live saying “Pass me the sick bucket” – :D”

Updated. The CNN anchor was as nonplussed as James Pearce. Very funny.

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