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Hillary Backer Ed Rendell Slams Olbermann, Media

Time magazine's Karen Tumulty interviews prominent Hillary backer and Fox News fan Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, and finds him in a particularly feisty mood about the press' coverage of Hillary and Obama...

In a recent appearance on Fox News -- not exactly considered friendly territory for the Democrats -- he congratulated the network for having done "the fairest job [and] remained the most objective of all the cable networks." In an interview with me, the governor was again in media-critic mode. "It took Saturday Night Live to bring some fairness to this election," Rendell said, referring to the show's now famous skit lampooning the media's crush on Obama. "It's stunning. Does Keith Olbermann get checks from the Obama campaign?"

Relatedly, is it just me, or has the tone of MSNBC and NBC towards Hillary changed of late? I reported here recently that top Hillary advisers had lodged repeated behind-the-scenes complaints about Chris Matthews, and the Hillary campaign publicly went to war with MSNBC over the network's protracted and palpable hostility towards her and its rather generous coverage of Obama.

Is the pressure working? The other day, NBC's Andrea Mitchell ran a soft-focus piece on Hillary's girl-hood, and there's been a more Hillary-friendly feel on the network in recent days. It certainly feels like the network's trying to make nice with Camp Hillary now.


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You just noticed the recent pro-Hillary slant on MSNBC? They've been harping on the Reverend Wright story for weeks now, talking about how it's going to destroy Obama in the polls when those same polls show Reverend Wright not having that much of an effect on Obama.

I believe MSNBC has been kinder to Obama and less kind to HRC, however, I also believe she has bought this on herself with her aggressive behavior towards Senator Obama. Every day it is something new from her. Yesterday all I read was how she said Obama cannot win, a fact that is more true to her campaign than his. Tell falsehoods every day it isn't going to fly, unless you are McCain of course, that coverage is sorely lacking in substance.

The desperation of Clinton Camp at work. At this rate, they will be denouncing and rejecting everyone in the democrat party and its support base. At the same time, this pathetically comedic Hillary shill has no qualms singing paens to right wing media. Disgusting.

Which party?

Oh, the "Democratic" party?

I wasn't clear.

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I'm soooooooo tired of this "waaaaaaah, the boys are picking on me, Mommy" BS of Hillary's campaign.

It's so pathetic and unprofessional. Not to mention anti-feminist.

This is all about whining like a little girl.

I say this as a 56 yr. old white woman and life long Democrat.

Isn't it obvious? People across this country just really dislike Hillary Clinton. It was true before this election started, and it will be true after this election is over.

As an Obama supporter, Olbermann is over the top pro-Obama even to me.

But, the network vascilates a lot. That stupid David Gregory show last night was over the top Obama bashing post Hardball. Usually, that show is dominated by the likes of Scarborough and Blankley who seem more than willing to pile on Obama. Gregory tends to let them get the first and last word on any debate, too. It's a stupid show. Hope it fades away fast.

MSNBC is a pretty crappy network overall. Chris Matthews is bizarre and Dan Abrams has no business even being on the air.

I totally agree with you!

What is also true is that CNN (Clinton NEWS Network) is very pro-Hillary.

Wolf Blitzer constant spins Hillary's talking points and they were the ones counting the SD's from jump, to make it look like Hillary was ahead in the primaries, when in reality Hillary has never once led in the contest for delegates from the primary process.

So, I think it balances out.

Ed Rendell is like a bull in china shop...and what's the deal with him supposedly being the spokesperson for Hillary's white, working class support in PA. He is from Philadelphia, not from central or Western PA, where most of the blue collar Hillary voters are. If anybody has sway with those folks, it is Bob Casey, whose family is from Scranton, and is legendary around that part of the state.

Hmmm, perhaps Mr. Rendell is raging at the media because Obama is surging in PA. Is that a fading candidacy I smell?

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Not according to this clip:
http://www.jedreport.com/2008/04/the-tale-of-bos.html

Chris Matthews and guests connect Hillary's Bosnia tale to the "depends what is is" line and wonder aloud if peeople are going to start thinking there's "something wrong with this family."

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Wow, this post's topic seems to have been lifted right out of one of the Hillary diehard sites where the most prevalent commentary is about the media [except the new favorite Fox News] being unfair to Hillary.

Rendell says: "It's stunning. Does Keith Olbermann get checks from the Obama campaign?"

Presumably this is after Olbermann listed Rendell as one of his worst persons in the world. Olbermann listed a bunch of nasty things Fox News said about Clinton, much worse than anything on the other news networks. It was an impressive list, with dates. Olbermann took Rendell to the woodshed for not taking those comments into consideration.

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Exactly right. No politician likes being called out as a bozo for saying something stupid, and sucking up to Fox News like Rendell did is stupid. Fox has said tons of stupid and offensive things about Hillary this year. Clearly the inter-network rivalry was also at play there, and Rendell gave Olbermann a chance to take a potshot at Fox's biased election coverage.

Greg, I'm with you that MSNBC has been hard at work patching things up with the Clintons, but I think that's been the case for at least a month now. Watch the Dan Abrams show or the new David Gregory show, and they are much less favorable to Obama generally than Olbermann or Chris Matthews (both of whom, esp. Matthews, have clearly had dealings with NBC brass over this issue).

Abrams and Gregory probably provide a good preview of the silliness we can expect in the general election, to be honest.

I've been alarmed honestly by Andrea Mitchell's coverage of Clinton. She was with Hillary in Bosnia, and if anyone was in a position to shed light on that episode, in real time as Clinton kept embellishing, it was Mitchell. She stayed silent. Lately, Clinton has been speaking in glowing terms of Alan Greenspan's handling of the Federal Reserve when talking about the economy even going to far as to suggest that he'd be a good cabinet member in her administration. It just so happens that Andrea Mitchell is married to Greenspan. I think Andrea is a good journalist, but it's becoming hard to listen to her reporting on this Democratic primary without putting her comments into context. That's not a good thing for Andrea or NBC.

As for the rest, including Rendell, it's all just appealing to the refs. It's a smokescreen. Matthews is truly weird guy, and Shuster (another good reporter) was out of line with his Chelsea comment, but MSNBC's coverage has not been anti-Clinton at all. Olbermann is an extremely smart guys who always calls them how he sees them, and that's why he'll always have my respect.

Is it me, or is this willingness to promote Saturday Night Live as reality and lean on a fictional character like Rocky Balboa somewhat highlighted by her Bosnian exploits? I honestly think Hillary should just stick to the facts for a bit.

Hi, hello world.

Your mention of Andrea Mitchell got my interest because her reporting (and lack of it, as you point out) has puzzled me during the primaries. I had wondered if there was a relationship in the background between the Clintons and Mitchell/Greenspan that made Andrea uncomfortable about pressing embarrassing stories on Hillary Clinton, particularly the lack of truth in Hillary's Bosnia stories. Do you think it's due to a potential Greenspan appointment?

Olbermann was right down the middle up until February. After Hillary lost the 10 straight contests that put her in the hole she is currently in he started reporting, truthfully, that Hillary was in a big hole. That was when she started her attack the media strategy. Olbermann started going hard after Hillary when it became apparent that her strategy had devolved in to "Me or nobody!" but largely her campaign’s problem with the media stems from the fact that she can't stand it when they report the truth. That she is losing.

I should add that MSNBC isn't the only crappy network. They all are. Cable News isn't news at all, but a large pundit shouting fest with very little news. Unless, of course, opinion now counts as news. In my book, it doesn't.

Isn't Andrea Mitchell the hack that was actually on the Tuzla mission dodging sniper-fire with Capt. Pantsuit?

Didn't she know that Hillary was full of shit and didn't say A WORD until CBS video exposed Hillary for the fraud that she is?

For Ed Rendell to say Fox has been the most balanced is telling. Camp Hillary expects things their way all of the time. The fact that MSNBC, CNN and the other media are FINALLY exposing Hillary's 35 years of experience lie is, in my opinion, a little late on the uptake.

If the media had done their job, Obama could still be running against some fine candidates with REAL experience like Biden or Dodd. Hillary LOVED the inevitable narrative and didn't bitch about coverage 3 months ago. What changed? Her resume, perhaps?

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Bias, huh. That is the topic today. Okay. TPMEC has its video string up on the page, all five of which relate to the subject of and messages of only one of our nominees, Hillary.
This, in spite of some great video of Obama answering students and Chris Matthews at the Hardball College Tour in PA.

Hopefully most people do know of the close association of Andrea Mitchell to "the establishment" and that she is married to Alan Greenspan. This democratic campaign at least started out as establishment vs antiestablishment.

It almost seems as if the guys on MSNBC have a rotational pattern . . . one beats up on Obama and then the next one beats up on Hillary. Maybe that's their way of emulating Fox -- fair and balanced ?.?

I do like the concept of the College Tour and though Obama showed well. McCain is next and then maybe Hillary.

Reality Check:

Andrea Mitchell is married to Alan Greenspan.

Who did Hillary recently say that she would call on to work on improving the Economy.

Get it now.

Greg Sargent is the new Andrea Mitchell.

I couldn't say because they lost me back around the time of Shuster's suspension. I quit watching MSNBC.

Before the primary came down to just the two, Hillary & Obama, I watched Hardball and Countdown. But after a while it got harder and harder to watch because of the bias. I got angrier and angrier over it. Then around the time Shuster was due back, I just couldn't stomach any of it anymore. Especially Olbermann.

I'm a Fox fan now and also switch between CNN & Fox. Once in a while I might catch a little Hardball but its rare these days so I wouldn't know if they've tried to cover up their bias more.

The only show on that network that I can still watch is Scarborough - or Morning Joe. Now Joe Scarborough tells it like it is, either way. And it helps that he likes Hillary even tho he's a republican.

Fox and CNN are definately the least biased tho.

MSNBC is a sick joke of a news show. Mathews with his tingling legs and Olbermann with his man crush on Obama are just too disgusting for anyone other than Obamamites.

Rae

So when Fox turns on Hillary, should she win the nomination, you'll stick by this assertion or are you just a fly-by-night news consumer?

I've RECENTLY seen Hannity say that he has a loop of video to destroy Hillary with regarding her stances on the Iraq War, said with his sinister reptilian smile.

And you think that's the most balanced news coverage?

I know that Hillbots accuse us of drinking the Kool-Aid, but talk about easily misled...

Such arguments are lost on Rae.

She already said she's voting for the "true patriot" McCain.

So, Fox news and CNN suit her.

The media loves McCain more than Obama!

MSNBC/NBC always had a more Hillary-friendly slant. After the Shuster "pimping out" Chelsea comment, they went Hardcore pro-Hillary. Olbermann is about the only show that is pro-Obama -- which is to say Olbermann has been pretty evenhanded in his take on the race. Even his "Special Comment" against the Clinton campaign was warranted and directed not at Clinton herself, but her campaign and its surrogates.

You must not be paying much attention if you're just now noticing that favoritism.

Oh really?

Is that why Chris Mathews threw a special Obama Hardball show at Penn. campuses?

I don't see him doing that for HIllary!

This is simply more campaigning from Karl Rove's playbook (which the Clinton campaign seems to have adopted wholesale). This time, it's the 'elite media' who are so horribly biased against their candidate,... except, of course, for the 'fair and balanced' Fox network.

When it comes to Republicans, the Clintons seem to have decided that, if you can't beat them, join them. Negative campaigning, fear-mongering, race-baiting, attacks on the media, scorched earth tactics,... come on, does that sound like a Democratic campaign? No, this is Republican all the way. It's no wonder that Karl Rove admires Clinton's campaign - he designed it!

Yes, Republican tactics work, if you have the stomach for them. The politics of fear works (but the ghost of Franklin D. Roosevelt might haunt your sleep). Race-baiting works, though for Democrats, it has to be reasonably subtle. Attacks on the media get these corporate giants to roll over in attempted appeasement. If you care about NOTHING but winning, Republican tactics might seem appealing.

But they don't ALWAYS work, and they don't work against ALL candidates. We've lost the last two presidential races, but that's no reason to clone the Republican Party, is it? The Clintons are running scared. That's why they're adopting Republican tactics. But those of us who still have a backbone think that there's another way to win. And that way is Barack Obama's.

Keith "in the closet" Olber-twit has a man crush on both Obama and Anderson Cooper. Bill-O must have turned him down.

Marginal Player's posted profile

# Age: 52
# Politics: DLC
# Party: (DEM) 2008: 1.Clinton, 2. McCain

That will tell you all you need to know about this creep who loves War Mongers.

Unlike Hillary Clinton, Keith Olbermann cares about the future of our nation more than the Clinton's Legacy or their egos. So if they don't like what he has to say, perhaps they should try focusing on the possitives that she has to offer and less on the Jerry Springer trash her campaign spews out there everyday.

Hillary's campaigning stinks of Rove

"The other day, NBC's Andrea Mitchell ran a soft-focus piece on Hillary's girl-hood, and there's been a more Hillary-friendly feel on the network in recent days."

The Media has actually been pro-Clinton all along.

Just not pro-Clinton enough for HRC.

And meanwhile it's been open season on Obama for over a month now.

A better balance may be in order.

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I will give the Clinton campaign credit for keeping their campaign alive as long as they have. They are masters of spin and are able to create all of these comments about whether or not MSNBC is biased because people like Olbermann are reporting the actual facts of the campaign.

Consider this; Hillary has virtually no chance of overtaking Obama in total votes and pledged delegates. She absolutely has no chance of overtaking him in the total number of contests won. He continues to our fundraise her 2 to 1. Her strategy for victory is entirely based on wooing superdelegates and to do that she went very negative in Texas and Ohio. In short, in order to win she must destroy Obama. In the process of doing that she'll destroy the part.

Olbermann is covering her campain from this perspective. It is a completely legitimate, reality based perspective. Good for him. I'm a big fan.

When Hillary meets with the editorial board of the right wing Pittsburg Post Gazzette, she deserves to be called out on it. When Rendell swoons over FOX News, he is "the worst person in the world." When she lies about being under sniper fire or when her campaign is trying to use Rev. Wright to scare superdelegates into supportingher she is running a low class campaign and diserves to be called out on it.

Hillary, you can continue to keep your campaign alive. Maybe you'll be able to raise enough money to pay off your debts and you can keep your face in the news and negotiate for a good consolation prize. But you can't win. Sorry.

Andrea Mitchell?!?!? Mrs. Alan Greenspan? How the hell is she allowed to "report" anything?

The most vile partison commentators site Obama as the great unpartison uniter,yet these same comm.(Olberman,cCarl Bernstein,matthews and cafferty) don't miss a chance to utter the most partison remarks.There's a disconnect here isn't there?

Bravo!!!

Any negative coverage of Clinton has been brought on by her own behavior and choices. Rendell and Bill Clinton can complain all they want about what would be said if Obama was only trailing by "1%", but the fact remains that the MSM would've driven Obama out of the the race once he lost 5 or 6 contests in a row let alone 12.

Yeah, MSNBC stinks pretty much overall...but don't all the cable news channels, really? I rarely watch Hardball any more--I gave up after one of the many Ann Coulter appearances. I don't have a stomach for the freak show. And Dan Abrams loves, loves, LOVES the sensational freak show segments.

I suspected there was a behind-the-scenes war between the Clinton campaign and MSNBC. I didn't blame them for getting mad about Chris Matthews' relentless personal insults at Hillary Clinton, and David Schuster (though I think he's a good investigative reporter) made an insulting remark about Chelsea, though I think his was clumsy, misdirected anger, and not as malicious as Matthews' remarks.

As for Keith, he has become pretty angry with the Clintons and hasn't made an attempt to disguise it. So I haven't detected any "make nice" attempts re the Clinton campaign there.

But I never expect Keith's show to be free of his personal slant of anything. It's obviously an opinion show, and it's obviously a show about Keith's personal opinions, at that.

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Olbermann is the closest thing the left has to a having one and only one anchor consistently coming at issues from their side of the aisle.

This is just one more example of the Clintons believing that they can win by courting Republicans and dissing the left. How many times have I heard that the left is only 20% of voters? Well, that must make us 30-40% of Democrats and you add African Americans to that and add in people who don't like Clintons on various values issues and pretty soon the Clintons have destroyed the coalition that elected Bill and made Hillary unelectable.

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