Dayhoff Westminster Soundtrack: MRC Alert: NBC Touts Gordon Gekko Impersonator Greeting Romney in South Carolina

Friday, January 13, 2012

MRC Alert: NBC Touts Gordon Gekko Impersonator Greeting Romney in South Carolina

Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Friday January 13, 2012 @ 01:25 PM ET

1. NBC Touts Gordon Gekko Impersonator Greeting Romney in South Carolina
In a report for Thursday's NBC Today, correspondent Peter Alexander promoted attacks on Mitt Romney: "There's been no let-up in the barrage of criticism over Romney's record as the former head of Bain Capital." Alexander pointed out: "This Gordon Gekko impersonator greeted Romney's arrival in South Carolina." A scene from the movie "Wall Street" was played with actor Michael Douglas depicting the corrupt Gekko and uttering the famous line: "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good." The impersonator following Romney, dressed in a suit with a name tag reading "Gordon Gekko" and chomping on a cigar, repeated the line for NBC's camera.

2. CBS's King Goes Gaga Over Obama Family; No Questions About Lavish Expenses
Gayle King made it clear that she is in the tank for the Obama campaign on Thursday's CBS This Morning, specifically vouching that Michelle Obama apparently is "passionate," and that the First Lady is "looking forward to returning for another four years. They're going to work very hard to make that happen." King continued tossing softballs at her admitted friend, at one point gushing, "Do you ever just sort of marvel at your life?" She completely omitted asking her guest about controversial aspects of her time in the White House, such as Mrs. Obama's travel expenses, or how the First Lady wore $540 designer sneakers as she fed the poor in Washington, DC in 2009.

3. NBC's Brokaw Hypes GOP 'Jihad' Against Romney; Confuses Mitt and George 3 Times
Appearing on Thursday's NBC Today, special correspondent Tom Brokaw touted GOP presidential candidates attacking Mitt Romney's business experience at Bain Capital: "It's the Republican Party equivalent of a jihad....the real danger for the Republicans is that it will deeply divide the party at a time when they want it to be united." While promoting the Republican infighting, Brokaw repeatedly confused Mitt Romney with his father and former Michigan Governor George Romney: "[Senator Jim DeMint said] George Romney is going to win this primary in South Carolina....They're going hard after George Romney....George Romney seems to be holding his own and the momentum continues for him..." At one point, co-host Ann Curry corrected him: "Mitt Romney." Brokaw explained: "His father was George Romney, that's my generational slip."

4. Matthews Preposterously Claims Obama Added 'Only 13 People' to Federal Workforce [UPDATED: Matthews Re-Records Audio]
On Thursday's Hardball, Chris Matthews preposterously insisted that Barack Obama added "only 13" people to the federal workforce in 2009 and that the total number of individuals working for the U.S. government (as of 2010) was 4,443. Two hours later, in the otherwise identical 7 PM EST re-play, MSNBC inserted a new graphic and a new audio overlay in which Matthews corrected his incompetence without noting any change from his first broadcast: Video below features both versions. In the 5 PM EST hour, Matthews claimed “the federal workforce totaled forty-four hundred and thirty people in 2009 when Obama took office. In 2010, a year later, the number increased to forty-four forty-three people – a difference of only thirteen people.” In the re-do, Matthews realized “the federal workforce totaled four million, four hundred and thirty thousand in 2009...”

5. Washington Post Veteran Disparages Limbaugh, Hannity and Levin as 'Right-Wing Nutjobs' with 'Wacky Conspiracy Theories'
Another bit of evidence emerged Thursday about how deeply ingrained anti-conservative hatred is inside America’s newspapers, even amongst those who don’t cover politics. John Kelly, a Washington Post lifestyle columnist inside the “Metro” section best-known for raising money for Children’s National Medical Center and Sunday “Answer Man” columns about DC-area history, used the passing of a local radio legend to disparage syndicated radio hosts as “right-wing nutjobs unspooling their wacky conspiracy theories.” The gratuitous slam came in a short item marking the passing of Bill Trumbull, half of the “Trumbull & Core” afternoon radio show of light-banter and pop music carried by WMAL-AM (630) from 1976 to 1996.

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