Fox News' Kelly asked whether Michelle Obama gave "her critics fodder" with word she didn't say
SUMMARY: Fox News' Megyn Kelly noted that during her DNC speech Michelle Obama said, "The world as it is just won't do," and then Kelly continued: "If you replace 'world' with 'country', you are back to the same debate, arguably, that you have been having about Michelle Obama's feelings about the country. Did she give her critics any fodder with that comment?"
During Fox News' August 25 coverage of the Democratic National Convention, anchor Megyn Kelly asked Fox News contributor Howard Wolfson about Michelle Obama's convention speech, "Do you think that, you know, her saying that she loves America, that she loves this country, is going to do it for those who questioned her patriotism?" Kelly noted that during the speech Obama stated, "The world as it is just won't do," then Kelly said: "If you replace 'world' with 'country', you are back to the same debate, arguably, that you have been having about Michelle Obama's feelings about the country. Did she give her critics any fodder with that comment?"
As Media Matters for America has noted, during Fox News' coverage prior to Obama's speech, Kelly referred to "all sorts of rumors about Michelle Obama, and controversy around her ... including what was her college thesis about; did she use the term 'whitey' -- something that was never substantiated," without noting the role Fox News has played in advancing those "rumors."
From Fox News' August 25 coverage of the Democratic National Convention:
KELLY: Now let me ask you, because you heard Chris Wallace say it may have been a wasted night, and apparently James Carville did him one better, saying moments ago -- this is according to the RNC, which is reporting from another network -- saying James Carville said, quote, "If this party has a message, it's done a hell of a job hiding it tonight. I promise you that."
WOLFSON: Well, I disagree with James. I think that there was a lot of business that needed to be accomplished here, and I think that humanizing the Obamas, that showing her patriotism, pushing back on this attack on her that she's not patriotic, and rooting them in America's middle class, that was all important pieces of business that the Obama campaign had to get done, and they did do it.
KELLY: Do you think that, you know, her saying that she loves America, that she loves this country, is going to do it for those who questioned her patriotism? Because she said something -- what she said was, and I wrote it down, was, "The world as it is just won't do." If you replace "world" with "country," you're back to the same debate, arguably, that you have been having about Michelle Obama's feelings about this country. Did she give her critics any fodder with that comment?
WOLFSON: No, I don't think so. And I think that she would persuade some people who were skeptical about whether or not she was patriotic, sufficiently patriotic, with the kind of speech that she gave tonight.
Wolfson should have doubled over in a deafening belly laugh in response to Kelly's asinine comment, instead of his wimpy "No, I don't think so"....pathetic.
Do these left wing analysts leave their cajones' on the Fox contract-signing cutting room floor?
Michelle rocked last night, a great speech. Fox is just irritated.
"But I guess when they go job hunting and end up at Fox they toss their principles aside and argue their points tentatively and so as not to ruffle the feathers of their bosses and rightwing hosts."
Yeah. It's one of the conditions of employment, I bet. After all, Fox is SO 'fair and balanced'... so much so that the token 'lefties' they have must be constrained as much as possible and the righties... well, they just go all out with the rumors, innuendo, and outright lies UNCHALLENGED, right?
GD right. The Obama campaign needs to take that excellent moment from the convention and turn it into an ad that HAMMERS McCain senseless. Wanna discuss 'family values' and 'morals'? Good. Here ya go...
Bring up McCain's trashing of his first wife and his verbal abuse towards Cindy and contrast that with Obama's family. I say grab that ball and RUN!
"Do you think that, you know, her saying that she loves America, that she loves this country, is going to do it for those who questioned her patriotism?"
And if you replace the word "loves" with "hates" wouldn't that stir up the same concerns?
And if you replace the words "Megyn Kelly" with "Stupid Evil" wouldn't that be more correct?
Michelle Obama made me so proud last night, what a beautiful person and the lovely daughters.
J, I too was extremely proud. It was a moment I never believed I would see in my 74 years.
We should NEVER accept the world as it is. If Dr. King had accepted that, I'd still be paying my bus fair but only being allowed to sit in the back of the bus.
Michelle Obama's speech was really heartwarming, and I never use that word because I am a terrible cynic, but I thought it was just what the party needed to hear from her. And the kids are adorable, too.
"Michelle Obama made me so proud last night, what a beautiful person and the lovely daughters."--Jlyons
Absoutely. She will make a great First Lady.
Very disapointed in Howard Wolfson. Could he have worked somewhere other than FOX?
Howard Wolfson was Communications Director for Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign and is currently a Fox News contributor. Wolfson is also the author of the music and politics blog GothamAcme[1].
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Wolfson"Perhaps the call came from Fox News at 3am and he was still drunk from the night before when he took the job.
And perhaps Hillary was drunk when she hired him in the first place.....
Faux News: Not only are we "fair and balanced" - we provide the Straw Man argument for you.
That would be one way of increasing their ratings.
... unless the participating individuals are unsightly to the eyes
Picking a CCM...
FOX drew the short straw when the DNC chose which CCM (Corporate-Controlled Media) network would provide pool coverage of the convention.
While it's an incredible stretch to call FOX a "news" network, the DNC certainly couldn't exclude them.
While watching the convention last night, my wife and I were both puzzled by the choice of crowd shots. But that was before I listened to Hartman this morning and found out about the pool coverage decision.
The bigger question is why didn't the DNC hire a non-CCM outfit to do the pool stuff so they (the DNC) could have someone sitting in (or next to) the director's chair.
Can't wait to see what they'll do during Hillary's speech.
Her comment aside, I wouldn't be too quick to conclude that this woman's a fool. I believe she used to work at one of the most prestigious law firms in the world -- Jones Day. My impression is that they're incredibly selective in terms of the intellectual calibur of the attorneys they hire.
Her comment aside...???
Her comment was moronic. If she's no fool why does she act like one? On the other hand, if she is required to ask questions fed to her by a producer then perhaps she should get a new agent. Bottom line is regardless who was the anchor babe asking the question, this is just another example of typical FOX coverage. Biased and dumb...
Biased and dumb was also the coverage on the other cable outlets last night, trying to fill 24 hours with news and commentary when there simply is not that much to discuss. Only difference, to mmfa, is that outlets like msnbc tilt their biased and dumb comments far to the left. I watched msnbc's coverage last night, and Matthews and Obermann seem to take it as a personal insult whenever someone criticized or was unimpressed with the Obamas. I'm not sure about CNN, but msnbc is nothing more than Obama's personal campaign machine. Aside from Fox (Fair and Balanced), the media is in the tank for the Dems, at least for this election
Please explain how a network that claims to be 'fair & balanced' can have a host that is running the 'Stop Obama Express'?
Biased and dumb was also the coverage on the other cable outlets last night, trying to fill 24 hours with news and commentary when there simply is not that much to discuss. Only difference, to mmfa, is that outlets like msnbc tilt their biased and dumb comments far to the left. I watched msnbc's coverage last night, and Matthews and Obermann seem to take it as a personal insult whenever someone criticized or was unimpressed with the Obamas. I'm not sure about CNN, but msnbc is nothing more than Obama's personal campaign machine. Aside from Fox (Fair and Balanced), the media is in the tank for the Dems, at least for this election
That's funny. I watched MSNBC where the had a African American pannelist, Eugene Robinson who gave a heart felt response to Michelle's speech as a person and his response has a columnist and editor for the Washington Post. Even Pat Buchanan had to give Michelle kudos for a great speech but he, of course, had to add she didn't speak about religion. And Chris Matthews simply reminded Pat that unlike Republicans, wearing your Christianity badge is not a requirement for Democrats.
CNN on the other hand had Ben Stein, who felt that Michelle Obama should have had more policy in her speech. Of course that was the gotcha moment. If she had more policy, Ben could have responded with a "Why is the WIFE speaking policy, that's not her role".
Watching FOX would cause my ears to bleed or the destruction of my 73 inch TV. Besides, FOX WHEN has FOX broadcast ANYTHING without a pro-conservative slant?
Buchanan and Scarborough are the only token conservatives they have on msnbc. Joe's an idiot and Buchanan more often than not disagrees with McCain. In other words, all but a few msnbc commentators openly display their support for Obama, while only one (Joe S) shows bias towards McCain. And his voice is more than drowned out by KO, CM, Robinson, Maddow and the rest of Obama's spokesmen/women
I was not at all impressed with the convention last night, and agree with Carville that the dems should use their time wisely in drawing sharp distinctions between Obama and McCain, rather than wallowing in all this sentimental crap.
I was not at all impressed with the convention last night, and agree with Carville that the dems should use their time wisely in drawing sharp distinctions between Obama and McCain, rather than wallowing in all this sentimental crap.
I think that if the Dems had started off negatively, there would have been complaints about the negative tone of the convention. It's a lose, lose situation.
James Carville called Gov. Richards a "Judas" for betraying Clinton and he's just won the role with HIS comments. He's a Democratic and if he found fault with the convention he should have spoken to the folks running the convention, NOT a national television audience!
"I think that if the Dems had started off negatively, there would have been complaints about the negative tone of the convention. It's a lose, lose situation."
That's exactly right. I couldn't believe after hearing Kennedy and Michelle Obama that Dems somehow made a mistake by not going negative on the first night, when both of them made very strong, compelling speeches. Of course there's going to be a lot of that at the convention anyway, and it's not as if either of them didn't draw differences between the parties as it was.
break my heart.
I'm thinking more of your posts, each one its very own bomb.
Of the stink variety.
So she's not an idiot, that's fine. The only other explanation, however, is that she is pure Rovian evil. It is scary how much damage someone who is as intelligent and evil as Rove or Cheney, but ALSO is physically attractive. The Focks sheep will flock to her in droves.
Me? I think she's just dumb.
I believe she used to work at one of the most prestigious law firms in the world -- Jones Day.
Cleaning the toilets?
The only thing I could spit out of my mouth was "Huh?" "Where the hell did that come from?"
Colonel Flagg: This won't look good on your record.
Major Burns: But Colonel, it's just Reader's Digest.
Colonel Flagg: Not if you eliminate the third, fifth, and sixth letters, then it's 'Red's Digest', COMRADE.
"If you replace "world" with "country," you're back to the same debate, arguably, that you have been having about Michelle Obama's feelings about this country."
Why is it inconsistent to say that you love your country but that conditions "just won't do"? Does loving your country mean that you have to accept the way things are in it, without wanting anything better? And even more obviously, if you're campaigning on "change", then you can't very well suggest that things don't need improving. Republicans send out the exact same message after a Democrat has been in power.
I thought governance was supposed to be about making your country as good as it can be, regardless of partisanship. If someone can make "fodder" out of that, then they can make it from pretty much anything.
I thought governance was supposed to be about making your country as good as it can be...
Governance is supposed to be about making your country as good as it can be. Republican campaigning is about painting your opponents as unpatriotic as they could be. Republicans are great at campaigning...lousy at governing.
Why is it inconsistent to say that you love your country but that conditions "just won't do"?
I was looking to see if anyone else here said just that because it's exactly what I was thinking. I think the response should have been
"First, that's not what she said, so don't try to put words in her mouth. Second, are you saying the country is just fine exactly the way it is? That there are no issues that need addressing, no problems that need solving, no conditions that need changing? Because unless you are, it's utterly foolish to try to equate 'current conditions won't do' with 'I don't like my country.' So which is it?"
Whoever's responsible for letting FNC do the feed fron the Democratic Covention should be fired. I'm dumbfounded that the Dems would let that happen. After the speech I switched to Faux News during MSNBC's commercial break, and there was Good 'ol Rove, going on about how the speech was merely adequate, and they'll have to do much better that that. I immeadiately returned to the commercials. If someone's gonna try to sell me something, I'd rather it not be a crock 'o shat.
it was all i could do to avoid the convention coverage. yes, fox did cover it, but i did not see it. i was watching silent films of anna mae wong.
but folks, honestly, let's get over the notion that michele is beautiful, or even attractive. she's not. it's not her fault, but she's just plain.
why has no one mentioned pelosi, who is attractive, but dumb. she doesn't know about life beginning at conception as believed by her church, and she doesn't know that natural gas, that she sees as solving our energy problems, ia a fossil fuel that must be drilled for.
HAHAHHAHAH! Michelle Obama is 'plain', and Nancy Pelosi is attractive!!! Great sarcasm!!!!
It's a good think the Republicans nominated the handsome and striking John McCain as their nominee. They would have never had a chance with a nominee as boring and homely as Mitt Romney...
See, I can do it too!
Yeah, what was that all about? Michelle Obama's not a model? Well, hell, all those fools in Denver should just pack up and go home! And Nancy Pelosi must be a dummy. Working your way into the Speakership requires no skills at all.
----" Working your way into the Speakership requires no skills at all."
Isn't that what most of you carpet biters used to say about Newt? LOL
but folks, honestly, let's get over the notion that michele is beautiful, or even attractive. she's not. it's not her fault, but she's just plain.
LOL
As if your old a** can be a judge of beauty!
With such high standards coupled with such respect for the opposite sex it's amazing that republicans like yourself are able to breed at all...
The good ol' GOP turkey baster saves the day once more...
i just dont like lower thrusting jaws.
LOL
Hissty, you've been staring at Mitt Romney too long.
The DNC should official say that they don't consider Fox a News organization, and don't think any of their representatives are journalist. So I would kick them out and let Fox spend the week trying to sue me to get back in.
Let them go to court to "prove" they are a News Organization. Leave Fox unable to broadcast anything about Dems. Put out a rule that no official from the DNC or the Obama campaign can appear on Fox...and make an announcement that anyone you see on Fox listed as a Democrat, Obama supporter, or "liberal" has nothing to do with the DNC or the Obama campaign.
DENOUNCE FOX NEWS WITH WORDS AND ACTION
KICK THEM OUT OF THE CONVENTION...NOW!!!
DONT LET THIS GO ON!
Careful of what you ask for...
There is a slight chance (and that's a REALLY BIG "slight") that the ball-chasing puppies of the Corporate-Controlled Media will pick up on this FOX-controlled-crowd-shots issue.
However, none of the networks are idiot-free. If Crap News Network had picked the short straw, we'd probably see morons like Beck doing anal-isis (shudder).
The only bright spot in all of this is that the Troglodytes know that McGrampy can't beat Obama on the issues. Now, if we could just get the Corporate Media Whores to talk about the issues, we might have a chance.
Good One!
"...if we could just get the Corporate Media Whores to talk about the issues, ..."
Thanks - I needed a laugh this morning.
BTW, they're not "Whores" - they do it willingly. The money is just a perk.
megyn, megyn, megyn ... if you replace a speaker's actual words with one's you've made up, you could, arguably, draw all sorts of nefarious conclusions about what you now claim they meant. what a dingbat.
Yeh, and if you replace Megyn with Jim. She is now the ex-Buffalo Bills quarter back. And if you then replace Kelly with Jones, she is now the dead leader of the Peoples Temple cult.
Man, Megyn Kelly is basically a mass murderer if you replace those words. That's amazing logic. I will use that more often now that the MSM is using it.
Does Megyn Kelly realize that FoxNoise hired her for no other reason than she's hot?
I can't imagine that Fox considered her brains upon hiring her.... since there is very little there!
If she were to gain 15 lbs, you get the feeling that she'd be out of a job until she lost it again?