Again ignoring context, Hannity cites "high, high number" of "president-elect" mentions in Blagojevich complaint
SUMMARY: On Hannity's America, Sean Hannity asserted that "the word 'president-elect' was mentioned ... 44 times" in the criminal complaint against Gov. Rod Blagojevich, which, Hannity said, "is a pretty high, high number." Hannity had previously described the number of mentions of the word "president-elect" in the complaint as "pretty troubling." In fact, with one exception, none of the 44 instances in which "president-elect" was used in the complaint actually mentioned any alleged conduct or statement by President-elect Barack Obama, much less any conduct or statement amounting to wrongdoing. The one exception was an allegation that Blagojevich complained that Obama would not give him anything other than "appreciation."
On the December 14 edition of Fox News' Hannity's America, discussing prosecutor and U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's December 9 press conference on the arrest of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), host Sean Hannity stated that "what [Fitzgerald] said was, 'There's no allegation in the complaint that the president-elect was aware,' " adding, "I found that as sort of almost like a parsing of words." As evidence, Hannity asserted that "the word 'president-elect' was mentioned -- what -- I think some 44 times" in the criminal complaint against Blagojevich, and said that "is a pretty high, high number." His comments followed an assertion he made on the December 9 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, that "the word 'president-elect' is mentioned 44 times in the document. Pretty troubling."
In fact, with one exception, none of the 44 instances in which "president-elect" was used in the complaint actually mentions any alleged conduct or statement by President-elect Barack Obama, much less any conduct or statement amounting to wrongdoing. The one exception consisted of an allegation that Blagojevich complained that Obama would not give him anything other than "appreciation." In every other instance, the complaint mentioned "president-elect" in the context of Blagojevich's alleged desires, expectations, or plans for extracting favors in return for the Senate seat; in the context of the president-elect's victory having created an open Senate seat; or in the context of, as in one mention, "media reports indicat[ing] that Senate Candidate 1, an advisor to the President-elect, was interested in the Senate seat if it became vacant, and was likely to be supported by the President-elect."
From the December 14 edition of Fox News' Hannity's America:
HANNITY: Well, Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney -- and I read a story about him, that when he's involved in a case, this guy won't take a break, won't even take a day off until the case is finished. So he's fairly relentless as he goes forward here. Now, I watched his statement the other day very, very closely when this all came out, and what he said was, "There's no allegation in the complaint that the president-elect was aware."
I found that as sort of almost like a parsing of words, because the word "president-elect" was mentioned -- what -- I think some 44 times, Karl, which I think is a pretty high, high number. You've got to think there's going to be some problems in terms of the time, the energy, the resources, and attention given to this. Do you think it'll be a distraction?
ROVE: Well, it'll certainly be a distraction. It's not -- you don't want an old political ally, whose campaign you were involved in and who was involved in your campaign, to be going through this kind of stuff as you yourself are getting ready to become president. But I -- look, I don't think -- I respectfully disagree. I think Fitzgerald -- and I've had a little personal experience with the man -- is relentless, but I think he was very precise and deliberate in what he said. And what I read from him was, was that this was Blagojevich talking to other people, but not Obama. That Obama was not part and parcel of these things --
HANNITY: Yeah.
ROVE: -- and I think that's probably accurate. But it's nonetheless a reminder of the roots of our president-elect. And look, right now we've got William Jefferson, the congressman, the nine-term Democrat congressman from Louisiana, defeated a week ago in the Louisiana special runoffs. We've got Blagojevich being, you know, dragged out of his house and sent to -- and charged. We've got [Rep.] Charlie Rangel [D-NY] with deepening difficulties in the ethics committee. What happened to this new tone that we were going to have from the --
HANNITY: Yeah.
ROVE: -- Democrats of a new, fresh kind of clean politics?
Why isn't Karl Rove in prison yet?
Maybe all the investigations will reopen and he will. I would like to know why Karl Rove is allowed to be incontempt of Congress and ignore a subpoena.
Uhhh...because he knows all the federal prosecutors personally?
Apparently the current administration does not believe that they need to obey the laws--and since they are in charge of law enforcement, enforcement doesn't happen.
Hannity has a special investigation underway in which he plans to get to the bottom of this Mr. Wrigley, whose name is mentioned several times in the complaint.
Sean Hannity is possibly the stupidest man on Fox News, home of the stupidest people on TV.
... servicing the stupidest audience in american history.
News item:Sean Hannity's car stolen, used to transport illegal drugs.
Police report:Mentions Mr. Hannity eight times.
Fair-minded observer:"Why is Hannity's name mentioned so many times in this police report? It's very suspicious, you must admit."
Its almost as suspicious as how many times the name Ronald Reagan was mentioned in the criminal complaint against John Hinkley!
And look at how many times JFK is mentioned in the Warren Commission Report...
Somebody should tell Hannity about the "high, high number" of times Bush is mentioned in Osama bin Laden's videos.
Sean didn't care how many times reagan and bush 1 were mentioned in the iran contra report...
HANNITY: (quoting Fitzgerald) "'There's no allegation in the complaint that the president-elect was aware,' " adding, "I found that as sort of almost like a parsing of words."
Okay, Sean, I'll go slowly with this...pay attention. The only way Barack Obama could be guilty of some impropriety in connection with this matter is if he was either a participant or he was aware of Blagojevich's shake-down operation and did nothing. If Obama was a participant then he was necessarily aware. When Fitzgerald says there is no allegation that Obama was aware that rules him out in both potential circumstances. It's not parsing words, Sean. Any reasonably intelligent person would understand.
HANNITY: Now, I watched his statement the other day very, very closely when this all came out, and what he said was, "There's no allegation in the complaint that the president-elect was aware."...I found that as sort of almost like a parsing of words, because the word "president-elect" was mentioned -- what -- I think some 44 times, Karl, which I think is a pretty high, high number. You've got to think there's going to be some problems in terms of the time, the energy, the resources, and attention given to this. Do you think it'll be a distraction?
"Almost like a parsing of words"? "There's no allegation" means exactly that. What is Fitzgerald trying to alter the meaning of here, in Hannity's mind?
I hate to jump to conclusions here, Brab...but maybe Sean Hannity is an irrational, hyper-partisan, verisimiltudinously-challenged, moron.
maybe Sean Hannity is an irrational, hyper-partisan, verisimiltudinously-challenged, moron.
Don't anybody kid yourself. Hannity is no irrational moron. He knows exactly what he is saying. This is for the audience.
Okay, so Sean Hannity is hyper-partisan and verisimiltudinously-challenged...but he's not irrational or a moron. He only acts like a moron and says irrational things. Problem is that his audience can't tell anyway...they just want that bloody, red meat from a Great American who hates all things liberal.
MiddleLeft, your reply to IRONY has been my mantra all along. Slime like Sean Hannity is NO irrational moron. He KNOWS what he is saying. Perhaps one day he will be made responsible for his assault on the truth. Don't hold your breath.
I think there's a certain amount of arrogance involved. He believes he's a hero to the american cause. Heck, he was all agush with man-love over that rightwing comic book featuring him as the last saviour of american idealism.
I guess Hannity has his mind made up about everything, and hears whatever supports his preconceived idea. To a normal adult, a prosecutor mentioning that an individual who may have some potential connection isn't implicated in a complaint seems pretty clear.It's a helpful tip for those who are prone to jumping to conclusion.
To Hannity, it's just the opposite; It's "troubling" and helps him to jump to conclusions.He's a very extreme example of the neocon backward brain wiring. Not just slightly off in his thinking, but regularly 180° away from common sense and logic.
Hannity is the guy who uses as an intro on his radio show audio clips of Obama, and several other people ,using his name. They're all goofing on him as the most incompetent example of rightwing propaganda, but Hannity proudly plays these clips, probably imagining himself as very important.
Clear, blatant politicking by Hannity.
When I view, read or listen to a media news source...the one thing that I want is credibility, whether I agree or not...and Hannity lost his credibility a long time ago.
His ratings share is stagnant and only serves those that want a partisan cheerleader. But lets face the music...he pulls in enough viewers/listeners to satisfy the advertieing itch that cable and radio must scratch because of the endless hours that must be filled.
If your political metabolism requires a certain amount of daily red meat...or blue meat as the case may be...there is no dearth of opportunities on the radio/TV. However, I find little that interests me.
That's why I'm a daily consumer of political news at mmfa. While I almost always disagree with their point of view and tire of their never ending effort of partisan nitpicking...they provide factual links to provide context to the story.
Hannity and his soon to be departed, lame sidekick Colmes disappeared from my radar screen a long time ago...along with their incessant parroting of left and right talking points.
Excellent observations, Wesley. The "advertising itch" point is right on the mark! It comes down to MONEY, doesn't it? What used to be an honorable profession has sunk (sank?) to such lows and for so little. Selling out used to be one of the most dastardly and shameful acts a person could do. Now, it seems, whatever gets the viewers attention, by whatever means, is O.K., so long as advertisers are happy with the numbers.
I always found Colmes to be rather milquetoast.
Now, "Hannity and Kos"... THERE'S a show I'd watch. Moulitsas would wipe the floor with him. Hannity would probably have an aneurysm within the first half-hour.
Never happen on Fox News though. See, Markos Moulitsas is a real progressive, and a veteran to boot. The only veteran I ever seen providing commentary on Fox News is Oliver "Why Am I Not In Jail?" North.
String him up!
Anybody got any string?
Will dental floss work?
Waxed or nonwaxed?
I'd like to extend a heart felt congratulations to Mr. Hannity for counting all the way to 44.
I'd second that, MOe. Wonder how many times the young Hannity filled in a blank on a math test with the words " a high,high number".
And on a more serious note related to "high high" things, that screen shot of Hannity sure looks like he's holding something he just took a big hit off of.
Maybe he thinks he's at a Freedom Concert grooving to Hank Williams, Jr. Far out, man... ;>)
... and he smells like Otto's jacket.
When I first clicked this item, the thing I noticed right away was the split-screen image of Hannity and, oooooh, guess who? Why, it's Karl hisself! Appropriate? Who else could run this way-too-obvious smear attempt? The Master, that's who. The man (?) who has built his entire career on spin and falsehood at the expense of the country he says he loves. During the past few days, even as I gag at the activity, I make a point of watching Sean of the Dead and others on Fox. The campaign against Obama is not limited to Fox, however. The so-called (by the Repugs) "liberal media" are also feeding at the same dirty trough. Since the MSM has no quehones (sp?) how are we supposed to get an honest and truthful summary of the news? For this reason, CNN is even more painful to watch.
"sean of the dead". a truly funny movie that did next to no business. apparently not enough things blowing up.
Say, Oscar, can you imagine what Jon Stewart would do to these Rep-Cons? We all cheer when some newsperson calls them on an outrageous lie, but it is such a rare event. Did you see what he did to Huckabee about Proposition 8? It would never happen, but I would like to see President-Elect Obama place Jon Stewart as his Number One Advisor.