Fox News' top shows largely ignore Obama-GOP event
Following President Obama's address and question and answer session with Republican members of Congress at the GOP House Issues Conference, Fox News' three top-rated programs spent a combined total of four minutes and five seconds covering the event during the January 29 broadcasts. The event was widely praised across the political spectrum, and Marc Ambinder wrote that prominent Republicans "found their arguments simply demolished by the president."
Top-rated Fox News shows ignore Obama-GOP event
Top three shows devote just over four minutes to Obama-GOP event. The O'Reilly Factor, Hannity, and Glenn Beck, Fox News' three top-rated programs for 2009, combined to devote a total of four minutes and five seconds of coverage to President Obama's address and question and answer session with House Republicans at their retreat in Baltimore.
Fox News' live coverage cut away from Obama-GOP Q&A but aired GOP "response" in its entirety. With twenty minutes remaining in President Obama's question and answer session with House Republicans at their retreat in Baltimore, Fox News cut to The Live Desk co-host Trace Gallagher who asserted that Obama was "at times being a little bit combative" and that "there was a little bit of lecturing there." By contrast, MSNBC and CNN aired the event in its entirety. Fox News subsequently aired all of the "Republican response" press conference held by House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) after the question and answer session with Obama.
Media figures, including conservatives, praise event as an "amazing moment," and "good for the country"
Marc Ambinder: "I have not seen a better and perhaps more productive political discussion in this country in ...a long time." Atlantic Monthly politics editor Marc Ambinder called the event "an amazing moment" and wrote that "[a]ccepting the invitation to speak at the House GOP retreat may turn out to be the smartest decision the White House has made in months." Ambinder further wrote that "[p]lenty of Republicans asked good and probing questions, but Mike Pence, among others, found their arguments simply demolished by the president," and added, "This is no gimmick. I have not seen a better and perhaps more productive political discussion in this country in...a long time." [The Atlantic, 1/29/10]
Krauthammer: "I think it was good for the country." Conservative columnist and Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer commented on Fox News' Special Report (accessed through the Nexis database): "I thought it brought out the best of Obama. It helped him a lot. It made Republicans looked good, but I think it was good for the country. Look, for Obama, he engaged in a fairly high level debate on policy with his antagonists and he showed his best qualities as a fine analytic mind. He was able to phrase and to frame his opponents' arguments in a clear way. And I thought he held his own quite well. I do think it should be something we ought to consider institutionalizing." [Fox News' Special Report, 1/29/10]
Hayes: "I hope they do this once a month." Weekly Standard columnist Stephen Hayes also stated on Special Report: "Look, it was a nice event. It was a smart event. I think this worked for the White House and this worked for the House Republicans. I loved the exchange. I hope they do this once a month." He went on to say: "Overall, I think this is a good thing for the White House to do. It was a good thing for House Republicans. There should be more of this kind of exchange." [Fox News' Special Report, 1/29/10]
Politico called the event "a home run." In an article on the event, Politico's Jim VandeHei, Patrick O'Connor, and Glenn Thrush wrote that the event was meant to "make clear that [Obama] wants to work with Republicans and that the minority party deserves blame, too." The article continued: "By that measure, Friday's event was a home run." [Politico, 1/30/10]
Heritage fellow: "I think it's very good for the country." In an appearance on MNSBC's The Ed Show, former Rep. Ernest Istook (R-OK) and Heritage Foundation distinguished fellow commented: "I think it's very good for the country when the president and the GOP are sitting in the same room, having questions and answered exchanged, a little bit of contention. I'd like to see it opened up when the president meets with the Democrat caucus, and to see if he's saying the same thing to them as he says to other people." [MSNBC's The Ed Show, 1/29/10]
Malkin on Obama: "Good on him for taking part." In a post on her blog, conservative media figure Michelle Malkin wrote that "the session has been most compelling - the most transparency and openness we've seen since the start of his term." Malkin continued: "Good on the House Republicans for throwing the doors open. And, yes, I'm going to compliment the president: Good on him for taking part." She concluded: "Do this every week."[MichelleMalkin.com, 1/29/10]
Hey Dancing Queen, how about giving us some examples of where the GOP schooled Obama? Was it the congresswoman from Tennessee who talked about all the GOP healthcare "reform" plans -- the ones they never even attempted to pass while they were (mostly) in power from 1994 to 2006? Or was it the congressman from Texas who deliberately misstated budget figures.
Barack owned every one of 'em who tried to make him stumble.
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Not surprised AT ALL that Fox turned away.
If you can't control the message, control the Film?
Fox News treated President Obama like Jack Johnson.
An African American Boxing Champion that was treated like Oxen.
Speak truth to power.
Mr. News
Or will "The Death Book Boy" pretend that it's Monday?
What do you see Chris when you look in the Mirror?
Are you really ready to accept that you are Inferior?
Speak truth to power.
Mr. News
We're still waiting to be enlightened by you, ABBA.
Democrats would at least debate GOP ideas, like TORT REFORM, LIKE AWARD CAPS, LIKE INTERSTATE PURCHASE OF HEALTH INSURANCE, like charging the "COUNTRY OF ORIGIN" for the health care of 12-20 million ILLEGAL ALIENS.... Well then at least there would be a starting point. But no, just shut it down with LAME democrat talking points... over and over and over again... But then again, democrats and bho can just sit there and point out "obstructionism"... HOW???
BTW how did the MINORITY (not needed to pass legislation) republicans obstruct ANYTHING... Perhaps bho needs a lesson in counting??? You too??
Also, democrats tend not to be monolithic like the republicans are. As in, we actually allow for different people within our party to have differing viewpoints, which is WHY, we can seldom get the 60 votes in the Senate for cloture (also known as a filibuster).
Tort reform has been shown to not affect the overall pricing of healthcare. This is why we don't want to debate it. Nobody or nowhere in the recent health care reform bill are illegal aliens covered. Nowhere.
Apparently, you need a lesson in operating rules of the Senate. The minority can block legislation in the Senate by putting it into cloture, or, as I said before, filibustering. Which requires 60 votes to get said bill out of cloture, and onto the floor for a full vote. When you don't (also as I noted above) have a monolithic voting block as the republicans are, we sometimes cannot garner 60 votes, and with losing one vote, obstructionism will continue in the Senate.
It's funny how the republicans were crying about how the democrats were obstructing things, when they blocked a small handful of Bush appointees, but when republicans block 90% of all legislation moving through the Senate, you don't think that this is obstructionism?
Not always a bad thing. The less congress does, the less they interfere with our lives.
The insurance companies can set up shop in each state and obey each state's law and pay taxes.
How would we determine who's legal and who's illegal?
In Texas, tort reform in 2003 resulted in increased insurance costs, NOT the promised 10% reduction. All savings went straight to the insurance company executives and shareholders, which was the real intent all along. Consumers had to pay more for deaths and injuries themselves, a net loss for consumers. Even the right-wing Dallas Morning News documented this net loss. It was in the billions.
I had a field day at a protest outside Sen. Cornyn's office asking teabaggers how much their health insurance costs went down after "tort reform." All I got was pouts and silence.
Why should you vote for a Republican? 'Cause today's vote is "NO" while tomorrow's actions are photo ops. Hee, hee. Yeap, makes a whole lot of sense - LOL.
ABBA, I've seen you around this site and you are the epitome of a troll. All you do is disagree, lie, and attack people with lame talking points from the right that have been shot down repeatedly. If you want people to agree with you weak arguments and lame suppositions, please go to Red State or Big Government where the people there will agree with you and are devoid of critical thinking skills.
How do we know?? The bill was crafted behind closed doors AND we have no final bill yet.
Republican health care plans simply don't work. And that's why we say they have no ideas and no solutions.
I thought the repubs had no ideas and were the party of "no"?
Randy
fox news didn't showed the event? thanks god that we watch fox news :)
besides, if that event had one message that was that republican did have plan and not as Obama always suggested they are a party of no!
Stupid Republicans are so concerned with attacking and criticizing this president they have not been paying attention to his growth, knowledge and ability, even though Obama have given hundreds of interviews and Press conferences. Had they been paying attention they would have known Obama was the teacher [master, which he demonstrated during the meeting]. What would make these dim-bats Republicans think Obama would have a meeting with them without knowing he was superior?
Republicans rehashed the same old Sean Hannity and Fox News false and misleading talking points throughout the session and Obama refuted and shot down each one of them, leaving an embarrassed Fox Network to cut their coverage of the event. That's how bad it got for Republicans.
It quickly became clear who was the student and who was the teacher.
You will rarely, if ever, see a President from the opposing Party engaged in a live, unscripted, question and answer conference with the "enemy".
You know why that is? Because you don't have the luxury of a teleprompter and you don't want to be made a fool of. Has their ever been a president that would take such a risk, not knowing what the questions will be?
Obama has successfully done something Presidents would not dare do under the same circumstances. Many of them are just not knowledgeable enough without a script. Could you picture Bush taking questions from an opposing Party critical of his policies? Not a chance in hell.
Republicans have a deep problem with this black president. So much that they can't think straight. So what do these unprofessional hypocrites do? They distort, spread falsehoods, missrepresent, lie, attack and criticize EVERYTHING Obama does. All the things immature children do when they can't get their way.
Like I said above; "if you act like children, you should be treated like children". On this day Obama let them know who was the real adult in the room.