Free Republic

Bret Baier opened a panel segment on his show Friday night with a flashback to President Barack Obama’s snide ridiculing, of Mitt Romney’s now seeming prescient concern about Russia’s “geo-political” threat, during the October 22, 2012 presidential debate. “The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because, you know, the cold war has been over for 20 years,” Obama lectured. FNC Shows Flashback to Obama Ridiculing Romney: ‘1980s Are Calling to Ask for Their Foreign Policy Back’Audio: MP3 clip Romney’s retort to Obama: “Russia, I indicated, is a geopolitical foe...and I said in the same paragraph...

Former George W. Bush senior advisor Karl Rove and former Barack Obama senior advisor David Plouffe got into quite a heated debate on ABC’s This Week Sunday. When Plouffe claimed the ongoing Internal Revenue Service scandal wasn’t political, Rove pushed back twice saying “Baloney.” Rove to Former Obama Advisor Plouffe Claiming IRS Scandal Wasn’t Political: ‘Baloney’ DAVID PLOUFFE, FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR TO BARACK OBAMA: But there's been no suggestion. The independent, the prosecutor looked at this - excuse me, the inspector general - said there was no politics involved in this. No one has indicated at all that the White...

Betraying his impatience with the Republican Party's insistence that President Obama cut spending, New York Times political reporter Jonathan Weisman sounded shocked that the GOP wasn't simply surrendering its principles in the wake of Obama's four–point victory last November, in Monday's "Republicans Determined To Press On With Air, If Not Vote, of Confidence." (Nice flattering photo of Paul Ryan, by the way.) A year ago this month, Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin stood on the floor of the House and declared that the ideals of small government, privatized health care and rigorous spending discipline captured in the budget plan...

For approaching two weeks, liberal media members have been contorting themselves to make the case the President's victory on Election Day represented a mandate for his agenda. When CNN contributor Donna Brazile tried this on ABC's This Week Sunday, George Will marvelously responded, "Almost every member of John Boehner's caucus won his or her seat by a much bigger margin than Mr. Obama won his renewed term" (video follows with transcript and commentary): Will Schools Brazile on Mandates: Almost Every House Republican Won By Much Bigger Margin Than Obama MARTHA RADDATZ, SUBSTITUTE HOST: Simple math? And is there a mandate?...

The Des Moines Register shocked many political observers Saturday by endorsing Mitt Romney for president. Clearly not accepting such a thing, Michael Tomasky, the Obama-loving correspondent for the Daily Beast, came out Sunday claiming the Register's endorsement "is little more than a practical joke": This Romney endorsement editorial, if you actually bother to read it, is little more than a practical joke. First of all, it has all the hallmarks of having been ordered by the publisher over the objections of the editorial board. Normally, a sentence like "the RegisterÂ’s editorial board, as it should, had a vigorous debate over...

Liberal cable anchor Chris Matthews, who in 2010 used the phrase "shuck and jive," on Wednesday assailed Sarah Palin as racist for using the phrase "shuck and jive." Referring to a Facebook post the former Alaska governor wrote about Obama and Libya, Matthews ranted, "You know, a dog whistle is a dog whistle...A trumpet call is another." The MSNBC host insisted that "shuck and jive" has "a particular ethnic connection" and "to throw it at the president as an ethnic shot is pretty blatant." On July 7, 2010, Matthews, while talking to Rachel Maddow and her visit to Afghanistan, wondered,...

When CBS’s longtime Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer sits down in Boca Raton, Florida, tonight to moderate the final 2012 presidential debate, he’ll be following three journalists who became targets for criticism over how they handled their moderating duties. Upset liberals scorned PBS’s Jim Lehrer for taking a hands-off approach in the first debate on October 3, with MSNBC analyst Howard Fineman slamming him as “practically useless” for not jumping into the debate on behalf of President Obama. Such criticism may have encouraged the activist approach taken by ABC’s Martha Raddatz in the vice presidential debate October 11, and...

The Obama-loving media were out in force Sunday downplaying the significance of the White House's ever-changing position on the attacks on our consulate in Benghazi last month. After New York Times White House correspondent Helene Cooper called the death of four Americans "peripheral to what's going on right now" on Meet the Press, Time magazine's Joe Klein told Face the Nation viewers this matter "has been like the October mirage - it really isn't an issue" (video follows with transcript and commentary):Joe Klein: Benghazi Consulate Attack Controversy 'The October Mirage - It Really Isn't An Issue' JOE KLEIN, TIME MAGAZINE:...

Neil Munro of the Daily Caller was attacked by journalists for asking President Obama a question out of turn -- because Obama wasn't offering a turn. He expects to speak without taking questions. On Thursday, Munro once again found himself surrounded by amateur Obama advisers thinly disguised as objective journalists after Obama lost the debate in Denver. Munro noted several reporters on the 11:15 a.m. phone conference promptly offered questions that bordered on advice. "Axe, I'm not sure you can hear me, David," said NBC's Andrea Mitchell,  "I'm wondering whether the president, whether you have rethought the strategy of not...

Even the New York Times, in an article by Jeff Zeleny today headlined "Recall Battle in Wisconsin May Snarl Obama Camp", acknowledges that a victory by Republican Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin's recall election on Tuesday could spell trouble for President Obama's re-election effort. But while the Times might be bending to reality, the Associated Press soldiers on in support of Obama. With even a Dem poll pointing to a Walker victory, the Associated Press, apparently fearing the worst, proclaims in an article today that "Few November clues to be found in Wisconsin recall." Authored by correspondent Thomas Beaumont, the...

Could Howard Dean be the worst political prognosticator ever? Could a former DNC Chairman really be this clueless about the electoral map? Apparently. On MSNBC's Ed Show this evening, Dean claimed it was possible that in a match-up against Barack Obama, Mitt Romney might win fewer than the six states Barry Goldwater carried in 1964. Seriously, Dr. Dean? You see President Barack Obama carrying, oh, I don't know, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Nebraska and Idaho--all states Goldwater lost--plus some others Goldwater won. Utah, maybe? View the video here,

Being a proud cyber-card carrying, if non-contributing, member of the Democratic National Committee's email list, I just received a missive entitled "Test your knowledge: Take the Mitt quiz." Clicking along takes one to a DNC site called "WhichMitt.com" at which readers are asked to guess whether, on a variety of subjects from abortion to the Detroit bail-out, Romney said the first statement, the second statement, or all of the above. Of course the answer in every case is "all of the above." And there's no doubt that if nominated, and before, Mitt will have some 'splaining to do . ....

Yeah, Herman Cain won the Florida straw poll, crushing Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. And OK, a CBS poll recently found him tied with Romney among likely Republican primary voters. Sure, he also scored a resounding victory in another straw poll this weekend. And Rasmussen just today released the finding that 56% of GOP voters like Cain's 9-9-9 plan. So is that enough to make the Associated Press consider Cain a first-tier candidate? Nah. On MSNBC's "Daily Rundown" this morning, AP's political editor, Liz Sidoti, sniffed "we still consider him a second-tier candidate." View the video here.

Is Michael Kinsley sure he wants to go down this path? In a Bloomberg View column and then in a clip run on "Good Morning America" today, the liberal pundit claims Chris Christie is "just too fat" to be president. According to Kinsley, Christie's weight is evidence of a lack of the self-control necessary to be an effective president. If self-control is a key requirement for the presidency, I wonder how Kinsley would apply that standard to other recent occupants of the White House? View GMA video here.

Let's get the weekend off to a smiling start with this rib-tickler, courtesy Joe Biden. In a fundraising email I just received from the Obama campaign website [of whose email list of course I'm a proud member], good old Joe claimed, with a straight cyber-face: "This has never been about Barack and me. "We're just two guys. We're just two guys." More after the jump.

If Chris Christie doesn't get into the presidential race, the would-be comics of the MSM might be even more disappointed than the Republican honchos reportedly urging the Jersey gov to run. Yesterday, I noted how ABC's "Good Morning America" managed to work a number of fat cracks into its report on Christie. Today it was the oleaginous Martin Bashir's turn. Bashir never acknowledged his jokes with a wink and a nod. But from describing Christie as "massively" popular with Republicans, to observing that when it comes to a possible run Christie hasn't "pushed away from the table," to suggesting that...

Was it just coincidence that of all the ways "Good Morning America" could have reported that Republicans are urging Chris Christie to get into the presidential race, the ABC show today spoke--twice--of Christie being "heavily" urged to run? Throw in GMA describing Christie supporters opining that the other candidates are "too small" for the job. Oh, and the show's decision to roll extended, less-than-flattering footage of Christie walking across an airport tarmac to greet President Obama. Makes you wonder whether this was the opening salvo of an ABC attack on Christie's avoirdupois. Of course, such cheap shots have a history...

It's going to be a long campaign . . . Republicans haven't come close to choosing their presidential candidate yet, but already a proud member of the MSM is calling a leading GOP contender a "killer." On his MSNBC show this evening, Crazy Larry O'Donnell accused Rick Perry of being--for his record of enforcing the law on capital punishment in Texas--the Republicans' "favorite killer, favorite state-sanctioned killer." View video here.

Joe Scarborough and Mike Bloomberg for president and veep? Yeah, that's the ticket—according to New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who floated the idea during his Morning Joe appearance today. Friedman foresaw Scarborough-Bloomberg running on a platform of Simpson-Bowles on the economy, an "investment agenda" [infrastructure spending], and getting out of Afghanistan ASAP. "I would bet any amount of money," forecast Friedman, that such a ticket would immediately have a "significant, significant" position. View the video here.

Looks like Joe Scarborough aims to single-handedly winnow the Republican presidential field. A few weeks ago, the Morning Joe host dismissed Michele Bachmann as "a joke." Today, Scarborough proclaimed that there is "no way" Rick Perry could beat Barack Obama. Scarborough, imagining an anti-Perry ad, surmised that Perry's statements on Social Security, the selection of US Senators and secession would come back to haunt him. View video here.