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Count Craig Crawford as a dissenting voice in the media storm decrying the racialization of the Dem primary race. The Congressional Quartely columnist and MSNBC political analyst offered his unconventional wisdom on a special Saturday edition of Morning Joe today. CRAIG CRAWFORD: I never understood exactly what Bill Clinton said that was supposed to interject race, actually. I know he was arguing at arm's length with Obama about the war and some other issues. It wasn't clear to me -- I mean the most direct reference to race I saw in this campaign was interjected by the media after New...

Did I miss the joke? Was there something funny about what Pete Stark (D-Calif.) said on the floor of the House, claiming that President Bush sends our soldiers to Iraq to get their heads blown off for his amusement? Craig Crawford can apparently see some humor in it. Crawford appeared on today's "Morning Joe," and while the MSNBC political analyst certainly didn't approve Stark's statement, he did try to softpedal it, suggesting it wasn't much more than another outburst from a congressional scamp. View video here.

Too little and too late is what they’re saying in Iowa about Fred Thompson’s first trip there today as a possible presidential contender. The former Tennessee senator’s still-unannounced bid for the Republican nomination was once thought to be an attractive vessel for conservatives looking for more options. But lackluster fundraising and a decision to delay his formal candidacy until after Labor Day threatens to sideline the television actor before he gets started. Already, his schedule for today in Des Moines is drawing criticism as off the mark. The Des Moines Register notes that Thompson most needs to begin a meaningful...

I seem to be detecting a trend. There's a current in the MSM that fears a Rudy Giuliani candidacy, perhaps sensing he might be best positioned to defeat the Dem candidate. They console themselves by clinging to the belief that the GOP won't nominate Rudy, or at least won't avidly support him if he is the candidate, given his liberal positions on some issues. This evening's Hardball offered a perfect example of the phenomenon in the person of Craig Crawford. Time and again, the MSNBC analyst returned to the theme:View video here. "Getting onto the social conservative stuff: abortion, gay...

I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised that a TV host who clownishly closes shows by throwing wadded-up balls of paper at the camera would indulge in middle school-worthy taunts about a person's weight . And yet . . . I actually was surprised when on tonight's show, Keith Olbermann unleashed a string of jibes aimed at Roger Ailes' physique. So surprised that when Olbermann first began his barrage, with a comment about Ailes doing something "between pies," I actually wondered whether I had misheard him or misunderstood his intent. But Olbermann's mean-spirited motive soon became unmistakeable. Displaying what was...

Because her husband takes no prisoners when confronting his political enemies, rivals for the 2008 Democrat presidential nomination fear to take on Senator Hillary Clinton, now widely touted to be the candidate most likely to lead her party's ticket two years from now, a noted political guru says.According to political analyst Craig Crawford, that leaves just three potential rivals of the New York senator who can safely take the gloves off when dealing with her: former vice president Al Gore, failed 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry and his running mate John Edwards.Writing in the May 29 issue of "CQ Weekly,"...

by Mark Finkelstein March 27, 2006 Wouldn't you think that someone who fashions his show "Hardball" would have the intestinal fortitude to invite on at least one guest who disagrees with his world view? At least tonight, Chris Matthews apparently thought that unnecessary. Here was Matthews guest line-up this evening: Philippe Sands: left-wing Brit, author of a new book, Lawless World, accusing Bush of having decided very early on in the game to go to war against Iraq. John Podesta: the lugubrious former chief-of-staff to Bill Clinton and member of Hillary's inner circle. Pat Buchanan: while the Today show had...

You can watch Imus in the Morning for a couple of years before this will happen, Don Imus thinks a guest goes too far with a joke. Normally, the I-Man enjoys finding humor in the agony of public figures. On today’s program Craig Crawford tried to play along and tested his new Samuel Alito material at 6:44. Craig Crawford: "I actually think, you know, the wife leaving the room crying, that made all the evening news and, you know, it was the better video and made him look like a sympathetic figure. Although, you know, she started crying when Senator,...

Over the holidays, I watched dozens of back episodes of Fox Broadcasting’s “24,” and not once saw rogue counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer stop for a court warrant — not even when he sawed off the head of an informant in an elaborate sting operation to stop a nuclear bomb from going off in Los Angeles. This is how the president wants us to see the real world. Indeed, George Bush is the Jack Bauer of presidential power. There seem to be no rules in Bush’s world when it comes to the war on terror. Only wimps like the whining bureaucrats...

The pathetic program known as Countdown With Keith Olberman just aired a segment with some putz by the name of Craig Crawford, the exchange went something like this Keith:Why does the president only speak in front of military audiences whenever he speaks about the war? Crawford: (Verbatim) It's always easy to appear in front of people who can be court marshaled if they don't applaud.

The Elephant in the Room Craig Crawford takes aim at the war against the media but misses the biggest target. By Margaret Sullivan From Middle America's point of view, the conflict between the media and politicians is like a vicious dogfight with a mangy pit bull on one side and a snarling Doberman on the other. The average person's assessment might be this: a pox on both their kennels. But Craig Crawford begs to disagree with any such dismissiveness. A columnist for Congressional Quarterly and a familiar TV talking head, Crawford has gone a few rounds in the ring himself....

I turn on the radio in the car the last 5 minutes of Imus' show this morning, and heard Imus and his sidekick, talking about how Chris Matthews..who I gather was a guest on the show today, had attacked Craig Crawford...the very annoying political commentator. Anyone hear it..know what happened. ..

It’s time for a George W. Bush comeback strategy. His public approval rating is at its lowest point ever — while his disapproval rating at its highest, a more telling sign. On top of that, Capitol Hill is in a rebellious mood on several fronts. As a result, the president’s clout meter seems headed toward as low as a second-termer’s can get. The president can easily turn this around and get his groove back. For starters, though, he has to stop talking so much. There is too much Bush-speak out there. His team seems to think that the way for...

Los Angeles Times and New York Magazine blast conservative values. Some on the Left continue to believe conservatives want to burn books. When Congressional Quarterly columnist Craig Crawford, guest-hosting MSNBC’s “Countdown,” June 3, suggested that the May 30 Human Events list of the “Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries” might somehow be a first step toward banning books, Don Devine—a professor at Bellevue University and one of the “judges” who voted on creating the Human Events list—pleasantly pointed out that far from trying to ban the listed books, he actually taught many of them in his...

Craig Crawford's 1600: The Lone Arranger. Democrats are wrong to think that John McCain is their favorite Republican. The Arizona senator could be their worst nightmare in 2008. By leading his colleagues from the brink of disaster in the Senate filibuster debate, McCain proved to be at the top of his game — and, for now, he’s standing almost alone as a nationally known leader with the instinct and skill for commanding the politically profitable middle ground. Rather than pander to his party’s activist ideologues in the bid to silence minority voices on judicial nominees, McCain helped forge a coalition...

One Freeper's take on "Attack The Messenger": "Crawford's a crybaby. Don't publish bogus stories, don't interpret news in a biased manner and no one will attack you. The media acts like it' such a glorious and important thing until someone calls it on its problems then its just a messenger." Anyone agree/disagree?

With all the controversy surrounding Newsweek’s retraction of it’s Koran flushing story, it’s interesting that there is a book by Congressional Quarterly columnist & MSNBC analyst Craig Crawford (you can read his column via a link on The Drudge Report) that addresses the issue of media credibility called “Attack The Messenger”. National Journal’s Hotline has a free link to the book in its morning publication, “Wake Up Call” under “Hair of the Dog”: http://nationaljournal.com/avantgo/wakeup.htm AMAZON SMACKDOWN (a sampling of rankings as of 6:35 am): "Attack The Messenger, How Politicians Turn You Against The Media" by Craig Crawford: 879; "Big Russ...

CUT Olbermann teased the May 16 Countdown, as watched by the MRC's Brad Wilmouth: "Which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow? After riots, after taking hits from the White House, Newsweek apologizes, says it's not sure its story about interrogators flushing copies of the Koran down the toilet was entirely correct. But what about the half dozen previous media stories claiming that? And why does a book in a toilet start riots, but a war doesn't?" Olbermann set up his #5 story: "Good evening. What would foment more violence in this country and other western nations? Some...

Toeing the Borderline By Craig Crawford, CQ Columnist Immigration is the next big thing in political hot buttons, but who wins and who loses? Both parties are divided within their own ranks on how to position themselves for maximum advantage on an issue that is rising quickly toward the social and political surface. Both sides agree it could be a deciding factor in many races in next year’s midterm election.

Immigration is the next big thing in political hot buttons, but who wins and who loses? Both parties are divided within their own ranks on how to position themselves for maximum advantage on an issue that is rising quickly toward the social and political surface. Both sides agree it could be a deciding factor in many races in next year’s midterm election. “It is the strongest issue out there for the blue-collar white males,” says Dave “Mudcat” Saunders, a Virginia-based Democratic consultant who is co-author of an upcoming book, “Foxes in the Henhouse,” which will suggest ways his party can...