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You can see why CNN calls itself "The Most Trusted Name In News." You want hard-hitting coverage?

Following Michelle Obama's Sunday night video appearance at the Academy Awards, CNN used a clip of Happy Days character Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli jumping a shark on water skis to question whether the first lady had diminished herself.

The 1977 Happy Days scene and the phrase "jump the shark" has come to describe the moment when a gimmick damages someone or something's reputation beyond the point of repair.

"An editor at Salon.com thinks the first lady is following in Fonzie's footsteps by presenting the award for best picture at the Oscars," CNN host Carol Costello announced on Monday after showing the Happy Days clip.

Costello noted that the first lady had also recently met with Sesame Street's Big Bird about her campaign to combat childhood obesity, appeared on Jimmy Fallon's show and talked to TV chef Rachel Ray "about those much-buzzed-about bangs."

"Some say maybe the Oscars aren't the best use of the first lady's time," the CNN host continued. "Instead of all those cameos, she might champion some grittier political issues like the deficit, gun control or the pressing need for bipartisanship... Did Michelle Obama jump the shark at the Oscars?"

CNN contributor L.Z. Granderson reminded Costello that Laura Bush had also appeared in a video at the 2002 Academy Awards.

Granderson also noted that critics were forgetting that Michelle Obama "is not actually a politician, she's married to a politician."

After first expressing outrage about the current first lady's Sunday night cameo, conservative pundits like radio host Dana Loesch and columnist Michelle Malkin later rushed to defend Oscar appearances by Laura Bush and Ronald Reagan.

"Reagan was former president of the Screen Actors Guild. Sorry, did I miss Michelle Obama's past career in Hollywood?," Malkin wrote on Twitter Sunday night, adding that the first lady would soon "be in every movie theater preview telling you to shut your cellphone off & put away the popcorn."

"The left can't produce a video of Laura Bush presenting because it doesn't EXIST," Loesch argued. "They want to deflect because FLOTUS presenting shows bias and the propaganda involved around their 'Zero Dark Thirty' flick."

But Costello's point seemed to be that the first lady had better things to do with her time: "Imagine if Michelle Obama would reach out to Ms. Boehner... And they had lunch together and they talked about their husbands."

"I think the Oscars jumped the shark, like, four hours before Michelle Obama was even on TV," CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash told Costello on Monday. "Jumping the shark had nothing to do with Michelle Obama."

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Jon Stewart took his viewers though some of the "highlights" of this week's Presidential inauguration, whether it was the media freaking out over whether or not Beyonce was lip syncing the national anthem, to Chuck Schumer overseeing the activities, to the media's reaction to President Obama's speech.

MSNBC was full of praise, Fox was doing their usual and broadcasting from some alternative universe where the likes of Peter Johnson, Sean Hannity, Stuart Varney and racist "Uncle Pat" Buchanan reside and then we had CNN, who had their anchors on fashion patrol.

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Via [Mattyrab]

Historical moments in shade throwing, Inauguration Edition 2013. Keep your eyes on FLOTUS’ reaction to what Boehner said to her and POTUS.

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CNN host Erin Burnett on Wednesday suggested that the National Rifle Association (NRA) had not crossed the line by targeting President Barack Obama's daughters in an advertisement.

The NRA advertisement released on Tuesday branded the president an "elitist hypocrite" for opposing armed guards in schools while his own daughters were being protected by the Secret Service. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney slammed the ad as "repugnant and cowardly" because "a president's children should not be used as pawns in a political fight."

Speaking to Burnett on Wednesday, CNN contributor Roland Martin agreed that the NRA was "weak and cowardly."

"There's no need to invoke the president's daughter's in this conversation," Martin insisted. "I can guarantee you that had anybody invoked the daughters of President George W. Bush in a similar ad attacking him, folks on the right would be just as upset. It makes no sense."

"But what about the fact that politicians use their kids when they want to politically all the time?" Burnett wondered.

The CNN host then displayed a photo of Bill and Hillary Clinton holding hands with their daughter Chelsea, followed by a second photo of Barack Obama with his arms around daughters Malia and Sasha.

Burnett explained: "Remember the famous picture of Chelsea Clinton, after the Monica Lewinski affair, walking between her parents? Or -- hold on, let me just finish -- this time before the DNC, when the White House released the picture of the president with his two daughters snuggling on the couch -- there it is -- watching Michelle Obama."

"You know, they use their children for political purposes when they want to," she opined.

"First of all, walking with Chelsea to the helicopter, they were going on vacation," Martin replied. "And so what are they supposed to do? Take her to another helicopter or through the back door or somewhere?"

"It was the hand holding!" Burnett interrupted.

"Okay, so what? If there was a photo and there was no hand holding then it's okay?" Martin shot back. "I mean, seriously, that is not the same as putting an ad out where you mentioning the president's daughters. It makes no sense. And, again, if you're the NRA, you don't have to actually do that, you don't have to go that far. If you want to do that, why don't you go to Chicago and say, 'How many armed guards are in Chicago schools where the president is from?' That's legitimate."

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I'm not sure what speech the talking heads over at Fox were watching, but leave it to them to try to turn Michelle Obama's wonderful speech tonight at the 2012 Democratic National Convention into some sort of Socialist manifesto which is all about pushing for our reliance on government.

Heaven forbid anyone says something supportive about those teachers, firefighters and those in the military. The horror!

Here's the full speech these clowns were talking about in case anyone did not get a chance to watch it live.

Full transcript of her speech below the fold.

Continue reading »

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After spending a good deal of time carping about Harry Reid reiterating his demands that Mitt Romney release his tax returns and playing a new ad from MoveOn.org, featuring Ann Romney's dressage horse and their $70,000 plus tax deduction, Rafalca, Ann Coulter decided to do what she does best on Sean Hannity's show this Thursday evening, which is throw some flames of her own and shoot off a few false equivalencies in response.

After Hannity took a shot at the First Lady for wearing an expensive jacket to Buckingham Palace, because lord knows we can't have that go on and anyone talk about Ann Romney's expensive wardrobe at the same time, and Coulter tried to pretend our current mess with the debt and deficit started after President Obama got elected and George W. Bush never existed. Then Hannity asked her if the attacks on the Romney's for being richy-rich are going to work or not.

Coulter poo-pooed the attacks and Hannity played the MoveOn ad. Coulter dismissed the ad and then decided to compare Mitt Romney refusing to release his tax records to John Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, not releasing hers during his presidential campaign, because her husband, the Senator, was "just a gigolo whose tax returns don't matter any more than Seamus the dog's."

So Coulter's defense of Romney not releasing his tax returns is to attack John Kerry and call him some wimp who is just there to service his rich wife and because we didn't see her tax returns, that inoculates Romney from having to release his. Good luck with that Ann.

And you've gotta' love the irony of Hannity having a segment subtitled "gutter politics" and then bringing Coulter on. If anyone knows anything about gutter politics, it's these two. Romney's tax returns matter because it goes directly to the matter of his policies as well and what he would do as president. We already know he wants to lower taxes for himself and his rich buddies while raising them on the middle class and poor. These clowns at Fox can act like that doesn't matter all day long, but if that message resonates with enough of the voters out there, it's going to make a difference.

And someone needs to remind Ann that Seamus didn't file any tax returns that we're aware of, but if the Rmoney's thought they could have used him as a tax deduction as they did their dancing horse, Rafalca, I'm sure they would have.

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If anyone needs another example of why watching Fox makes you dumber, here you go. HuckaJesus wants his viewers to believe that having the right to vote and participate in our country's democracy is exactly the same thing as being allowed to enter a Democratic state convention, or to attend the First Lady's book signing.

HUCKABEE: And you know the Democrats will fight any attempt to make photo I.D. laws for voters, saying that it will suppress the vote and disenfranchise the voters. Well, guess what the Massachusetts Democratic convention required to get into their convention? A photo I.D.. But the real head scratcher is the announcement that if you want to attend the book signing of First Lady Michelle Obama's new children's book, you'll have to bring, a photo I.D. and a Social Security number.

Well that tears it. You see, I think that this is nothing more than reader suppression. We are suppressing the rights of people who read books and furthermore, we're disenfranchising the readers of children's books.

Well they say if illegals and dead people ought to vote, we don't need no stinking photo I.D. for that. But if you want to attend a Democratic event or have the First Lady sign your children's book, then you'd better have a photo I.D., or expect to be disenfranchised and suppressed.

You see, liberals, just don't have to make any sense.

And apparently neither does Mike Huckabee, since his audience actually applauded for this garbage. Huckabee conveniently forgot to mention that Republicans want people to vote with gun permits as I.D., but don't want to give students the same allowance. Or that they don't want those who are elderly and poor and have been voting forever and have plenty of identification, but just don't have the type of I.D. they want the right to vote. Instead he's going to yuck it up about "illegals" and dead people and give his audience trite false equivalencies.

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Good god Michelle Malkin really is a nasty piece of work. Sean Hannity invited her on his show on Fox this Thursday evening to make ad hominem attacks on how First Lady Michelle Obama supposedly "hasn't been vetted yet properly" and to paint her as some corrupt political operative who is heaven forbid, doing things like trying to get our school children to eat healthier.

I don't often agree with too many of the authors over at Mediaite, but Frances Martel actually did a pretty nice take down of Malkin for this segment here. As she noted, sadly they were reaching back to the 2008 campaign and her remarks that “for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country,” and blasting the mainstream media for heaven forbid giving her friendly interviews.

I'm not going to copy and paste their post and anyone who wants to read more specifics on the interview that doesn't have the stomach for watching it can just go read it here: Michelle Malkin’s Crusade Against ‘The Bitter Half’ Michelle Obama Hits Hannity.

Media Matters flagged this clip as well tonight and as they reminded readers in the related links to the video, this isn't the first time Malkin has called First Lady Michelle Obama the president's "bitter half." And as they linked in their post, here's more on Malkin's book she was hawking again and some of the lies in that book: Malkin distorts Michelle Obama biography to attack her and her father as corrupt.

The First Lady has approval ratings at 66 percent favorable according to the latest poll by Gallup. I'm not sure what Michelle Malkin thinks she's going to accomplish by trying to rake her name through the mud now, but all she managed to do here is make herself look spiteful and petty. The only people these sorts of attacks are going to resonate with are the racists that Malkin and her ilk feed off of that have been ready to lose their minds ever since America elected a black man to be president in the first place.

With all of the other ad hominem attacks we got from her here, I'm surprised Malkin wasn't still threatening to produce the infamous, non-existent "whitey tapes" these right-wingers were promising we'd get to hear years ago. And if Malkin would like to know what the definition of "bitter" is, all she needs to do is go take a look in the mirror.

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Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on Tuesday called for President Barack Obama to apologize after actor Robert DeNiro jokingly asked if America was ready for a white first lady.

"Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney. Now do you really think our country is ready for a white First Lady?" DeNiro wondered at an Obama fundraiser in New York on Monday.

According to a pool report, the crowd "roared" in response to DeNiro's joke. "Too soon, right?" he quipped.

At an event in Shreveport, Louisiana on Tuesday, Gingrich defended all the potential white first ladies.

"I do want to say one thing on behalf of my wife and on behalf of Karen Santorum and on behalf of Ann Romney," the former House Speaker began. "That is that I think Robert DeNiro is wrong. I think the country is ready for a new first lady. And he doesn't have to describe it in racial terms."

"These are fine ladies as is Michelle Obama, but this is not about the first lady. It's about the president, and that's where DeNiro missed the whole point. DeNiro's rich enough that he probably hasn't noticed the price of gasoline. He's successful enough that he probably doesn't notice the unemployment rate. And as a Hollywood actor, he may be shortsighted enough [that] he hasn't seen what the deficits will do to our children and our grandchildren."

Gingrich continued by calling on Obama to personally say he was sorry for DeNiro's remarks.

"What DeNiro said last night was inexcusable," he insisted. "The president should apologize for it. It was at an Obama fundraiser. It is exactly wrong. It divides the country. And if people on the left want to talk about radio talk show hosts then everybody in the country ought to hold the president accountable when somebody at his event says something that is utterly and totally unacceptable as Robert DeNiro said last night."

The Georgia Republican added: "And I call on the president to apologize for it. I have a personal preference, obviously, for Callista to be the first lady, but I tell you, I would also be very proud and very honored to have Ann Romney as the first lady, to have Karen Santorum as the first lady. I think that what DeNiro said was just beyond the pale and he should be ashamed of himself."

[h/t SFGate]

Here's a hint: The First Lady works out for 90 minutes every day. She doesn't just promote a healthy lifestyle. She lives one. I admit laughing out loud when, at the end, she confesses that she "just stopped", letting Ellen know she could have gone on for more.

After 25 pushups, I'd be on the floor gasping for air. Mrs. Obama isn't even breathing hard. She'll need that strength to fight all of the right-wing crazy tossed at her and the President on the campaign trail.

Kudos to Ellen DeGeneres for even trying after having a crazy week fending off right-wing hate directed at her for daring to accept a job as JC Penney's new spokesperson.

Kick butt, ladies.