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A little-known relationship in Sen. Barack Obama’s past — one that had been buzzing in mostly conservative circles for months — took a very public turn Wednesday night during a Democratic debate in Philadelphia. It relates to Obama’s relationship with William C. Ayers, a onetime member of the Weather Underground, a leftist fringe of the 1960s antiwar movement. Known as the Weathermen, the group was responsible for bombings of the New York City police headquarters in 1970, of the Capitol building in 1971 and of the Pentagon in 1972. During the debate, moderator George Stephanopoulos asked Obama about his relationship...

Republicans have jumped all over Barack Obama's statement in a George Stephanopoulos on "This Week," on ABC on September 7. "Let's not play games," he said. "What I was suggesting -- you're absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith." The Main Stream Media have largely ignored the statement because members of the MSM believe it is there job as Good Democrats to make Barack Obama look good. Even the Republican oriented Washington Times criticized Republican bloggers for their treatment of the subject. "But illustrating the difficulty of preventing false rumors about his faith from spreading,...

Barack Obama’s campaign brushed off suggestions Monday that a verbal gaffe the Democratic candidate made during a weekend television interview is anything more than just that. In an interview Sunday with ABC’s “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos, Obama tried to suggest that FOX News and others “closely allied” to Republicans are promulgating the notion that the Illinois senator is Muslim. Asked about whether McCain himself has done anything to suggest he’s Muslim, Obama said, “Let’s not play games. What I was suggesting — you’re absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith. And you’re absolutely right...

You'd think a guy who has demonstrated such flexibility on everything from campaign finance to NAFTA to the Second Amendment to the surge could find a way to wangle some townhall meetings with John McCain into his schedule. But gosh darn it, that would just be too tough for Barack Obama, explains George Stephanopoulos. The "This Week" host made his excuses for the Dem candidate on today's Good Morning America. BILL WEIR: The Obama campaign just agreed to three debates after the McCain campaign called for ten or so townhall meetings. Given his oratory skills, why won't Obama answer that...

My former next-door neighbor Ramesh Ponnuru of the National Review takes note of an apparent flip-flop by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on taxes. In March 2007 McCain told Ponnuru the following: Ponnuru: If you could get the Democrats to agree, or at least to come to the table on entitlements or on tax simplification, are those circumstances under which you’d be willing to accept a tax increase? Sen. McCain: No; no. PONNURU: No circumstances? Sen. McCain: No. None. None. But on This Week with George Stephanopoulos Sunday McCain sounded a bit different, saying of Social Security, "I am a supporter...

McCain on 'This Week' Both candidates took Sunday-show turns today. Noam blogged below on Obama's smooth "Meet the Press" ride. McCain for his part did ABC's "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos, with somewhat more mixed results. I've never found McCain terribly appealing in the talk-show format. You would think he can channel more of the freewheeling humor that wins him such love on the Straight Talk Express, but he often seems stiff and irritable, as was the case today. (McCain seemed too stressed even to find real levity in the appearance of his dogs on the interview set.) More specifically,...

"I think people make a judgment by what we do and what we don't do. He certainly found time to do other things." -- John McCain John McCain ABC's "This Week" July 27, 2008 ABC's George Stephanopoulos: "There's also been a flap about Senator Obama's decision in Germany not to visit the troops at Landstuhl. He now says that, based on what he was hearing from the Pentagon, there was no way that wouldn't be seen as a political trip, which is why he decided not to go. Do you accept that explanation?" John McCain: "Well, I know this, those...

Commentary OK. I'll acknowledge this. Tim Russert, the host of NBC's Meet the Press, has developed into a good journalist. But just a few years ago, it would be easy to say Russert's roots were showing and I'm not talking about hair color. You see, before suddenly becoming a journalist, Tim Russert worked as a political hack for the Democratic Party. Russert was a former counselor to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and New York Governor Mario Cuomo after that, before being hired by NBC in 1984. It's clear to anyone who watches Russert today he has come a long way....

I just spoke to D.A. Pennebaker, the director of "The War Room," who said his film had been doctored to produce a widely-viewed YouTube clip. In a clip from his film on the 1992 Clinton campaign, posted to YouTube today, Clinton advisor Mickey Kantor is -- according to subtitles -- seen referring to Indianans with an expletive and to his colleague George Stephanopolous with a racial slur. "He does not say that. He does not say that," said Pennebaker, after viewing the clip. He said the initial expletive referred to the anticipated reaction in the Bush White House to the...

Nothing in the hysteria over last week's Democratic debate – including the unprecedented opprobrium press critics heaped on the ABC moderators – should have come as any surprise. That doesn't make it any less fascinating a guide to current strange notions of what is and is not a substantive issue in a presidential contest, or any less striking an indicator of the delicate treatment Mr. Obama's media following have come to consider his just due. Moderators Charles Gibson's and George Stephanopoulos's offense was to ask questions Mr. Obama didn't want to address. Worse, they'd continued to press them even when...

Politics: McCain is right to question Obama's ties to a '60s radical with a fondness for explosives. Obama's response to the issue is to slander a pro-life conservative colleague. And we thought the Clintons had no shame.Speaking on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday, John McCain was asked if he thought Barack Obama shared his sense of patriotism. McCain's response was to note Obama's long association with friend and associate William Ayers, a member of the Weather Underground, and the fact that this is not, as Obama insists, irrelevant election year trivia. "I'm sure he's very patriotic," McCain said of Obama,...

Violent chickens roost on candidates' shoulders: exploring the liberal/Marxist nexus Wes Vernon April 21, 2008 Last week's Clinton/Obama debate opened a new door on an old coalition: What is it about Marxists (violent or otherwise) that attracts liberals (well-meaning or otherwise) to their defense? What is their common goal (to the extent that they have one)? The counterculture sixties Here is the mantra of the Weather Underground, as enunciated by one of its leading disciples: "Kill all the rich people. Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution home, kill your parents. That's where it's really at." Who said...

Take cover, ABC! Incoming! “[Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos] disgraced the American voters, and in fact even disgraced democracy itself.” – Will Bunch, Philadelphia Daily News “Perhaps the most embarrassing performance by the media in a major presidential debate in years.” – Greg Mitchell, Editor & Publisher “… all the substance of a Beavis and Butt-Head marathon.” – Walter Shapiro, Salon “… petty, shallow, process-obsessed…utterly divorced from the actual issues that Americans want to talk about.” – Andrew Sullivan, The Atlantic “…Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos turned in shoddy, despicable performances.” – Tom Shales, The Washington Post What could ABC’s...

Powerline’s John Hinderaker remarks on the ferocity that journalists re supporting Obama and attacking ABC’s Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos for asking Obama about his relations to radical terrorists like William Ayers and to Jeremiah Wright, as well as his remarks about small town people in Pennsylvania. Reporters don’t like it when you pick on their anointed candidate. Joe Klein sums up in the Washington Post. Instead, we are supposed to be terribly interested in the 22nd iteration of their stands on global warming (against), Iraq (against), government controlled healthcare (for), taxes (higher) and other issues that are part of...

<p>Barack Obama seemed puzzled. Angrily puzzled. The apostle of hope seemed flummoxed by the audacity of the question. At the April 16 Philadelphia debate, George Stephanopoulos, longtime aide to Democratic politicians, was asking about his longtime association with Weather Underground bomber William Ayers. Continues...</p>

The left-wing blogosphere's outrage against ABC ["Boycott Fig Newtons!"] over its allegedly unfair questioning of Obama during Wednesday's debate has seeped over into the MSM in the form of Derrick Z. Jackson's Boston Globe column of this morning. While the headline moots the matter as a question "Tough questions or just plain bias?", there's no doubt of the answer in Jackson's mind. Just two paragraphs in, the columnist unleashes [emphasis added]: "In some 1,600 words of transcript, Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos tried to eviscerate Obama in Philadelphia on Wednesday."

Amid a storm of criticism that Wednesday’s Democratic presidential debate focused too heavily on “gotcha” questions and not enough on substance, ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos defended his decision to ask Illinois Sen. Barack Obama about his relationship with former political radical William Ayers. Stephanopoulos denied he’d been spoon fed the question by Fox News host Sean Hannity. “We have been researching this for a while,” Stephanopoulos said in a phone interview from New York. ABC News political correspondent Jake Tapper, he said, had blogged about the issue April 10, after it was first reported by Politico, the political news website....

Media watchers have been asking themselves since Barack Obama became the front-runner to win the Democrat nomination for president when the press will turn against him and start treating the junior senator from Illinois like a candidate instead of a rock star. The worm might have turned on Sunday's "This Week," when, as my colleague Brad Wilmouth reported, Cokie Roberts actually used the feminist card to trash Obama for Hillary's sake.Almost as tasty, about three minutes later, a discussion about how Obama is beatable as the Democrat candidate began with Cokie saying (video available here, relevant section begins at minute...

Is it just me, or was there a tone of defiance in George Stephanopoulos's voice this morning as he declared that Rush Limbaugh can't stop John McCain? The "This Week" host was a guest commentator on today's Good Morning America, and co-anchor Robin Roberts began by playing a clip of a recent Rush comment. ROBIN ROBERTS: Let's start with the Republicans. Of John McCain the big lead over Romney, but not everyone is rallying around McCain. Let's listen to this for a moment. Cut to Rush clip. View video here.

When a Democrat pulls off an upset in California, it's a "win." If a disfavored Republican does the same, he's "stealing." Just ask George Stephanopoulos, appearing on today's Good Morning America. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOUS [pointing to map]: This is Barack Obama's targets tomorrow night, this is what I'm going to be watching. If he wins Massachussetts, where he's got the support of Ted Kennedy, he's going to have a good night. If he wins Missouri, right in the middle of the country, he's going to have a great night. If he wins California tomorrow night, it is going to be very...

Hillary Clinton has been playing a dangerous game with China. After over a decade of illegal contributions to the Democratic party and special favors by the Clintons, Hillary has turned on her old Chinese friends and sold them out in a desperate bid to win in 2008. The American dollar and economy have suffered collateral damage in this Clinton double cross with China. "Chinagate" was the name for numerous illegal campaign contributions from the PRC to the Democrats that helped them to win the 1996 elections. As you may remember back in 1996, the Clinton administration's apparently traded missile secrets...

The Tyranny of Super-Delegates Barack Obama's stirring victory in Iowa was also a good night for our democracy. The turnout broke records and young people – who were mobilized and organized – participated in unprecedented numbers. And now that Iowans have spoken – the first citizens in the nation to do so – here's the Democratic delegate count for the top three candidates (2,025 delegates are needed to secure the nomination): Clinton – 169 Obama – 66 Edwards – 47 "Huh?" you say. "vanden Heuvel, you made a MAJOR typo." In fact, those numbers are correct: the third-place finishing Sen....

It is hard not to feel sorry for Hillary Clinton. She is, in so many ways, the perfect presidential candidate for the Democrats. She has the brains and the name, the money and the machine. (snip) And yet, when actual voters are given the chance to seal the deal, too many of them balk, as they did in Iowa this week. Coming third in Iowa, with more than two-thirds of the voters choosing other candidates, is a shocking blow to the Clinton campaign. Yet the pollsters have always known what her problem is. Her problem is that a lot of...

NASHUA, New Hampshire (Reuters) - New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, reeling from defeat in Iowa at the hands of Barack Obama, urged Democratic voters on Friday not to build up "false hopes" by choosing an inexperienced presidential candidate. In Iowa, which kicked off the process of choosing the next U.S. president with its caucuses on Thursday, the former first lady finished a disappointing third, nine percentage points behind Obama and narrowly behind former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards............" ........."We can't have false hopes. We've got to have a person who can walk into that Oval office on day one and...

The Politico notes that Bill Clinton has fallen back on Bubbalistic campaigning in Iowa. The homespun wisdom of the former Rhodes scholar comes along with his wife's various regional accents, but as Ben Smith notes, usually much farther away from the press: Before he was a silver-haired elder statesman, ex-president, and globe-trotting do-gooder, Bill Clinton was Bubba. And out in rural Western Iowa, Bubba is back. ... While his speech differed little from the one he gives in upscale audiences, his presence there indicates both the potential his wife’s campaign sees in the West and the fact that the former...

<p>Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has revised its list of Tennessee supporters on its statewide steering committee to remove the names of two convicted felons.</p> <p>The original list of more than 100 committee members had included former state House Majority Leader Tommy Burnett and West Tennessee Democratic Party activist Gladys Crain.</p>

Clinton tries to extend Big Mo/turn-the-page storyline with Monday TV appearances on all six morning shows from Iowa.

Carol Platt Liebau didn't care for the former Arkansas governor's debate performance. The invitation to appear on my show for as long an interview as the governor would like will be extended again, as the Huck Duck goes into week five. These exchanges from yesterday's "The Week" may explain why the governor has been avoiding conservative audiences: Huckabee Supports In-State Tuition Breaks For Illegals www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tKnV3_pbVI HUCKABEE: "But I'll tell you what I do believe, that you don't punish a child because a parent committed a crime or committed a sin. You just don't do that." STEPHANOPOULOS: And that's why you...

New Iowa Leader Criticized by for Indecision on Federal Student Aid. Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who backed in-state tuition for the children of illegal immigrants, hedged Sunday on whether illegal immigrants who have gone to school in the United States should become eligible for federal student aid such as Pell grants and subsidized federal student loans. "I'm not sure that I would support that," Huckabee told ABC News, "it was a different program in Arkansas." Huckabee's failure to take a clear position on federal student aid while appearing on ABC News' "This Week with George...

Is Sen. Hillary Clinton feeling any doubts about winning the Democratic nomination for president? Not at all. "It will be me," Clinton tells Katie Couric in an interview to air Monday on the "CBS Evening News With Katie Couric." The broadcast airs at 6:30 p.m. on WKMG-Channel 6. Couric also asked if Clinton is concerned that Oprah Winfrey could boost Sen. Barack Obama by campaigning for him in three key states. "No, at the end of the day," Clinton says. "I'm proud to have my husband support me ... with his knowledge, experience and incredible ability to vouch for me."

COURIC SCORES INTERVIEW WITH HILLARY FOR 'CBS EVENING NEWS'... DEVELOPING...

Get a free bumper sticker "Show your family, friends and neighbors you support my campaign for change by displaying a "Hillary for President" bumper sticker." Or use them to pick up stray cat hair or lint off your clothes. Or send them to friends as a joke. Required, a valid address, and e-mail. It's easy, and it's free for you but not for Hillary.

I've seen up close the two Clintons America knows. He's a big smile, hand locked on your arm and lots of charms. "Hey, come down and speak at my library. I'd like to talk some politics with you." And her? She tends to be, well, hard and brittle. I inherited her West Wing office. Shortly after the 2001 Inauguration, I made a little talk saying I appreciated having the office because it had the only full-length vanity mirror in the West Wing, which gave me a chance to improve my rumpled appearance. The senator from New York confronted me shortly...

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton stepped into the ring Thursday in this city known for prize fights, successfully beating back an onslaught of punches thrown from the left and right as her opponents sought to rattle the front-runner seven weeks before the Iowa caucuses.

The purpose of this post is to begin providing links, tools, and tactics which we can all use to educate the public, fellow citizens, and neighbors about Hillary Clinton.It is a work in progress- I have provided a starting point, but want others to chime in with more links, stories, and information.It is the product of conversations with a number of other members, from which several salient tactical points emerged:1- keep it as contemporary as possible- the old Whitewater and similar items are stale and dead to the public.2- keep it civil, please- within the board guidelines, or better. We...

WASHINGTON — The pressure will be on Senator Clinton at the Democratic presidential debate tomorrow as she tries to bounce back from a weak performance last month that has cut into her lead in the polls. Her top rivals, Senator Obama and John Edwards, head into the Las Vegas forum confident that their increased criticism in recent weeks finally has begun to inflict damage on Mrs. Clinton's campaign, which had seemed unstoppable earlier in the fall. Messrs. Obama and Edwards have painted her as a creature of a corrupt corporate culture in Washington who is more concerned about her political...

An Iowa college student pulled back the curtain on Hillary Clinton's stage-managed campaign stops..... Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff said a Clinton staffer produced a binder with about eight questions. "The top one was planned specifically for a college student," she said. "It noted 'college student' in brackets and then the question." Clinton's staffer approached her..... Gallo-Chasanoff said she proposed a question about comparing Clinton's energy plan.... "I don't think that's a good idea," the staffer told her, "because I don't know how familiar she is with their plans." Gallo-Chasanoff says the Clinton camp tried to get her to keep quiet.......a staffer called...

ABC's George Stephanopoulos highlighted adversarial quotes and characterizations for an interview with 2008 Republican candidate Mike Huckabee on Tuesday's "Good Morning America." The former Clinton operative quoted conservative Phyllis Schlafly as saying, "[Huckabee] destroyed the conservative movement in Arkansas" and Betsy Hagen of the Eagle Forum who compared the GOP contender to Bill Clinton and labeled him a liberal. In a previous piece, ABC reporter Jake Tapper highlighted an American Spectator [1] article that derided Huckabee as "a guy with a thin skin, a nasty vindictive streak and a long history of imbroglios about questionable ethics." Now, one could argue...

Not being in the middle of it all gives me a rather unique advantage. That means I have no one to answer to for my views. I just watch things, and then I talk about them. In other words, this means I don’t have to lie about my biases in order to keep some false sense of objectivity alive for the gullible. In other words, I’m no Chris Matthews. Let me start then with the current batch of presidential hopefuls: Folks - meaning the current Republican candidates - you really need to watch out for Fred Thompson. None of you...

Was George Stephanopoulos [file photo] moderating a presidential debate [transcript here], or running an internal Dem strategy session over how to most propitiously handle U.S. surrender in Iraq? Imagine that instead of being a former Clinton operative, you're a bona fide journalist dedicated to challenging candidates about their assumptions. When talk turned to Iraq, wouldn't the first questions out of your mouth been along these lines?: Some of your Democratic colleagues, members of the House and Senate, who recently visited Iraq, have acknowledged that the surge is working. Rep. Brian Baird of Washington, a previously anti-war Democrat, said just Friday...

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #4 – Des Moines, Iowa 08/05/07 - Official Discussion Thread ABC News will be conducting a debate to be aired on This Week. The nine announced GOP presidential candidates meet in a campaign debate at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. George Stephanopoulos is the moderator; Des Moines Register political writer David Yepsen poses additional questions. Debate starts at 8 am CT (9 am ET/ 6 am PT) * check local stations for broadcast time in your area * Candidates participating Sam Brownback Rudy Giuliani Mike Huckabee Duncan Hunter John McCain Mitt Romney Ron Paul Tom...

For the first time as a presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, posed a question about entitlement reform, said that "everything was on the table," except for private accounts, and in doing so, because the first top-tier Democratic presidential candidate to acknowledge that Social Security deficits could not, and would not, be solved without pain. STEPHANOPOULOS: You've also said that with Social Security, everything should be on the table. OBAMA: Yes. STEPHANOPOULOS: Raising the retirement age? OBAMA: Everything should be on the table. STEPHANOPOULOS: Raising payroll taxes? OBAMA: Everything should be on the table. I think we should approach it the...

Reminiscent of Bryant Gumbel's 1989 charge on the Today show that you're either “a racist or a liberal,” on Sunday's This Week, ABC's George Stephanopoulos presumed only Republicans are racists who will not vote for Democratic candidate Barack Obama, who had an African father. During the roundtable, Sam Donaldson proposed that the country is ready for an African-American President, but noted how “he said he thinks he'll lose some votes because of that, and so the question is what does the word 'some' mean? In critical elections, not just in the South, it may mean something.” Moderator Stephanopoulos then jumped...

How does "World News with Charles Gibson" do it? For the fifth time in seven weeks, the ABC newscast the week before last drew the biggest audience on average (8.4 million) of the three network evening-news shows. Marveling at the newscast's ascendancy after two years of turmoil in ABC's anchor ranks, media observers tend to dwell on the unexpected old-shoe appeal of Mr. Gibson. But there may be another explanation. Facing up to the reality that, alas, many folks these days like to get their news from "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," ABC News has added comedy to the...

When's the last time you saw an MSMer dispute a politician on the tenets of his own faith? It happened today on Good Morning America. Weekend host Kate Snow noted to "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos that at a Mitt Romney event Friday someone called out to the candidate that he didn't "know the Lord." Snow asked George to what extent Romney's Mormonism might be a "big hurdle" for him. Stephanopoulos: "Polls certainly show that it is. He faces a lot of skepticism from evangelical Christians. When I spoke with him, I asked him how Muslims might perceive the...

Stephanopoulos Overstates Obama: A Lot of Blacks 'Didn't Know He Was Black' Posted by Tim Graham on February 2, 2007 - 14:17. Sometimes, a line just jumps out of a transcript. To me, this is just a Line of the Week. On Thursday's GMA, George Stephanopoulos was assessing the fallout from Sen. Joe Biden describing Barack Obama as "clean" and "articulate." In trying to explain how it helped Obama, George declared: "He was doing poorly among the African American community because a lot of them didn't know he was black."Here's the line with more context around it: Roberts: "But who's...

Don't look for ABC's Cokie Roberts to turn up anytime soon on that comfy couch featured in Hillary's announcement video, enjoying one of those cozy "conversations" Clinton claims to want. Appearing on This Week today, Roberts left little doubt that she views Hillary as a seriously flawed candidate - if not person. Roberts began by damning Hillary with faint praise: "I think she's got a lot of great attributes: she's a very disciplined candidate, she's very smart, she can raise more money than God, she has a terrific staff, she's been through a presidential campaign or two and knows...

Catspawing for another candidate, or just solid journalistic probing? In either case, ABC's George Stephanopoulos gave John Edwards a rugged examination when the former NC senator appeared on Good Morning America today to announce his candidacy for president. Steph was on the offense from the get-go: "Back in 2004, you criticized President Bush for exploiting the tragedy of 9/11 by having his convention in New York City. Aren't you exploiting Katrina by announcing your candidacy in New Orleans?" Edwards didn't respond directly to the exploitation allegation, asserting only that he was seeking to draw attention to New Orleans's plight. And...

Barf... ____________ Video: Cheney stumped by neocon defections From the Raw story (A True Liberal Rag). Mike Sheehan and David Edwards Published: Friday November 3, 2006 Vice President Dick Cheney appeared tonight in an exclusive interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, in which he appeared perplexed when told of new neocon criticism of the Iraq war and the Bush administration. Stephanopoulos told Cheney of criticisms from key neoconservatives Richard Perle, Ken Adelman and others that had just appeared in a new Vanity Fair article released that afternoon, in which they said, among other things, that "they would not have supported...

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine: Dems Advise Caution Some Democrats are urging caution in reaction to the Mark Foley e-mail scandal. Lanny Davis, former Clinton White House special counsel, who did damage control during the Monica Lewinsky story — says about the Foley affair: "It's all about a private behavior situation, and I think democrats have to be real careful not to try to turn this into a political partisan issue." Former Clinton senior adviser George Stephanopoulos agrees, saying, "Most voters who hear about this are just disgusted and they will be more disgusted if it is...