President Petraeus? Fox News sure liked the ring of it
Somehow — and that “somehow” is a no doubt fascinating story in its own right — Bob Woodward at The Washington Post has obtained a digital recording of a long, detailed conversation between Fox News correspondent KT McFarland and then-General David Petraeus in the spring of 2011 in Afghanistan during which McFarland:
A.) Urges Petraeus to run for president against Barack Obama;
Roger Ailes
B.) Tells Petraeus that she was instructed to carry that message to Petraeus by Fox News President Roger Ailes and its owner, Rupert Murdoch;
C.) Tells Petraeus that Fox would fully back his presidential campaign, and by fully back she means:
D.) Murdoch would finance the campaign. Ailes would leave Fox to run the campaign. And Fox News itself would become the house organ of the campaign. As McFarland puts it point blank, “The big boss is bankrolling it. Roger’s going to run it. And the rest of us are going to be your in-house.”
Throughout the conversation, Petraeus makes it clear repeatedly that he has no intention of running for president, and that was always my sense of him as well. He understood why others might want to project that future upon him, but he himself never gave the slightest public indication of interest in that career path.
I did have the benefit of an hour-long, one-on-one discussion with Petraeus in his office in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, several months before he became famous, and certainly long before any discussion of the presidency would have been germane. We talked instead about Iraq, counter-insurgency and military-media relations. The impression I got from that conversation, from my research and from following his subsequent career path was that Petraeus was of course a very good “political general.” He knew how to get what he wanted from the media, Congress and the bureaucracy. But he also had an infantryman’s disdain for issues such as abortion, tax rates, gun control and health-care reform, not to mention the fundraising and campaign-trail compromising that would be required. They held no interest for him. So his side of the conversation was no surprise.
On the other hand, the extent of the Fox involvement in attempting to woo Petraeus into the political world is pretty startling even to those of us who already see Fox as a blatantly political implement. And while I seriously doubt that Ailes would have actually left Fox to help Petraeus — he would have been more useful to the general/politician by staying where he is — the depth of the promised commitment is pretty clear.
At one point, in fact, McFarland explains why her bosses back home are so insistent on a Petraeus candidacy:
“Well, but . . . and here’s the thinking: that they’re nervous about. . . . They feel that Obama had this mandate. And the mandate — in his own mind. Obama wanted to do Obamacare. . . . He wanted to do environment, which is basically controlling all aspects of the economy. And education, which is the future. So he pushed for Obamacare. He got that done. They didn’t anticipate 2010 results. But he now is going to lie low and be very centrist so that they win in ’12 and they get the other two. Now, what they need — and this is not from the chiefs, this is from political people — and what they need to cement it so that it doesn’t get reversed is a third term. And that means 2016, they need to win, the Democrats need to win, and they need to win with their guy. Their kind of guy. So that then you’d have the stuff as locked in place for a generation. Nobody can come in like Reagan came in and reverse.”
Petraeus was to be the means by which that danger could be averted, which says something about how much they fear Obama and also how little faith they have in the Republican Party to produce winning candidates on its own. They saw him as a potential savior; he had no interest in being cast in that role.
Ailes, by the way, downplayed the story to the Post, as well as McFarland’s role as a messenger.
“It sounds like she thought she was on a secret mission in the Reagan administration. . . . She was way out of line. . . . It’s someone’s fantasy to make me a kingmaker. It’s not my job.”
Well, at least it shouldn’t be.
UPDATE: It’s also relevant to note how neatly this behavior dovetails with Murdoch’s very-cozy relationships with top politicians in Great Britain, where he reportedly tried to act as a kingmaker with prime ministers dating back to the time of John Major, if not earlier.
– Jay Bookman
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366 comments Add your comment
GT
December 4th, 2012
9:01 am
Kramer entertainment on television does not equate to real news. Sure you draw em in so does soap operas. The profit margin of this fiction is much better. Strip joints make money too, look for Fanny Fox in you local listings soon.
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
December 4th, 2012
9:01 am
Well, this Petraeus wouldn’t make a good GOP presidential canadate. I don’t see nothing in his background about gay night clubs or holding somebody down and cutting his hair off. Give him credit for the affair but otherwise he’s as dull as dishwater.
Have a good Tuesday everybody.
Morality?
December 4th, 2012
9:02 am
Fox is just as fair and balanced as NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, CNBC is from the left….. they all have their agenda.
Citizen of the World
December 4th, 2012
9:02 am
What Fox News followers call the liberal/elite/mainstream media, the rest of us know as journalism. Is it always perfectly accurate and objective? No. Is that what it strives for? Yes. And that’s the difference. Fox News doesn’t even pretend to strive for accurate and objective, and thereby subconsciously inculcates a mindset in its viewers that if they can’t get an objective viewpoint from the “fair and balanced” network, well, then, who can they trust? Nobody! And so they have effectively established one of the cornerstones of brainwashing — destroying trust in institutions. Journalism, education, government, any religion but the Christian religion — according to Fox, none of these institutions is to be trusted. They’re really making headway.
dmb
December 4th, 2012
9:02 am
Donovan, just wow.
Not a big fan of democracy, eh.
Corbin Sharpe. Baby Boomer leech...and earned it!
December 4th, 2012
9:03 am
Well, maybe they’ll find out Fox News hacks cell phones and Murdoch will have to shut them down,,,
guy
December 4th, 2012
9:04 am
Liberals are gloating on and on. Enjoy because it won’t last forever. See Spain and Greece.
JamVet
December 4th, 2012
9:04 am
This is only a news story to the extreme left.
Which according to the neocons is about 80% of the country!
You’re doing a heckuva job, connies; keep up the excellent work…
TiredOfIt
December 4th, 2012
9:05 am
Fox News:
We deceive and you believe.
Fred ™
December 4th, 2012
9:05 am
alex
December 4th, 2012
8:57 am
@ fred, your broad paint strokes belittle and diminish your intellectual impact, neither the Dem or rhe Repubs are a monolithic group, to say so shows ignorance. Broaden your horizons, thinking in absolutes is for physiscs, not for politics.
+++++++++++++++++
Do you have any examples of the tripe you are going on about? I thought not…….
ad
December 4th, 2012
9:05 am
Haven’t NBC, ABC, and CBS been pushing liberal agendas
To beat a dead horse a few more times, note that those are all large corporations. By their very nature, these corporations are pro-business – they are not charitable foundations. The fact that there are people who think that these large corporations, which only exist to make profits for their shareholders, are “liberal” shows how far to the right conservatives have gone.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
9:06 am
“Fox claims “we report, you decide.””
Report should be in bunny ears
JamVet
December 4th, 2012
9:07 am
Enjoy because it won’t last forever.
You’re probably correct.
I’m guessing only the next four or five elections.
At which time the lunatic fringe that controls the GOP will all be dead and they MAY actually return to some semblance of sanity.
In which case, the neocon’s electoral beat downs could end…
jconservative
December 4th, 2012
9:07 am
Who, what, when, where said Petraeus is a “conservative”? Not that it matters but his wife is very liberal.
ITS ALL BUSHS FAULT
December 4th, 2012
9:07 am
SUCK IT CONS!
Fred ™
December 4th, 2012
9:07 am
stands for decibels
December 4th, 2012
9:00 am
Fred @ 8.57, Joe Biden IS smart.
For the record.
+++++++++++++++++
He hides it well. He’s a comedians dream. The best the Democrats have had to offer in years. Not as good as Palin, but close………
RB from Gwinnett
December 4th, 2012
9:08 am
“You have 9 networks doing the liberal bidding
No, we do not. ”
Yes, you do. And none of your denials here will erase the repeated studies of bias being presented by those networks, so stop whining about Fox News and just be happy you have all the others doing your bidding for you.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
9:08 am
“Enjoy because it won’t last forever. See Spain and Greece.”
yay!!!
because we’re JUST. LIKE. THEM.
complete with a huge black market.
lack of tax revenues
a foreign-controlled central bank
and, of course, a VERY narrow economy.
other than that, the US is just like ‘em.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
9:09 am
“Yes, you do. And none of your denials here will erase the repeated studies of bias being presented by those networks,”
please learn the difference between people being of a political persuasion and ACTUAL BIAS.
while you’re at it, please learn the difference between reporting a horse race and ACTUAL BIAS.
Jay
December 4th, 2012
9:13 am
Jcon, I agree. I’ve never seen or heard anything from Petraeus that would indicate his party preference or ideological bent. I suspect that as a pragmatist who looks closely at evidence, he would fit neatly into neither party’s philosophy. But today’s Democratic Party is more open to that kind of mixed approach than today’s Republican Party.
Not saying he’s a Democrat either, however.
Bobby Ho
December 4th, 2012
9:13 am
RB
You bring some of the finest “whines” to the AJC blogs.
To say it is ironic that you are telling others to stop whining is the funniest posts of the morning.
Fred ™
December 4th, 2012
9:14 am
RB from Gwinnett
December 4th, 2012
9:08 am
“You have 9 networks doing the liberal bidding
No, we do not. ”
Yes, you do. And none of your denials here will erase the repeated studies of bias being presented by those networks, so stop whining about Fox News and just be happy you have all the others doing your bidding for you.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Here is a perfect example of the twisted thinking of the Republican party. RB fails to see the difference between a news outlet reporting with a slightly left or right bias and a so called ‘news organization” that is trying to influence an man to run, finance him, offer to become his propaganda instrument, and direct his campaign.
It’s like trying to say, “It’s ok that I murdered someone, because you got a ticket for speeding.”
St Simons - aboriginal BOOTAKOOK 2014
December 4th, 2012
9:16 am
this could be a fun exercise if we expand it to ALL of Faux’s greatest hits
order now. supplies are (un)limited.
Bobby Ho
December 4th, 2012
9:16 am
Let’s hope Fox doesn’t cut an interview short if a guest mentions this in a manner they do not like.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
December 4th, 2012
9:17 am
wmd, mental recession, greet us as liberators….
to that we add
liberal media and Landslide! Landslide! Landslide!
marvlous
December 4th, 2012
9:17 am
he is perfect for them. he’s a scumbag womanizing loser who cant be trusted
Tundra Dude
December 4th, 2012
9:17 am
From Steve Coll’s New Yorker profile of Petraeus: (2009)
Petraeus is registered to vote as a Republican in New Hampshire—he once described himself to a friend as a northeastern Republican, in the tradition of Nelson Rockefeller—but he said that around 2002, after he became a two-star general, he stopped voting.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
9:18 am
“Landslide! Landslide! Landslide!”
I could watch this all day long … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TwuR0jCavk
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
9:21 am
GG … and this is just for you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S76tc1_4kw4
Stew Day
December 4th, 2012
9:24 am
Who cares??–MSNBC, CNN, NY Times, basically ran an Obama “don’t ask don’t tell” media campaign for 2008, 2012. To say the news groups are not involved and in the tank for a candidate to run and be elected and relected is a joke–that is what they now do.
RDl
December 4th, 2012
9:24 am
This is interesting. Exactly what is an “infantryman’s disdain for issues such as abortion, tax rates, gun control and health-care reform, not to mention the fundraising and campaign-trail compromising that would be required.” Did you just generalize about all infantrymen. I knew more than a few, and I don’t know how you cover them with this blanket.
OBAMA
December 4th, 2012
9:24 am
marvlous “he is perfect for them. he’s a scumbag womanizing loser who cant be trusted”
Just Like Clinton.
stands for decibels
December 4th, 2012
9:24 am
Fox is just as fair and balanced as NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, CNBC
wait a minute, let me see that one again.
CNBC?
The network that hosted the original Tea Potty Rant?
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=1039849853
that CNBC? Are you effing kidding me?
Joe Hussein Mama
December 4th, 2012
9:28 am
RB — “Yes, you do.”
No, we don’t, your hapless pronouncements to the contrary notwithstanding.
“And none of your denials here will erase the repeated studies of bias being presented by those networks”
Trot ‘em out, Cowboy. Evidence, please.
“so stop whining about Fox News and just be happy you have all the others doing your bidding for you.”
You know, using a whining tone to demand that *others* stop whining just doesn’t ring true, RB. Would you like to try that again? (laughing) ;D
Fred ™
December 4th, 2012
9:28 am
RDl
December 4th, 2012
9:24 am
This is interesting. Exactly what is an “infantryman’s disdain for issues such as abortion, tax rates, gun control and health-care reform, not to mention the fundraising and campaign-trail compromising that would be required.” Did you just generalize about all infantrymen. I knew more than a few, and I don’t know how you cover them with this blanket.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Know a few and BEING one is different. Hush up until you actually HAVE been a self propelled pop up target on the sharp end of the spear. The one on the ground where the rubber meets the road and the bullets fly. When you are hunched down in a depression and bullets are flying an inch over your head and chewing up the ground all around you, you don;’t really GIVE a fat rat’s ass about abortion, tax rates and gun control. Trust me. Better yet, if you are of an age, join up, choose 11 Boo and experience it for yourself.
Other than that? Quit chicken hawking.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
9:28 am
“Just Like Vitter, Gingrich, and the entire C-Street contingent.”
there you go.
fixed yonder typo
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
9:29 am
“Fox is just as fair and balanced as NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, CNBC
wait a minute, let me see that one again.
CNBC?
The network that hosted the original Tea Potty Rant?
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=1039849853
that CNBC? Are you effing kidding me?”
so, in short, YES, FOX *is* as balanced as CNBC.
Soothsayer
December 4th, 2012
9:29 am
It just goes to show that there simply is no way to stop those seeking a quick buck. (Well, actually, there is, but not when the government is controlled by those seeking the quick buck.) Even seeing the catastrophe that happened to their neighbor to the south, Canada cannot stop the same thing happening there. Great article for those with a few minutes. The lunacy will blow your mind.
stands for decibels
December 4th, 2012
9:30 am
He hides it well. He’s a comedians dream. The best the Democrats have had to offer in years. Not as good as Palin, but close…
Biden is first and foremost a corporate hack who’s been shoehorned into a media narrative and finds he likes it there, so at this point in his career he plays the part very well. So much so that even I enjoy watching it.
Only a few years ago, the DFHs in the left blogosphere liked to refer to him as “Biden (D-MBNA)”.
But we all grow and develop our respective personas, I guess.
Marc
December 4th, 2012
9:31 am
Which worse Fox News or Jamie Fox calling Obama “Our Lord and Savior,” at the Soul Train Awards?
stands for decibels
December 4th, 2012
9:31 am
in short, YES, FOX *is* as balanced as CNBC.
yeah, after I posted, I recognized that I’d basically backed up the original poster’s assertion. I hate when that happens.
wc
December 4th, 2012
9:31 am
Where’s the tape?
As we all know, the ACJ has a history of, let’s say, reporting misinformed information.
But I kind of like the idea. It puts Fox in the same league as CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, NY Times, Washington Post, etc. etc. for Obama.
stands for decibels
December 4th, 2012
9:32 am
Which worse Fox News or Jamie Fox calling Obama “Our Lord and Savior,” at the Soul Train Awards?
I’ll take “Really Dreadful Equivalency Arguments” for 1200, Alex.
RGB
December 4th, 2012
9:33 am
I’ll bet the next report will show that KT flew in a SR-71 to meet with Ailes.
Dedicated. Determined. Despicable.
Jay
December 4th, 2012
9:34 am
Odd … I can’t find a single word about this story on Foxnews.com. It’s as if it never happened.
Bobby Ho
December 4th, 2012
9:34 am
Marc
Jamie Fox making a stupid comment is the same as Fox News attempting to recruit someone to run for President?
Exactly in what way?
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
9:34 am
“As we all know, the ACJ has a history of, let’s say, reporting misinformed information.”
um. example??
and this comes from the WaPo.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
9:35 am
“Odd … I can’t find a single word about this story on Foxnews.com. It’s as if it never happened.”
they’re too busy reporting on Benghazi and the GOP’s perfect compromise that will cure every ill, including the heartbreak of psoriasis and that yellowy wax buildup on your kitchen linoleum
stands for decibels
December 4th, 2012
9:37 am
Where’s the tape?
Ok, see the blue type in Jay’s piece?
Click on that. Then click on the part in the Washington Post STYLE (!!!! have I mentioned that this is freaking insane?? but I digress) section piece where it says “AUDIO: Petraeus: ‘I’m not running’ for president”.
I hope you’re not disappointed that there isn’t any actual magnetic tape to behold. They haven’t used that on the internets for awhile now.
If you’re looking for the Whitey Tape, on the other hand, I cannot help you.
Yep
December 4th, 2012
9:37 am
It’s funny cause I’m pretty sure the rocking chair in my garage would be a better president than Obama. Petraeus, my neighbor down the street, the garbage man would all be better at the job than the yahoo that’s in there now. Why don’t you write an article on where the jobs went you hack?
Sincerely,
Bookman’s a worm
Look before I leap...
December 4th, 2012
9:37 am
“Which worse Fox News or Jamie Fox calling Obama “Our Lord and Savior,” at the Soul Train Awards?”
I just love the smell of deflection in the morning.
Pretty sure Jamie Foxx never claimed to be a journalist.
JohnnyReb
December 4th, 2012
9:38 am
“….Fox as a blatantly political implement. ”
Pot to the kettle.
The current state of legacy media is disgusting. They have next to zero credibility.
FOX is the only big boy with even a hint of credibility.
Fred ™
December 4th, 2012
9:38 am
Marc
December 4th, 2012
9:31 am
Which worse Fox News or Jamie Fox calling Obama “Our Lord and Savior,” at the Soul Train Awards?
++++++++++++++++
Seriously? You are comparing a so called NEWS organization with a semi brain dead comedian/actor? Really?
Do you even really WANT an answer or were you just emphasizing the dumbass in case anyone had any doubts about you?
stands for decibels
December 4th, 2012
9:38 am
and this comes from the WaPo.
a.k.a. “Kaplan Test Prep.” the WaPo is some kind of vanity project they keep around for their Villager friends, I think.
stands for decibels
December 4th, 2012
9:40 am
We sure do have a lotta “new” guys here posting essentially the same thing.
Did the Dead Breitbart on Wheat Toast site put up the bat signal, or something?
Fred ™
December 4th, 2012
9:41 am
Yep
December 4th, 2012
9:37 am
It’s funny cause I’m pretty sure the rocking chair in my garage would be a better president than Obama. Petraeus, my neighbor down the street, the garbage man would all be better at the job than the yahoo that’s in there now.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Really? So you are saying that as bad as Obama is, the Republican party is so much worse that they could offer up a rocking chair or something to beat him? How does it feel to be a part of a group that is worse than president Obama? Does the stupid burn or do you become used to it after a while?
alex
December 4th, 2012
9:42 am
@ fred, “party of liars and scum”"have no shame”. Your a monolithic wonder, Come on man read your own posts, i can’t act as your mentor, move on.”petreus for president” are you people in another political dimension, the guy is so toxic (and rightfully so, CIA director has an affair), the EPA would be tied up for a decade…..
@USinUK, let’s be clear ,I don’t watch Fox ( except for the 5 which can be entertaining), but you have to separate the CEO from the station “FOX” equating the 2 is ridiculous. I think it is an interesting ?: what is better or worse the Obvious bias of FOX or the Quiet bias of CBS,NBC , etc. (80-85% of these journalist list themselves as liberals)…Most definitely easier to attack the obvious bias, but the other bias can be more insidious,…….As for Journalistic integrity see “Who killed CBS news” a book written several decades ago, interesting reading about ethics in a major news outlet..
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
9:42 am
“Why don’t you write an article on where the jobs went you hack?”
you mean the jobs – that are growing every month? those jobs???
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES0000000001?output_view=net_1mth
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
December 4th, 2012
9:43 am
“On the other hand, the extent of the Fox involvement in attempting to woo Petraeus into the political world is pretty startling even to those of us who already see Fox as a blatantly political implement.”
HA ! HA ! HA !
Can we say altogether now …………. New York Times, Washington Post and the Atlanta Journal &
Constitution !!!
Geez !
Fred ™
December 4th, 2012
9:43 am
JohnnyReb
December 4th, 2012
9:38 am
“….Fox as a blatantly political implement. ”
Pot to the kettle.
The current state of legacy media is disgusting. They have next to zero credibility.
FOX is the only big boy with even a hint of credibility.
+++++++++++++++
Yo Johnny, you lost. Your FOXBOT lies have been exposed to real Americans for the tripe they are. If you want to do better, you probably should try some new ones, not just the same old tired ones that America REJECTED.
Just a word of advise…….
The other half of your brain.
December 4th, 2012
9:45 am
Brosephus™
December 4th, 2012
8:07 am
The non-denial denial. Very Republican.
When was the last time any Republican in the DC area took responsibility for their actions?
I believe it was the same date that the Dems. did.
Fred ™
December 4th, 2012
9:45 am
alex
December 4th, 2012
9:42 am
@ fred, “party of liars and scum””have no shame”.
++++++++++++++++++
They ARE a party of liars and scum that have no shame. Read the post on here if you need examples and proof. We prove their lies to be lies on a daily, no hourly basis, yet they still post them. Ergo they have no shame.
You really need to work on your reasoning skills and logic.
The other half of your brain.
December 4th, 2012
9:46 am
I should have added to that, are there any Repubs in DC? maybe 2%
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
9:46 am
“Can we say altogether now …………. New York Times, Washington Post and the Atlanta Journal &
Constitution !!!”
I can say it … but what’s your point? none of them have offered to bankroll a political candidate
Joe Hussein Mama
December 4th, 2012
9:47 am
Yep — “It’s funny cause I’m pretty sure the rocking chair in my garage would be a better president than Obama.”
Then maybe you should have put that rocking chair up for the Republican primaries. Then you might not have ended up with the tone-deaf, wooden loser y’all managed to nominate.
joe
December 4th, 2012
9:47 am
Would be 100x better than Barry the Magnificient…At least Gen Pet would honor the constitution and not spend us into Greece. I’m not sure we can survive 4 more years of trillion and a half spending. God help us!
Fred ™
December 4th, 2012
9:47 am
Oh and alex? I understand, you don’t watch fox or listen to talk radio, it’s just COINCIDENCE that you mouth the exact tripe they do. I know. They follow YOU around with a microphone so they know what THEY should say……..
The other half of your brain.
December 4th, 2012
9:47 am
USinUK – not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
9:46 am
“Can we say altogether now …………. New York Times, Washington Post and the Atlanta Journal &
Constitution !!!”
I can say it … but what’s your point? none of them have offered to bankroll a political candidate
You don’t know that.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
9:48 am
I should have added to that, are there any Repubs in DC? maybe 2%
more than you think.
Fred ™
December 4th, 2012
9:49 am
joe
December 4th, 2012
9:47 am
Would be 100x better than Barry the Magnificient…At least Gen Pet would honor the constitution and not spend us into Greece. I’m not sure we can survive 4 more years of trillion and a half spending. God help us!
++++++++++++++++++++++
Yawn. I;m glad you had enough brain power to string together more than one FOXBOT sound bite. Rush would be proud of you.
0422
December 4th, 2012
9:49 am
ad you are so right.
can you imagine GE pushing a
liberal agenda.
right wingers are nuts.
GE was and is part of military industrial
complex of the US
independent thinker
December 4th, 2012
9:49 am
No big surprise here- Obama silences one of his biggest political threats by giving him a high administration position. Bigger surprise is when in return Petreus, his paramour and Fake News try to tip the election their way for that loser Romney by leaking classified Beghazi stories and some totally fase CIA stories about prisoners. Isn’t that illegal? Oh I forgot it is all Susan Rice’s fault according to that senile Senator from Arizona.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
December 4th, 2012
9:50 am
(80-85% of these journalist list themselves as liberals)…
You mean 80-85% of these journalists realize that many positions taken by the conned are absolute nonsense and they dont agree and therefore you claim they are “liberal” or is it because they are not part of Fox that they are deemed “liberal”
Look before I leap...
December 4th, 2012
9:51 am
The prevailing con response on here seems to be:
The libs have everyone BUT Fox – so why can’t the cons have Fox?
Pretty much the same argument I heard from my daughter, then 9 who was ticked when I said no to a $150 pair of sneakers when her feet were growing 1 size every 3 months.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
9:51 am
“You don’t know that.”
right. because that would TOTALLY remain a secret.
just like it has with FOX
oh. wait.
stands for decibels
December 4th, 2012
9:51 am
the GOP’s perfect compromise that will cure every ill
You joke, but I’m 90% certain that come next Monday, Cokie Roberts will be in her jammies, telling Morning Edition that the Villagers have decided that Obama really needs to meet the the man halfway, it is, after all, what the people want.
and I will have horrible, violent thoughts, as I do most Monday mornings.
fair and balanced
December 4th, 2012
9:53 am
This story is all wrong- it is Rush Limbaugh that gets to decide who the GOP runs for the presidency
after vetting by Faux News, The debates were just for entertainment and to give Faux News something to report.
Look before I leap...
December 4th, 2012
9:53 am
“I’m not sure we can survive 4 more years of trillion and a half spending. God help us!”
The sky is falling, the sky is falling!
The other half of your brain.
December 4th, 2012
9:53 am
Look before I leap…
December 4th, 2012
9:51 am
The prevailing con response on here seems to be:
The libs have everyone BUT Fox – so why can’t the cons have Fox?
Pretty much the same argument I heard from my daughter, then 9 who was ticked when I said no to a $150 pair of sneakers when her feet were growing 1 size every 3 months
WOW! I wonder where she got that from?
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
9:54 am
“but you have to separate the CEO from the station “FOX” equating the 2 is ridiculous.”
damn.
missed this bit of silliness earlier.
equating them is ridiculous???
I guess that’s why he was booted off the News of the World board after the phone hacking scandal on this side of the pond. because what he does makes nooooooo impact on the company.
Mark in mid-town
December 4th, 2012
9:54 am
Jay Bookman provides: D.) Murdoch would finance the campaign. Ailes would leave Fox to run the campaign. And Fox News itself would become the house organ of the campaign. As McFarland puts it point blank, “The big boss is bankrolling it. Roger’s going to run it. And the rest of us are going to be your in-house.”
—————————————————-
Jay, for all intents and purposes, how exactly is that different than what NBC News actually did for Obama for the 2012 campaign? Are you so blind that you cannot see?
stands for decibels
December 4th, 2012
9:54 am
I don’t watch Fox ( except for the 5 which can be entertaining
for the record, I would draw a line between the cable network, and the local affiliates. The latter may commit all manner of journalistic atrocities, but there’s hardly any difference between Fox 5’s and what you see on the other local affiliates’ newsfotainment offerings.
totally different agenda. (It bleeds, it leads, basically.)
Jay
December 4th, 2012
9:58 am
As I’ve also posted above, it’s relevant to note how neatly this behavior dovetails with Murdoch’s very-cozy relationships with top politicians in Great Britain, where he reportedly tried to act as a kingmaker with prime ministers dating back to the time of John Major, if not earlier.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
9:59 am
“You joke, but I’m 90% certain that come next Monday, Cokie Roberts will be in her jammies, telling Morning Edition that the Villagers have decided that Obama really needs to meet the the man halfway, it is, after all, what the people want.”
why – oh – why – oh – why – oh can’t she just RETIRE already.
independent thinker
December 4th, 2012
10:00 am
Jay is right- Petreus played both parties equally. He got caught giving equal attentiton to the Democratic paramour wannabe in Tampa and to the Republican paramour who was an “all in” biographer. Can’t ride two horses at the same time without falling off one of them. (Of course there always was his wife but I can see where she does not make a man’s hormones go wild.)
Fred ™
December 4th, 2012
10:00 am
The other half of your brain.
December 4th, 2012
9:47 am
USinUK – not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
9:46 am
“Can we say altogether now …………. New York Times, Washington Post and the Atlanta Journal &
Constitution !!!”
I can say it … but what’s your point? none of them have offered to bankroll a political candidate
You don’t know that.
+++++++++++++++++++
They are SO cute when they sit at the big peoples table and try to have conversations with the adults……….
stands for decibels
December 4th, 2012
10:00 am
I should have added to that, are there any Repubs in DC? maybe 2%
more than you think.
Certainly enough to get a good Brooks Brothers riot goin’ on.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
10:01 am
“how exactly is that different than what NBC News actually did for Obama for the 2012 campaign? Are you so blind that you cannot see?”
omfg.
are you serious???
please, do tell. what EXACTLY did NBC do that was just like bankrolling the Obama campaign and acting as it’s offical communications organ?
willie lynch
December 4th, 2012
10:03 am
It’s no surprise that FOX has been exposed once again. The sad thing is how many people believe they are actually a news organization. The British scandal involving the parent company should have cleared this up for those with half a brain.
Welcome to the Occupation
December 4th, 2012
10:03 am
Wait a minute: “Haven’t NBC, ABC, and CBS been pushing liberal agendas and Democrat presidentail candidates for 50+ years? ”
I love this right wing canard that’s rolled out every time someone criticizes the propaganda outfit Fox. It’s the misconception Fox News is based on, and at first glance it sounds great. There were wonce these “mainstream media” behemoths who dominated the American journalistic landscape and they were all pointy-headed “liberal” types. And since, boys and girls, we all know what “liberal” means don’t we? That means they are in bed with anything and everything done by the Democratic party, the “left” party you see. ERGO the mainstream media are LIBRUL. And we know what that means. That’s why Fox had to come along and rectify the imbalance.
But this is a sham. Though the traditional media may have leaned liberal, they were never simply an arm of the party the way Fox is a propaganda arm for the GOP, nothing more, nothing less.
But getting your typical Fox News defender to see this subtle logical distinction is a stretch, to say the least.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
10:04 am
“They are SO cute when they sit at the big peoples table and try to have conversations with the adults……….”
gah.
I hate precocious children. don’t find them charming AT ALL.
Oscar
December 4th, 2012
10:06 am
The election is over. The general didn’t run and now he is out of the CIA.
Hope the Falcons win Sunday. Go Birds.
Recon 0311 2533
December 4th, 2012
10:07 am
This story should keep the left wing flock fluttering all day but if you listened to the tape and read Ailes comment when asked about the interview (which Jay mostly edited out of his closing reference) you would know that this was a greatly embellished story in the WaPo.
Look before I leap...
December 4th, 2012
10:10 am
“I hate precocious children. don’t find them charming AT ALL.”
Not a member of the Honey Boo Boo fan club, eh?
Mark in mid-town
December 4th, 2012
10:10 am
MSNBC is part of NBC and at no time as Fox News been as one-sided a propaganda machine as MSNBC. As well, NBC News devoted interview with Obama right before election where Brian Williams did nothing but lob one softball question after another at Obama. It wasn’t meant to be a news broadcast, rather it was an infomercial for Obama to prop up his campaign. That’s as obvious as day and night to anyone with an IQ north of 90.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
10:10 am
“Certainly enough to get a good Brooks Brothers riot goin’ on.”
alittlecommonsense
December 4th, 2012
10:11 am
Uh-Uh, so he had an affair. Your democratic administration used taxpayer dollars to investigate his sex life. Who cares. It’s not like he was a sitting president getting the banana peeled by an intern.
Hey Democrats – Stay out of our bedrooms!
alex
December 4th, 2012
10:11 am
@ Fred your hopeless, cannot be rational, angry and for what, bad job, bad life–try harder , mabye bad luck- wish I could help you , but you’ll have to help yourself…So YOU must listen to FOX as you suggest I parrot their words, ridiculous and inconsistent..move on read ….
2UK I am in no way saying that Murdock is not scum, But and as you point out this is MUrdock and the article should point this out, FOX as a news organization, biased as it is , cannot be accussed, Jay is just infalmming you guys..Don’t be so manipulated. Don’t be a lemming. As for the “compromise”, see Previous attempts by the Repubs which the prez turned down, History is repeating itself….
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
December 4th, 2012
10:12 am
Mark – 10:10 – interviewing = bankrolling???
not quite.
DD
December 4th, 2012
10:12 am
It’s to bad. A bag of rocks would be better than Broke Obambi.