Beck, Hannity meet the President…
The New York Daily News’ David Hinckley writes about conservative radio hosts meeting with President Bush yesterday…
For the second year in a row, President Bush called some of his closest radio friends to the White House for an off-the-record briefing and discussion.
Mark Levin and Sean Hannity of WABC (770 AM) were among the 10 conservative talk-radio hosts who met with Bush in the West Wing yesterday, according to Talkers magazine.
The others were Glenn Beck, Neal Boortz, Hugh Hewitt, Scott Hennen, Bill Bennett, Michael Medved, Lars Larsen and Janet Parshall.
Laura Ingraham said on her radio show she would be going. Isn’t she on the list somewhere?
Comment by Jim — August 2, 2007 @ 9:59 am
Maybe he told them they were all doing a ‘heckuva’ job.
Just another day of marching orders.
Jawohl, Mein Fuhrer!
Comment by bill — August 2, 2007 @ 10:21 am
Yeah, and the entire MSM takes their marching orders from the NY Times. So it’s still not even close to being fair.
Comment by Jim — August 2, 2007 @ 10:43 am
Look, what I was getting at is why would the President meet with only conservative talk show hosts? It seems to me that if I wanted to REALLY know what all radio listeners were thinking, I’d invite a cross section of hosts.
Its obvious this guy only wants positive feedback from yes-men/women, and only wants to know what the base is thinking.
Comment by bill — August 2, 2007 @ 12:02 pm
I guess Bush could try to reason with Olbermann and Franken, et al. , but I am not sure how productive that would be.
Comment by Jim — August 2, 2007 @ 12:07 pm
Yeah… bill… I guess you’re also upset that the Dems aren’t going on FOX, because as you said: “It seems to me that if I wanted to REALLY know what all radio listeners (television viewers) were thinking, I’d invite a cross section of hosts.”
But they’re not. Instead they’re going to Kos… who, incidentally, told them not to go on FOX.
Who’s following marching orders again?
Comment by ImNotBlue — August 2, 2007 @ 12:13 pm
ImNotBlue..If you was a girl i’d give give you a big kiss.; )
Comment by mike — August 2, 2007 @ 12:29 pm
And two of the top three hosts with the largest audiences (Rush and Savage) were not there.
Comment by Ira — August 2, 2007 @ 12:45 pm
It was a political lunch. I believe it was billed as such. He also has them with Republican congressional leaders. The President is allowed to have a political lunch; unless the rules have changed since Clinton was in office.
Comment by erljr — August 2, 2007 @ 12:47 pm
here is glenn beck’s reaction :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo3ltG0gwjY
Comment by Chris (My Two Sense) — August 2, 2007 @ 12:49 pm
And Clinton was a guest at the birthday festivities for Bill Clinton last year and handed him a check live, on air, for Clinton’s foundation. I didn’t see any of the resident far leftists on this board whining about fairness then!
Comment by Alison — August 2, 2007 @ 1:00 pm
I guess bush wants to feel superior to somebody anybody! POOR GUY! Maybe he just wants to thank his 26%.
Comment by alice cervantes — August 2, 2007 @ 1:05 pm
Actually alice… according to realclearpolitics.com… his number is at 33%.
But I suppose, if he wanted to feel superior, he could always just go see Dems in congress. Their 28.8% approval might make him feel better.
http://realclearpolitics.com/polls/
Comment by ImNotBlue — August 2, 2007 @ 1:12 pm
Rasmussen has him at 38% average for entire month of July.
Comment by Jim — August 2, 2007 @ 1:20 pm
I believe that Congress low approvel rating is because of the bush administration. Everybody thinks this country is going in the wrong direction. He has taken the country down the wrong path and it shows in all the polls. 33% or 38%; it aint even 50%!
Comment by alice cervantes — August 2, 2007 @ 1:39 pm
Believe what you choose Alice. The truth hurts… the Democratic controlled Congress has the lowest approval ratings in history.
Comment by bigred — August 2, 2007 @ 2:11 pm
To ImNotBlue: First of all, the debate was canceled because of the joke FNC chairman Roger Ailes made when comparing Obama’s name to Osama as in Osama bin Laden and John Edwards telling the Dems not to go to FNC because of its right wing bias. The Kos really didn’t have anything to do about the Dems not going to FNC, it was really Moveon.org, and I see you are taking Bill O’Reilly’s talking points.
Second, some of the Dems are willing to go to a FNC debate: Biden, Gravel, Kucinich, Dodd and Richardson.
Third, why won’t the GOP candidates (expects for Ron Paul) go to the Ed Schultz radio?
Comment by RJ — August 2, 2007 @ 3:04 pm
i see Bill Oreilly is not on the list. I guess he really isnt a conservative and is an independent like he says he is.
Comment by Sal Jr — August 2, 2007 @ 3:18 pm
Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Laura Ingrahmam, and Mike Gallagher are not on the list too, so I don’t see your point of O’Reilly not on the list so therefore he is an independent.
Comment by RJ — August 2, 2007 @ 3:41 pm
First of all, the debate was canceled because of the joke FNC chairman Roger Ailes made when comparing Obama’s name to Osama as in Osama bin Laden.
RJ: If you really believe that, I have a bridge to sell you (and not in Minneapolis)!
Comment by Ira — August 2, 2007 @ 3:43 pm
He’s a populist, Sal.
And who is Ed Schultz?
And Richardson was one of the 1st to pull out.
Comment by erljr — August 2, 2007 @ 3:45 pm
Talk about a room in the White House filled with filthy degenerates. Ted Haggard used to have the president’s ear at one of these type of meetings as well and we know what kind of hypocritical advise he was dispensing.
Maybe we should turn the congressional leadership over to men like Republican stalwart Ted Stevens who better represents the moral depravity of the Fox News audience.
Also, only the worst kind of dishonest Fox News hack makes a comparison of the president’s record and approval rating established over a 7 year period with that of a congress that has had less than a year to operate and has minimal ability to affect change due to its slim margins and the threat of veto. Contrast that with George Bush who had a rubber-stamp congress for most of his tenure.
Finally, one thing is for sure; the American people are thankful to finally have some oversight in Congress in lieu of a culture of corruption disproportionately caused by Fox News Republicans.
Comment by elmonica — August 2, 2007 @ 3:54 pm
To Ira – I said ‘and’ because of Edwards telling the Dems not to go to Fox News because of its right wing bias. Why didn’t you quote that part too?
People like you love to take part of someone’s quote and represent it as a whole. I didn’t say the main reason the Dems pullout of the debate because of the joke, the joke had an affect on it too.
To erljr – Schultz is the number 1 progressive talker in the radio and according to talkers.com he’s bigger/ more important than O’Reily, Beck and Ingraham on the radio. He beats Hannity in some markets when they were on the same time slot and he is currently on the same time slot with Limbaugh and he beat Limbaugh and some markets too.
The top three pull out first then Richardson and Dodd pull out later.
Comment by RJ — August 2, 2007 @ 4:23 pm
Elmonica has convinced me. William Jefferson should lead congress… he’s a strong democrat of great moral authority! And forget about religious leaders… we need the liberals in Hollywood to have the ear of the White House… we can trust them to have all of our best interests in mind.
But enough sarcasm… I like that you refute a “less than a year” margin to measure congress… but I’m sure don’t give that benefit of the doubt to Bush for his “less than a year” pre-9-11 time. No, in that time he practically caused 9-11… never mind the 8 years before that… it was those 9 months!
But if you were to use your logic, would we also then have to compare the entire Bush presidency… like even those times when approval was up at almost 90%. Here’s a chart (yes its on Wiki… but it’s from CBS/NYTimes).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:George_W._Bush_public_opinion_polling.png
No, you can’t use that… you have to go on current polls… and if the Dems were as great at running congress, like to believe they are, the public might come close to agreeing with you. But for right now, you’ve only got 28% of people who think they’re a-okay.
I can’t really disagree, however, with the idea that the people are happy that the president and congress are of different parties… same thing that happened during the Clinton administration… when the Republicans took over congress. Although, the polls say they’re not real happy that they’re not accomplishing anything.
But perhaps that’s why you like them… you have that in common. A lot of harsh words… anger… and the inability to actually prove you point, defend yourself, or do anything other than blame everyone else.
Comment by ImNotBlue — August 2, 2007 @ 4:40 pm
RJ, why don’t you take a look at the actual ratings, from the website you referenced, and you’ll see that whoever Ed Schultz is gets destroyed by all those you mentioned.
http://www.talkers.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=34
But don’t let the facts get in the way of your story.
Comment by bigred — August 2, 2007 @ 4:44 pm
RJ… exactly what study are you talking about?
This is what I found of “talkers.com” (Talkers.com… what the heck that anyway?)
http://www.talkers.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=34
Says that of the top talk audiences… you’re buddy Shultz is #8 on this list… behind Rush, Sean, Savage, Dr. Laura, Laura Ingraham, Beck-Boortz-Gallagher, and Bohannon-Howard-Levin-O’Reilly.
Oh, and the “joke” yeah… that’s the reason. You understand how pathetic that would be if that was the truth. Not debating because of a joke? And because Edwards said so? HA! The only thing Edwards can tell anyone, and get them to listen to, is “No gel today, let’s use the mousse.”
Comment by ImNotBlue — August 2, 2007 @ 4:47 pm
Damnit bigred… we may both be red-ly but you don’t have to think like me!
Comment by ImNotBlue — August 2, 2007 @ 4:48 pm
What markets is RJ talking about? Might they be Berkeley and San Fran?
Comment by Missy — August 2, 2007 @ 4:53 pm
Spud, I need an “edit” function. Another typo! (s/b “are”, not “is”).
Comment by Missy — August 2, 2007 @ 4:54 pm
His approvel rating was at 90% because the whole nation was behind him after 9-11. He sure messed everything up and now he is in freefall. I would be happy if this congress accomplishes no legislation. I am happy if they do just oversight and investigations and get rid of all the crooks and liars and hold them accountable. I am so tired of “I dont recall”. Banish the crooks and start with a clean slate and then maybe this country can heal itself.
Comment by alice cervantes — August 2, 2007 @ 4:56 pm
okay… my computer just freaked a bit… so ignore that first stuff… it’s from another blog… sorry
start with the alice stuff… sheesh… what is going on over here? Missy’s right… we do need an edit button.
____________
Yes, but alice… what you seem not to understand… and this is probably because all you’re able to see is your point-of-view, and the people who agree with you… is that the public at large ISN’T vindictive and wants congress to DO SOMETHING!
They’re not happy with all the investigations… remember under Clinton… how happy was the public with all those investigations? Same here! The majority of the people see the problems, they heard the promises, and all they now see is bureaucratic “I’m gonna get ya” coming out of Congress.
That’s why the congressional Democrats rate just as low as the Republicans… only 33% approval.
http://www.pollingreport.com/cong_dem.htm
http://www.pollingreport.com/cong_rep.htm
Comment by ImNotBlue — August 2, 2007 @ 5:21 pm
To bigred + ImNotBlue - I guess you don’t know how radio audiences works: More markets more audiences
So of course guys like Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck,etc. will have more audiences than Schultz, because they are in 100-150+(I’m guessing) more stations than Schultz. Limbaugh, Hannity, and Beck are on the most markets on the radio.
And I never said Schultz has more ratings than them, I said according to Talkers he is bigger/ most important than them.
Here:
http://www.talkers.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=44
ImNotBlue, just because you said the joke didn’t have an affect, does not mean it didn’t. When the Nevada Dems said the joke crossed the line, and said that’s the reason why they decided to pull out of an agreement with FNC to co-host a debate among the candidates.
That’s why Edward criticizes Hillary Clinton for taking more than $20,000 in donation from News Corps. and said it’s time for the Dems to stop pretending to be friends with the people (FNC) who demonize the Dems party.
Comment by RJ — August 2, 2007 @ 5:50 pm
To Missy- No Seattle, Portland, Denver, Miami, etc..
Comment by RJ — August 2, 2007 @ 5:52 pm
No, the joke was an excuse. A group that has so many members of Hollywood… and especially those in the “comedy industry”… I find it a little hard to believe they’d be that sensitive to a joke. Or perhaps they really are… in which case, it’s not an endorsement for the party.
Just imagine if some other country made a joke at their expense… we could be at war because of a joke!
And your link doesn’t do much to prove your point… By your logic, everyone should go on Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, and Dr. Laura too. You think that the Dems afraid of FOX would go anywhere near Limbaugh or Savage. I stand right of center, and even I wouldn’t go near Savage!
Besides… how many radio debates are any of the candidates doing?
Comment by ImNotBlue — August 2, 2007 @ 6:17 pm
If Roger Ailes didn’t said that lame joke the Dems probably would do a FNC debate, excuse or no excuse.
And no, you point out the Dems won’t go to FNC, and I said the GOP candidates (expect of Ron Paul) won’t go talk to Ed Schultz, who by the way used to be a Republican, so you know he’s not some nut on the left.
I didn’t say the GOP to do a radio debate on the Ed Schultz show. I said why won’t any of them go to the ED Schultz radio show? And why would any of the Dem candidates go to Rush or Hannity when they admitted in the past that they carry water for the GOP candidates?
At least Savage don’t use the GOP’s talking points.
Comment by RJ — August 2, 2007 @ 7:11 pm
RJ.. .stop it! You’re killing me! I can’t even type because I’m laughing too hard. Some website editors do a ranking, and you take that to mean that your guy is “more important” than all conservative hosts???
Take a look at the poll.. .he finished 5th! Behind Limbaugh, Hannity, and Savage. You’re refuting your own posts. Limbaugh has 13 million listeners per day. That’s 10 million more than your guy, who BTW, I and most average Americans have never even heard of. Oh, but I’m sure he makes a BIG impact w/ 10 million fewer listeners.
Comment by bigred — August 2, 2007 @ 9:42 pm
Bigred - Where did I say he is more important than all the conservative talk hosts? I never said he made more of an impact than Limbaugh or Hannity, I said he beats them in some markets, like I said in the other post, listeners = the amount of markets you are in, just because you don’t agree with talkers does not make it wrong and does not make you right.
Not every Americans heard of Hannity, Limbaugh, and Savage too, so what is your point?
Comment by RJ — August 2, 2007 @ 10:12 pm
You pointed to a poll that said he is more important. That’s you saying he is more important, even though he’s unheard of to most people.
How many average Americans have never heard of Rush Limbaugh? Very few.
You also talked about the Republicans refusing to appear on his show. Why would they? Who would hear it?
FNC is the #1 cable news channel in America. It has more independents and Democrats watching than either CNN & MSNBC.
They’re pandering to their kook left fringe by refusing to appear.
Comment by bigred — August 2, 2007 @ 11:01 pm
In what markets does he win? Please provide evidence.
Comment by ImNotBlue — August 3, 2007 @ 12:17 am
I never said he was more important than Limbaugh or Hannity. I said he was more important than Beck, O’Reilly, Levin, Ingraham, Gallagher, Boortz on the radio. Find where I said he was bigger or more important than Limbaugh or Hannity, you can’t. I said he beat Hannity (when they were on the same timeslot) and Limbaugh in some markets.
How do you know very few Americans heard of Limbaugh, you just made that up, you don’t have any fact to prove it.
Someone said the Dems won’t go to FNC, I said the GOP (expect for Ron Paul) won’t go to Ed Schultz show, and people will and had been listing in the past when Barbara Boxer people listened.
To ImNotBlue - Markets like Seattle, Portland, Denver, Miami, etc..
Comment by RJ — August 3, 2007 @ 7:51 am
And again I ask… evidence please. Gimme a link, RJ. I was just looking at the Arbitron website, and can’t seem to find the hourly ratings. I want to see the Shultz v. everyone else stats, that you are using.
Comment by ImNotBlue — August 3, 2007 @ 9:15 am
I can’t find the direct link but this might help:
http://www.bigeddieradio.com/EdInTheNews/more.asp?ID=50
http://barkbarkwoofwoof.blogspot.com/2005/07/ed-schultz-kicks-rushs-ass.html
And I’m not even a Republican/Democrat/Liberal/Conservative. I listen and watch both side of the field.
Comment by RJ — August 3, 2007 @ 10:05 am