Online reports so far from the BBC:
Obama tells Daily Show more time needed for reforms
Obama appeals to voters on satirical TV show The Daily Show
Obama’s mid-term election pitch on US television network
Cagey Barack Obama spars with Daily Show’s Jon Stewart
‘Yes we can… but’ says Obama
(If you spot any more add them in the comments)
UPDATE 5pm. If you were thinking that what the BBC’s midterm election coverage really needs is Billy Bragg taking cheap shots at Christine O’Donnell then worry no longer – BBC World News America has made it happen. No agenda though. Impartiality is in their genes.
‘American Spectator’s take:
Jon Stewart’s Comic Relief 2010
Clearly this is the second-most important election in human history, and there’s no question which side the BBC is on. The word “desperate” seems to be absent from the BBC lexicon.
All I’ll add to this pathetic display is that Katie Connolly seems to be a bit misguided about what the “signature issues” are. Climate change and immigration reform may be BBC pet issues, but they certainly weren’t signature issues of the President, either during the 2008 election or during the first half of His Administration.
The President has in fact accompmlished much of what He campaigned on. He has spread plenty of wealth around – to banks and unions. He has transformed US foreign policy. We got a large step towards total government control of the health care system.
Immigration reform was a signature issue of the last general election in Britain, not the US. The President only fairly recently became involved in dealing with immigration reform, prompted by those crazy people in Arizona. Right now, He’s pandering to the Latinos, telling them to “punish” their “enemies”. The BBC censored that news, of course.
As for Climate Change, the only thing relevant to it on which Candidate Obamessiah campaigned was bankrupting the coal industry I wil grant you that He hasn’t made any progress to that end.
I’m going to enjoy watching the Beeboids squirm all the way until Tuesday, and can’t wait for the US to return to being a racist, backwards, Christiani-extremist country like we used to be.
DP
What amazes me – although quite why I should be surprised – is that you give a far superior purview of the issues in the upcoming congressional elections than anyone from the BBC. Because I’ve lived, studied and worked in the US I am lucky enough to many American friends about 3/4 of whom, funnily enough for someone with my political beliefs, are Democrats. Speaking or exchanging emails with them confirms much of what you write. Certainly climate change catastrophism is a dead duck (outside Washington and the offices of the NYT, NPR and the non-Fox news networks). The disappoinment of even dyed-in-the-wool Democrats with the president (so far) exceeds by a mile that of Conservatives in the UK with Cameron: and this is disappoinment not from the left (ie that the president hasn’t done enough) but disappoinment that Obama has turned out to be the same old same old machine politician who has – as you say – thrown their money at the banks, the unions, the bureaucrats and the catastrophists.
One issue which had them all chewing their carpets was the appointment of race hustler Sotomayor to the supreme court. The Kagan appointment, although also ethnically motivated – she has the “Jewish” seat – was sort-of acceptable because she, at least, has a distinguished legal pedigree. Mind you, from my perspective, her legal support of statism and, more to the point, simply by virtue of having been appointed solicitor general by Obama would have ruled her out of contention.
Anyway, thanks for your continuing perceptive comments. Even though you don’t stoop to BBC standards of “impartiality” (such as they are) readers of your comments learn more about the reality of the US experience than any unfortunate who obtains his sole view of the US through the distorting lens of BBC “journalism”.
Cheers, Umbongo. Speaking out against the misinformation and dishonesty of the BBC regarding US issues is the primary reason I spend time on this blog. I hope my little ripples in the pond have some effect in countering BBC propaganda about my country.
If anything, though, I’d say that the Leftoid disappointment that the President is too much of a Washington-as-usual type of politician is also a criticism from the Left. That’s the reason, in their view, that He hasn’t made all their dreams come true. Hence Mardell’s rebuke of the faithful in recent blog posts.
As for Kagan, I agree that she shouldn’t have been appointed because of her position as an Obamessiah appointee. Even more ridiculous is the fact – unreported by the BBC, I believe – that because she was the Government advocate, she’s now had to recuse herself from nearly half of all cases appearing before the Court. This is an historical first. That’s just more Administration incompetence in my view. But Kagan was chosen at least in part because she had almost no paper trail of decisions or legal writing in the public record for the nasty old Republicans to harp on. She was practically a judicial blank slate. And they got away with it.
David P(USA),
Your posts have become really quite brilliant and insightful, many thanks from all of us for your contributions, will you do a post or two covering the elections as they happen please?
Yours Cassie K.
Hear Hear!
P.S Take your video camera to the voting booth!
Thanks, Cassie. I don’t know what I would say on the day. Although, I do know that there is so much voter fraud going on around the country this time that the margin of error in vote totals is going to have to be twice as large as usual. Some candidates will have to win by several percentage points or we’re going to be doing recounts until St. Swithin’s Day.
I think I might take my video camera to the polling station, just in case any of the activists in my neighborhood try anything. I know the supporters of one local State House of Reps. guy stand so close to the polling station that they break the law every time. They were at it during the recent primaries, and I told them so when they shoved a flier in my face as I walked past.
Cassie,
I second that !
Third Grant!
Anyway I thought you were over the hills and far away. I was annoyed that I missed the opportunity to wish you well which I now do.
I have to say that O’Bummer has found his place – on a comedy show.
Anything to say about his plan to solve the problems in the Middle East by holding his hand out to the regime in Iran?
The fact that Barry has to go arse licking to his lefty pals shows how washed up he is, can’t he work out he’s not campaigning any more he’s President?
Oh and how come the BBC forgot to mention
“…and with a sweep of the pen, Guantanamo was closed..”
I piss myself laughing every time I hear that one.
I can understand Jon Stewart. He is taking credit as the most influential man without any journalistic responsibility at all. Barack Obama, the POTUS ranked only as 21st,
Once powerful men avoided entertainment programs, to keep the impression of seriousness. Now I guess they are the entertainment … as with the BBC without journalistic responsibility.
If nothing else, this does show how dumbed-down the younger generation is. Far too many people get their news exclusively from Left-wing comedians and don’t actually inform themselves. Laughing at mockery is easy; learning is hard.
The fuss over the sacking of Juan Williams by National Public Radio (largely unnoticed by the BBC) rumbles on. In this clip O’Reilly explains exactly how biased it is – and why it should no longer be supported by compulsory taxation.
Same case applies to the BBC. Only much more so.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/10/28/oreilly_why_npr_and_pbs_do_not_deserve_our_money.html
Even previous star of this site, Cash Peters, on his R5 “Upallnight” slot Tues/Wed, indicated with an audio wink & audible chuckle that NPR had a left bias.
BBC-Obamessiah worshipper: simply to reinforce its political propaganda, ‘Question Time’ tonight has on that Democrat voter and donor: S. SCHAMA.
Damn, too bad I won’t be able to catch it tonight.
Again? Wasn’t he on recently? They must have a very small pool to choose from that the same names keep reappearing on QT.
S. SCHAMA was on BBC-NUJ ‘Question Time’ on 7 April, 2010.
He appears to get preferential political treatment with BBC-NUJ because:
1.) he always voted Labour when he was a British citizen;
2.) he always votes Democrat now he an American citizen.
Note the timing of his appearances too: near to UK and US elections. He is put forward as politically’impartial’ by BBC-NUJ.
Simon Schama backs Oona King for mayor with donation
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23856071-schama-backs-oona-king-for-mayor-with-donation.do
The Question Time post is now up.
So Oona King is accepting foreign donations then. Lord Ashcroft you are OK to contribute again if you wish.
I knew Schama at university. He might seem irritating on telly, but in real life he’s, oh, ten times worse.
Schama proves there is a ‘twat gene’
Yup, and from last night’s performance I’d say it’s kicked on to the “full onset” stage.