CNN?s Howard Kurtz Criticizes CNN?s Lou Dobbs For Giving Airtime To ?Birther? Conspiracies
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on July 27th, 2009 4:36 am by HL
CNN?s Howard Kurtz Criticizes CNN?s Lou Dobbs For Giving Airtime To ?Birther? Conspiracies
Last week, ThinkProgress noted that CNN’s Lou Dobbs is one of the most high-profile “birthers” in America, continuing to
Last week, ThinkProgress noted that CNN’s Lou Dobbs is one of the most high-profile “birthers” in America, continuing to demand that Obama present a “long form” birth certificate to prove his citizenship. Dobbs’ focus on the story has been so bad that CNN President Jon Klein eventually sent an e-mail to staffers of “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” declaring that the “birther” story is “dead,” though he later backed down a bit. Dobbs has responded to his critics by calling them “limp-minded, lily-livered lefties” who don’t like that he had “the temerity to inquire as to where the birth certificate was.”
On his Reliable Sources show today, CNN’s Howard Kurtz criticized Dobbs and others in the media who have given airtime to the “fringe of the fringe” that is the “birther” crowd. “These are ludicrous claims, there is no factual basis for them,” said Kurtz. “Why give the birthers any airtime?” He then specifically criticized Dobbs for not acting “responsible”:
KURTZ: Callie Crossley, Lou Dobbs on his radio show said, “I believe the president is a citizen of the United States.” But he keeps raising these questions, complaining about criticism from “limp-minded, lily-livered lefties.” Is it responsible for Dobbs and others to go on the air, talk about these claims, demand proof, when we have seen a copy of the birth certificate? When Hawaii officials say that Barack Obama was born there in 1961?
CROSSLEY: It absolutely is not responsible.
Watch it:
As one of the top media critics in the country, Kurtz has been criticized for not commenting on Dobbs’ birther obsession in his Washington Post column. As has been noted by many, the birther claims that President Obama wasn’t born in America are groundless.
Kristol on Obama: ?He is an arrogant man.?
On Fox News Sunday, the pundit roundtable continued to harp on President Obama’s initial reaction — and subsequent clarifications — to the arrest of Harvard African-American studies professor Henry Louis Gates. On Friday, Obama conceded he could have “calibrated [his] words differently” after originally stating the Cambridge police acted “stupidly.” “Everybody needs to climb down, […]
On Fox News Sunday, the pundit roundtable continued to harp on President Obama’s initial reaction — and subsequent clarifications — to the arrest of Harvard African-American studies professor Henry Louis Gates. On Friday, Obama conceded he could have “calibrated [his] words differently” after originally stating the Cambridge police acted “stupidly.” “Everybody needs to climb down, as the president said in his briefing room comments,” NPR’s Mara Liasson said. But right-wing pundit Bill Kristol refused to let the controversy die, complaining that Obama’s apology was the sign of an “arrogant” man:
The President could have said, you know that was a stupid thing for me to say. But he didn’t say that for some reason. You know, that would be too self-deprecating. And I think he is an arrogant man. And he feels entitled to pass judgment on Cambridge cops or on pediatricians…
Watch it:
Putting aside that Kristol has made a career of sitting in judgment of others, the Cambridge cops have said they are “profoundly grateful that the president took time out of his busy schedule to attempt to resolve this situation.” In a statement, Cambridge police officers said, “It is clear to us from this conversation that the president respects police officers and the often difficult and dangerous situations we face on a daily basis.” As former McCain campaign adviser Steve Schmidt said of Kristol, “He’s in the business of ad hominem insults and criticism.” Schmidt observed, “That’s a reflection of [Kristol’s] values. He’s the Washington, D.C., talking head and glitterati.”
