More than 300 troops and extra police with search and rescue teams were being drafted into the city, where 10 died An earthquake struck the south-eastern Spanish city of Lorca on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens amid scenes of chaos caused by the country’s worst quake for half a century. Falling bell towers, walls and masonry brought panic to the streets of a small city that lies in an area known for minor earthquakes, but where residents could not recall such an intense quake in living memory. The earthquake was magnitude 5.1 and came at 6.47pm local time, almost two hours after a 4.4 magnitude quake had already caused considerable damage and forced many people out of their homes into the city’s streets. The quake was felt in the neighbouring provinces of Almería, Granada and Albacete, but the worst of the damage was done in Lorca, in the province of Murcia, where people were staying outside as aftershocks struck. Up to 10,000 people were expected to camp out at the city’s fairground. More than 300 troops and extra police with search and rescue teams were being drafted into the city to look for the dead and injured and clear away the rubble. City mayor Francisco Jódar called for water, blankets, food and mattresses to be brought in from neighbouring towns. “People don’t dare go back into their homes. I can’t tell them to go home and spend the night there as I can’t promise them that there will not be another quake,” he said. A reporter broadcasting live for state television station TVE narrowly escaped being hit by the facade of a church’s falling bell tower . A 13th-century tower in the city’s castle was also reported to have been seriously damaged by the force of the quake. Patients had to be evacuated from the city hospital, which was damaged. TV pictures and news photographs appeared to show at least one building that had fallen across a city street, along with images of cars crushed by falling rubble, fallen walls and large cracks in buildings. “I felt a tremendously strong movement, followed by a lot of noise, and I was really frightened,” resident Juani Avellanada told El País. Another resident, Juana Ruíz, told the newspaper her house had split open with the quake and “all the furniture fell over.” Spain’s last major quake was in 1956, when 12 people died in the province of Granada. Natural disasters and extreme weather Spain Europe Giles Tremlett guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Personal, handwritten journal and collection of computer files reveal his hand at work in every recent major al-Qaida threat Osama bin Laden kept pressing followers to find new ways to strike at the US while he was in hiding and his terror organisation was becoming battered and fragmented, officials have said, citing his private journal and other documents recovered in last week’s raid. Bin Laden suggested that they attack smaller cities and target trains as well as planes. Above all, he urged them to kill as many Americans as possible in a single attack. Though he was out of the public eye and al-Qaida seemed to be weakening, Bin Laden never yielded control of the worldwide organisation, US officials have said. His personal, handwritten journal and large collection of computer files reveal his hand at work in every recent major al-Qaida threat, including plots in Europe last year that had travellers and embassies on high alert, two officials said. Analysts are continuing to review the documents. The information shatters the government’s conventional thinking about Bin Laden, who had been regarded mostly an inspirational figurehead whose years in hiding made him too marginalised to maintain operational control of the organisation he founded. Bin Laden was in reality communicating from his walled compound in Pakistan with al-Qaida’s offshoots, including the Yemen branch that has emerged as the leading threat to the United States, the documents indicate. Though there is no evidence yet that he was directly behind the attempted Christmas Day 2009 bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner or the nearly-successful attack on cargo planes heading for Chicago and Philadelphia, it is now clear that they bear some of Bin Laden’s hallmarks. Don’t limit attacks to New York, he said in his writings. Consider other areas such as Los Angeles or smaller cities. Spread out the targets. In one particularly macabre bit of mathematics, Bin Laden’s writings show him musing over just how many Americans he must kill to force the US to withdraw from the Arab world. He concludes that small attacks had not been enough. He tells his disciples that only a body count of thousands, something on the scale of the 9/11 attacks, would shift US policy. He also schemed about ways to sow political dissent in Washington and play political figures against one another, officials said. The communications were in missives sent via plug-in computer storage devices called flash drives. The devices were ferried to Bin Laden’s compound by couriers, a process that is slow but exceptionally difficult to track. Intelligence officials have not identified any new planned targets or plots in their initial analysis of the 100 or so flash drives and five computers that an assault team of Navy Seals hauled away after killing Bin Laden. Last week, the FBI and Homeland Security Department warned law enforcement officials nationwide to be on alert for possible attacks against trains, though officials said there was no specific plot. Officials have not yet seen any indication that Bin Laden had the ability to co-ordinate timings of attacks across the various al-Qaida affiliates in Pakistan, Yemen, Algeria, Iraq and Somalia, and it is also unclear how much the affiliate groups relied on his guidance. The Yemen group, for instance, has embraced the smaller-scale attacks that Bin Laden’s writings indicate he regarded as unsuccessful. The Yemen branch had already surpassed his central operation as al-Qaida’s leading fundraising, propaganda and operational arm. Al-Qaida has not named Bin Laden’s successor, but all indications point to his No2, Ayman al-Zawahri. The question is whether Zawahri, or anyone, has the ability to keep so many disparate groups under the al-Qaida banner. The groups in Somalia and Algeria, for instance, have very different goals focused on local grievances. Without Bin Laden to serve as their shepherd, it is possible al-Qaida will further fragment. Osama bin Laden United States Global terrorism guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Stossel thinks there shouldn’t be any government farm loans — then you wouldn’t have racist discrimination
May 11, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media John Stossel went on Bill O’Reilly’s show last night to discuss his little weekend shoutfest with the would-be victim of Breitbart’s long-running “Pigford” smear , attorney Al Pires. Stossel concluded of course that their intended pinata had been smashed to pieces at his own hand because he had resorted to personal attacks — this, from a guy who ran a chryon Pires as a “freeloader” throughout his, and who attacked him personally throughout the segment as a “scam” attorney. On O’Reilly, it was once again a session smearing Pires as a rich, money-grubbing leech lawyer out to rip people off, even though the closest Breitbart and Co. can get to “proving” this characterization is with an endless string of dubious insinuations. Stossel just made it clear that Pires should creep people out — but he won’t suggest there was anything illegal about what Pires did, nor in fact can he even point to any unethical behavior. This kind of sliming of their targets is itself deeply slimy. And then, almost comically, Stossel admitted that in fact Pires’ case in court was sound, and his legal victory was a matter of simple justice. But then he reverted to his libertarian prism and tried arguing that these farmers shouldn’t have been in the position of asking the federal government for a loan in the first place — because, in Stossel Land, there shouldn’t be such programs at all! O’REILLY: Now, in a situation like this, where you have a class-action suit against the federal government, the federal government usually folds. But in this case, you say there was some evidence they denied loans, legitimate government loans, to people based on the color of their skin? STOSSEL: Yes — and this is another reason: why is the government giving out farm loans in the first place? OK? They shouldn’t, but they are. O’REILLY: Well, it’s affirmative action, isn’t it? I mean, to try to help people in certain areas. That’s under that banner. STOSSEL: It’s also farm — Agriculture Department pork. You should go to a private bank and get a loan. Then if a bank is racist, they lose money to a bank that isn’t racist, because they get the good business from the minorities. But — the government was giving out the money, and some of the loan officers were racist. Apparently Stossel doesn’t believe in the Federal Farm Credit system — which tells you that he’s never been a farmer, either. Nor is he even being logical, since the farm-credit system doesn’t cost taxpayers a thing. As the FCA’s site explains: All Government financial assistance was repaid, with interest, by 2005. FCA itself does not receive any Government appropriations; rather, FCA operations are funded through assessments paid by FCS institutions. Y’see, before passage of the Federal Farm Loan Act, farmers were entirely at the mercy of banks when it came to getting loans for their crops or other needs. Since 1908, government loans have been part of American farmers’ bedrock, their means for surviving when private banks turned against them. Stossel wants to return us to the good ol’ days of Pottersville, evidently. Similarly, his astonishing assertion that the magic of the banking marketplace would solve any racism issues among private bankers should any discriminate against race is laughable in the context of the historical reality of the old South, where every banker was either an active racist or was cowed into denying loans to black people because they would suffer business losses if they did so. (That was what the White Citizens Councils were about.) Evidently, Stossel is similarly eager to return us to those good ol’ days, too. Even more ironic is that one of the real legacies of that tradition of threatening to destroy successful black people in the South was the decades of discrimination against black farmers, particularly in the South, which kept thousands of people from farming. And Stossel thinks it’s a travesty that those people should get remuneration now. Guess we can see which side the “libertarians” fall on, can’t we?
Continue reading …
• Hugh Robertson says clean-up will be ‘key priority’ for EU • Sports minister wants action over World Cup bid process The European Union is to make reforming Fifa a “key priority” as pressure from governments around the world for a fundamental overhaul of world football’s governing body grew in the wake of fresh allegations of bribery and corruption during the World Cup bidding process. As Fifa promised to investigate claims from the former Football Association chairman Lord Triesman that four Fifa executive committee members asked for money or honours in return for their vote, and further claims made in the Sunday Times that two more accepted bribes of $1.5m (£900,000) from Qatar, the Conservative sports minister insisted pressure on the organisation would increase significantly. Hugh Robertson said an international consensus was forming that Fifa should be made to reform in the way the International Olympic Committee was forced to change after the Salt Lake City scandal in 1999. Then, 10 IOC members were expelled or forced to resign over allegations of vote-buying during Salt Lake City’s winning bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics. “I would like to see really concerted pressure from international bodies to get them to reform,” said Robertson. “We’re pretty wound up about it, the Dutch [and] the Australians are pretty wound up and there are a number of others.” He said finding a way to force Fifa to reform would be one of the “key objectives” for Poland, which takes over the running of the EU Council from July. “Cleaning up and reforming international sports institutions is a key objective of the Polish presidency for next year,” he said. “If the commission take an interest, if whatever country is holding the presidency takes an interest, if we can sustain that for more than one cycle, then we have a chance. No organisation likes being held up to international ridicule and constantly being told they are corrupt. It’s got to be much more transparent. They have got to be much more open and much more transparent.” Sepp Blatter, who is increasingly likely to win a fourth term as Fifa president on 1 June, and his challenger Mohamed Bin Hammam have promised reforms to Fifa’s structure and procedures, including the World Cup bidding process. But there remains widespread cynicism about whether they will deliver. Blatter said the allegations would be dealt with before the body’s congress in Zurich in three weeks’ time, when the 73-year-old hopes to win another four years as president. “We have to do it very fast,” he told al-Jazeera. “We have a Congress to come and have to deal with this matter before the Congress and not just kick it out of the minds of Fifa and [say] we will deal with it afterwards.” “We have to do it now, immediately, and we have three weeks.We must accelerate the movement, whether it is for the good or for the bad.” All four of the executive committee members accused by Triesman have denied wrongdoing. Brazil’s long-standing federation chief, Ricardo Teixeira, described as “absurd” the allegation that he asked Triesman to “come and tell me what you have got for me”. Teixeira said he would pursue all possible “legal action against Triesman”, although it is unclear how he would do so under English law. As Fifa demanded evidence relating to the claims made by Triesman under parliamentary privilege, the FA said its general secretary, Alex Horne, had written to the world governing body offering its full assistance. Fifa said in a statement that its general secretary, Jérôme Valcke, had written to the FA and expressed “extreme concern” at the allegations “questioning the integrity of some Fifa ExCo members in connection with the bidding procedure for the 2018 and 2022 Fifa World Cups”. Bin Hammam, the Qatari president of the Asian Football Confederation who played a key role in securing the 2022 World Cup for his country, denied bribes were paid to Issa Hayatou and Jacques Anouma. “I can assure you nothing like this has happened from our side. If someone wants to damage reputations like this then they have to provide the proof. You can’t just accuse people just like that. It didn’t happen. It is fine to say something, to try to damage the reputation of somebody but where is the proof?” In addition to the allegation involving Teixeira, Triesman claimed the Fifa vice-president Jack Warner asked for cash to build an education centre and buy World Cup TV rights for the people of Haiti; that Thailand’s Worawi Makudi wanted to be given the TV rights to a friendly between England and Thailand; and that Paraguay’s Nicolás Leoz asked for a knighthood. Warner said he “laughed like hell” at Triesman’s claims: “First of all, I laugh like hell because it took those guys from December to now [to say] that I have £2.5m, I believe. I never asked anybody for anything. When these guys came here, we promised to help. I showed them a place where they can put a playground. They promised to come back but they never did. That’s all.” Leoz’s spokesman called the accusations “pure fantasy and morbid”, and a statement issued on behalf of Hayatou, the head of African football, said “he has categorically denied allegations of corruption brought against him before parliament in Britain. “This kind of reporting to create and propagate false information to destroy his reputation, leadership and integrity will not succeed. The president of CAF said all these accusations brought against him are pure invention and an attempt to discredit him.” Fifa Football politics Lord Triesman Owen Gibson guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Kizza Besigye said an official at Nairobi airport told him his plane would not be allowed to land in Uganda with him on board Riots have erupted again in Uganda after an opposition leader claimed he had been barred from returning to the country. Kizza Besigye said he had been waiting to board a flight in Nairobi when a Kenya Airways official told him that the plane would not be allowed to land in Uganda with him on board. The news triggered renewed protests in Kampala which police quelled with teargas, a day after hundreds of people who tried to hold a banned rally were sprayed with pink liquid. Another police clampdown is expected on Thursday for the inauguration of President Yoweri Museveni , who first came to power in Uganda in 1986. Guests at the ceremony will reportedly include the Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, the Nigerian leader, Goodluck Jonathan, and Kenya’s Mwai Kibaki. The inauguration’s $1.3m (£781,000) cost has added to public anger at a time when living costs are rising fast. Besigye had been receiving treatment in Kenya after he was targeted at close range with pepper spray and dragged from a vehicle following his most recent “walk to work” protest. He was booked on a flight Wednesday morning and was in the departure lounge when a member of ground staff told him that he could not fly. Besigye’s luggage was retrieved from the hold and his boarding pass revoked. The Ugandan government denied it had interfered. “The government of Uganda has nothing to do with Dr Besigye’s travel plans from Kenya or any sovereign state,” said a spokesman, Fred Opolot. A spokesman for Kenya Airways said Besigye had not been allowed to board for “safety reasons”. Sam Mugumya, an aide to the opposition leader, suggested the government might have been anxious to prevent Besigye disrupting the inauguration. “It was very frustrating to find you are not allowed to walk, you are not allowed to drive, if you fly out for medical treatment you have to ask the president’s permission to come back,” he said. “This is the kind of dictatorship we are dealing with – it can do anything. It’s a panicking regime that has lost its legitimacy to govern.” Besigye’s lawyer, Daudi Mpanga, said the order against him flying had now been rescinded and that he was likely to return on Friday. Given that Thursday is a public holiday, Uganda’s opposition plan to walk to a stadium and pray in what they are dubbing a “walk to pray” demonstration. Museveni’s government has been accused of trying to divert attention from the unrest by reviving a controversial anti-homosexuality bill that would strengthen laws to imprison gay people for life. First proposed in 2009 , the legislation was due to be debated in parliament, but a walkout by female MPs over an unrelated bill prevented the debate. MPs now appear set to hold an extraordinary session on Friday to debate the bill, which in its original form would impose the death penalty. If they run out of time, it could be reintroduced in the next parliamentary session. The bill’s author, David Bahati, has claimed a new version would not legislate for capital punishment, but no amended version has been released publicly. Campaigners welcomed yesterday’s temporary reprieve and called for the bill to be scrapped. Frank Mugisha, the director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, a gay rights group, told the Associated Press: “The way I saw, if the bill was debated today, it would have been passed because most MPs were in its favour. We were saved by the lack of quorum.” Christopher Senyonjo, a retired Anglican bishop from Uganda, said: “We wouldn’t like this bill even to be debated. That will be dangerous because there is a lot of misinformation and excitement. Just with the bill being debated, anything can happen to LGBT people.” Gay activists say homophobia in Uganda has increased since the bill’s introduction. Last year a tabloid newspaper published the names and photos of men it alleged were gay. One cover carried the words: “Hang Them.” The bill carries harsh provisions, extending colonial-era laws that condemn anyone convicted of a homosexual act to life imprisonment. Anyone who “aids, abets, counsels or procures another to engage of acts of homosexuality” would face seven years in prison. Landlords renting rooms or homes to homosexual people could get seven years. Online petitions from the groups Avaaz and Allout said they had gathered more than 1.4m signatures decrying the proposals. Uganda Kenya Africa Gay rights David Smith guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Republicans Sarah Palin and Karl Rove are among those critical of the inclusion of the lyricist in a music and literature event It should have been a controversy-free event, a night of poetry at the White House. But instead a literary celebration turned into a mini-row over the lyrics of a rapper invited to perform. Michelle Obama invited a selection of poets and other writers, part of a series highlighting American music and literature. Rightwingers are upset that the list of performers on Wednesday night included the rapper Common, whose lyrics they claim glorify violence, in particular A Son for Assata. It is sympathetic to a former Black Panther convicted of killing a policeman almost 40 years ago. Although Common, real name Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr, has been widely praised for his positive messages, rightwingers have homed in on the song about Assata Shakur, who was found guilty of the New Jersey shooting in 1973. She escaped from jail in 1979 and has since been in exile in Cuba. Common wrote: “Your power and pride is beautiful. May God bless your soul.” Among those complaining are Sarah Palin, a possible Republican presidential candidate, and Karl Rove, a former adviser to George Bush. Rove described Common as a thug while Palin wrote sarcastically “Oh lovely, White House”. New Jersey police members also added their voice. “The young people who read this stuff, hear this stuff, are getting a very dangerous and deadly message,” David Jones, president of the State Troopers Fraternal Association union, told NBC. The White House spokesman, Jay Carney, was forced to defend the invitation to Common, saying the media was presenting a distorted picture of him and that his work should be looked at as a whole. “While the president doesn’t support the kind of lyrics raised here, we do think some of the reports distort what Mr Lynn stands for more broadly in order to stoke controversy,” Carney said. He described Common as “within the genre of hip hop and rap, in what’s known as a conscious rapper”. He added that it was possible to oppose some of what Common has done while appreciating the rest. “One of the things the president appreciates is the work Mr Lynn has done with children, especially trying to get them to focus on poetry as opposed to some of the negative influences of life on the streets,” Carney said. US politics Michelle Obama Sarah Palin Karl Rove Rap United States Urban music Ewen MacAskill guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Former House speaker joins a thin field of Republican candidates while Obama’s poll surge sets up first $1bn campaign A surge in support for Barack Obama after the killing of Osama bin Laden has failed to scare off former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who on Wednesday added his name to a small, lacklustre band of Republicans seeking to take on the president in next year’s White House race. A poll shows Obama with the highest approval ratings in two years, up to 60%. More than half say he deserves to be re-elected. Gingrich tweeted on Monday that he would formally announce his intention to seek the presidency. He is well-known as a generator of ideas and the architect of the Republican victory in 1994, which saw the party take Congress for the first time in 40 years. But he has been out of politics for a decade and, at 67, will be regarded by some voters as too old. Gingrich joins a thin field of Republican candidates that includes the former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, the former governor of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty, and a former chief executive officer of Godfather’s Pizza, Herman Cain, a rare appearance by an African-American in a Republican race. Professor Ross Baker, a political scientist at Rutgers University, agreed that Obama’s strong poll figures, which suggest he will win re-election, may dissuade senior Republicans from standing. “Republican decision-making is being driven by Obama poll numbers … One of the things we will never know is how many people who had been thinking about it have had second thoughts after the killing of Bin Laden,” Baker said. “Do you want to make the sacrifice of devoting your life to getting the nomination which may be no more than a ticket to political oblivion?” Obama is heavily engaged in fundraising, including an event in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday in which he based his appeal on the death of Bin Laden. His campaign team predicts he will be the first candidate to fight with $1bn in funds behind him. Figures such as Sarah Palin have not said whether they will run, but the Daily Caller website reports that Michele Bachmann, a Palin-lite congresswoman, is expected to announce on 26 May in Iowa that she is to stand. Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas and an evangelical Christian, ran a strong campaign in 2008 but has not indicated he plans to run. Others who earlier this year signalled they were considering a run, such as Haley Barbour, governor of Mississippi, have declared they are no longer standing. Strong potential candidates such as General David Petraeus, who is to become head of the CIA, Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, and Marco Rubio, the Florida senator, are not standing and may see 2016 as a better bet. In a mishandled press event, Gingrich half-announced his candidacy earlier this year but had to back off until now. He plans a series of campaign events, including spending most of next week in Iowa, and has been recruiting senior campaign staff. Baker is sceptical about Gingrich’s chances. “I think you have to look at Newt Gingrich as a nostalgic figure for Republicans. He hankers back to the golden age of 94 when Republicans gained control of Congress for the first time in 40 years. The question is what has he done lately, and you have this tumultuous private life he has to live down,” he said. The former speaker could have problems with social conservatives who have not forgiven him for leaving his first wife, who had cancer, and ditching his second wife for a political aide, who became his third wife. Romney, too, has problems and will on Thursday deliver a speech attempting to neutralise one of his biggest negatives among Republicans, his introduction while governor of Massachusetts of a healthcare programme similar to Obama’s. The AP poll gives Obama more of a bounce from the Bin Laden killing than other polls over the past week. Analysts predict the rise could prove to be short-lived, and his re-election chances are dependent primarily on whether the US climbs out of recession. Newt Gingrich US elections 2012 Republicans United States US politics Barack Obama Ewen MacAskill guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …What one hand giveth, the other seeks to take away. Such is the case with our Republican Congress, who wants to publicly appear sympathetic with the long-term unemployed while backing away from the deal they made with Democrats last year to extend tax cuts in exchange for extended unemployment benefits. > House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Republican Orrin Hatch have introduced a bill that, they say, would improve the unemployment insurance (UI) system by “forward funding” federal UI payments to states. That sounds good and, in fact, “forward funding” is a worthy goal, as explained below. But, their bill actually would let states take federal funds that are supposed to help the long-term unemployed and use them for other purposes. That not only would hurt some of the most vulnerable Americans but also would slow the economic recovery. Forward funding for UI is the equivalent of block grants for Medicare. It would give governors like Michigan governor Rick Snyder a way to go forward with the deep cuts to unemployment benefits in Michigan while continuing to fund them. Digby writes: Surely the Republicans wouldn’t just blatantly break this deal would they? And there’s no way that the Democrats would let them, right? Yeah … I honestly don’t know. But with the unemployment numbers stuck at around 9%, the housing market shakier than ever and growth looking anemic at best, it’s a very bad idea, not to mention cruel and dishonest. But get ready, they are going to argue that the private sector is going gangbusters now and there’s nothing stopping these lazy sods from getting a job. It’s just how they roll. They will, by the way, do the same thing with any other “concessions” in the next Grand Bargain the first chance they get. Their post-modern politics doesn’t acknowledge the concepts of hypocrisy or intellectual consistency. Keeping their end of a bargain would hardly break any of their rules. Of course, they’ll argue that there’s no effort here to back away from the deal they made when they’re simply “improving the system” to be more efficient. In a time where Republican governors are balancing their budgets by cutting the number of weeks of unemployment benefits paid, an unallocated windfall from the federal government would be awesome, wouldn’t it? I hope the Senate will turn this proposal back. But it’s equally clear that Republicans don’t believe in keeping their word or striking honorable deals, and if Democrats don’t learn this now, they’re going to keep being played for fools.
Continue reading …MSNBC Contributor Fineman: Was ‘Mistake’ For Obama to Urge Voters to Judge Him on His Performance in Office
May 11, 2011 No CommentDiscussing how President Obama should craft his 2012 reelection campaign theme, MSNBC contributors Howard Fineman offered that President Obama made a “mistake” in his freshman year in office in saying voters should judge his term by his performance in office. Because the economy is recovering under Obama's stewardship, Fineman posited on the May 11 edition of “Hardball,” Obama must run on a theme of “values” not as a referendum on his track record. Watch the relevant video in the embed below the page break:
Continue reading …
During a report on Tuesday's Nightly News, White House correspondent Chuck Todd was largely dismissive of the current crop of Republican candidates: “[Mitt Romney] skipped the first debate last week, leaving Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty as the only major contender alongside a slew of long shots jockeying for attention.” But when it came to President Obama, Todd declared: “One of the few announced candidates for president was out campaigning and raising money today.” Later, Todd put pressure on GOP hopefuls that had yet to announce: “With the clock ticking and President Obama raking in millions, some on the fence are making decisions.” In a similar report on Wednesday's Today, Todd proclaimed: “…the busiest presidential candidate hadn't been a Republican, it's been the incumbent, Barack Obama….[he] worked crowds in Texas, Tuesday, raising money in his push for a second term….with a confident president out raising millions, [GOP] candidates are starting to make decisions.” In both the evening and morning reports, Todd used sound bites from former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and Texas Congressman Ron Paul to mock the first GOP debate in South Carolina. In one clip, Johnson was responding to a question about what kind of reality television show he would have. In another, Paul called for the legalization of drugs like heroine. Todd did not include any of the numerous instances in which the candidates offered sober criticism of Obama's policies. In addition, in his Today report, Todd strangely left businessman Herman Cain's name off the list of debate participants: “Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty appeared among relative unknowns – former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, among others – at a recent Republican debate.” Many Republican South Carolina primary voters thought Cain won the debate . Here is a full transcript of Todd's May 11 report on Today: 7:06AM ET MATT LAUER: Let's turn now to the presidential race in 2012. The GOP field is starting to take shape. With former House Speaker Newt Gingrich officially throwing his hat into the ring today. Chuck Todd is NBC's chief White House correspondent and political director. Chuck, good morning. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Gingrich Running; Who Else in GOP Will Challenge Obama in 2012?] CHUCK TODD: Good morning, Matt. Well, look, over the last month the busiest presidential candidate hadn't been a Republican, it's been the incumbent, Barack Obama. The Republican field has been a little bit unformed, but all of that begins changing today. President Obama worked crowds in Texas, Tuesday, raising money in his push for a second term. BARACK OBAMA: Now's the time where you can help shape this campaign, just like you did the first time. Make sure we get out of the gate strong. TODD: The President had an extra bounce in his step, buoyed by recent polls showing him in a better political shape thanks to the capture and the killing of Osama bin Laden. OBAMA: Those three simple words that summed up our last campaign and that will sum up our spirit as a people, 'Yes we can.' Thank you very much, everybody. TODD: Still, a new NBC News poll shows that dissatisfaction over the President's handling of the economy lingers, with just 37% approving of the job he's doing. Giving Republicans a clear opening in 2012. But so far, few big name contenders have stepped up. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich makes his candidacy official today with an announcement on Twitter and Facebook. He's trying to confront some of the marital problems that have been a political liability by making his third wife, Calista, a center piece of his campaign. And while GOP hopeful Donald Trump has captured most of the headlines in recent weeks, only Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty appeared among relative unknowns – former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, among others – at a recent Republican debate.
Continue reading …