TresSugar

Here Comes the White House Correspondents Dinner!

CitizenSugar — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:50:26 -0700

Oh, man this has to be the hottest ticket in town. The special dinner where the press gets to roast the president? Especially one whose approval rating hit 28 percent today and it's his last year in office!? I'm dying, dying to go.

The whole tradition of the dinner started in 1924, when Calvin Coolidge became the first of 14 presidents to attend. Up until World War II, the dinner was an entertainment spectacle with singing between courses, a homemade movie (aw! how cute is that?!), and an hour-long, post dinner show with big-name performers.

This year is no exception. I suppose? Though the list this year doesn't feature Sinatra, (or Paula Jones and Matt Drudge like in this pic from 1998). Ben Affleck, Pamela Anderson, Eric Dane, Tim Daly, Hayden Panettiere, and Marcia Cross will all be there - and kind of inexplicably - Lauren Conrad from The Hills. Maybe LC and GWB are BFFs? Could happen.

The host this year is Scottish-born, now US citizen Craig Ferguson, who said of receiving the honor,

But I thought as soon as I become an American you know what is going to happen, I am going to get jury duty or the CIA. will get in touch and have me assassinate a foreign head of state. Anyway my first job as an American citizen I can exclusively reveal tonight is performing at the White House Correspondents Dinner weekend. I am doing it. I am doing it. I know! Anyway, I am not hosting it. President Bush is . . . I am thinking does he know I can't be kicked out now? Like it would be the
big thing have the dinner and my last act at president, you go home Ferguson. I am like I am home.

The shindig happens April 26. Will this year top Stephen Colbert's turn in 2006? To take a quick peek at the host heard round the world, read more.

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Palin: AP Did "Opposition Research" on Going Rogue

TresSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:00:25 -0800

Sarah Palin blasted the Associated Press yesterday for doing "opposition research," more commonly known as fact-checking, on her new book Going Rogue.

"Amazingly, but not surprisingly, the AP somehow nabbed a copy of the book before it was released," she said. "They're now erroneously reporting on the book's contents and are repeating many of the same things they spewed during the campaign and afterwards."

She wrote this on her Facebook page, which doesn't help her cause, but she is onto something. Going Rogue is embargoed, meaning her publisher will not release advance copies to the press before its on-sale date (tomorrow), and the press, even if it were to happen upon a copy early, is not to review it.

So what did the "opposition researchers" find? Find out after the jump.

Who's Watching Obama's 100 Day Press Conference?

TresSugar — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:00:23 -0700

Are you guys watching President Obama's prime time press conference tonight? If so - tell us what you think about it in the comments right here!

The majority of you think President Obama has done an excellent or good job so far, and tonight, he'll try to convince the rest of you. During his third primetime press conference, tonight at 8 p.m. EDT, the president will field questions from the press and give Americans a progress report on all that he's accomplished. You can grade his answers by sharing your reactions. And be sure to follow my real-time reaction on Twitter!

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David Gregory to Host Meet the Press - Good Choice?

LibertySugar — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:00:15 -0800

David Gregory will be the next host of Meet the Press, according to reports. The NBC vet will take over after interim host Tom Brokaw interviews President-elect Barack Obama on this weekend's show.

Gregory, 38, has served as NBC's White House correspondent since 2000, and he currently hosts his own show on MSNBC.

When we asked last week, Gwen Ifill of PBS was the top choice among CitizenSugar readers. Now that we apparently know the pick, tell me: Will David Gregory help you get up early on Sunday mornings to watch Meet the Press?

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Who Should Host Meet the Press?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:00:01 -0800

NBC may soon name the next permanent host of Meet the Press. Whomever succeeds longtime host Tim Russert, who died unexpectedly earlier this year, will surely become one of the most influential journalists in the world.

Every president since John F. Kennedy, along with countless prominent national leaders, have appeared on Meet the Press, the longest running TV show in history. Do you think NBC should tap a well-seasoned journalist, or go with a younger anchor who can take the show in a new direction?

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McCain on Meet the Press Today: "I Believe I'm Going to Win"

CitizenSugar — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 09:08:49 -0700

An optimistic and fired up John McCain showed up to Meet the Press this morning where he dispelled the notion that he was hurting in the polls. McCain said, “We are doing fine. We have closed in the last week, and we’re going to continue this close in the next week.” Did you catch that? "The next week" he's referring to is the last week of the campaign. It's almost impossible to believe that there's still an ending to this.

Talk turned to his running mate and McCain stood firm on his Palin-position, “I don’t defend her. I praise her. She needs no defense." And as for that much ballyhooed shopping spree, McCain is very pragmatic about it. “She lives a frugal life, she and her family are not wealthy, she and her family were thrust into this."

Though a Newsweek poll released yesterday shows Obama with a 13-point lead nationally, McCain pressed on assuring voters, "We've closed in the last week. We'll continue to be very competitive in many of the battleground states." In all this morning, he sounded tough, rough, and ready, good-naturedly likening himself to Knute Rockne at half time. Is his optimism right on?

To see what he had to say, read more.

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Britain's Libel Laws Take Piss Out of Freedom of the Press?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:45:37 -0700

Are the British aiming to squash free speech? Robert Murat, an official suspect in the Madeleine McCann case, has settled his libel case against several British newspapers for overconnecting him to her disappearance with headlines like "Sex Secret of Madeleine Suspect: Briton ‘Shared’ the Wife of Pool Cleaner at Villa." His pay out is thought to be close to $1 million. Murat lived close to location where Madeleine disappeared and was named the first formal suspect though he's denied any involvement in her disappearance last May.

Some consider the decision great.

Murat was libelled. Not once, but many times over. Scores of reports, and many headlines too, defamed him . . . he was often treated not as a suspect by papers but as a culprit . . . papers have been pushing at the boundaries of the British contempt rule for years. More is published about British crime suspects in advance of their being charged (and sometimes afterwards) than was ever the case 20 years ago. Why? Because they have got away with it.

Seems reasonable right? Accuse a guy of killing a little girl in the papers, pay a fine? Well, this free speech and freedom of the press issue doesn't stay on UK soil - British libel laws have a passport. To see how, read more.

Here's the other side of the coin:

Perhaps you don't live in England or Wales, so you think this has nothing to do with you. You're wrong. English libel law now applies to everyone on earth. Make any accusation, anywhere in the world, and if the subject can demonstrate that a single person in England or Wales has read it, you could be sued for every penny, cent, rouble, rupee, or renminbi you possess. The Internet and the global nature of publishing ensure that these medieval laws have become the most powerful extraterritorial legislation ever drafted.

Even Sens. Joe Lieberman and Arlen Specter voiced concern over the reach of the libel grab in the WSJ, saying: "Individuals with alleged connections to terrorist activity are filing libel suits and winning judgments in foreign courts against American researchers who publish on these matters."

Maybe Richard Jewel would have had something to say on the matter? Where's the line between libel and freedom of the press?

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Obama Promises a People's White House

CitizenSugar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:01:09 -0800

Yesterday on Meet the Press President-elect Barack Obama promised to make the White House a symbol of everyday Americans during his presidency. He explained: "Part of what we want to do is to open up the White House and remind people this is the people's house." Obama plans to invite artists and scientists on a regular basis, in an attempt to inspire national character.

Some other highlights from Obama's interview include:

On culture: [I'm] "thinking about the diversity of our culture and inviting jazz musicians and classical musicians and poetry readings in the White House so that once again we appreciate this incredible tapestry that's America."
On the economy: The recession “is a big problem, and it’s going to get worse. . . The key for us is making sure that we jump-start that economy in a way that doesn't just deal with the short term, doesn't just create jobs immediately, but also puts us on a glide path for long-term sustainable economic growth, and that's why I spoke in my radio address on Saturday about the importance of investing in the largest infrastructure program, in roads and bridges and other traditional infrastructure since the building of the Federal Highway System in the 1950s."

To find out what Obama had to say about education and Iran, read more.

On education: "Yes, we're going to have an education policy; yes, we're going to be putting more money into school construction. But ultimately we want to talk about parents reading to their kids. We want to invite kids from local schools into the White House."
On Iran: "We need to ratchet up tough but direct diplomacy with Iran, making very clear to them that their development of nuclear weapons would be unacceptable . . . and present a set of carrots and sticks in changing their calculus about how they want to operate. In terms of carrots, I think that we can provide economic incentives that would be helpful to a country that, despite being a net oil producer, is under enormous strain, huge inflation, a lot of unemployment problems there."

Does anything from President-elect Obama's latest interview surprise you?
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Gen. Colin Powell Endorses a Candidate on Meet the Press

CitizenSugar — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 08:23:21 -0700

On Meet the Press moments ago, former Secretary of State Colin Powell laid out first his reasons, and then his much-anticipated endorsement. Powell said that Obama had been showing intellectual vigor and displaying concern for all of the country and the issues people care about, while he was concerned by McCain's seeming constant changing of ideas on how to solve problems. He said though Gov. Palin was to be respected she was not ready to be the president, which is "the job of vice president."

Continuing, he expressed dismay over the Ayers tactic and the robocalls happening about him, saying, "this goes too far. It makes the McCain campaign look too narrow." Adding the party has moved too far to the right, something else that he was troubled with. After telling a stunning story about a picture of a mother at her son's headstone in Arlington cemetery who was a 20-year-old soldier of the Muslim faith, and he expressed extreme disappointment that the faith seems to being used in the campaign as a synonym for terrorism or anti-Americanism.

Then he said it. To see who he endorsed, read more.

Powell said, "I've come to the conclusion because of his ability to inspire. . . as well as his substance. . . he has met the standard of being an exceptional president. I will be voting for Senator Barack Obama." Speaking of the consideration of race behind his choice, Powell said if that was the only consideration, he could have made that decision long ago.Then he said of an Obama presidency that, "all Americans should be proud, not just African-Americans, that we have reached this point in our country."

What do you think of Powell's endorsement?

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Biden Bumps Into Iraq, Abortion, and Palin on Meet the Press

LibertySugar — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:15:45 -0700

Democratic VP nominee Joe Biden made his 42nd appearance yesterday on Meet the Press. Tom Brokaw asked him some tough questions, often reciting previous Biden statements from many years past. Here's a rundown on how Biden met questions about the surge, abortion, religion, and the latest addition to the race, Sarah Palin.

On Sunni/Shia cooperation in Anbar:
It's still - it's a big problem, Tom. . . . We're paying 300 bucks a month to each of those guys. Now the problem has been and the promise was made by Maliki that they (Shia) would be integrated into the overall military. That's a process that is beginning in fits and starts now, but it's far from over.
On a timed withdrawal of American troops:
Whether or not the surge worked is almost irrelevant now. We're in a new deal. What is the administration doing? They're doing what Barack Obama has suggested over 14 months ago, turn responsibility over and draw down our troops. . . . The only guy in America out of step is John McCain. John McCain's saying no timeline.
On Iraq, the surge, and political reconciliation:
The surge helped make that (reduction in sectarian violence) possible. What made it possible in Anbar province is they did what I'd suggested two and a half years ago: gave local control. They turned over and they said to the Sunnis in Anbar province, "We promise you, don't worry, you're not going to have any Shia in here. There's going to be no national forces in here. We're going to train your forces to help you fight al-Qaeda." . . . What you had was the awakening. The awakening was not an awakening by us, it was an awakening of the Sunnis in Anbar province willing to fight.

To see what Biden had to say about his view on abortion as a Catholic, and for his view on Republican counterpart Sarah Palin, read more.

On abortion:
It is a personal and private issue. For me as a Roman Catholic I'm prepared to accept the teaching of my church. But let me tell you, there are a lot of people of great confessional faiths, Protestants, Jews, Muslims and others, who have a different view. They believe in God as strongly as I do. They're intently as religious as I am religious. They believe in their faith and they believe in human life, and they have differing views. I'm prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception, but that is my judgment. For me to impose that judgment on everyone else who is equally, maybe even more devout than I am, seems to me is inappropriate in a pluralistic society. . . . What I've voted against is curtailing the right, criminalizing abortion. I've voted against telling everyone else in the country that they have to accept my religiously based view, that it's at moment of conception.
Would he debate her any differently because she's a woman?
There's a lot of very tough, smart women in the United States Senate I debate every day. It's not new.
On Palin's policies:
I have no idea what her policies are. I assume they're the same as John's. I just don't know. . . . She didn't mention a word about health care, a word about the environment, a word about the middle class. They never parted her lips . . . so I don't know where she is on those things.

Are you eager to see Sarah Palin enter and defend her positions on the TV program of record?

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