Fear and Loathing at Town Meetings
“People are uneasy and maybe a little angry.”
That was Rep. Dan Boren’s observation about the mood of people in his eastern Oklahoma congressional district.
A couple of hours after he made that comment, Sen. Tom Coburn told me this:
“People are fearful and angry.”
Coburn made that comment before I told him what Boren had said.
Both were back in Oklahoma for the two-week Easter break and they, along with other members of the congressional delegation, traveled around the state holding town hall meetings.
Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, said he had 51 people come to a meeting of his in Boise City, a town in the westernmost county in the Panhandle. Doesn’t sound like many, but Lucas said it was a record for him. And he said he was given 13 tea bags at the meeting — symbols of the tea parties that were held around the country two weeks ago to protest government spending.
“People are riled up,” Lucas said.
Boren, D-Muskogee, said some of the anger stems from the federal bail-outs.
“There’s bail-out fatigue in general, whether it be TARP (the Troubled Assets Relief Program) or autos or anything. They just feel like people are being rewarded for bad decisions.”
Boren said there was also a “general malaise” and that he tried to reassure people that “we’re going to be okay.”
“We will persevere and we’ll get out of this (economic) situation,” he said.
Coburn, R-Muskogee, said people have the right to be fearful and angry.
“They have the right to be fearful because this Congress is just thinking of the short term instead of the long term. And they have the right to be angry because (lawmakers) are mortgaging the future.”
Coburn said he also had huge turn-outs at his town hall meetings.
Boren, Lucas, Coburn and other members of the delegation can be seen here talking about President Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office.
Inhofe, Top Aide on TMZ
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, and his chief of staff, Ryan Thompson, are “featured” on the web site TMZ.
Obama and the Media
A new study from the Center for Media and Public Affairs says President Barack Obama has received more favorable early coverage than his immediate two predecessors.
Here’s the press release:
The media have given President Obama more coverage than George W. Bush and Bill Clinton combined and more positive coverage than either received at this point in their presidencies, according to a new study by researchers at George Mason and Chapman Universities. But the study also finds that Mr. Obama’s positive media image hasn’t precluded heavy criticism of his policies.
This research was conducted jointly by researchers at George Mason University in Fairfax VA and Chapman University in Orange CA, and coordinated by the Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA). It covers all news about Barack Obama’s presidency that appeared on the ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox evening newscasts (the first half hour of Fox News Channel’s “Special Report”) as well as front page stories in the New York Times, during the first 50 days of his term in office (January 20 through March 10). We examined all evaluations made by reporters and non-partisan sources, i.e., those not affiliated with either political party. For additional information on our methodology see http://cmpa.com/about_methods.htm
During his first 50 days in office, the three broadcast network evening news shows devoted 1021 stories lasting 27 hours 44 minutes to Barack Obama’s presidency. The daily average of seven stories and over 11 minutes of airtime represents about half of the entire newscasts. By contrast, at this point in their presidencies George W. Bush had received 7 hours 42 minutes and Bill Clinton garnered 15 hours 2 minutes of coverage, for a combined total airtime five hours less than Mr. Obama’s.
The networks varied in their attention to the Obama administration. CBS led the coverage with 365 stories and 10 hours 46 minutes of airtime, followed by NBC with 327 stories and 9 hours 38 minutes, and ABC with 329 stories and 7 hours 20 minutes. Thus, CBS has given more coverage to the Obama administration than all three networks combined gave to the first 50 days of George W. Bush’s presidency.
In addition, the first half hour of Fox News “Special Report” (which most closely resembles the broadcast network newscasts) devoted 10 hours 24 minutes to the Obama administration, nearly as much airtime as CBS gave him. And the New York Times devoted 115 front-page stories running 3385 column inches, the equivalent of over 28 full pages of text, to the Obama presidency.
Mr. Obama has received not only more press but also better press than his immediate predecessors. On the ABC, CBS, and NBC evening news, fifty-eight percent of all evaluations of the president and his policies have been favorable, and 42 percent were unfavorable. CMPA’s previous studies of network news found that George W. Bush received only 33 percent positive evaluations by sources and reporters during the first 50 days of his administration in 2001, and Bill Clinton received only 44 percent positive evaluations during his first ten weeks (70 days) in office in 1993. (As noted above, these figures are based on judgments by reporters and sources not affiliated with either political party.)
The three networks have evaluated Mr. Obama very similarly – 57% positive comments on ABC, 58% positive on CBS, and 61% positive on NBC. But he fared far better in New York Times stories, where nearly three out of four evaluative comments (73%) by sources and reporters were favorable. And he fared far worse on Fox News, where only one out of eight such comments (13%) were favorable. Examples:
Positive Example: “I was blown away by President Obama’s grasp of the subject. How he connected the dots. How he answered the questions without any script.” — George Stephanopoulos, ABC, March 5
Positive Example: “President Obama has done more in one week to reduce oil dependence and global warming than George Bush did in eight years.” — Environmentalist, New York Times, Jan. 26
Negative Example: “The [employment] numbers the Obama administration is throwing around are absolutely inaccurate… a gross exaggeration.” — Economist, Fox, Feb. 20
While Mr. Obama’s personal qualities and leadership abilities have drawn mostly praise from the mainstream media, his policies have not fared so well. On the broadcast networks fewer than two out of five evaluative soundbites (39%) praised his policies and proposals. ABC’s policy coverage was relatively balanced (48% positive), while source and reporter comments ran over two to one negative at both CBS (32% positive) and NBC (31% positive).
TV news coverage of the president’s economic policies, which focused mainly on the economic stimulus and the various proposed and enacted industry bailouts, garnered support from only 37% of evaluative soundbites. He fared better on domestic issues other than the economy, where praise for his health care proposals and new stem cell research policy brought balanced coverage overall (50% positive). But only one out of four comments (24%) praised his foreign policy decisions, including the war on terror.
Negative Example: “The Obama administration is paying too much money to the wrong people.” – Economist, CBS, March 20
The New York Times policy coverage, while less positive than its personal coverage of Mr. Obama, was about evenly divided between praise and criticism (48% positive). Although similar to the broadcast networks in its treatment of economic policy (40% positive), the Times portrayed other domestic policy areas relatively favorably (60% positive), and its 39% positive coverage of foreign policy domains was still more favorable than the networks’ 24% positive coverage.
Positive Example: Mr. Obama’s actions “reaffirmed American values and are a ray of light after eight long, dark years.” – ACLU executive, New York Times, Jan. 22
By contrast, Fox News coverage was even more negative toward Mr. Obama’s policies than the Times was positive. Only one out of twelve evaluative soundbites (8%) praised any of the president’s policies, including six percent positive judgments on the economic matters, seven percent on other domestic issues, and 17% on foreign affairs.
Negative Example: “It’s easy to spend someone else’s money…. It’s not only irresponsible, it’s unethical.” President, Peterson Foundation, Fox, February 20
Across all outlets, the ten most frequently debated issues were: 1. Economic stimulus — 287 stories; 2. Industry bailouts – 114 stories; 3. Budget/deficit – 74 stories; 4. Terrorism — 64 stories; 5. Healthcare – 61 stories; 6. Taxes – 45 stories; 7. Economic conditions – 38 stories; 8. Afghanistan – 31 stories; 9. Defense – 16 stories; 10. Iraq – 12 stories.
CMPA is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization which is affiliated with George Mason University. It has monitored every presidential election since 1988 using the same methodology, in which trained coders tally mentions of candidates and issues and evaluations of candidates. For CMPA findings on the 2008 elections: http://cmpa.com/Studies/Election08/election08.htm
Inhofe and Geithner
In a speech on the Senate floor last week, Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, said he has stopped blaming former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson for the financial bail-out that has kept AIG and some big banks awash in federal funds. Inhofe said he now blames current Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who was the head of the New York branch of the Federal Reserve Bank when the bail-out was proposed and approved.
This story in the New York Times shows how close Geithner was with some of the major players in New York’s world of finance.
Obama Greets Gators
President Barack Obama hosted the national champs at the White House today. I post this for motivational purposes:
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
TO THE 2008 FOOTBALL NATIONAL CHAMPION
FLORIDA GATORS
East Room
3:50 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: All right. Well, this is not The Swamp that you’re used to, but D.C. is built on a swamp, so welcome to Washington, D.C., and welcome back to the White House. I know at least that the — some of the upperclassmen have been here before. Congratulations on the national champions — being the national champions for the second time in three years. That’s outstanding. And they deserve a big round of applause, so give them a — (applause.)
I want to congratulate everybody who makes this program run — from the assistants to the trainers, from the students to the ticket takers, all of you should be very, very proud. And I should mention, by the way, there are a whole bunch of members of Congress who are here from Florida who are very proud. And so — and they brag about you in Congress all the time.
I want to thank Coach Urban Meyer, his wife Shelley, and their family for being here. I was just mentioning, as we were walking down, there’s something about Coach Meyer’s teams, they just have a lot of heart. And that’s a reflection of coaching values that talk about character and integrity, and not just winning. And so we are very appreciative of the work that you’ve done, Coach. That’s also why it’s so easy to tell that these guys have operated like one big family. And that comes across on and off the field.
I do have to give a special shout-out to Marcus Gilbert. Where’s Marcus? (Laughter.) There he is. Marcus, I’ve got a soft spot for this guy, because his dad, Jeff, was the first Secret Service agent on my detail, almost two years ago. He was with me for most of the campaign; he is a great friend of mine — and there he is back there. So that’s Marcus’s pop right here. We always tried to figure out how Marcus got so big — (laughter) — because Jeff is not that big and his wife is even smaller.
People forget now, but this team was not ranked number one until the end of the season. That’s perseverance. And that’s thanks to the tone the Coach sets. He trains these guys for “competitive excellence,” as he calls it, on and off the field. And in sports, as in life, your number may be called just once — oh, who’s phone is that? (Laughter.) Is that one of the player’s phones? ‘Fess up. (Laughter.) All right. Coach is going to talk to you after — (laughter) — about not turning off your phone.
In sports as in life — I was going to say your number may just be called once, but I didn’t mean it literally. (Laughter.) And Coach makes sure that you’re — they’re ready when that happens.
I understand that a lot of times reporters ask Coach Meyer, what did you say to the team at halftime? But what I’ve heard is he doesn’t usually have to say too much because the leaders of this team step up and say what needs to be said. So there are guys like Percy and Brandon and Louis Murphy, and — I understand there are a couple of comedians here, the 300-pound Pouncey Twins. Where are they? (Laughter.) Right there? (Laughter.) All right.
And then of course there’s — there’s the quarterback — where’s Tebow at?
MR. TEBOW: Right here.
THE PRESIDENT: There he is, over there — Heisman Trophy winner. That’s what I’m talking about. (Laughter.) Everybody is going to get a handshake afterwards, just relax. (Laughter.) Tim is an inspiration to so many — a guy whose true strength comes not from the gym, but from his faith. He says he puts faith, family, and academics above football. And that’s incredible when you think about what he’s done on the field: first sophomore ever to win the Heisman Trophy, in a season in which he personally scored more touchdowns than 87 entire teams in Division I-A football.
I remember watching the upset when you guys lost to Ole Miss. I was actually doing a debate in Ole Miss right before the game and I remember Tim apologizing — watching him on TV apologizing to Gators fans and laying down a challenge to himself, making an commitment, a promise that in fact they were going to push as hard as he — they could and he was going to personally take it upon himself to make sure that you never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season.
You know, that’s the kind of leadership that you want to see from all our young people — taking responsibility, challenging yourself and others, rising to the moment. You didn’t promise that the Gators would win every game the rest of the way, but it’s a testament to his leadership that they did because he said we’ll always play hard.
Now, he’ll be the first to tell you he didn’t do any of this alone. Everybody stepped up. So there are guys like wide receiver David Nelson — where’s David? There we go — (laughter) — who went into Coach Meyer’s office after Tim’s promise and said he wouldn’t do — he would do anything for this team, then upped his play all year, ended up catching the clinching touchdown.
What Coach Meyer and all of these guys also understand is being a champion doesn’t stop when you leave the field. They’ve committed themselves to 400 hours each year in service to others, mentoring at-risk youth, showing them that — those youth that if they put their hearts into it, they, too, can succeed. They play with children in pediatric units, help kids learn to read, promote fitness and physical activity, and so much more.
And all of this makes the Gainesville community that much stronger, and makes Florida that much stronger, it makes our country stronger. And I know that the guys behind me get a lot of it — a lot out of it in return.
Now, last point I would make. I don’t want to stir up controversy. You guys are the national champions — I’m not backing off the fact we need a playoff system. But I have every confidence that you guys could have beat anybody else. And so we’ll see how that plays itself out.
I noticed they got all quiet after that. (Laughter.) But you know, I’m one of those politicians — I don’t just tell you what you want to hear, I tell you what you need to hear. (Laughter.)
I know final exams start this weekend, so I don’t want to keep you any longer. You guys are going to have to hit the books. But I just want to say good luck to those who are going to be back next year, to those of you who are moving on the wider stage. Congratulations to all of you for a national championship that I know that you are extremely proud of. And I look forward to continuing to enjoy watching all of you next fall.
So thank you very much, everybody. Give it up for the Gators. (Applause.)
Stimulus Money for National Parks
Considering some of the eye-popping numbers that have been associated with the $787 billion stimulus bill, the money allotted for national parks in Oklahoma seems downright modest.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced $750 million worth of projects, and Oklahoma will get $592,000 of that.
The Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Sulphur will receive $551,000 to repair restrooms, trails and a nature center.
The Washita Battlefield National Historic Site, near Cheyenne, will receive $41,000 to replace the fence along the park’s boundary.
Toby Keith on Vet Controversy
Oklahoma country singer Toby Keith was asked at the National Press Club on Tuesday about the controversy over a Department of Homeland Security memo warning that former U.S. troops may be targeted for recruiting by right-wing extremist groups.
Here is the question: “What do you think about the officials who say young soldiers coming back from combat zones are dangerous?”
“Well they are dangerous,” Keith said. “Make no mistake about it. They are. But they’re not dangerous to this society. We’ve been bringing veterans back home for years and years and years and years. And they’ll single out one or two out that goes, you know, off on a binge sometimes and gets on a clock tower somewhere. But you know there’s so many of them that come back and mix right in and become great citizens … And you can’t beat the training and the respect and the adult that comes back when you send a boy over there, as a grown man.”
(AP Photo)
Inhofe on Earth Day
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, who is known in Washington as the leading skeptic of global warming, gives his views on Earth Day. Two other senators also weigh in.
Tom Cole on His Town Meetings
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, says in a column that President Barack Obama is changing America’s basic characteristics.
“During the past two weeks I hosted a series of town halls throughout the Fourth District. These meetings were an important opportunity for me to listen, take questions and provide answers directly to my constituents. While the questions were diverse, a sizable number of them revolved around policies that the President has proposed or implemented since taking office. Many Oklahomans are deeply concerned over the President’s out of control spending, as well as with his apparent neglect of our nation’s military. While he is clearly committed to growing the size and scope of the federal government, the one area in which he does not propose to spend more is in the defense of our nation. These two issues have Oklahomans gravely concerned.
“Our nation is facing a growing economic crisis the likes of which most of us have never experienced. And while the Oklahoma economy remains relatively strong compared to the rest of the nation, our citizens know that we cannot remain an oasis of prosperity while the rest of the nation sinks ever deeper into recession. Plunging our country deeper into debt and dramatically expanding the federal government’s role in the private sector has hard-working Oklahomans worried that the economic misery that is plaguing the rest of the country may soon be visited upon us.
“The amount of government spending is bad enough, but what makes it even worse is what the money is actually being spent on. In both the stimulus legislation, as well as the President’s proposed budget, the vast majority of spending is going to be used on expanding existing government programs, or imposing government programs in areas currently being served by the private sector. Had this money been used to rebuild our military, or to invest in our crumbling infrastructure, it would have created jobs and helped jump start our economy. Instead, it will be spent to make more people dependent on the government by permanently expanding its role in our day-to-day lives.
“To put things into perspective, the budget presented by President Obama weighed in at $3.55 trillion dollars – an amount that will borrow more than at any time in our nation’s history – and it will also trigger the largest tax increase in American history. The 2010 federal budget proposal is so massive that an independent estimate suggests it would take 250,000 new federal bureaucrats to spend it all. And those borrowed billions will come from China, the Middle East, and other nations who own a large-portion of our growing debt. Oklahomans instinctively know that this does not bode well for the future of our country.
“The changes being imposed on our nation by President Obama go well beyond simple political differences. These are policies that will change the very character of the United States of America. During my lifetime the character of this country was defined primarily by the American Dream and the United States’ role as the beacon of freedom and hope to oppressed people around the globe. Our capitalist economic system allowed Americans to work hard and achieve things that would be unthinkable in most other countries. And our principled foreign policy, combined with a fighting force second to none, made us the preeminent global superpower for the past 65 years. The path we are being led down by President Barack Obama is placing both of these characteristics at risk.”
Coburn, Fallin Holding Town Hall Meetings
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, has town hall meetings scheduled all over the state next week, while Rep. Mary Fallin, R-Oklahoma City, is holding one in Edmond and one in Seminole.
All the details are at www.wimgo.com.
