June 29, 2006
Hotline After Dark -- That Stench Is Mold
The Weather Channel was all about "Storm Stories" and cable news was all about the rain and floods in the East:
Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA) appeared on "LKL," the "Situation Room," and "Live & Direct" to talk about the flooding.
Rendell: "One of the reasons that the mayor -- in consultation with us and FEMA -- decided to evacuate Wilkes-Barre ... was the lessons we learned from Katrina. ... In an abundance of caution, we didn't want to be caught in a Katrina-like situation where the access roads were cut off, the dike broke or the dike was surmounted and we had all our water and no way to get people" ("Live & Direct," MSNBC, 6/28).
More Rendell: "I have not gone up in a chopper, and Senator Santorum and Senator Specter and I are going to do that. But we're not going to do that until it's clear that we don't need our choppers for a search and rescue. Right now you don't want a bunch of politicians taking a chopper that can be used to save lives" ("LKL," CNN, 6/28).
Rendell: "I think the next 12 hours will be pretty crucial for Pennsylvania. Again, we're fighting in 15 counties. ... We're fighting serious problems now. But the next 12 to 14 hours will tell whether this is a full-scale disaster in Pennsylvania" ("Situation Room," CNN, 6/28).
TIME AFTER TIME
Rep. Peter King (R-NY) is still getting a lot of air time with his criticism of the New York Times.
King, on his resolution: "The purpose of the resolution is to put Congress on record being absolutely opposed to the leaks that were done, and also calling on the media to realize, you know, the damage that's caused to the United States, to our national security, by what I believe is a reckless disregard for homeland security and national security priorities" ("AC 360," CNN, 6/28).
King's response to a Times editorial criticizing him: "The chairman and ranking members of the Intelligence Committees in the House and Senate, the majority and the minority leaders, the speaker of the House, they all knew of this. And, to me, that is the type of oversight you need. You can't have all 535 members of the House and Senate knowing everything about every top secret operation that is going on. ... This is war. This isn't the same as a highway bill or a tax bill. This is life and death. And the New York Times should understand that" ("Situation Room," CNN, 6/28).
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL): "I would advise the president to be cautious about beating up on the press for doing their job. ... My attitude is, let the press do its job and that, you know, in fact a lot of the problems that have arisen in terms of leaks and so forth have to do with just the extraordinary unwillingness of the president and this administration to commit itself to any kind of oversight, from anybody. I mean, it's not just that they don't want the New York Times leaking stories about their activities. They also don't want to share it with Congress" ("Hannity & Colmes," FNC, 6/28).
WH spokesperson Tony Snow: "There are a whole number of options right now, but the Bush administration, the president is not in a position to ask for investigations ... of the press, that simply would be inappropriate" ("O'Reilly Factor," FNC, 6/28).
PLAYING HARDBALL
MO SEN candidate Claire McCaskill (D) was on "Hardball" last night. Asked how she can beat an incumbent SEN, like Jim Talent (R): "You've got a senator who pretty much does whatever the president tells him to do. He votes with President Bush 94 percent of the time, and I must say, I'm not really happy with the Democrats either. I think my success will depend on whether or not Missourians feel comfortable that I can go out to Washington and be very independent and try to find some common sense, common ground" (MSNBC, 6/28).
And Tom DeLay was also on "Hardball." Asked if the GOP could keep control of the House: "I think they'll hold the House. It's too early to tell by how much. Obviously, we're a little behind in some districts around the country, but we've got a long way to go" (MSNBC, 6/28). [EMILY GOODIN]
Posted at 07:27 AM
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