Metropolitan Muse Concert series joins with Sony Music to give the DMV (DC, Maryland and Virginia) its first earful of Nneka, the emerging yet declared songstress/lyricist from the heart of the earth. With influences of both Nigerian and German forms of life infused with the power of rhythm, beats, struggle and triumph in her new album Concrete…

Technorati Tags: album, concert, Concrete, DMV, dmv dc, earful, earth, Heart, heart of the earth, Hip Hop PR Wire, Hip Hop Press Releases, life, lyricist, Maryland, Metropolitan, Muse, music, New Album, Nigerian, Nneka, Power, RHYTHM, RnB Press Releases, series, Sony, sony music, struggle, triumph, Virginia

David Stone, a national leader with local roots, was remembered Sunday during an uplifting memorial service at Dundee-Crown High School.

More than 100 friends and former classmates gathered in the school’s auditorium to pay tribute to the talented athlete from Algonquin who went on to become the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security.

Stone, 57, died in November from a heart attack at his Virginia home.

Among those paying tribute were President Barack Obama, who wrote a letter to Stone’s wife, Faith, that said, “Rear Admiral Stone led the Transportation Security Administration with the same distinction and dedication that he demonstrated as a Naval officer. Throughout his life, he set and example for his colleagues of integrity and commitment to public service.”

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also wrote a letter to Faith Stone, describing Stone as “an extraordinary man whose devotion to our country and commitment to service will forever be his inspiring legacy”

On a more personal note, Stone’s sister, Peg Schwartz, praised her brother during Sunday’s service.

“After meeting Dave, he made you want to be a better worker, husband, wife, friend and person,” she said.

Another memorial service for Stone was held in December at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

Stone was the Transportation Security Administration’s first Federal Security Director at Los Angeles International Airport. There he developed the post-September 11, 2001 security standards required by law, including the electronic screening of all checked baggage.

President George W. Bush then appointed Stone as Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for the TSA. He remained in the position from 2003 to 2005, overseeing an agency responsible for the safety of the country’s mass transit, rail, highway, pipeline, maritime and aviation systems.

Most recently, Stone served as president of safety and security of Cisco Smart+Connected Communities, based in India.

A 1970 graduate of Irving Crown High School in Carpentersville, since merged with Dundee High School to become Dundee-Crown, Stone was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2005.

He was recruited to play basketball at the U.S Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., where he earned a bachelor of science degree and began his naval career in 1974. He retired 28 years later with the rank of Rear Admiral.

In May, Stone will receive a memorial burial with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

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The Goodman Theatre has set the bulk of its 2010–2011 season, during which the theater will celebrate the tenth anniversary of its current facility in the Loop theater district. The five plays announced today include new works by Regina Taylor (MagnoliaMagnolia reviews), Sarah Ruhl (Passion PlayPassion Play reviews) and Thomas Bradshaw; in addition, artistic director Robert Falls revives The Seagull, mercifully alleviating that Chekhov drought that hasn’t been gripping the city of late, and Mary Zimmerman will put her flowy stamp on the 1956 musical satire Candide.

The season opens in September with Zimmerman’s Candide, Leonard Bernstein and Hugh Wheeler’s take on Voltaire’s cockeyed optimist, in the Albert. The libretto features lyric contributions from Stephen Sondheim, Lillian Hellman and Dorothy Parker, and the Goodman promises “new adaptations from Voltaire by Mary Zimmerman.” Guess when you’re a MacArthur “genius” you get to do things like that. The boilerplate on Falls’s Seagull, in the Owen in October, makes no such revisionist promises; there’s also no word yet on whether it’s aiming for Broadway (a leap that Falls’s 2009 Desire Under the Elms made and that his current double bill of Hughie and Krapp’s Last Tape hopes to).

Taylor’s Rain, premiering in the Albert in January 2011, is described as the playwright’s “most personal and intimate work to date”; in it, a New York journalist seeking comfort in the wake of her divorce returns to her mother’s Texas home, where family secrets quickly come to light. (As much as I admire Taylor’s playwriting work, I’m still waiting for the DVD release of I’ll Fly Away.)

Mary is, I believe, the Chicago debut by Bradshaw, a prolific young fixture on New York’s downtown scene; the play, which opens in the Owen next February, is a “comic absurdist drama” involving AIDS and Virginia slave quarters. Sounds promising coming from a guy the Village Voice once named “best provocative playwright” and whom our pals at Time Out New York have described as “like Sarah Kane with a sense of humor.”

Sarah Ruhl, the group’s other MacArthur “genius,” offers Stage Kiss, a “quirky new comedy” about a pair of actors, exes in real life, forced into a stage romance. Ruhl does quirky? Who knew. It’s in the Albert in March.  The Bradshaw and Ruhl offerings are both Goodman commissions, and I’m glad to see a commissioning body actually producing the plays it paid to have written—a final step in the process that too few commissioning theaters achieve. Three more plays are still to be announced, likely next month.

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A woman who abandoned her alleged 3-year-old nephew at a firehouse Monday night, told firefighters there she was in the military and on her way to catch a flight to Virginia.   

The woman dropped the boy off at a firehouse at 1440 E. 67th St at about 9:15 p.m. Monday, said Police News Affairs Officer Laura Kubiak.

She told firefighters the boy was her nephew and his mother–the woman’s sister–left the child with her three days ago and failed to pick him up, said Kubiak, citing a preliminary police report. The woman said her flight to Virginia was scheduled to leave at 11:30 p.m. Monday and she could no longer care for him, Kubiak said.

Under Illinois’ “safe haven” law, parents or guardians can legally leave a child up to 1 month old at a designated place such as a hospital, fire or police station–well under the age of the abandoned boy. Charges could be brought against the person who abandoned him.

The child was described as in good condition. No further information was available.

–Deanese Williams-Harris

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FRIDAY 29

AROUND TOWN/SEX & DATING – Whole Foods Singles Night
Maybe you’ll be able to bag a date at this get-together for eligible singles. Music and snacks will be provided. Register by phone or at the customer-service desk. Must be 21 to attend. Whole Foods, 30 W Huron St (312-932-9600). 7–8:30pm.

Christine Tarkowski, Parking Ramp, 2009

ART & DESIGN – Chicago Cultural Center openings
The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs celebrates new exhibitions by artists Christine Tarkowski, Angel Otero and the late Hollis Sigler. Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E Washington St. 6–8pm. FREE.

NIGHTLIFE – Fairmont a.k.a. Jake Fairley
Talk about a guy who’s marching to the beat of his own drum machine. A native to Toronto, he grew up with few friends showing the passion for electronic music that he found in himself, and subsequent years of bedroom production has led Jake Fairley out of his basement and into techno’s spotlight as a young and unique talent. He’s released records on Traum, Kompakt and esteemed ethereal techno label Border Community and he’s recently started taking his live show out on the road. Mixing a host of live P.A. equipment, vocals and effects his is a truly one of a kind show. Smart Bar. 10pm. $12, $10 before midnight.

MUSIC – Rosanne Cash
Over the past three decades, Rosanne Cash has defined herself as a songsmith of quiet intensity, improbably cutting a path distinct from that of her titanic father, Johnny. Yet on her lovely new album, The List, Cash eschews her own material in favor of a dozen chestnuts culled from a list that her father gave her in 1973, titled “100 Essential Country Songs.” Tonight, she sings from his list. Harris Theater, 8pm, $42–$45.

FILM- Odd Man Out, The Third Man
Carol Reed never got the respect he deserves as a director. Yeah, he directed Oliver!, but everybody makes mistakes. He also directed the tense little drama Odd Man Out, in which the inhabitants of Belfast deal with a wounded revolutionary on the run. And of course Reed directed The Third Man, with Joseph Cotton chasing his tail in Vienna looking for the mysterious Harry Lime (Orson Welles). Both must be seen on a big screen to be fully appreciated. Music Box, 3733 N Southport Ave between Grace St and Waveland Ave (773-871-6604). El: Brown to Southport. Bus: 80 Irving Park, 152 Addison. Regular and midnight $9.25, first daily show $8.75.

SATURDAY 30

Pentagram in the 80s

MUSIC – Pentagram
There’s not a doom-metal band around that can rightly claim freedom from Black Sabbath’s influence, but the nearly 40-year-old Virginia-based Pentagram is nevertheless a special case. The maniacal Bobby Liebling has fronted the group since its 1971 inception, setting a groovily evil example for everyone from St. Vitus to High on Fire. Empty Bottle, 10pm, $20.

NIGHTLIFE – Hercules and Love Affair + Kid Color + Vapor Eyes
It’s only once in a blue moon that an electronic act can make an impact that reaches outside of dance music’s insular world. Andy Butler’s Hercules and Love Affair project was one such act. Praise for his 2008 album came in from far and wide; our TOC review is one of the only five star reviews in recent history. We did receive word recently that he’s scraped most of his band so unfortunately, tonight’s performance is a strictly DJ affair, but rest assured his set will be filled with the same emotive disco, house and techno that he exudes in his productions. Local favorites Kid Color and Vapor Eyes open. Abbey Pub. 8pm; $15, 18 and up.

FILM – My Name is Julia Ross and Two O’Clock Courage
Remember double features? No? Neither do we, but we still think it’s a great idea, and the Bank of America Cinema has a doozy tonight: My Name is Julia Ross and Two O’Clock Courage. Both are psychological thrillers from the 1940s involving amnesia. That’s inspired programming. And if you’re worried about time, it’s worth noting that both movies are short, so you should be out and on your way to the bars by about 10:15pm. Bank of America Cinema, 4901 W Irving Park Rd (312-904-9442). Bus: 54, 54A, 80, X80. Sat 30 at 8pm. $5, seniors and kids under 10 $3.

ART & DESIGN – “Suitable Video” and “The Power of Selection, part 1″ receptions
Allison Schulnik, Mike Rea, Sterling Ruby, Miller & Shellabarger and Siebren Versteeg are among the artists in these two great shows, which close next week. Western Exhibitions, 119 N Peoria St, suite 2A. 5–8pm. FREE.

SHOPPING & STYLE – Binth warehouse sale
One glance at the Japanese woodblock-style screenprints and animal silhouettes embellishing many of this local paper company’s cards will have you cutting off your Gmail account and returning to the lost art of letter writing. Drop by Binth’s warehouse sale today and pick up a new habit, along with discounted cards, prints and posters. 321 N Justine St (312-243-7326). El: Green to Ashland. Bus: 9, 65. Sat 30, 10am–4pm.
SUNDAY 31

GAY & LESBIAN/TIME IN/MUSIC – Gaga Ooh La La Grammy’s Party
Sip a Gaga Ooh La La martini and see if she scores any awards at this Grammy’s viewing party. Kit Kat Lounge, 3700 N Halsted St (773-525-1111). El: Red to Addison. Bus: 8, 152. 7pm, FREE.

Allison Schulnik, Forest (still), 2009.

ART & DESIGN – Artist Talk: Aspen Mays
Up-and-comer Mays discusses her photography and sculpture show “From the Offices of Scientists.” Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S Cornell Ave. 2–4pm. FREE.

FILM – Fellini’s Casanova
The title says it all. Fellini taps into his darker side for this rather bleak portrait of one of Europe’s greatest lovers. No clowns and fat ladies here. In fact, at times this feels more like something from, say, Pasolini. But we mean that in a good way. Museum of Contemporary Art Theater, 220 E Chicago Ave, ground level entrance, (312-397-4010). El: Red to Chicago. Bus: 3, 10, 26, 66, 125, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 151. Sun 31 at 6pm. $8.

MUSIC – Occidental Brothers Dance Band International
The name aside, Occidental Brothers Dance Band International offers Chicago’s own answer to Central African dance music, drawing from Nigeria, Ghana and the heart of the Congo for inspiration. Congolese legend Samba Mapangala is on hand for tonight’s show, a fund-raiser for Walter Payton College Prep’s Humanities Festival. Lincoln Hall, 6pm, $20, all ages.

THEATER – Awake and Sing!
Amy Morton’s production opens at Northlight tonight.

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Two teens were killed Monday afternoon when their car slammed into a tree in Bensenville, tearing the vehicle in half, authorities said.

Adrian Villegas, 16, address unknown, was taken to Loyola University Hospital in Maywood, where he was pronounced dead at 4:56 p.m., according to a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Jesse O. Aragon-Rodriguez, 17, whose last known address was on Virginia in Bensenville, was declared dead at the scene at 4:45 p.m., according to the DuPage County coroner’s office.

Bensenville police say the two were in an orange 2002 Honda convertible speeding north on York Road beside a second vehicle when their car lost control, flew off the roadway and into a tree in the 200 block of South York Road.

Emergency crews arrived at about 4:13 p.m. and found the Honda sheared in two, according to apolice news release.

The second vehicle, described only as a dark-colored auto, continued north on York  without stopping, police said.

Police were working with the DuPage County Accident Reconstruction Team to gather additional details. Anyone with information should call police at (630) 350-3455.

–William Lee

Click HERE for a WGN-TV report on this story.

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A Far South SideSouth Side reviews woman came home to find her father covered in blood, apparently killed by a pack of dogs she was raising in their home, police said.

After evaluating the pets today, animal control officials said two adult dogs found at the scene would most likely be euthanized. But they were uncertain what would happen to four puppies that were there as well.

“Dogs don’t normally attack people in their own homes, so there’s a lot to investigate,” said Cherie Travis, Animal Care and Control commissioner.

Johnny Wilson, 56, was found late Sunday with numerous bite marks on his body in the living room of his home in the 10200 block of South Aberdeen Street, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Other sources said he suffered massive head, chest and upper body injuries.

By Deanese Williams-Harris and Angie Leventis Lourgos

Tribune reporters

The medical examiner’s office on Monday ruled that Wilson died of hemorrhaging from multiple injuries from a dog attack. The examiner concluded Wilson’s death was accidental.

Police called the dogs pit bulls. Travis said they’re “mixed breed,” but she couldn’t name the breeds until further evaluation.

Animal behaviorist Suzanne Hetts said fatal dog attacks are typically caused by multiple factors such as the personality of each dog involved, how they interact with one another, whether the dogs were spayed or neutered, and their relationship with people in the home.

Dogs in a group can act differently than each would individually. When one dog acts, the other tend to “jump in and do the same thing,” said Hetts, an expert with Animal Behavior Associates Inc. in Littleton, Colo.

She added that the dog’s breed isn’t the most important factor.

“Usually it’s a perfect storm situation, with a lot of things that lead up to the attack,” Hetts said.

Avantis Smith, 31, a next-door neighbor to the family, said he found it hard to believe that the dogs had attacked Wilson.

“She had them under control,” said Smith, who has lived next door for 20 years. He said the daughter and her family stayed in his home Sunday night. Smith said she was stunned and couldn’t explain what had happened.

Smith added that he had seen Wilson walking the dogs in the past.

“They always obeyed him. I don’t see any reason for them to attack him,” said Ruffin Davis, 62, another neighbor.

A niece of Wilson’s said he worked for the post office and his wife died within about the last year.

Tracy Wilson, 38, who lives in Virginia, said she came to visit ChicagoChicago reviews relatives around Christmastime but wasn’t able to see her uncle because he was working too much.

“And I never gave him a hug. I’m just heartbroken right now,” Wilson said.

She described him as caring and generous. “He’d give the shirt off his back, that’s just how he was,” she said.

Tribune reporter Liam Ford contributed.

–Deanese Williams-Harris and Angie Leventis Lourgos

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Firstly, the Haiti earthquake? Not a surprise to scientists and geologists, according to this Scientific American story. A bigger quake hit the island of Hispanolia in 1948. What concerned experts before the quake also occurred to me. And yes, it is obvious. The poverty in Haiti, weak infrastructure, low-quality building construction, an overpopulated city, all set it up for potential disaster.

Secondly, Tracy Kidder writes that Partners in Health (an org he serves on the development committee for) is the largest intact health-care provider in the country with ” 10 hospitals and clinics, all far from the capital and all still intact,” and some of my Facebook friends are already urging donations to Partners in Health, or in Haitian Creole Zanmi Lasante, which may, I’m guessing here, help keep Haitians in the loop in their own relief efforts and result in more lasting health infrastructure.

Thirdly, let’s hear it for my almost-hometown Fairfax, Virginia’s emergency response team, the Fairfax County, Virginia Urban Search and Rescue, for being among the first responders on the ground from the U.S.

Lastly, I noticed few commentators wanting to go deep on Haiti’s history or pre-earthquake situation. It was in dire straits, but was there some hope in a democratically elected government from 2006? It depends on what you read. So, we’re left to do our own digging around  in the CIA’s factbook, in Democracy Now!’s numerous videos on Haiti, and elsewhere.

And via Facebook, I’ve learned that my friends are donating to Haiti through a variety of sources, listed below. While the focus is on the extreme situation in Haiti, as it should be, don’t forget to channel that helpful energy into volunteering locally on MLK Day, where your sweat equity can be put to use.

Catholic Relief Services

American Jewish World Service

Care

Mercy Corps

Partners in Health

And, if you are in Miami, I got this info via Facebook, “Large truck that will be on the corner of 1st & Alton beginning at 6pm Wednesday and will be there 24/7 until it is filled. Items most needed: blankets, tents, batteries, candles, clothing, medicine, canned food AND Can Openers!!!”

After the jump: CNN video of the quake aftermath in Haiti. Viewer discretion strongly advised.

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Making the most of her evening, Michaele Salahi was spotted out and about in Manassas, Virginia last night (December 1).

The infamous White House crasher made a pit stop at Starbucks for a pick-me-up before hitting up a local nail salon.

In related news, Mrs. Salahi and her husband Tareq have come out to say that they were indeed invited to the Obama State Dinner earlier this month.

During an interview on the “Today” show the Salahis said they showed up at the gates without an invitation “to just check in, in case it got approved since we didn’t know, and our name was indeed on the list!”

Prior to the party, Michaele and Tareq had emailed back and forth with a Pentagon aide for foru days to get tickets.

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Several people around the MRC loved the Thanksgiving message of Amanda Reinecker at the Heritage Foundation’s myHeritage.org website:

America was founded upon sound conservative principles grounded firmly in human nature and not in radical idealism. And today, we see that these principles, though under attack from the Left, are still very much alive.

As Heritage Foundation scholar Matthew Spalding explained in 2003, Thanksgiving maintains the tradition of the American Founding and affirms that "while we are committed to upholding religious liberty, we remain one nation under God."

So, despite these tough times, conservatives and Americans have much to be thankful for:

1. The United States Constitution. The single most important and timeless document of our nation’s Founding, the U.S. Constitution lays the framework for a government that protects the natural and unalienable rights of every American. The Constitution, the key to our greatness and the bulwark of our liberties, offers an antidote to the Left’s radicalism. That’s why The Heritage Foundation has made it priority to educate the American people about this fundamental document.

2. America’s Armed Forces. The brave men and women of the armed forces have dedicated their lives to preserve and protect our liberties and defend the principles that inspired our Constitution. As President Harry S. Truman told Congress in 1945: "Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices."

3. A Conservative America. Recent Gallup polls find that an overwhelming majority of Americans — 40 percent — identify themselves as conservative, as opposed to liberal or moderate. This simply reinforces what Heritage Vice President Mike Franc reported after the 2008 elections: conservatives remain a force to be reckoned with. After all, Barack Obama campaigned last year on promises of lower taxes, spending cuts and a stronger national security because he knows what principles appeal to the American people.

4. Growing Conservative Momentum. This year, the Left’s big-government plans — and there have been many — have sparked a big reaction from conservatives around the country. From the April tea parties to the August town hall meetings to the September protests in Washington, concerned Americans have made it clear to politicians that they remain devoted to principles even if their representatives have abandoned principles.

5. The Sputtering Liberal Agenda. In part because of the firm conservative response, the liberal agenda is wobbling somewhat. While they continue to pose a grave threat to the nation, radical ideas like socialized medicine, new taxes on energy and handouts to Big Labor have been slowed or stalled in Washington. The Left has so far accomplished relatively little, but lest we grow overconfident we should remember that they still hold the levers of power.

6. Conservative Victories. The landslide victories of gubernatorial candidates Bob McDonnell in Virginia and Chris Christie in New Jersey — both states that the Left had counted on to remain in their camp — demonstrate a growing public demand for conservative solutions. Election Day saw other conservative successes as well, including a referendum protecting traditional marriage in Maine.

She’s also thankful that more and more Americans are turning to Heritage for conservatives ideas, with over 550,000 active members.

Technorati Tags: 2008 elections, agenda, Amanda Reinecker, America, American, american founding, Barack Obama, Bob McDonnell, Chris Christie, conservative, conservative america, conservative principles, Conservatives & Republicans, country, document, Foundation, foundation scholar, fundamental document, gallup polls, God, harry s truman, heritage, heritage foundation, heroic men, idealism, Left, Maine, Matthew Spalding, message, Mrc, myHeritage, nation, nature, new jersey, one nation under god, org, President Harry S, president harry s truman, Quot, sound, Thanksgiving, thanksgiving message, Thanksgiving Thanks, U.S. Constitution, undying gratitude, United States, united states constitution, valiant women, Vice President Mike Franc, Virginia, Washington, website, year

His state voted Democratic in the 2008 presidential contest for the first time in 44 years, he’s personally popular with voters, and he’s currently the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Yet not once in her November 17 11-paragraph story did Washington Post’s Rosalind Helderman raise the notion that Gov. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) might share blame for his party’s gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds getting thoroughly trounced in the voting booth 14 days earlier.

Helderman’s story, "Democrat Deeds ran without his base, Kaine says," was based on Kaine’s recent "meeting with editors and reporters of The Washington Post." Helderman’s reporting makes clear, however, that the paper was only interested in dutifully relaying Kaine’s spin on the 2009 gubernatorial election, not in challenging any of his claims.

Kaine told the Post that Deeds:

squandered the opportunity to sell his own appealing life story…. Instead, the rural state senator took the advice of campaign consultants who wrongly assumed Deeds’s Democratic support was solid and believed he should instead focus on wooing independents by attacking Republican Robert F. McDonnell.

And that makes sense, how? If in hindsight Deeds had trouble energizing his base, how could Kaine expect him to win an election in which he’d have to carry an energized base to the polls while also winning over independents?

But instead of challenging any of Kaine’s analysis or asking him if McDonnell’s win was a repudiation of the direction Democrats, led by Kaine, were taking Virginia, Helderman simply relayed the outgoing goveror’s hand-washing for the 2009 electoral bloodbath, which saw double-digit losses by all three statewide Democratic candidates and a net pickup of a handful of seats for Republicans in the state House of Delegates:

Kaine’s post-election analysis echoes criticism of the Deeds campaign that emerged from Washington and top aides to President Obama even before the election. It is a narrative that shields Obama from counterarguments by Republicans, who have contended that Virginia voters backed McDonnell to send a signal that they were displeased with Obama’s leadership. 

It is also a critique that Kaine, as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, might be hoping will persuade congressional Democrats to be more supportive of Obama’s policies, not less, as they contemplate their reelection efforts next year.

Kaine said the key to victory for Democrats in a highly competitive Virginia is recognizing that party members need not be "apologetic" about their affiliation to find success. He noted that about 200,000 more people voted in the Democratic primary for president on a frigid February day in 2008 than cast ballots for Deeds this year, and said McDonnell successfully spooked Deeds by suggesting that Virginians had grown anxious about the Democratic agenda.

"I think the issue of being nervous about the Virginia electorate was overdone and I think Creigh did exactly what the McDonnell campaign hoped he would do, which was distance himself from the president and national issues," Kaine said.

As he prepares to leave office, Kaine said he was pleased that Virginia’s economy has remained dynamic, with unemployment below the national average, and that its education system has been widely praised.

He also said that Virginia benefits from more national attention because of its status as a competitive state in presidential politics.

He expressed optimism that Democrats will extend their one-vote majority in the state Senate by winning a special election to replace Sen. Ken Cuccinelli II, a Fairfax County Republican who was elected attorney general.

Technorati Tags: analysis, base, bloodbath, campaign, campaign consultants, Chairman, chairman of the democratic national committee, Committee, Contest, Creigh, Deeds, Democratic, democratic candidates, democratic national committee, democratic support, election, Fairfax County, Gov. Tim Kaine, gubernatorial candidate, gubernatorial election, hand washing, hindsight, Kaine, McDonnell, National, obama, party, Post, post election analysis, President, President Obama, presidential contest, Quot, Republican, Repudiation, Robert F, Rosalind Helderman, Sen. Ken Cuccinelli II, state, state house, state senator, story, tim kaine, Va., Virginia, voting booth, Washington, Washington Post, year

It failed to make his master’s thesis at the university Pat Robertson founded a campaign killer, but the Washington Post is still intent on finding ways to damage governor-elect Bob McDonnell even before he takes office.

In a Metro-section front-pager today, Post staffer Rosalind Helderman insisted that some recent remarks by Robertson about the nature of Islam following the Fort Hood shooting have "put McDonnell in a bind" and are forcing the Republican governor-elect "to confront how he plans to handle his friendship with" the "long-time ally" and "highly controversial figure."

Just four paragraphs into her story, Helderman cast McDonnell as one who "tried during the race to convince Virginians that he was a social conservative who could speak more broadly to issues that cross party lines."

Of course, McDonnell did just that, winning the Virginia governor’s race by an 18-point margin (59-41 over Democrat Creigh Deeds) in a race where the economy, taxes and transportation were the key issues, so it’s specious for Helderman to paint the governor-elect as though he were someone of whom moderate voters were skeptical.

Helderman went on to quote "Virginia political analyst Robert D. Holsworth" as positing that "he will not be able to simply say ‘no comment,’ himself, forever," about Robertson’s characterization of Islam as a "violent…. political system" that was "bent on the overthrow of the governments of the world and world domination."

Just as President Obama had to formally denounce Rev. Jeremiah Wright, "McDonnell will probably face continued questions about Robertson’s stands through his four-year term," Helderman insisted, citing Holsworth.

Of course, for that analogy to hold true, President Obama would have to be persistently dogged by the media throughout his presidency every time Jeremiah Wright says something stupid, something which hasn’t and won’t likely happen, in large part because the media are not intent on damaging Obama in the way that the Post was and is with McDonnell.

What’s more, Wright was Obama’s long-time pastor. He married the Obamas baptized their children. McDonnell, a Roman Catholic, has received financial contributions from McDonnell and earned a law degree from his university, but has never been under the weekly spiritual authority of the Protestant evangelist. The relationships between Wright and Obama and Robertson and McDonnell are hardly analogous.

All the same, the paper that tried to make McDonnell’s thesis his "macaca" moment seems now intent on morphing Robertson into McDonnell’s Rev. Wright. It’s abundantly clear the Post is not aiming to be a neutral observer and chronicler of McDonnell’s tenure in the governor’s mansion, but rather the weaver of a negative narrative. 

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The roundtable members on Sunday’s This Week derided or dismissed Sarah Palin, with David Brooks, the putative conservative columnist for the New York Times, declaring “she’s a joke” and insisting “Republican primary voters just are not going to elect a talk show host” — leaving it to PBS’s Gwen Ifill, of all people, to come to her defense as a fellow woman.

Left-winger David Corn yearned for how she will damage Republicans while the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward agreed with Brooks and George Will wondered: “Some conservatives think they have found in Sarah Palin a Republican William Jennings. Why they would want somebody who lost the presidency three times I do not know.”

The derogatory take from David Books on the November 15 This Week with George Stephanopoulos on ABC:

Yeah, she’s a joke. I mean, I just can’t take her seriously. We’ve got serious problems in the country. Barack Obama’s trying to handle war. We just had a guy elected Virginia Governor who’s probably the model for the future of the Republican Party, Bob McDonnell. Pretty serious guy, pragmatic, calm, kind of boring. The idea that this potential talk show host is considered seriously for the Republican nomination, believe me, it will never happen. Republican primary voters just are not going to elect a talk show host.

Bob Woodward:

I agree with David on this. You talk to Republicans and they say they voted for Obama because Sarah Palin was John McCain’s pick.

Gwen Ifill:

As the girl at the table, I feel like I can say you cannot underestimate the degree to which women will be drawn to her story. And that’s who she’s speaking to. These are people who are ignored, who nobody counts into their thinking, it’s why she’s appealing to Hillary Clinton. It’s  why — when she made her own a announcement, she used the term glass ceiling back in the summer. Don’t underestimate that factor.

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JARRATT, Virginia (AP) – John Allen Muhammad, the mastermind behind the sniper attacks that left 10 dead, was executed Tuesday night as relatives of the victims watched, reliving the killing spree that terrorized the Washington metro area for three weeks in October 2002.

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John Allen Muhammad, the urban sniper who terrorized an entire region around the nation’s capital with random shootings in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., that left 10 dead seven years ago, died by lethal injection in Virginia tonight.

Read more in The Swamp on chicagotribune.com.

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The daughter of a Tucson man believed to have been murdered by the D.C. sniper plans tol be front and center today when the state of Virginia is scheduled to pump a lethal dose of potassium chloride into the murderer’s bloodstream.

Jerry Taylor was one of at least 11 victims linked to the three-week murder spree committed by John Allen Muhammad and his teenage accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, that stretched from Arizona to Virginia back in 2002.

Taylor’s daughter, Cheryl Wiltz, will be in Virginia today to watch Muhammed die — she seems to be looking forward to it, too.

“[Muhammed] took part in watching my dad die, and I want to watch him die. That’s justice to me,” Wiltz tells CBS 5 (KPHO-TV).

The duo was never convicted of murdering Taylor, but it is widely believed that the snipers are linked to victims in Arizona, Louisiana, and Alabama, as well as the muders they are convicted of committing in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Taylor was standing on a golf course in Tucson when he was shot dead by an unknown gunman

.(Source)

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Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele accidentally referred to House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) as "Speaker Boehner" during Sunday’s "This Week," and host George Stephanopoulos surprisingly didn’t disagree.

Quite the contrary, he found this so compelling he gave great attention to it at ABC News’s website:

Republican Chairman Michael Steele had a Freudian slip this morning on ‘This Week’ when he referred to Minority Leader John Boehner as "Speaker Boehner."…And Steele stuck by his slip: predicting a Speaker Boehner if Dems continue to push health care.

During the broadcast, Stephanopoulos not only didn’t disagree with Steele, but instead used exit poll numbers from Tuesday’s elections to show just how much trouble Democrats might be in 2010 (videos embedded below the fold with partial transcript, file photo):  

Moments later, Stephanopoulos again referenced what Steele had said suggesting the RNC Chairman might be right:

I do want to move on to the elections, because Michael Steele had a bit of a Freudian slip there, he called, he said, "Speaker Boehner." Maybe he was looking at the returns Tuesday, forecasting into next year…Let me look, dig into the numbers a little bit more from Tuesday night. One of the things that you saw in both Virginia and New Jersey is those new voters that President Obama brought to the polls last year in Virginia and Jersey under 30s, way down. Half the share of the electorate that they were in 2008. And then on independents, look at these numbers, first of all in Virginia. President Obama, last year, Democrats won 49-48. This year, Republicans two to one. 66-33 among independent voters in Virginia. New Jersey much the same story. 51-47 last year under President Obama. This year Republican Chris Christie gets 60 percent of the independent vote, Democrats get only 30 percent of the independent vote. That is a HUGE flashing light for next year, isn’t it?

Wow? Why does Stephanopoulos feel this way?

Is it because he’s really concerned that Steele might be right, especially given Stephanopoulos’s experience as a Clinton White House adviser who watched the Republicans take over Congress in 1994 somewhat as a result of the unsuccessful push for HillaryCare?

Hmmm.

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"Saturday Night Live" in its recent installment took shots at the Fox News Channel for what it saw as an amazingly one-sided, anti-Obama take on Tuesday’s election results.

The skit began with an off-screen announcer declaring, "You’re watching Fox News, continuous coverage of the 2009 election — end of an era."

On screen at that moment was a picture of President Obama above a graphic which read, "End Of An Era."

Actress Kristin Wiig, doing a marvelous impersonation of Greta Van Susteren, then hosted a discussion on the election results which included one-sided opinions from actors impersonating Glenn Beck, Brit Hume, Karl Rove, Shepard Smith, Joe Trippi, and Juan Williams.

The group was ecstatic over what happened in New Jersey and Virginia, but chose not to discuss Democrat Bill Owens victory in New York’s 23rd Congressional district (video embedded below the fold h/t Story Balloon):

In the end, it really wasn’t a very good skit with the exception of Wiig’s great job impersonating Greta.

Brava, Kristin.

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CBS’s Bob Schieffer on Wednesday night offered the hindsight that everyone knew the Democratic gubernatorial candidates in Virginia and New Jersey would lose, they did lose and so the losses mean nothing. “I think what we saw last night were snap shots. I don’t think we saw predictors,” Schieffer declared on the CBS Evening News in absolving President Obama of any culpability. “I don’t think they told us much except that people are very frustrated out in the country.” And that, apparently, has nothing to do with Obama

Schieffer recited what happened with remarkable prescience: In Virginia, “they run someone for Governor [Creigh Deeds] who is a rural candidate who’s little-known in Northern Virginia and who could not seem to connect with the African-American voters. So he got beat and he got beat bad. Most people thought that was going to happen and it did.” Up Interstate 95 in New Jersey, Governor Jon Corzine “was just so unpopular that I think he just didn’t have a chance from the get-go.”

Katie Couric and Jeff Greenfield saw “a cautionary tale” for the GOP in the Democratic pick-up of a U.S. House seat from New York where the candidate conservatives backed lost.

On NBC, Brian Williams painted the election results as “an ominous development for the-year-old Obama administration” and attributed the outcomes to how “there is evidence of an angry electorate out there.”

Of the broadcast network evening newscasts, only Charles Gibson on ABC pointed out the uninterrupted winning streak at the ballot box for opponents of same-sex marriage: “In Maine, voters rejected a law allowing same-section marriages. Gay marriage has now lost in all 31 states in which it has been put to a popular vote.”

Earlier: From Tuesday night, before the polls closed: “CBS’s Schieffer Denies Vote a Referendum on Obama, Compares Conservatives to McGovern.”

Gibson led the Wednesday, November 4 World News on ABC:

One year ago, Barack Obama rode into office on a wave of discontent, promising change on the number one issue for voters, the economy. Well, yesterday, in New Jersey and Virginia exit polls show voters were overwhelmingly interested about the economy. Same concern, different result. Despite campaign appearances by the President, Democrats lost gubernatorial races in those two states and voters who had supported the President just a year ago, well, they still like him but they abandoned him in droves.

Williams opened the NBC Nightly News:

A year ago we were talking about a sea change in American politics. Tonight we’re reporting a small change which could also be an ominous development for the-year-old Obama administration. Republicans were elected governor last night in two important states. But other than preferring both candidates to the Democrats, were voters across the country last night trying to say something else? There is evidence of an angry electorate out there.

The CBS Evening News didn’t get to the off-year elections until about 20 minutes into the program. An excerpt:

BOB SCHIEFFER: I think what we saw last night were snap shots. I don’t think we saw predictors. I mean, in Virginia, Obama won Virginia because he carried the urban/suburban vote in Northern Virginia, the suburbs around Washington and he got a big African-American turnout. So what did the Democrats do? They run someone for Governor who is a rural candidate who’s little known in Northern Virginia and who could not seem to connect with the African-American voters. So he got beat and he got beat bad. Most people thought that was going to happen and it did.

And in New Jersey, Corzine, the Governor, was just so unpopular that I think he just didn’t have a chance from the get-go. So I think these were races about New Jersey and Virginia. I don’t think they told us much except that people are very frustrated out in the country. The economy is bad and when the economy is bad, that is never good for the party in power.

KATIE COURIC: One of the surprising results last night was the victory in the 23rd congressional district in upstate New York of a Democrat. The Republicans had held that seat for, what, a hundred years? Is this a cautionary tale for the national GOP, Jeff, in a way?

JEFF GREENFIELD: It might be. It’s a unique event because it was local Republican leaders who picked a candidate that was just too liberal on social and some economic issues far lot of conservatives. Then you had a stream of Republicans– not just conservatives but people like former New York Governor Pataki, endorsing the Conservative Party candidate, I think,  to get their bona fides and that split their vote and a Democrat walked in. I think it may be a little cautionary in terms of those conservatives who are anxious to challenge Republicans they regard as too moderate or too liberal.

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NBC’s David Gregory, on Wednesday’s Today show, downplayed the huge GOP wins in New Jersey and Virginia as merely reflecting the "anti-incumbency mood," and "the change message that Obama" started last year. Gregory, however, did play up Democrat Bill Owens win over Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in the New York 23 congressional race, and even more absurdly Bob McDonnell’s win in Virginia as evidence that the Republican’s path to victory is to go moderate, as the Meet the Press host postulated: "What’s striking is you have the results in New York 23, which Democrats will hold up as a great result for them, but then you have McDonnell winning in Virginia, a purple state. He’s a social conservative for his political career, yet he runs more as a pragmatist, as more of a centrist and look at the result. He wins big, wins big among independent voters."

The following is the full Gregory segment with Meredith Vieira as it was aired on the November 4, Today show:

MEREDITH VIEIRA: David Gregory is the moderator of Meet the Press. Hey good morning to you, David.

[On screen headline: "Decision 2009, Is This Election A Referendum On Obama?"]

DAVID GREGORY: Good morning, Meredith.

VIEIRA: As Chuck, as Chuck just reported, the President did stump for the two losing gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia. Republicans are saying this morning it is a repudiation of the President’s administration. Fair statement or overstated?

GREGORY: Well probably unfair when it comes to a repudiation of the President himself, because his own approval numbers in New Jersey and Virginia are still quite high. But as Chuck points out, it’s the Obama coalition that was so successful in 2008 that did not show up. Independent voters, younger voters, African-American voters. That was part of a unique coalition that he put together for his presidency. This anti-incumbency mood is significant. It says that, that change message that Obama carried on to victory is still holding true, but now it’s being used against Democratic incumbents.

VIEIRA: Yeah, you mentioned the independents. And as you pointed out, they went heavily for Obama in 2008. This time they went with the Republicans. So, what is the lesson that both the Republicans and Democrats should take away from that?

GREGORY: Well, again, it’s the anti-incumbency mood, it’s the fact that there’s less trust of government, that there’s a disaffection with both parties, which is why I think this New York 23 race is important, because it’s a fight between conservatives and moderates in the Republican Party. For Republicans, they make the argument here that the independent wave is part of a different atmosphere, that there’s concern about the debt or health care, some of Obama’s policies, some of the Democratic policies. That’s the message that they hope to build on and they will try to nationalize that message today and going forward.

VIEIRA: Let’s talk a little bit about the congressional race in the 23rd district in New York. It, it sort of pointed out the dissension within the Republican Party between the moderates and those that are, are far more conservative. In the end, it was the Democrat who, who won that particular race, so how does the outcome of that race factor into national politics?

GREGORY: There’s still gonna be a big fight in the Republican Party about what the party should be. Should it be a more conservative party that gets back to its smaller government days or should it be a moderate party that can change some positions to get more independent voters to expand that coalition? What’s striking is you have the results in New York 23, which Democrats will hold up as a great result for them, but then you have McDonnell winning in Virginia, a purple state. He’s a social conservative for his political career, yet he runs more as a pragmatist, as more of a centrist and look at the result. He wins big, wins big among independent voters. So that dynamic within the Republican Party, that fight about what it wants to be is gonna go on.

VIEIRA: And finally David, you know midterm elections are next year, do you think that legislators will be looking at the results from last night and recalculating how they’re gonna come down on tough issues like health care reform?

GREGORY: It’s gonna be a real fear within the White House that those moderate Democrats are gonna now find it more difficult to cast a difficult vote on health care that could increase the deficit, that may be unpopular with key parts of their constituencies as they face voters next year. That’s something that the president is gonna have to really work on.

VIEIRA: Alright. David Gregory, thank you very much.

GREGORY: Thanks Meredith.

VIEIRA: It is 7:08 and for more, here’s Matt.

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On the home page of the Washington Post website this morning, the headline for liberal columnist Ruth Marcus is "Ignore the hype." Inside the newspaper, it’s "As for Virginia goes, not so much." Marcus advises that this GOP landslide is all some meaningless fairy tale:

Advice to readers about the coming orgy of analysis about the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial elections: Ignore it. Disquisitions on The Meaning of It All for President Obama or the 2009 results as a harbinger for Congress in 2010 have scant basis in reality.

Over-interpreting election results is an occupational hazard for political reporters. This problem is particularly acute in the year after a presidential contest, when we are suffering from a bad case of electoral withdrawal.

Marcus marshals some numbers to argue that governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey are not always great predictors of midterm and presidential elections to come. Let’s stipulate that for a second, but ask: doesn’t it also argue that reporters may have over-interpreted the mandate and charisma of Barack Hussein Obama?

Is it possible that Obama’s 52.7 percent victory wasn’t exactly a political juggernaut, and that his voters might vanish when he’s not in the ballot? If that’s true, do Democrats really have support for their policies, or just an empty crush on Obama’s rhetorical performances?

Marcus seems to be warning her fellow liberals in the press corps to stay away from assigning any momentum to the Republicans, in case it stymies all the liberal "progress" Marcus and her colleagues want. She’s trying to marshal facts, but ends up emotional and dismissive: we never really had Virginia anyway.

So it’s possible, for example, that Obama’s performance has turned off some of the Virginians who voted for him last year and played a role in the race between Democrat R. Creigh Deeds and Republican Bob McDonnell. But Deeds was a lousy candidate, McDonnell a far more adept one. Virginia is a purple state, but purple with a decidedly reddish tinge.

Also left unsaid: if Deeds was a "lousy candidate," why did The Washington Post endorse him over other Democrats?

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Sometimes spotting liberal bias is like shooting fish in a barrell. The folks at the Los Angeles Times really must have been trying to make it easy, however by downplaying two Republican gubernatorial victories (state-wide) and playing up two House races won by Democrats.

"Democrats win congressional victories in California, N.Y." the paper’s editors are touting on the site’s home page. The linked story is similarly absurd (no wonder it has no byline).

It’s almost surreal. Republicans haven’t won governor’s race in Virginia since 1997. In New Jersey, it’s been the exact same amount of time for the GOP. Oh and did I mention that President Obama won both states? Never mind. The Times editors know where the real news is: a regional race where California Democrats were trying to keep control of a seat they already had held.

Oh and before you try the "Times was trying to localize news angle," consider that the other race the L.A. paper highlighted was for a New York House seat in a contest that was a 3-person affair until Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava threw the contest to the Democrat Bill Owens.

Doesn’t matter. No matter how well Republicans do electorally, there is always going to be a cadre of media spinners predicting sunny skies for Democrats.

I have to agree with Mickey Kaus, this sort of news judgment is really tough to find.

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CNN’s Rick Sanchez omitted the left-wing ideology of an organization he cited as he lambasted North Carolina Representative Virginia Foxx on Tuesday’s Newsroom for her recent hyperbolic remarks against ObamaCare. Sanchez referenced a figure from the National Priorities Project, a think tank labeled “progressive” by CNN itself in 2007. He also left out some of the context of Rep. Foxx’s full remarks .

The CNN anchor devoted an entire segment 37 minutes into the 3 pm Eastern hour to the North Carolina Republican’s speech on Monday against a health care “reform” bill sponsored by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Representative Foxx denounced the bill as “a tax increase bill masquerading as a health care bill,” and continued that Americans “have more to fear from the potential of that bill passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country.”

Sanchez gave his spin on the speech before playing a clip from the Republican’s speech:

SANCHEZ: Think of the money that we have spent on the so-called war on terror, the thousands of lives that have been lost, the soul-sapping drain on America’s national psyche. Now, according to a congresswoman, Virginia Foxx, we did that for nothing, because that’s not the real threat. She seems to be saying this is what you need to know as Americans- al Qaeda, what’s the big deal? This Republican from North Carolina says there’s an even bigger threat than al Qaeda.

REPRESENTATIVE VIRGINIA FOXX: I believe that the greatest fear that we all should have to our freedom comes from this room, this very room, and what may happen later this week in terms of a tax increase bill masquerading as a health care bill. I believe we have more to fear from the potential of that bill passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country.

SANCHEZ: Okie-dokie. If you discerned a morsel of logic there, then you’re way ahead of me. I think that what she’s trying to say is that health care reform is a greater threat than the terrorists because it’s, in her words, a tax increase in disguise. How could another 9/11 be any worse than that? She thinks so. In Virginia Foxx’s world, this threat that we face- well, it appears to be all about money, right? All right.

Actually, it’s not “all about money” in Representative Foxx’s view. Sanchez failed to mention that the Republican explained why Pelosi’s bill should be feared, pointing to different pages of the legislation.

FOXX: Page 94—section 202(c) prohibits the sale of private individual health insurance policies beginning in 2013, forcing individuals to purchase coverage through the Federal Government. We can’t make that up. It’s right there in the bill.

Page 110—section 222(e) requires the use of Federal dollars to fund abortions through the government-run health plan; and, if the Hyde amendment were ever not renewed, would require the plan to fund elective abortions.

Page 111—section 223 establishes a new board of Federal bureaucrats (the ‘‘Health Benefits Advisory Committee’’) to dictate the health plans that all individuals must purchase; and would likely require all Americans to subsidize and purchase plans that cover any abortion.

Since the CNN anchor spun the Republican’s speech as being about money, he continued by comparing the amount spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the amount proposed to be spent on health care “reform.” Sanchez cited the National Priorities Project’s figures, mentioning the organization by name, but did not mention their left-wing ideology.

SANCHEZ: Let’s look at the numbers, for the record. The Congressional Budget Office looked at the Baucus bill. That’s the best known health care reform plan out there right now, and we found that it would cost about $830 billion. That’s over 10 years, by the way- $830 billion over 10 years. But it would cut the federal deficit by making health care more affordable. In Virginia Foxx’s world, that must be terrifying. Of course, Foxx was a big supporter of invading Iraq, so let’s do the comparison. And she said that doesn’t seem to be a threat, yet she spent all this money- you’re looking at it- on Iraq, where it cost our nation, according to the National Priorities Project, nearing $700 billion. But it wasn’t as big a threat?

Then we have Afghanistan. Foxx was all for that war as well- $230 billion and still going out. So, combined between Iraq and Afghanistan, that’s $927 billion so far. Estimated cost of health care: $830 billion, and for that, we’re actually going to be getting something back- health care. Tell us again, Congresswoman, which one is more scary?

Almost three years earlier, CNN correspondent Tom Foreman cited the Project’s Iraq war spending figures, referring to it as a “progressive think tank.” If Foreman thought it was relevant enough to mention that detail as he cited the organization, how come Sanchez didn’t?

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CNN’s Rick Sanchez omitted the left-wing ideology of an organization he cited as he lambasted North Carolina Representative Virginia Foxx on Tuesday’s Newsroom for her recent hyperbolic remarks against ObamaCare. Sanchez referenced a figure from the National Priorities Project, a think tank labeled “progressive” by CNN itself in 2007. He also left out some of the context of Rep. Foxx’s full remarks .

The CNN anchor devoted an entire segment 37 minutes into the 3 pm Eastern hour to the North Carolina Republican’s speech on Monday against a health care “reform” bill sponsored by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Representative Foxx denounced the bill as “a tax increase bill masquerading as a health care bill,” and continued that Americans “have more to fear from the potential of that bill passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country.”

Sanchez gave his spin on the speech before playing a clip from the Republican’s speech:

SANCHEZ: Think of the money that we have spent on the so-called war on terror, the thousands of lives that have been lost, the soul-sapping drain on America’s national psyche. Now, according to a congresswoman, Virginia Foxx, we did that for nothing, because that’s not the real threat. She seems to be saying this is what you need to know as Americans- al Qaeda, what’s the big deal? This Republican from North Carolina says there’s an even bigger threat than al Qaeda.

REPRESENTATIVE VIRGINIA FOXX: I believe that the greatest fear that we all should have to our freedom comes from this room, this very room, and what may happen later this week in terms of a tax increase bill masquerading as a health care bill. I believe we have more to fear from the potential of that bill passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country.

SANCHEZ: Okie-dokie. If you discerned a morsel of logic there, then you’re way ahead of me. I think that what she’s trying to say is that health care reform is a greater threat than the terrorists because it’s, in her words, a tax increase in disguise. How could another 9/11 be any worse than that? She thinks so. In Virginia Foxx’s world, this threat that we face- well, it appears to be all about money, right? All right.

Actually, it’s not “all about money” in Representative Foxx’s view. Sanchez failed to mention that the Republican explained why Pelosi’s bill should be feared, pointing to different pages of the legislation.

FOXX: Page 94—section 202(c) prohibits the sale of private individual health insurance policies beginning in 2013, forcing individuals to purchase coverage through the Federal Government. We can’t make that up. It’s right there in the bill.

Page 110—section 222(e) requires the use of Federal dollars to fund abortions through the government-run health plan; and, if the Hyde amendment were ever not renewed, would require the plan to fund elective abortions.

Page 111—section 223 establishes a new board of Federal bureaucrats (the ‘‘Health Benefits Advisory Committee’’) to dictate the health plans that all individuals must purchase; and would likely require all Americans to subsidize and purchase plans that cover any abortion.

Since the CNN anchor spun the Republican’s speech as being about money, he continued by comparing the amount spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the amount proposed to be spent on health care “reform.” Sanchez cited the National Priorities Project’s figures, mentioning the organization by name, but did not mention their left-wing ideology.

SANCHEZ: Let’s look at the numbers, for the record. The Congressional Budget Office looked at the Baucus bill. That’s the best known health care reform plan out there right now, and we found that it would cost about $830 billion. That’s over 10 years, by the way- $830 billion over 10 years. But it would cut the federal deficit by making health care more affordable. In Virginia Foxx’s world, that must be terrifying. Of course, Foxx was a big supporter of invading Iraq, so let’s do the comparison. And she said that doesn’t seem to be a threat, yet she spent all this money- you’re looking at it- on Iraq, where it cost our nation, according to the National Priorities Project, nearing $700 billion. But it wasn’t as big a threat?

Then we have Afghanistan. Foxx was all for that war as well- $230 billion and still going out. So, combined between Iraq and Afghanistan, that’s $927 billion so far. Estimated cost of health care: $830 billion, and for that, we’re actually going to be getting something back- health care. Tell us again, Congresswoman, which one is more scary?

Almost three years earlier, CNN correspondent Tom Foreman cited the Project’s Iraq war spending figures, referring to it as a “progressive think tank.” If Foreman thought it was relevant enough to mention that detail as he cited the organization, how come Sanchez didn’t?

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Shortly before the polls closed, CBS’s chief Washington correspondent, Bob Schieffer, rejected any effort to tie President Barack Obama to two the Democratic gubernatorial candidates for whom Obama campaigned, insisting on Tuesday’s CBS Evening News that the contests were more about local issues and so “I don’t think they had much to do with anything but New Jersey and Virginia.”

Citing the special congressional race in New York, Schieffer rued “this third-party conservative who literally pushed a moderate Republican out of the race,” and proceeded to analogize Republicans this year to leftist activists who in 1972 pushed Democrats to pick an un-electable presidential candidate:

The Republican Party is really split and it is the conservatives who seem to have the juice right now. It’s very much like what Democrats went through in 1972. The party activists on the left were so upset with mainstream candidates that in an effort to purify their party they pushed it so far to the left that they nominated the very liberal George McGovern for President. Now it’s conservative Republicans who are upset with their mainstream candidates. They want to push the party to the right.

As if Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman is any less mainstream than the liberal Republican nominee, Dede Scozzafava, who suspended her campaign over the weekend.

Fill-in anchor Harry Smith had asked Schieffer: “So many would love to tie President Obama’s fortunes to these elections, these governor elections in New Jersey and Virginia. Is that valid?” Seemingly presuming the Republican will win in both states, Schieffer tried to separate Obama from the two potential losses:

I don’t know about that. I mean, he campaigned in both states for the Democrats, but I’m not one who thinks that local candidates are ever helped out much by a national candidate who comes in. These two races — in both Virginia and New Jersey — were so much about local issues, about property taxes, about the economy, that I don’t think they had much to do with anything but New Jersey and Virginia, quite frankly.

From the 6:30 PM EST edition of the Tuesday, November 3 CBS Evening News:

HARRY SMITH: Bob Schieffer is our chief Washington correspondent and host of Face the Nation. Bob, a question for you tonight. So many would love to tie President Obama’s fortunes to these elections, these governor elections in New Jersey and Virginia. Is that valid?

BOB SCHIEFFER: I don’t know about that. I mean, he campaigned in both states for the Democrats, but I’m not one who thinks that local candidates are ever helped out much by a national candidate who comes in. These two races — in both Virginia and New Jersey — were so much about local issues, about property taxes, about the economy, that I don’t think they had much to do with anything but New Jersey and Virginia, quite frankly.

SMITH: Well, let’s talk about the House race. New York District 23. So much has been set about orthodoxy and the Republican Party. Will this tell us trends in terms of how the Republicans expect to be running in the future?

SCHIEFFER: In this case, I think it will, Harry. This is the most interesting race on the card by far, because what you have is this third-party conservative who literally pushed a moderate Republican out of the race. And she went on to endorse Obama [actually, the Democratic candidate].

The Republican Party is really split and it is the conservatives who seem to have the juice right now. It’s very much like what Democrats went through in 1972. The party activists on the left were so upset with mainstream candidates that in an effort to purify their party they pushed it so far to the left that they nominated the very liberal George McGovern for President. Now it’s conservative Republicans who are upset with their mainstream candidates. They want to push the party to the right. And if this frustration continues, I think you’re going to see more moderates challenged next year in Republican primaries by conservatives.

SMITH: Bob Schieffer, thanks.

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While analyzing the off-year elections across the country on Tuesday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith asked Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer about the New York 23rd congressional race: “…this notion that an insurgent conservative, orthodox conservative, would come in and really unseat the party’s choice for nominee there…is this a precursor of what might be happening a year from now?”

Schieffer used similar labeling to describe Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman and race’s impact on the GOP: “The Republican Party right now is still split. And I think right now it’s the conservatives who kind of have the juice….there is still no overriding philosophy, as it were, in the Republican Party, you’ve got the hard Right here and you’ve got the more moderate Republicans, right now I think the hard Right is driving the train in the Republican Party.”

Earlier, the two CBS hosts discussed the possibility of Democrats losing both governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia. Schieffer dismissed the idea of such losses being a national referendum on the Democratic Party and President Obama: “I think these are curtain-raisers, Harry. I don’t think they’re going to give us much of an indication of what’s going to happen, you know, in the next presidential election.” Smith agreed: “Yeah, because some people would like to say this is about President Obama’s very, very short coat tails, but it seems that these races are being very much decided on an individual basis.”

On MondayMonday reviews, Smith asked former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney if the NY-23 race would “save or kill the Republican Party.”

Here is a full transcript of the segment:

7:00AM TEASE:

MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: Americans head to the polls today as some too-close-to-call races have both Democrats and Republicans on edge. We’ll hear what it means for the White House and for you.

7:07AM SEGMENT:

HARRY SMITH: Now to politics, it’s election day and there are a number of key races that both parties are keeping a very close eye on today. Joining us now, CBS News chief Washington correspondent and host of Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer. Bob, good morning.

SCHIEFFER: Good morning to you, Harry.

SMITH: Let’s talk about these governor’s races in both New Jersey and Virginia. Do the Democrats there, either of them, the incumbents, do they have a shot?

BOB SCHIEFFER: Well, I think in New Jersey, where it is very, very close, Jon Corzine, who is the very wealthy governor, he comes from Wall Street, of course, before he got into politics. He’s running about dead even. I think there, if Corzine does pull out a victory, it’s not going to be so much because Barack Obama came there to campaign for him, it’s going to be because he, again, poured a lot of his enormous wealth into negative campaign ads against his opponent. That’s won for him before. If he wins, that’ll be the difference this time around.

In Virginia, a much different case. There, the Republican has opened up a very wide lead on the – on the Democrat. In this case, Obama did come to Virginia, of course he carried Virginia the last time, the first Democrat to do that since LBJ. But the Democratic candidate there comes from a rural area and he never really connected with the African-American vote and some of the people from the urban centers and in northern Virginia that carried Obama to victory there. I think it’s going to be – it’s going to be a surprise if the Democrat pulls it out there. But I think these are curtain-raisers, Harry. I don’t think they’re going to give us much of an indication of what’s going to happen, you know, in the next presidential election. They’ll just give us a snap shop of what’s going on right now in two very different states.

SMITH: Yeah, because some people would like to say this is about President Obama’s very, very short coat tails, but it seems that these races are being very much decided on an individual basis. But another one that may be some sort of a precursor about days ahead, let’s talk about New York District 23, this notion that an insurgent conservative, orthodox conservative, would come in and really unseat the party’s choice for nominee there, and have a shot, what do you think, is this a precursor of what might be happening a year from now?

SCHIEFFER: I think what it is, is a snapshot of where the Republican Party is right now. The Republican Party right now is still split. And I think right now it’s the conservatives who kind of have the juice. I mean, they came in there and just pushed out the Republican candidate. You had a lot of out-of-state Republicans that came in and endorsed the conservative candidate who was on the ballot and forced the Republican to – to withdraw from the race. What this tells you is, as there is still no overriding philosophy, as it were, in the Republican Party, you’ve got the hard Right here and you’ve got the more moderate Republicans, right now I think the hard Right is driving the train in the Republican Party. And I think this is the snapshot of where all that is right now, a very interesting development there.

SMITH: Alright, Bob Schieffer, good to see you this morning. Thanks so much for your time.

SCHIEFFER: You bet. Okay.

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