Mary Matlin Proves To Be A Dishonest Hypocrite On CNN

There are some things that are so ridiculous that they defy basic logic. Normally, this happens on Fox News, but CNN shows that it is not immune to stupidity and the unwillingness to strongly challenge borderline insane comments. Conservative commentator and strategist Mary Matalin was on CNN with John King (appearing along with her husband, Democratic strategist James Carville) and made the following inexplicable, head-scratching comment:

MATALIN: I was there, we inherited a recession from President Clinton and we inherited the most tragic attack on our own soil in our nation’s history. And President Bush dealt with it and within a year of his presidency within a comparable time, unemployment was at 5 percent.

You can check the Think Progress story for the obvious responses that easily shred Matalin’s ridiculous comments.

Here is one thing that caught my attention (as you will see in the short video clip). On the one hand she is whining about President Obama bashing President George W. Bush, but then turns right around and blames President Clinton (for the recession and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001) to excuse President Bush.

It just shows how much of a hypocrite Mary Matalin is and how little credibility she has to speak on important issues. Yet, CNN brings her back time and time again and almost never challenges her with any kind of strength.

Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/12/27/matalin-inherited-terror/

How Much Of A Nose Dive Can Lou Dobbs’ Ratings At CNN Take?

CNN’s conservative host Lou Dobbs, who is severely damaging the credibility of CNN as a true and honest-to-goodness news organization, may be taking a hit in the ratings according to The New York Observer. This is no surprise. Dobbs has been so one-side and so pig-headed in pushing this birther non-story, that he is behaving more like a Fox News operative placed at CNN to destroy it from within. In many ways, Dobbs’ obsession with the birther story fits his conservative xenophobic pattern (his other obsession is barking endlessly about illegal immigration).

From The New York Observer:

To wit: According to The Observer’s analysis of Nielsen data, in recent weeks, as criticism of Mr. Dobbs has continued to go up, his ratings at CNN have continued to go down.

Mr. Dobbs’ first began reporting on Obama birth certificate conspiracy theories on the night of Wednesday, July 15. In the roughly two weeks since then, from July 15 through July 28, Mr. Dobbs’ 7 p.m. show on CNN has averaged 653,000 total viewers and 157,000 in the 25-54 demo.

By contrast, during the first two weeks of the month (July 1 to July 14) Mr. Dobbs averaged 771,000 total viewers and 218,000 in the 25-54 demo. In other words, Mr. Dobbs’ audience has decreased 15 percent in total viewers and 27 percent in the demo since the start of the controversy.

Arguably, interest in cable news has slumped across the board since early July when attention over Michael Jackson’s death was still at a fever pitch.

But, that said, Mr. Dobbs’ ratings over the past two weeks, during the height of the “birthers” controversy, are also down significantly compared to his overall numbers during the second quarter of 2009 when he averaged 769,000 total viewers and 222,000 in the 25-54 demo.

In summary, if Mr. Dobbs’ affinity for “birthers” is a ratings ploy, it’s a pretty ineffective one.

But, how far can a man’s ratings truly nose dive if he already is at the bottom of the barrel?

It’s a relatively short fall for Lou Dobbs.