Pensito Review

Fox News Brietbarts President’s Purported ‘Enemies List’ – Falsely Asserts ‘Smear’ of Romney Finance Co-Chair

Jon Ponder — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:57:21 +0000

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Andrew Brietbart may be dead but his practice of creating fake political scandals lives on at Fox News. The latest case involves Frank Vandersloot, the Romney campaign’s co-chair, who is apparently no relation to Joran Van Der Sloot, the accused murderer in the Natalie Holloway case. Rachel Maddow reported the facts beneath the fakery in the latest case last night. Here’s Media Matters’ take:

Frank VanderSloot is an Idaho businessman and a prominent Mitt Romney donor. According to Fox News and The Wall Street Journal, he’s also a member of Barack Obama’s purported “enemies list.”

In a May 10 column, The Wall Street Journal’s Kimberly Strassel complained about the scrutiny VanderSloot has come under since the Obama campaign questioned VanderSloot’s background. On May 11, Fox jumped on the story, airing five separate segments that denounced attacks on a “private citizen.”

But a crucial detail was missing from Strassel’s column and the half-hour of airtime that Fox devoted to the story: VanderSloot is a national co-chair for Romney’s finance committee. So VanderSloot is not merely a “private citizen,” but actually a high-ranking member of Romney’s campaign.

Fox’s Neil Cavuto even let VanderSloot carry out his responsibilities as national finance co-chair on the air. Toward the end of an interview with Cavuto, VanderSloot said that he plans to “stand up and get more involved in this campaign, and we hope that other people will join us in that. Everybody should get out their checkbooks.”

Fox is outraged — outraged — that the Obama campaign would discuss Vandersloot’s political positions because he is, they falsely claim, a “private citizen.” They were not similarly outraged, of course, when Republicans [skewered] private citizens like Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers in the 2008 campaign.

Why? I.O.K.I.Y.A.R.

O. On Down-Low

Buck Banks — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:44:51 +0000

The Family Research Institute’s never been good with facts,
And they’ll pretty much say anything to give Obama the axe.
Which led Pastor Paul Cameron to say
That although he’s not gay,
Obama has no doubt participated in “homosexual acts.”

Brooks: Obama Perfecting His Image of Manliness

Buck Banks — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:03:31 +0000

Obama has displayed a kind of ESPN masculinity: postfeminist in his values, but also thoroughly traditional in style — hypercompetitive, restrained, not given to self-doubt, rarely self-indulgent. Administrations are undone by scandal and moments when they look pathetic, but this administration, guarded in all things, has rarely had those moments … I’d say that Obama is a slight underdog this year: the scuffling economy will grind away at voters. But his leadership style is keeping him afloat. He has defined a version of manliness that is postboomer in policy but preboomer in manners and reticence.

— David Brooks, writing in the New York Times.

Biden Set to Hit Romney Hard Over Bain

Buck Banks — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:51:57 +0000

Romney made sure the guys on top got to play by a separate set of rules, he ran massive debts, and the middle class lost. And folks, he thinks this experience will help our economy.

— Vice President Joe Biden, quoted by Politico, from advance excerpts of a speech he’ll give later today taking aim at Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital.

Romney Worth Around $230 Million

Buck Banks — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:47:08 +0000

+/- $230 million

Forbes’ estimate of Mitt Romney’s wealth after an extensive analysis. Asked earlier this year for his own estimate, Romney told Univision that “It’s between $150 and about $200-and-some-odd million dollars.”

Majority of Teens Text While Driving

Buck Banks — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:58:17 +0000

61%

Of teens say they glace at their phone while driving and 61% also say they’ve seen friends read or send an email or text while driving, according to a recent AT&T Teen Driver Survey.

Americans Pick Obama in Election by 20-Point Margin

Buck Banks — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:58:28 +0000

56% to 36%

Margin by which Americans think Barack Obama rather than Mitt Romney will win the 2012 presidential election. This is the case even though voters’ preferences are evenly divided between the two candidates, says Gallup.

Pat Robertson Backs White Mormon Over Black Christian

Buck Banks — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:03:58 +0000

The question is, if you have two candidates, you don’t have Jesus running against someone else. You have Obama running against Romney.

— God’s co-pilot Pat Robertson, throwing his support to Mitt Romney’s presidential candidacy — but only because Jesus Christ isn’t running, BuzzFeed reports.

Bush Backs Romney

Buck Banks — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:02:47 +0000

I’m for Mitt Romney.

— Former President George W. Bush, endorsing Mitt Romney this morning as the doors of an elevator closed on him, ABC News reports.

Ayn Over Yet!

Buck Banks — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:48:30 +0000

Now Ron Paul’s Dropped out of the race,
Leaving Romney all alone in first place.
But libertarians ain’t delicate,
So when he’s counting delegates,
Mitt’d better count twice in Tampa, just in case.