Huffington Post and Fox News disputes with Donald Trump - Arianna Huffington is no Roger Ailes

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A long festering feud of sorts has offered an interesting sidelight to the media coverage of the presidential campaign.  It all started when Arianna Huffington's Huffington Post news media manufacturing shop decided Donald Trump was not worthy of being covered as news.

Here was what her minions said about it.

A Note About Our Coverage Of Donald Trump's 'Campaign'

Ryan Grim Washington bureau chief for The Huffington Post

Danny Shea Editorial Director, The Huffington Post

After watching and listening to Donald Trump since he announced his candidacy for president we decided we won't report on Trump's campaign as part of The Huffington Post's political coverage. Instead, we will cover his campaign as part of our Entertainment section. Our reason is simple: Trump's campaign is a sideshow. We won't take the bait. If you are interested in what The Donald has to say, you'll find it next to our stories on the Kardashians and The Bachelorette.

Huffington Post Washington bureau chief Ryan Grim also dismissed Trump as a "clownshow" in an interview about the decision with Business Insider.

In his interview with Business Insider, Grim said Trump is only performing well in the polls "because of the big field" in the Republican primary.

Of course, the Donald responded in typical Trump fashion, take no prisoners.

Donald Trump's campaign dismissed the Huffington Post as a "glorified blog" in a statement on Friday evening.

"The only clown show in this scenario is the Huffington Post pretending to be a legitimate news source," the Trump campaign statement said. 

Though the statement was titled "Donald J. Trump Response To Huffington Post," a Trump spokeswoman said it was attributable to his campaign. The statement pointed to the fact Trump has previously criticized the Huffington Post on Twitter.

"If you read previously written Tweets, Mr. Trump has never been a fan of Arianna Huffington or the money-losing Huffington Post," the statement said.

Indeed, in one 2012 tweet, Trump launched a series of personal attacks on the site's cofounder and editor in chief, Arianna Huffington, that referenced her 1997 divorce from a former congressman who later announced he was gay.

Trump tweeted, "@ariannahuff is unattractive both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man - he made a good decision."

For the record, Arianna and Michael Huffington split in 1997 ... and a year later, the former congressman revealed that he's bisexual. Michael is now a gay rights activist.

Trump has been ripping the Huffington Post ever since the website ran a story on August 16, which attempted to uncover why Donald has been so "crabby" recently.

After the article ran, Trump called the Post a "loser" that will "die like AOL is dying."

The Trump campaign's statement also touted his positioning in a series of polls and vowed he would win the first two presidential primaries. 

"Mr. Trump is number one in the unimportant Huffington Post poll, along with all other recently released polls including Reuters, FOX, USA Today/Suffolk University, and The Economist. Mr. Trump is in first place in Nevada, where he is also number one, by a wide margin, with Hispanics. He is number one in North Carolina and expects to win Iowa and New Hampshire," the statement said.

Arianna long has been a fixture in the NYC and California elite social circles.

She began The Huffington Post on May 10, 2005, as a liberal/left commentary outlet and alternative to news aggregators such as the Drudge Report.

AOL acquired the mass market Huffington Post for $315 million on February 7, 2011, making Arianna Huffington editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group.

Though inspired by Drudge, Fox News is the real enemy to all progressive, leftist, liberal bastions like the Huffer.  Perhaps Arianna is trying to become the equal to Fox News President Roger Ailes.

Ironically, both Roger Ailes (Fox) and Arianna Huffington (Huffington Post) have had recent public disputes with Donald Trump but the different way they responded explains why Arianna is no Roger Ailes.

When Trump complained that Fox News was too tough on him in the first debate, Ailes talked to him directly and worked out an arrangement to make sure he received full and fair news coverage from Fox.

When Arianna got upset with Trump, she ordered her supposedly professional reporters to treat him as entertainment, not news, and like a clown, not viable candidate for office.  I suppose such is the reaction one might expect considering the diametrically opposed political philosophies of the two although prejudging the news is rather rare in journalism.

As Trump climbed to the top of the polls and the Huffer continued to ignore him they lost out on a massive opportunity to make money off the Donald.  No other liberal media outlet took such bizarre action and then sent out mouthpieces to dish the Trump campaign as clownish, not even The New York Times or Washington Post.

Perhaps such different reactions by Ailes and Huffington, explains why Fox News continues to dominate the cable airways.

Arianna Huffington created her news service in 2005.  After 10 years in business, Arianna had sold the Huffington Post in 2011 for $315 million when she was a minority stockholder, and received $18 million for the company she started.  She reportedly receives a salary of $4 million per year.

Roger Ailes was named the founding CEO of Fox News when it was started by Rupert Murdock in 1996.  During his twenty year reign Fox News totally dominated cable news, and he built the value of the network to the #48 most valuable brand in America, at $13.3 billion in revenue with a value of $11.3 billion according to Forbes Magazine.  Roger receives over $20 million a year as Chairman and CEO.

There is a reason Roger Ailes is rated one of the most powerful people in the news media.  He learned the business from the inside out and along the way was a crucial media advisor to Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, and made many media personalities famous like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and Megyn Kelly.

Perhaps Arianna should learn from the Master Roger Ailes and treat Trump as a viable presidential candidate instead of playing juvenile games that demean the news business in America.

Of course the always unpredictable Trump will test the patience of anyone over and over. Just tonight, August 25, he again took a shot at Megyn Kelly for no particular reason and this time Roger Ailes has demanded Trump apologize to the Golden Girl of the Fox News network.  Stay tuned for the latest update. 

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Obama Beats Bush, Nixon and Carter as Worst Modern Day President since World War II

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POLL: Obama Worst Modern-Day President

By Colin Campbell 

AP

President Barack Obama is the worst president since World War II, according to a plurality of voters in a new poll published Wednesday.

The Quinnipiac University survey found 33% of American voters named Obama as the worst while 28% named his predecessor, George W. Bush.

"Over the span of 69 years of American history and 12 presidencies, President Barack Obama finds himself with President George W. Bush at the bottom of the popularity barrel," Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said in a statement.

Richard Nixon, whose presidency ended in scandal, received only 13% of the vote and Jimmy Carter scored 8%. None of the remaining eight presidents received more than 3%.

Asked about the 2012 presidential race, 45% of respondents said the country would be better off if the Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, had won. Slightly less — 38% — said the country would be worse off under a President Romney.

"Would Mitt have been a better fit?" Malloy asked. "More voters in hindsight say yes."

[MORE SPIN ON POLL!]

U.S. poll: more voters see Obama as worst president in modern times

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two years into President Barack Obama's second term, more voters say they are dissatisfied with his administration's handling of everything from the economy to foreign policy, giving him the worst marks of any modern U.S. president, a poll on Wednesday said.

In a survey of 1,446 registered voters, 33 percent said Obama was the worst president since World War Two, while 28 percent pointed to his predecessor, George W. Bush, as the worst, the poll by Quinnipiac University found.

Voters were split over which of the two most recent presidents has done a better job with 39 percent saying Obama has been a better president than Bush and, 40 percent saying Obama is worse.

Most voters said Ronald Reagan, who served two terms in the 1980s, was the best president since 1945, the survey showed.

"Over the span of 69 years of American history and 12 presidencies, President Barack Obama finds himself with President George W. Bush at the bottom of the popularity barrel," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of Quinnipiac University's polling unit.

While Obama's job approval rating has inched higher to 40 percent, up from 38 percent in December, more voters gave him largely negative marks in key areas: the economy, foreign policy, healthcare and terrorism, according to the poll.

On the environment, 50 percent gave Obama positive marks.

The telephone survey, taken June 24 to June 30, had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Bill Trott)


[EVEN MORE MEDIA SPIN]

Obama's Terrible Approval Numbers Are Terrible

By Abby Ohlheiser 14 hours ago

When asked a question often discussed with dread at family Thanksgiving dinners, a plurality of voters —  33 percent — believe President Obama (or "Nobummer," amirite?) is the worst president since World War II. In second place on the same question was George W. Bush with 28 percent. These are the numbers you will read in several headlines today. The thing is, the "worst president since World War Two" results aren't really the worst numbers for the president in the Quinnipiac poll from which they're drawn. 

Related Stories

• Obama is the worst president in 70 years, says America The Week (RSS)
• Obama Worst President Since World War II: Poll The Fiscal Times
• U.S. poll: more voters see Obama as worst president in modern times Reuters
• Obama's abysmal new poll numbers: Is his presidency 'over'? The Week (RSS)
• Devastating New Poll Shows Americans Believe Obama Can No Longer Lead the Country The Fiscal Times

Let's address the headlines first. In the Quinnipiac poll, Obama finds himself among a handful of post-war presidents who garner polarizing reactions from voters. Those presidents, roughly, are Kennedy, Reagan, and the three most recent: Obama, Clinton, and George W. Bush. When asked to choose the best post-war president, for instance, Ronald Reagan snagged 35 percent of voters. But 18 percent thought it was Kennedy. Clinton took 18 percent of voters, and 8 percent think it's Obama, putting him in fourth place. (George W. Bush, for what it's worth, had just 1 percent of voters on this question).

If you look at the political breakdown by party of who is saying Obama is the worst, it falls strongly along party lines, with a little bit of help from independents: 63 percent of Republicans chose Obama, while 54 percent of Democrats said George W. Bush. Independents voted "for" both:  23 percent said George W. Bush was the worst, while 36 percent chose Obama. On a similar question directly comparing Bush and Obama, the expected partisan divide is even stronger:

Obama has been a better president than George W. Bush, 39 percent of voters say, while 40 percent say he is worse. Men say 43 - 36 percent that Obama is worse than Bush while women say 42 - 38 percent he is better. Obama is worse, Republicans say 79 - 7 percent and independent voters say 41 - 31 percent. Democrats say 78 - 4 percent that he is better. 

So the core group of voters strongly opposed to everything Obama does think he's a bad president, and the people who voted for him have a more positive opinion of the job he's doing. That's not a surprise. 

Obama's Terrible Approval Numbers Are Terrible

Which brings us to the number that's arguably the actual worst thing in the poll for Obama: "American voters say 54 - 44 percent that the Obama Administration is not competent running the government." Politico's Mike Allen agreed, flagging that number as of most concern to the White House this morning. This is the second recent poll to give the president or his administration a bad rating on a "competency" question: an earlier NBC/WSJ poll found that just half of Americans believe Obama is a competent leader of the federal government.

Although the poll marked a slight uptick in his overall approval rating to 40 percent, the president didn't fare too well when respondents were asked to rate his performance on a bunch of crucial issues:

• Voters were 40 - 55 percent against his handling of the economy;
• They also were negative on his foreign policy, 37 - 57 percent. And on the related issue of terrorism? 44 - 51 percent. 
• Same goes for healthcare: 40 - 58 percent against. 
• He did better on the environment, with 50 percent of voters approving and 40  percent against.

Then again, basically no one else in government right now is doing so well in the polls, either.

This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/politics/2014/07/obamas-terrible-approval-numbers-are-terrible/373832/

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R-E-S-P-E-C-T - Find out what it means to me...

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A Forgotten American Value

There was a time when respect meant something in America.  Fact is it really wasn't all that long ago.  I have a pretty good memory you see, and good memories have a way of sticking around.

When I think back it seems the beginning of the end of respect in American culture and life started as a backlash to the forced retirement of Richard Nixon from the White House during the post-Watergate era.

When Nixon ran for reelection in 1972 McGovern was never ever a serious threat and Nixon won every single state except Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, in one of the greatest landslides in electoral history.

The Watergate made no sense as there was no chance Nixon could lose.  In the previous four years he ended the Viet Nam war, lowered the threat of nuclear annihilation by his Soviet inroads, he was the first world leader to open the doors to China, and life was pretty darn good.

Yet there were people on his staff, the California mafia in particular, who were so paranoid they thought Howard Hughes was working with Larry O'Brien (head of the Democrat National Committee DNC and former knight in John Kennedy's Camelot), the mob, the news media and China to bring down the president.

So they ordered the Watergate break in to find evidence in the DNC headquarters.  For the first time the Cubans breaking in got caught after long careers with the CIA.  The trail then conveniently led to the West Wing of the White House and the top staff members of the president.

Thanks to the terribly botched break in, capture and pointing fingers, everything moved fast, perhaps too fast, for a thorough government investigation.  Before long there was 18 minutes missing from a White House tape and tens of thousands of dollars in cash being passed between a series of dark and shadowy secret agencies, organizations and groups.

In terms of people being out to get them no matter what happened in the election, there were some pretty good reasons for paranoia.  Attempts by the White House palace guards to gain political influence over the intelligence agencies was intense and only J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI had the power to resist the White House staff.

And then there was the Kennedy assassination.  Just 12 years earlier JFK was killed.  Bobby Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were killed about five years later.  Nixon had been defeated by JFK and Nixon people always felt the truth about the Kennedy assassination never came out.

Were the Kennedy's killed because they upset the military industrial complex by wanting to end involvement in the rapidly escalating Viet Nam war?  Or was it the mob and CIA who were upset because of the Bay of Pigs fiasco?  Maybe it went back to Jimmy Hoffa, mortal enemy of the Kennedys from the days he was President of the powerful Teamsters Union and was driven from office into jail by a relentless Bobby Kennedy?

As far as the Nixon cronies were concerned someone was out there powerful enough to kill presidents and anyone else involved if these mysterious forces felt threatened.  I think the Nixon political people were determined to find them first.

Anyway, you get the drift, there were a lot of reasons to be paranoid.  The mafia, Jimmy Hoffa, Castro, Communists, Cuban Freedom Fighters, Howard Hughes, the military, FBI, CIA, Soviets, KGB, Kennedy family and so on.

Someone clearly set them up as a warning or in retaliation for something and people that break the law deserve to get broken.

So Nixon wins by a landslide in 1972 and the Watergate investigation is underway.  His aides forgot to tell him some things that took place?  He covers up for their bungled break in though he most likely didn't know it took place.

Check out this time line.

The Watergate break in is June 17, 1972.

Nixon wins reelection on November 7, 1972.

Watergate trial begins in January, 1973.

Nixon fires top aides in April, 1973.

Butterfield tells Senate of Nixon's tapes on July 16, 1973.

Nixon resigns from Office August 9, 1974.

Just before he wins one of the most resounding landslide victories in American political history a break in took place that would bring down a presidency.

The aftermath brought Ford to the presidency, the pardon of Nixon by Ford, and finally Ford's defeat by Carter.  Historically speaking, it was one of the most remarkable periods ever as the strength of the Constitution, the fairness of the judiciary, the ability for the nation to function for two years without a president who was buried in the legal battle for survival, and the media.

Oh yes the media.  They hated the White House palace guard more than anyone.  Not only did Nixon almost beat the beloved leader of the liberal cause, Kennedy and his Camelot in 1960, but here he was back in the White House elected 8 years after JFK.

In the eyes of the media Nixon was back to dismantle the Kennedy legacy, and the rise of the liberal media legacy, and Watergate gave the liberals and media the perfect reason to go after Nixon and his people.  Little did they know they were pawns like everyone else involved.

The aftermath was a terrible polarization between liberals and conservatives, democrats and republicans, academia and the military, and on and on.  Unlike previous times, this time it was a fight for survival of their cause.

By the late 1970's there were many seeds of hatred, intolerance, judgment, bias and fear planted throughout the land fueled by a conviction that the other guy was out to destroy me so my only hope was to destroy him first.

Reagan brought a brief respite from the bitterness, perhaps because he had been both a democrat and a republican, but it didn't last long after.

Ever since it has been clear that the core of our malaise was our failure to respect the right of others to disagree.  Yes, loss of R-E-S-P-E-C-T.  The powerful feminist anthem by soul singer Aretha Franklin in 1967.  Aretha wailed it:

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Find out what it means to me

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Take care ... TCB

"TCB" is an abbreviation that was commonly used in the 1960s and 1970s, meaning Taking Care (of) Business.

We all need to remind each other to respect our right to disagree, and respect the opinions of others as you would want them to respect your opinions.

In the past people could disagree without hating.  My best friends worked against me in political campaigns yet we still shared a beer every week and laughed about our campaigns. All of the competitions of life should make us understand the need to respect and listen to each other but we don't.

Maybe the feminists will allow us to borrow Aretha's anthem for another cause, the need for renewing respect in our lives, politics and religions.

Just for fun I checked the definition of respect from my current dictionary and from my collection of old dictionaries, this one from 1906.  Words are my playground and the more I study them the more I understand their secrets.

Over 100 years ago respect had a lot more significance than it has today.  The following are the current and 1906 dictionary definitions of respect.  Use this as a good refresher of what we need to work to achieve.

Internet Free Dictionary - 2012

re·spect (r -sp kt )

tr.v. re·spect·ed, re·spect·ing, re·spects

1. To feel or show deferential regard for; esteem.
2. To avoid violation of or interference with: respect the speed limit.
3. To relate or refer to; concern.

n.
1. A feeling of appreciative, often deferential regard; esteem. See Synonyms at regard.
2. The state of being regarded with honor or esteem.
3. Willingness to show consideration or appreciation.
4. respects Polite expressions of consideration or deference: pay one's respects.
5. A particular aspect, feature, or detail: In many respects this is an important decision.
6. Usage Problem Relation; reference. See Usage Note at regard.

The New American Encyclopedic Dictionary - 1906

respect (rĕ-spĕct )
v.t. [Fr. respecter, from Lat. respectus, pa. par. of respicio=to look back on, to look at: re=back, again, and specio=to look, to look at; Sp. respectar, respetar; Ital. rispettare.]

1. To look back upon.
2. To look toward; to face or look in direction of.
             "Palladius adviseth, the front of his house should so respect the south, that in the first angle it receive the rising rays of the winter sun." - Browne.
3. To take special notice of; to regard attentively; to regard as worthy of motice.
            "What should it be that he respects in her?"
                        Shakespeare: Two Gentlemen of Verona, iv.4.
4. To heed. to consider, to regard.
            "Do you persuade yourself that I respect you?"
                                Shakespeare: Measure for Measure, iv.1.
5. To view or regard with some degree of reverence; to esteem; to look up to with reverence or respect.
6. To have reference or regard to; to relate to.

[Respecting, 3.]

                To respect a person or persons, to respect the person: To show undue favor or bias toward; to suffer the opinion or judgment to be influenced or biased by a regard to the outward circumstances of a person, to the prejudice of right and equity.

rĕ-spĕct , s. [Fr., from Lat. respectum, accus. of respectus=a looking at, regard, from respectus, pa. par. of respicio=to look back upon, to respect (q. v.).]

1. The act of looking at with attention; the act of noticing; a looking toward; attention, regard, care.
                "I will have respect unto the statutes continually." - Psalm cxix. 117
2. Relation, regard, reference [¶].
3. The act of holding in high esteem or regard; regard; reverence; the deportment or course of action toward another which proceeds from a feeling of esteem, regard, or reverence toward such person.
4. (Pl.): An expression of esteem and regard; as, Give him my respects.
5. Respected character or position; respectability, repute.
                "Many of the best respect in Rome."
                                Shakespeare: Julius Caesar, i. 2.
6. Goodwill, favor.  (Genesis iv. 4.)
7. Partial regard; undue bias to the prejudice or right and equity.
                "It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment."
                                Proverbs xxiv. 23.
8. Consideration; motive in reference to something.
                "Whatsoever secret respects were likely to move them."
                                Hooker: Eccles. Polity.
9. Point or particular; point of view; matter, feature.
                "She will be ruled in all respects by me."
                                Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, iii. 4.
10. Modest and becoming behavior; decency.
                "Talk with respect, and swear but now and then."
                                Shakespeare: Merchant of Venice, ii. 2.
11. Deliberation, reflection.
                "The icy precepts of respect."
                                Shakespeare: Timon of Athens, iv. 3.
12.Caution, care.
                "He it well did ward with wise respect."
                                Spenser: F. Q., V. xii. 21.

[¶] 1. In respect: Comparatively speaking; relativity.
                "He was a man; this, in respect, a child."
                                 Shakespeare: Henry VI., Pt. III., v. 5.
2. In respect of, or to:
            (1) In comparison with; relatively to.
                "In respect of a fine workman I am but a cobbler."
                              Shakespeare: Julius Caesar. i. 1.
            (2) On account of; by reason of; in consideration of; as regards.

Do you see how much we are losing from the true meaning of respect?
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