CNN’s Mommy Kyra Disses FNC “Super Sperm” Daddy?

Phillips: “I love my husband [FNC’s John Roberts] but this man got me pregnant!” On Wednesday, CNN anchor Kyra Phillips appeared on Fox & Friends with her adoring “hubby” FNC correspondent John Roberts to hawk her new book The Whole Life Fertility Plan. On Friday, Kyra ditched her “boyfriend” JD on her own network CNN’s morning show, New Day, to appear with the man who she credited with getting her gravid.

On Wednesday (vid), Kyra played to the Fox News audience and curvy couch co-anchors Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Steve Doocy, and Brian Kilmeade at the start of her segment, declaring, “You know, I’ve been trying to get on Fox for about ten years: And, as soon as I said, ‘I’m writing about my husband’s super sperm,’ bam, I was booked!” Explaining how she finally came to the decision to get pregnant, she disclosed that she had basically come to her wits end as a woman “approaching forty” who “was going through this horrible divorce,” who “had lost everything” in her home after a pipe burst upstairs,’ and who, while sitting on her stoop thought, ‘Oh, my god…this, this is it; I don’t have a family; [and] I don’t have children.” Gushing over her adoring “hubby,” she declared, “And, thank goodness, I met this wonderful man! After a period of time…he was open to going to fertility.”

On Friday, Kyra had a whole new sales pitch to plug her book to the ND curvy divan viewers and ND (and former FNC anchor Alisyn Camerota): Ditch her lover, and hook up with the doctor who made it all possible.* As she began the segment, Kyra iterated her F&F spiel saying, “I had spent my whole life working on my career, and then all of a sudden, there I was in Iraq covering the war: I was going through a horrible divorce; I came home–my house had flooded because a pipe burst upstairs; I had nothing; and I was sitting on my porch thinking, ‘Oh, my god, it’s never going to happen; and I had a huge anxiety attack.” Pointing to her fertility doctor and co-author of her book, Kyra exclaimed, “And, so, thank god for Jamie!” Giggling, she bawdily declared, “I like to say, ‘I love my husband but this man got me pregnant!”

Kyra’s Canuck “super sperm” JD was F&F “Friendly” Wednesday: But, on New Day, he was NSFW!

*New Day – 01/31/15 (@ 8:48 a.m. ET).

[Author’s aside: The author refers to John as “hubby” and “boyfriend” interchangeably, supra, because his marital relationship with Kyra seems uncertain: In a Huffington Post interview (05/25/11), he said, “There’s no plan for a wedding. I call her my wife, she refers to me as her husband….at our age, fiancee just doesn’t sound right.”]

FOX-y Kiran Returns: CNN Glam?

Chetry: “Are we perfect?”* Kiran Chetry looked luscious this morning as the former American Morning co-host returned to CNN as a guest on Reliable Sources. Paired with older beauty Judy Woodruff, co-host of PBS News Hour, Kiran seemed to make a deliberate decision to glam down, i.e., less makeup, flatter hair, and a more demure dress (sleeveless but with a higher collar and a lower hem). Perhaps, she or CNN’s makeup mavens decided to pander to a more politically correct meme and/or audience.

In his segment [vid via J$P], a  “must-see discussion about women, television news and attractiveness”** (based on a HuffPo article about a British news anchor “who should hike up her skirts”), RS anchor Brian Stelter remarked, “Kiran, you’ve brought some notes with you all of the different things you have been told about how you to dress over the years.” Kiran answered, “When you…called and said…do you want to come join us to talk about this, I laughed.” Elucidating, she explained, “I think that attention to women’s appearance, I think that it’s not just news: I think that’s just sort of society, and we can take it with a grain of salt or we can get very insecure about it.

Sharing her own experience, Kiran explicated, “But, I laughed over the years: People said that I should buy a wig–which I’m actually thinking that I probably should have because my hair is too thin for TV, they didn’t like that–and then I was told not to bare arms but Michelle Obama changed that for all of us.” Of the proffered advice, she added, “Dye your hair blond, wear your skirts shorter…don’t wear pantsuits.”

Subsequently, as Judy bemoaned the inevitable emphasis on the looks of female journalists, Kiran responded, “There is a huge amount of emphasis put on looks: I don’t necessarily think [that] it’s a horrible thing [but] it’s definitely, it’s trying.” When Brian asked for specifics, Kiran related that when she was a twenty-two old anchor in an NBC affiliate (WICU-TV) in Erie, Pennsylvania, she posited the adiaphorous example of being encouraged to wear shoulder pads and “pouffed out hair” to look older.

Hoping for a more apt example, perchance, Brian asked, “When you were at Fox News, was there a more of a focus on your looks than there were at other places?”

Smiling and tilting her head alluringly, Kiran replied, “Yeah, one of my favorite quotes ever: Never mind, I can’t say it. I can’t, I just realized that I can’t say it. I’ll tell you later!”

Don’t hold out, Kiran! As to whether you look perfect, to paraphrase Alabama for your steadfast fans, “you’re close enough to perfect for me.” And, when you really return to TV, the author has a feeling you just might be.

* Reliable Sources – 07/13/14 (11:17 a.m. ET). [Re the subtitle, supra, Kiran asked at the beginning of the segment, “Are we perfect because we’re both wearing sleeveless?”]

Cuomo Tweaks “Really Dumb” Carlson Twerk?

Flexin’ Fetchin’ Gretchen: “This [twerk] seems more like a hula!” Yesterday, CNN’s New Day co-anchor Chris Cuomo appeared ready for bear as he took aim at his FNC Fox & Friends rival Gretchen Carlson seemingly Friday. On the very day after the Huffington Post mocked Gretchen for her twerking a la Miley Cyrus on air Thursday, Chris seemed strangely eager to get in a sharp jab at Gretchen.

When a ND story on the birth of panda twins in Atlanta began to wrap Friday, Chris stammered, “I don’t believe, I think it’s really dumb when you see these newscasters trying to twerk.”* Pointing his finger at his audience for added emphasis, he continued, “But, I do believe it is not done very cute and we should try best panda sound.” Smiling dismissively, his co-host Kate Bolduan riposted, “I can not believe [that] you made a twerk/panda reference!” Paying her little mind at most, Chris answered, “Of course, when you see them trying that, you’re like, ‘why are they doing that?'”

Perhaps, Chris, Gretchen is twerking toward that full twelve years for F&F as “king of the hill.” Who knows? If Kate follows suit, she might well give ND, at least, a fighting chance against FNC’s inimical juggernaut.

[Author’s aside: Gretchen’s quote in the subtitle was the remark that she made after briefly trying to twerk, supra.**]

*New Day – 08/30/13 (@ 7:46 a.m. ET)

**Fox & Friends – 08/29/13 (@ 7:48 a.m. ET)

Oops! F&F’s All-American Summer “Scat” Series?

Unedited “Rough and Ready” (“a**hole”): Bob Beckel bumper music? Today, Fox & Friends seemingly turned their song selection over again to The Five‘s filter-intolerant co-host (the big bumptious one who seems to continuously soil FNC’s afternoon airwaves with scatalogical expletives). Last month (July 10), F&F producers carelessly closed a baseball segment to the tune of “Boys Round Here” as Blake Shelton sang “Backwoods legit, don’t take no sh*t.” Today, they one upped–or one downed–themselves: They teased an upcoming “Shot of the Day” segment to “Rough and Ready” as Trace Adkins raucously belted out, “Got a what are you looking at? A**hole smirk.”*

Strangely, no apologies were offered when F&F resumed after the commercial break. Oops: Another F&F Bob-ble!

[Author’s aside: According to HuffPo, J$P caught Bob‘s third “‘s’ word in recent memory” last Wednesday: If the author heard him correctly, Bob said it for a fourth time last Friday after hurting his hand at the close of his The Five segment (08/16/13 – @ 5:52 p.m. ET).]

*F&F – 08/19/13 (@ 8:27 a.m. ET)

Kyra’s “Cannuck Hubby”: Robert’s Ring Ruse?”

Special Reports with JD: Ring on, ring off! Yesterday, FNC Special Report with Bret Baier guest anchor John Roberts decided to doff his seemingly connubial band for, at least, the third time this week.* Only about six months ago, Roberts was proudly donning his seemingly marital ring as he hosted Special Report (soon after his long-time flame HLN anchor Kyra Phillips had claimed to have a Cannuck husband): As a result the author assumed that Roberts had finally tied the knot with Phillips after proposing to her over two years earlier on bended knee.

But, maybe, not. According to HuffPo (in 2011), Roberts revealed that he did not “call Phillips is fiancee and they[had] no plans to get married soon” in “spite of the couple’s ‘engagement.'” In that same interview, Roberts remarked, “There’s no plan for a wedding. I call her my wife, she refers to me as her husband.” Holding out hope for the future, Roberts added, “Do I expect that at some point we’ll get married? Yes, it’s just that we’ve both been so busy working and preparing for our babies that we haven’t found time.”

Perhaps, the two lovers still haven’t found the time–after all. Stay tuned, John and Kyra fans.

*Special Report with Bret Baier – 12/07/12 (@ 6:34 a.m. ET); Happening Now – 12/04/12 (@ 9:37 a.m. ET); and Studio B with Shepard Smith – 12/03/12 (@ 3:41 p.m. ET).

Kiran Chetry Confesses: “Two New Obsessions”

“I’ve been on the beach…not…actually ‘working.'” Former CNN and FNC anchor Kiran Chetry is back and she has a confession to make: she has two, no, three new obsessions. After promising her fervent fans to be back “soon!!!!!” less than three weeks ago, she delivered, at least, a foretaste as a Huffington Post contributor today. In an article entitled “Observations from My Armchair,” Kiran revealed that she has indeed seized her personal “very special opportunity” after her emotional namaskaar to her American Morning audience over a year ago.

In a missive to her Twitter followers, Kiran Tweeted, “Check out my post from Huff Po…. Observations From My Armchair.” In the article, she declared, “I’ve been on the beach. Not sunning myself, but in TV terms, I have not been actually ‘working.'” Elaborating, the Nepalese beauty continued, “I left CNN last summer and quickly discovered two new obsessions: Tennis, and Bikram (hot) yoga.”  [Kiran’s doubles champ pic and yoga goddess photo.] Then, in an sweet sop to her votaries who have eagerly anticipated her return to early morning news, she explained, “Oh, three obsessions actually. After 12 years doing some form of morning or night shift, I have become obsessed with eight hours of sleep. Something I haven’t seen since before Y2K shut down our world (errr).

Subsequently, in her HuffPo post, Kiran opines about her aptly cynical perspective on Presidential politics. In the process, she discloses that she is an independent voter and bemoans the fact that the Presidential candidates can not now actually be honest and tell the truth a la Ron Paul in the election process. Paraphrasing Jack Nicholson in a Few Good Men, she wonders, “As a nation could we really handle the truth?”

The nation? Perhaps, not. But, Kiran, your fans surely can–at least, for the moment. But, they still want their “Ray of Light” to brighten their dawn anew.

[Author’s aside: Surprised by Kiran’s truth? Cf. “Kiran Chetry: A Year Later”.]

“Free P*ssy” Penalty: Bob Beckel Apologizes

“I’m very sorry….I’m gonna be quiet now.” Today, The Five co-host Bob Beckel apologized for his “foul” mouth and announced that he would be having the day off tomorrow because of it. As Carpe Diem reported Monday, an apoplectic Bob incoherently stammered “free, pre p*ssy” when he was defending President Obama’s purported disdain for his GOP opponent Mitt Romney. (A day later, after reviewing Johnny Dollar’s video of the incident, HuffPo aptly opined that Bob was “referring to…Reince Preibus,” the GOP National Chairman.)

This afternoon, during the final Five segment, a chastened Bob declared, “My ‘one more thing’ is to say, ‘I’m off tomorrow and that’s going to make me happy and…a lot of conservatives out there happy. I need a break because lately on this show…my mouth has been moving a little bit too much and sometimes dumb things–which is surprising for a MENSA guy–comes [sic] out of it.”

As his co-host Eric Bolling laughed off camera, Bob continued, “Last night when I was checking Twitter, I saw that some people out there were offended by something I said.”

Then, raising his palms in a mea culpa, Bob declared, “Now, I’m not going to say it again but I want to say to those who were offended, ‘I’m very sorry.’ That’s the last you’re going to hear that. I’m going to be quiet now.” Announcing anew Fox News’ apparent one-day sanction, Bob added, “I’ll see you on Friday.”

Kyra Phillips: I Have a Canuck Husband

John Roberts: “At some point.” Apparently, that point has arrived for CNN Newsroom anchor Kyra Phillips and FNC senior correspondent John Roberts. Even though Kyra recently claimed that she had a Canadian hubby on CNNN, her long-time fiance belied that assertion by eschewing any connubial band. However, Kyra’s “J.D.” decided to don it Monday when he guest-hosted on Special Report with Bret Baier.

Over two years ago, Kyra and John became engaged in grand fashion at Greenbrier Resort on the greens at the 18th hole (bended-knee proposal, champagne, and Tom Watson’s pin-flag congratulations). However, approximately ten months later, with their twins almost due, John seemed to cast doubt on any future nuptials in an interview with HuffPo: He remarked that there was “no plan for a wedding” but that he did expect that he and Kyra to get married “at some point.” Monday, John seemed to signal that “point” has come and Kyra does now indeed have her Canuck hubby as he dutifully wore his wedding band on Special Report.

Congratulations, Kyra and John!

Penguin Poops: HuffPo Oops!

Carpe Diem: scanned but unread? Someone at the Huffington Post has egg–or penguin poop-–on his face. After Carpe Diem reported that karma visited Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade Wednesday in the form of African penguin dung for his maligning of Happy Feet (the straying Antarctica penguin who ended up in New Zealand), HuffPo appeared to retell the story without a customary “h/t.”

Perhaps, as a result, karma revisisted HuffPo. Apparently, the HuffPo author merely scanned the Carpe Diem article before penning his own. In the beginning of the Carpe Diem column, F&F‘s co-anchor Gretchen Carlson’s warning to Brian after he disparaged Happy Feet a month ago was quoted. Unfortunately, the HuffPo columnist did not read more closely or he would have realized that Juliet Huddy, not Gretchen Carlson, was co-hosting Wednesday: since he did not, he erroneously dubbed the F&F co-host as Gretchen Carlson in an apparent rewrite of Carpe Diem‘s “Kilmeade’s Karma: A Penguin’s Revenge.”

HuffPo‘s chagrin: it’s karma?

[Author’s aside: If the reader watches HuffPo‘s own vid, Juliet Huddy is clearly seen for a brief moment during the abbreviated penguin segment. P.S. TVNewser got it right three days later.]

Gretchen: In Full Disclosure

But, she still doesn’t get it. Monday Fox & Friends co-anchor Gretchen Carlson interviewed Christian Lopez, the Yankee fan who gave Derek Jeter his 3000th hit home run ball back. Before she began, she declared, “Christian, in the [sic] full disclosure, I do have to tell you that my husband [Casey Close] happens to be Derek Jeter’s agent.”* Then, she inaptly added, “I just want to get that on the record ’cause sometimes people have a problem with that.”*

Apparently, Gretchen was referring in part to the author who first reported that she interviewed Jeter in a powder-puff F&F interview (December 2, 2009) without mentioning that her husband, Casey Close, was his agent. Obviously, she was including others, e.g., Huffington Post, Mediaite, and TVNewser who cited the Carpe Diem story as they, too, noted Carlson’s failure to disclose her conspicuous connection to Jeter. Not to mention, Howard Kurtz, host of CNN’s Reliable Sources, who acerbically remarked, “Somehow…Gretchen Carlson didn’t get around to mentioning that Jeter’s agent, the man who negotiated the shortstop’s $189 million contract is her husband. Now, I think it’s fine for her to interview Jeter…but how about leveling with the viewers?”

No, Gretchen, people do not “have a problem with” your being married to the agent of Derek Jeter. But, they do have a problem with your not disclosing that very fact when you do a story on Jeter. It just might color your perspective a bit. And, your viewers deserve to know.

In fact, if you had learned the real Jeter lesson, you might have added a caveat in your interview later with Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor and GOP presidential aspirant.** To wit, when you appeared to defend repeatedly Pawlenty’s opponent, Michele Bachmann, from his verbal attacks, you might have merely mentioned to viewers then Bachmann was once your nanny when you grew up in your hometown of Anoka, Minnesota.

Close is cool: Just “full disclosure,” Gretchen.

*Fox & Friends – 07/11/11 (@ 7:38 a.m. ET)

**Ibid at 8:13 a.m. ET.

JD Says: Kiran Says

What really sparked John Roberts’ infamous rant against Kiran Chetry, his co-host on CNN’s American Morning? On September 8, 2010, JD infamously berated an off-camera Kiran during his interview with President Obama’s smirking senior advisor, David Axelrod. Carpe Diem reported the story that day; Mediaite ran with it (with vid) about a week later; consequently, other media outlets (e.g., Huffington Post, Gawker, and TV Guide) picked it up, and, subsequently, it went viral. However, no one reported what Kiran had done to set off JD’s rant.

This morning, JD (now FNC’s senior national correspondent) provided his version  of the “infamous incident” during a telephone interview with FBN’s Don Imus. Succinctly, Imus asked, “Was it your co-host, one? And what was she doing?” JD stuttered, “Well, well, well, that, that morning, I was wearing a particularly lovely shade of, of plum nail polish and there had been a chip that had developed in it when I had whacked my finger on the desk, and she was trying to fix the chip in my nail polish. Explaining his errant behavior, JD continued, “And, I thought that interviewing David Axelrod, that was not an appropriate time to be fixing my nail polish. So I just said, ‘Would you mind waiting until I’m [sic] done this and then you can go ahead.'” [Vid via Mediaite.]

However, Kiran gave a completely different story during her interview with Mediaite‘s Tommy Christopher on February 18. When Christopher rather reluctantly queried her about “that clip,” she stammered, “I was, oh, um, it was just, I think it was a little bit overblown:  This is why I love you bloggers because one moment in time gets, you know, immortalized forever.” Then, putting her hands over her computer keyboard as if reenacting the scene, Kiran continued, “But, we were dealing with some breaking news: he was doing an interview and I was typing. And, I guess that got a little annoying.” Later, Christopher confidently commented, “Well, I’m glad that we could set the record straight.”

But, did Christopher and Kiran really “set the record straight”? JD certainly does not seem to think so.

Roberts-Phillips’ Engagement: Off?

Roberts: “No plan for a wedding.” Is the thrill gone for FNC’s brand new senior national correspondent John Roberts and his “fiancee” CNN Newsroom anchor Kyra Phillps? It certainly seems so. Today, the Huffington Post reported that “Roberts says he doesn’t call Phillips his fiancee and that they have no real plans to get married anytime soon.” Interestingly, around the same time that article posted (10:22 a.m.) during her program CNN Newsroom, Phillips Tweeted, “A columnist has 6 possible reasons why single ladies aren’t married… it’s harsh & we’re talkin’ bout it in 10 mins.”

Only ten months ago to the day, TVNewser announced the engagement of Roberts and Phillips. It reported how a romantic Roberts had proposed on bended knee during a round of golf on the final hole at Greenbriar Resort (West Virginia). Accompanying the article was a photo of the happy couple posing on that 18th green with champagne glasses in hand as Phillips joyfully sported her new engagement ring.

Today, the Huffington Post seemed to suggest a shift in Robert’s and Phillips’ status. In a phone call yesterday with HuffPo, Roberts discussed his relationship with Phillips (among other topics, e.g., Fox News, CNN, and Roger Ailes). As to Phillips and himself, Roberts revealed, “No plan for a wedding.” Elaborating, he declared, “I call her my wife, she refers to me as her husband….[A]t our age, fiancee just doesn’t sound right.” Perhaps, portentously, he added, “And, when you call somebody your sweetheart, eventually that gets old as well.” Nevertheless, Roberts said that he does expect that they’ll get married “at some point.”

While Roberts and Phillips’ “engagement” may seem tenuous at best, they do have a certain and concrete connection. I.e., while Phillips may not be Roberts’ wife anytime soon, she is the expectant mother of their twins. They are due March 21.

Roberts: Going Rogue

From CNN’s “voice of God” to FNC’s “voice of Everyman”? Mediate.com reported today that CNN correspondent and recent American Morning co-anchor John Roberts is expected to jump ship to Fox News. Approximately, three weeks ago, CNN chief Ken Jautz stated that Roberts would be leaving AM and that CNN was “discussing an Atlanta-based reporting role for him.” However, exactly ten days ago, when Roberts bid AM adieu, he proclaimed that he was going to Atlanta (to be with his gravid fiancee, CNN Newsroom anchor Kyra Phillips) but he did not confirm that he would be working at CNN.

In fact, in retrospect, Roberts seems to have deftly avoided making that assertion to his American Morning audience in his final appearance on the program on Christmas Day. As AM ended (and before it segued to CNN Newsroom), AM guest co-host Carol Costello announced, “The American Morning show has to bid John Roberts adieu because we will miss you. You’re going on to bigger and better things in Atlanta.”* Without elaborating on her comment, Roberts ambiguously answered, “Well, I’m going on to a lot of things in Atlanta.” Immediately thereafter, steering the conversation strictly to family (vis-a-vis work), he continued, “Yes, my sweetheart is going to have twins in March. And, I don’t think I’d be long for this world if I didn’t go down to Atlanta to join her for that blessed occasion.”

Subsequently, when Roberts tossed to his fiancee, Kyra Phillips, the CNN Newsroom anchor kept the subject of Roberts’ departure to Atlanta restricted to its implications for their family. Smiling, Phillips commented, “Carol, you know I can’t do this all on my own”: Carressing her babies’ bump, she added, “Let me tell you, these little guys are kicking right there. They’re like ‘Where’s Dad? Where’s Dad? We want him here!'” Staying on message, John interjected, “Dad is coming down to Atlanta to be with Kyra and our new family which will be arriving very soon.”

Seemingly, not quite satisfied with John’s farewell to the AM audience, Costello appeared to try to reassure the viewers herself. To Roberts, she remarked, “You’ll still be working for CNN as well [and will] be covering really big stories for us and doing special reports and really fascinating stuff like that.” Without committing himself, John simply stated, “I’m looking forward to being down there. But, this, this, this lady [Phillips] right here is the one that is, is the main focus.”

At least, as to Roberts’ CNN colloquy with Costello.

Update 1: According to the Huffington Post, FNC “officially announced” that Roberts would depart CNN to become an FNC senior national correspondent, citing FNC veep Michael Clemente who stated that FNC was “excited to welcome John to FOX News.”

Update 2: TVNewser reported that Roberts made the move to FNC because of Roberts’ regard for Roger Ailes as a “brilliant broadcaster and consummately loyal boss” and the opportunity to “play for a winning team.” [Keenly, TVNewser noted that “loyalty is a particularly sensitive issue for Roberts referring to Roberts’ recent axing from American Morning by new CNN chief Ken Jautz and to his being “passed over” by CBS in 2006 for Dan Rather’s CBS Evening News anchor seat in favor of Katie Couric.]

AM Amnesia: Kiran & John’s “Bad Dream”

Nothing happened between us: really! Today American Morning co-hosts Kiran Chetry and John Roberts treated their viewers as if they had been slipped an extra powerful “roofie” and could not recall not only last night but also almost the entire two full weeks earlier. Back together for the first time since the video of Roberts sniping at Chetry on camera truly went viral, both co-hosts acted as if John’s odd behavior had been merely a bad dream (a la Dallas). But, for the AM acolytes suffering from that “amorous amnesia,” Carpe Diem is happy to jog their memory.

As the author first reported almost two weeks ago (September 8), Roberts appeared to brusquely rebuke Chetry on air while he was doing an interview with David Axelrod, President Obama’s senior adviser. The very next day everything seemed to be reasonably civil between Roberts and Chetry but thereafter both of them did not appear together again on AM until today. In the meantime, the strange episode went viral as Mediaite‘s Steve Krakauer seized the story and it consequently reverberated throughout the media outlets, e.g., Huffington Post, Gawker, and, yes, even the staid TV Guide.

Giving the story even more prominence, Chetry’s former Fox News colleague Juliet Huddy added her two cents on Red Eye. When asked by host Greg Gutfeld about the incident, Huddy opined, “I knew Kiran; we used to work together; [and] I like Kiran a lot. She is a very energetic, hyper girl. She was probably either texting or something like that because she’s very hyper.”* Not wanting to appear malevolent, Juliet animatedly concluded, “And, I love her. I do love her.” Then taking a stab at Roberts, Huddy exclaimed, “I can’t believe he did that. Unprofessional!”

Perhaps, most notably, Chetry’s husband, Chris Knowles, weighed in on the matter. When a Twitter follower asked, “Did you catch JR snapping at your wife this morning?,” Knowles tersely responded, “Noticed and no comment.”

Carpe Diem noticed, too, but did comment. And, now, so have many of the other media watchers. Apparently, AM, like Chetry’s spouse, remains mulishly mute, too timorous to remember more.

*Red Eye – 09/17/10 (@3:18 a.m. ET)

Clayton: A Ham with Broken Eggs?

Clayton Morris: “I’m Steve Doocy.” For media news junkies who may have missed it over an extended Memorial Day weekend, Fox & Friends guest co-host Clayton Morris called himself “Steve Doocy” [for whom he was subbing] twice during a “Fox Flash” segment. [Vid via HuffPo.] His “faux pas” was seen in different lights by the various cable news coverers: The Huffington Post reported the story straight; Breitbart.tv asked, “Was he joking?”; Mediaite wondered whether it was a “teleprompter mistake” or a “weird inside joke”; and TVNewser concluded sarcastically in an update that it was a “‘hilarious’ joke.”

In the author’s opinion, Clayton seemed to be simply clowning as he has been wont since he was first introduced to Fox & Friends fans over two years ago. In the past, when one of Clayton’s attempts at humor fell painfully flat, he quoted funnyman Conan O’Brien who had purportedly said, “To make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs.”* I.e., if one is to be successful, one should not fear to fail.

With all of the flak that Clayton has received since his “joke” last Friday, it appears that he must have broken, at least, a “baker’s dozen” or two. Clayton, time to go back to the farmer’s market?

*[Aside: Apparently, a variant of Lenin’s quote, “If you want to make an omelet, you have to be willing to break a few eggs.”]

Alina Eyes Palin’s Bad Boy

American Morning guest co-host Alino Cho, resident fashionista (according to AM co-host Kiran Chetry),* seemed fascinated with self-professed redneck Levi Johnston. Decrying his fifteen minutes of fame, she discussed him each and every hour of the show this morning. According to my calculations she gave him an extra six minutes.

In the first hour of AM, as “Independent Nation” author John Avalon concluded his “Wingnut of the Week” segment, she asked, “What is a wingnut segment without Levi Johnston? He is…shirtless in GQ…poses with his baby, gives an interview. When is enough enough?” When Avalon indicated that Levi’s fifteen minutes were up and that he should move on, Alina replied, “I gotta agree with you on that.”

In the second hour, Alina promo’d and introduced a sympathetic “Pretty Damn Uncomfortable” Levi Johnston piece with GQ shirtless pics of him with his baby and a shot of the camouflage-clad, gun-slinging Alaskan rebel. After the report, Alina acerbically commented, “The writer [of the GQ article] believes that Levi is hoping to turn his story into a book or TV deal. That would be if anybody really cares about that story.” Guest co-anchor Rob Marciano wryly replied, “Well, you know, we seem to care.”

In the final hour, Alina did it again. When she presided over the “Political Drama” debate with lib Hilary Rosen, HuffPo editor-at-large, and conservative Leslie Sanchez, Hispanic Alliance for Prosperity Institute co-chair, she covered two issues. I.e., the profound matter of the nomination of the first Hispanic female, Judge Sonia Stomayor, to the highest court of the land and the shallow issue of “Levi Johnston shirtless in the July issue of GQ magazine speaking out.” A peculiar juxtaposition indeed.

Good girl Alina: bad boy Levi.

*https://jakeho.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/am-alina-maxim/

HuffPo “Outing” Senator Graham?

In the Huffington Post (Politics) today under the banner “Leading Gay Republican Group Going Broke,”  appears a New Hampshire Election 2008 photo of Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) flanked by Log Cabin Republican’s president Patrick Sammon and a LCR member.* Instead of utilizing a more recent picture of the LCR’s president Sammon, it used an approximately one year old pic of him and the single senator together. (According to the LCR web site, the pic was posted there on January 9, 2008.) Is HuffPo somewhat subtly “outing” the South Carolina Republican Senator Graham?

Even though Graham has long been the subject of rumors that he is gay, he asserted to GQ in 2006 that he is not gay but rather merely a loner.**

*@4.45 p.m. ET – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/politics/

*http://www.blogcabin.net/?m=200801

**http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A32974

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/09/leading-gay-republican-gr_n_156680.html

Kiran, “Last Word”?

American Morning co-host Kiran Chetry gave conservative TownHall.com’s national political reporter Amanda Carpenter the “last word.” Or did she? In today’s debate segment between Hilary Rose (lib Huffington Post’s Political Director and Dem strategist) and Amanda, Kiran appeared to take it back to a degree.

In Kiran’s last question to Rose, she asked how Hillary Clinton could counter Sarah Palin’s star power without attacking her? Rose said that Hillary would go after Palin on the issues and decried Palin as a “kind of protege of Phyllis Schlafly and the right wing, the government making decisions for women and their families.” Kiran asked, “Amanda, last word?”

When Carpenter began to laud Palin as to her reformer status, her energy policy, and her fight against corruption in the Republican party, Kiran interjected an interrogatory on Palin-accepted earmarks (as mayor) that Rose had not even raised. In light of Rose’s immediately prior slam on Palin’s pro-life views, Kiran’s query seemed to echo a perceived CNN bias against the pro-life Alaskan governor and GOP vice-presidential nominee. Hopefully, not.

Kiran, last word?

Huffington Post’s “Gaffe” Gaffe

In a bit of delicious irony, the Huffington Post’s Politics page had a headline gaffe about a “gaffe.” It read, “‘Goodbye from The World’s Biggest Polluter!’ Bush Gaffes His Through G-8 Summer.” The link was to an article by Jason Linkins entitled “Bush Gaffes His Way Toward More International Ridicule.” Obviously, the offending editor forgot to include “Way” in his headline. Speaking of glass houses, I hope that I haven’t made a gaffe myself in this entry.

Link (as of 9:43 ET): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/politics

E.D.’s Barack Knock

Erstwhile Fox & Friends co-host and current America’s Pulse anchor E.D. Hill gave FNC cover to ax her. According to the Huffington Post, in reference to the knuckle knock of Barack and Michelle Obama, E.D. asked if it were a “terrorist fist jab.” Today the beautiful blonde Texan ate crow and apologized on America’s Pulse. According to TVNewser, her show has been canned to extend Martha MacCallum’s show The Live Desk for another hour.

Was E.D.’s Barack knock answered? She appears to be out of a show and with FNC in an unspecified capacity. Look for her in the shadows with Page Hopkins.

Links:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/09/fox-anchor-calls-obama-fi_

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htmlhttp://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/fnc/changes_to_fox_news_

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