I’ve always defended Fox News (including in a recent post and in comments) as a network that has many solid news and technical pros working for it who cannot and should not be lumped in with the overall corporate “niche” and its talk radio style, predictable on the air talent. And this doesn’t make my argument (which I still will make) any easier: “Fox and Friends” aired a remarkable four-minute video on its Wednesday show. The video, which the hosts of the show...

Fox News maven Roger Aisles recently said that Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart had told him in a bar that he was a Socialist. Jon Stewart returned from vacation with this answer for Aisles: The Daily ShowGet More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

The Politico reports that Republican Super PACs plan to spend $1 billion during campaign 2012 to take back the White House and the Congress, an effort which will include a specially focused operation by the Koch brothers, and if the GOPers reach their goals they’ll outspend the Democrats two to one: Republican super PACs and other outside groups shaped by a loose network of prominent conservatives – including Karl Rove, the Koch brothers and Tom Donohue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce –...

The 2012 campaign season is shaping up as a possible “transformational” election, but not the kind that Barack Obama and many Democrats had in mind. It’s a year when, if Democrats don’t get their act together ASAP, they could suffer a trifecta of losses that will trigger further erosion of threatened New Deal and Great Society legacies and fulfill many conservatives’ longtime dreams. Many Democrats still seem smugly assured that, in the end, voters would never, EVER...

In his speech to the 1988 Democratic convention, Rev. Jesse Jackson declared “keep hope alive.” On CNN today, presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s best political bud Donald Trump in essence argued keep birtherism alive. In what will likely be shown for years as a classic interview on CNN, Trump refused to acknowledge facts as facts, inaccurately stated some things as facts, and went on the offensive against CNN’s Wolf Blitzer who did a non-Sean Hannity...

The prevailing (in the constantly shifting) conventional wisdom is that President Barack Obama is not in the best of shape in his re-election bid and that it’ll be a close race. So what should he do to win? Andrew Sullivan has these suggestions HERE.

The Democrats have put up a new ad focusing on presumptive nominee Mitt Romney’s embracing the support of the country’s most famous birther, Donald Trump. The Team Obama ad contrasts Romney’s response with the response of Arizona Sen. John McCain in 2008: MSNBC’s First Read poses these questions: *** Playing the Trump card: Here’s a little thought exercise: What if a chief Obama surrogate/fundraiser happened to be the nation’s foremost critic of the Mormon faith,...

Emad Hajjaj, Jordan So much for the Syrian government’s cover story in the Houla killings that took 108 lives and shocked the world with images of scores of dead children lying side by side: the UN says most victims were summarily executed…period: Most of the 108 victims of the Houla killings in Syria were executed, the United Nations said Tuesday – an announcement that triggered a coordinated worldwide expulsion of Syrian diplomats. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says...

When “The Hillary Effect” came out in December you could have bet that it would have been just one more of these quickie political books that seem to be a collection of uninspired recycled reporting notes, or reworded blog posts, except this time it would focus on the ill-fated Presidential nomination campaign of Hillary Clinton, American history’s first Presidential primary winning female candidate. In fact, “The Hillary Effect” proved to be a breath of 21st century...

Our political Question of the Day comes from CBS’ Bob Schieffer, who, as I’ve said before, should have been the successor to Walter Cronkite. But it’s a question that has an answer I’m sure Mr. Schieffer knows and journalists know — and Democrats and Republicans know. Once again on Sunday, he hit Ed Gillespie mid-talking point (as Robert Gibbs chuckled). “You think we’re ever going to see [Mitt Romney] on one of these Sunday morning interview shows?...

There are photo galleries and photogalleries — and then there’s the moving photo gallery on remembering the fallen here via CNN. Also, we often run Hartford Courant cartoonist Bob Englehart’s work here on TMV via Cagle Cartoons. Here is the short, touching post he has on The Cagle Post which we’ll run here in full since it is Memorial Day: My father served in the Office of Strategic Services in World War II. The OSS was the forerunner to the CIA. When I was a kid, I’d ask...

Rick McKee, The Augusta Chronicle It’s Memorial Day: Never forget. Always remember. They have been — and are — part of the blessings of America. (This post will remain on the top of TMV all day.)

I know that a lot of people these days talk about wanting more “face time” with others, but this is ridiculous: It was a scene as creepy as a Hannibal Lecter movie. One man was shot to death by Miami police, and another man is fighting for his life after he was attacked, and his face allegedly half eaten, by a naked man on the MacArthur Causeway off ramp Saturday, police said. The horror began about 2 p.m. when a series of gunshots were heard on the ramp, which is along NE 13th Street,...

Our political Quote of the Day comes from conservative columnist George Will who has this to say about presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney continuing to link himself up with the country’s most famous birther, PT Barnum spiritual descendent, Donald Trump: “I do not understand the cost benefit here,” Will said on the “This Week” roundtable. “The costs are clear. The benefit — what voter is gonna vote for him (Romney) because he is seen with Donald Trump? The cost of appearing...

His video was supposed to be just for his friends, shot shortly after receiving devastating news. But, instead, it went viral. By the time he died yesterday, his final days would also serve as a role models for how to appreciate the the present and how to leave it for eternity. And due to You Tube which carried his words, emotions and wise perspective to millions, Australia teenager Shaun Wilson-Miller passed away having won millions of friends all over the world due to what they saw when they...

The Politico has this top of the site story about Barack Obama stumbling out of the gate since formally announcing the beginning of his campaign three weeks ago. Are Democrats worried? Has Team Obama panicked? A good summary here on Morning Joe: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Is there finally going to be closure? Or, rather, a semblance of closure — because how could there really ever be closure in the case of an innocent 6 year old child who vanished in 1972, was declared legally dead in 2001, helped spark the missing children’s movement, and was the first lost child displayed on a milk cartoon — developments which underscored the tragedy of young children with their lives in front of them vanishing, seemingly being whisked mysteriously away, never...

This is yet another bit of bad news for the tornado of bad news swirling American newspapers. New Orleans will soon be the largest American city without a daily newspaper since the company will cut part of its staff and go to three days a week. Three days a week is better than none. But three days a week doesn’t a daily newspaper make: Times-Picayune publisher Ashton Phelps Jr. has confirmed that the newspaper will cease daily publication, moving to three days a week in the fall: Wednesday,...

Our political Quote of the Day comes from Democratic political maven Lanny Davis, who says Newark Mayor Corey Booker got it right the first time when he criticized Camp Obama’s use and accuracy of the Bain Capital issue against Romney — but that Republicans blew it when they used Booker’s remarks and the way they quickly and transparently jumped to use them for the Romney campaign: It’s difficult to argue, even if you are a partisan Obama supporter, as I am, that this ad is not...

NBC Marist polls find President Barack Obama holds a slight lead over presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney in the key swing states of Ohio, Virginia and Florida. A earlier Quinnipiac University poll had found Romney pulling ahead in Florida and much poll trending so far shows Romney generally on the upswing and Obama in a defensive posture. Meanwhile, a new entry in political scientist Larry Sabato’s must-read Crystal Ball, written by its senior columnist Alan Abramowitz...