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The twister wiped out a subdivision that was built five years ago by Habitat for Humanity. Clearly, poor people were hardest hit by the terrifying weather. So what was Anna Werner thinking when she made this her intro? "This disaster did not discriminate. The string of tornadoes laid waste to mansions and mobile homes…" CBS' Werner and NBC's Gabe Gutierrez filed from Granbury while ABC's Steve Osunsami (look at those hailstones) and CBS' Manuel Bojorquez surveyed the damage from nearby Cleburne. Mike Seidel from NBC's cable sibling The Weather Channel also chipped in, forecasting more twisters over the weekend in a hitherto milder-than-usual sprint.
As for the President's woes, a superficial look at Andrea Mitchell's thumbsucker on NBC makes his plight look just terrible. Mitchell suggested parallels with Watergate and Iran-contra and impeachment and the Iraq War. Now listen to what Mitchell lists as Obama's actual transgressions: he is a mere observer of his administration's problems; and he is stylistically too unhurriedly calm about them.
So…
Concerning Benghazi, there were hints on Wednesday that ABC's Jonathan Karl was a touch hyper-defensive about the accuracy of his Exclusive on Friday in which he publicized the content of inter-agency talking-point e-mails. Major Garrett, CBS' man at the White House hinted at the time that Karl's reporting was not substantiated; now Garrett flatly declares that the two Republican talking points about the talking points were incorrect.
Concerning the IRS scandal, ABC's Karl reported that President Obama is so angry that he said to be privately joking about "going Bulworth," a reference to Warren Beatty's political movie satire. How does Karl substantiate that reporting? By airing a clip from Bulworth, that's how.
CBS' Nancy Cordes tried to follow-up on the IRS scandal but was frustrated by the report of the Inspector General of the Treasury Department. The report failed to find out whose idea it was to create the criteria for Tea Party applicants for tax-exempt status to be subjected to extra scrutiny.
Concerning the rape epidemic at the Pentagon, CBS' David Martin made a head count when the President hauled the entire Pentagon brass -- uniformed and civilian -- into a meeting at the White House for a dressing down for its failure to crack down on sexual violence in the ranks. Martin found one woman present.
NBC's White House correspondent Chuck Todd summed up the President's response to what he called bubbling controversies: clean-up the IRS; defend Attorney General Eric Holder; change the debate over Benghazi; condemn military sexual assaults -- and refuse to dignify questions about Richard Nixon with a response.
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