If there was ever any doubt about whether CNN prime time host Erin Burnett had a favorite in the recent fiscal cliff negotiations in Washington DC, all became clear Wednesday night. While hosting a less-than-fair-and-balanced panel analyzing the way President Obama and Congress faired in the legislative battle, she threw out this off-prompter remark:
“The president has come out and said, and you know, chastised congress… I would say appropriately, I mean guys, you can’t spend the money and then say you don’t want to pay it back. But, said to them, ‘I’m not going to negotiate on it.’ Is this just going to embolden them to be even nastier and make an even bigger stink?”
This sheds a lot of light on Burnett’s coverage of the Fiscal Cliff story on CNN’s Out Front. Just take a look at the way the topic was framed under the guise of CNN’s self-proclaimed unbiased, opinion-free, just the facts journalism.
Bracing for impact: fiscal cliff fears already hurting economy
The eleventh hour: President puts pressure on Senate to broker a fiscal cliff deal
Can House Republicans accept a scaled-back deal?
Teetering on the fiscal cliff: Obama, Senate return to D.C.
More than just tax rates at stake if no deal on fiscal cliff
Knowing now that the CNN host thinks the Republican-led house was acting “nasty” and Obama acted “appropriately” when he “scolded” them, those headlines from the Out Front website take on a whole new slant, don’t they?
We don’t mind that Burnett takes sides in these fights, just stop pretending that you don’t, CNN.
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