It would appear that the development of persuasive rhetoric began and ended during the 2007-2008 presidential campaign of now-President Barack Obama.

That’s the nearly inevitable conclusion one must reach based on a breathtakingly absurd contention in a (I can’t believe I’m typing this) "Breaking News Update" that appeared at the Associated Press at 3:40 p.m. yesterday.

When Glenn Beck spoke yesterday at his "Restoring Honor" rally in Washington, he told his audience: "One man can change the world. That man or woman is you. You make the difference."

The AP’s reaction was to assert that "Beck is borrowing some lines from President Barack Obama." By using the word "borrowing," AP in essence arrogantly, ignorantly and insultingly contended that Beck couldn’t possibly have come up with those sixteen words on his own, and that Barack Obama is the only historical repository of such profundity. From here, it looks like the wire service might be accusing Beck of plagiarism. My goodness, "The Essential Global News Network" should be thoroughly embarrassed.

There is something about CNN and the people writing chyrons for the alleged "most trusted name in news" with the "best political team on television." Last week, these geniuses clarified the White House’s position on President Barack Obama’s religion.

However on CNN Aug. 28 coverage of Glenn Beck’s "Restoring Honor" rally, which CNN reporters and anchors seemingly held their collective noses up and reported on throughout the event, the chyron on the screen was something likened to one of those parlor games where you circle the numerous errors involved. (h/t Inside Cable News)

First off, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s name was misspelled. Second, she was identified as a former presidential candidate, when she was actually the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 2008. And finally, it’s labeling Beck as Palin. Just not a good day for CNN.

Just as they did in the morning, on Friday night the broadcast network stories on Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally in Washington, DC were pegged to left-wing complaints his event is scheduled for the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, except the reporters refused to identify the ideology of Beck’s critics while showing no such reluctance to tag him and/or his allies.

“The rally in Washington. Followers of conservative radio and TV host Glenn Beck already gathering in the capital,” fill-in anchor Erica Hill teased at the top of the CBS Evening News. “In Washington,” she introduced the subsequent story, “followers of conservative talk show host Glenn Beck are already gathering on the Washington mall for tomorrow’s rally…” Reporter Wyatt Andrews, however, refrained from labeling: “Critics, like the Reverend Al Sharpton, say that Beck, who has described the President as [Beck: “a racist”] and who has railed against government programs for the poor, has no business invoking Dr. King.”

Sometimes you just have to chuckle at the transparent motivations of business writers in the establishment press.

Two Associated Press reports from this afternoon, one from Stephen Bernard and another much lengthier piece from Jeannine Aversa, attempt to set the template for Friday morning’s reportage: Despite all the bad news, including a serious downward revision to second-quarter economic growth, it’s up to Big Ben Bernanke to calm everyone down, and magically return the economy to some kind of even keel.

No pressure there, big guy.

Aversa’s earlier report lays it on especially thick:

Bernanke’s top tool now may be power of persuasion

The economy appears to be stalling. Yet the Federal Reserve has run out of simple steps it can take to revive it.

Former New York Governor George Pataki on Wednesday got into a heated discussion with Chris Matthews over the Ground Zero mosque and the Republican opposition to it.

In the middle of his second "Hardball" segment on MSNBC, Matthews played a clip of Rush Limbaugh saying on the radio earlier in the day, "If this is a nation that is Islamophobic, how do we elect a man whose name is Barack Hussein Obama?"

This led Matthews to ask his guest, "What do you think of guys that keep putting out lies like that?"

Over the course of the next five minutes, Pataki basically took over the show not only putting Matthews in his place, but also doing the same to his other guest, Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post (video follows with transcript and commentary):

It is vile bitterness put on display for America every night of the week – even though not as many people tune in as they do to his competitor. But, still Keith Olbermann seems to obsess over the Fox News Channel.

On the Aug. 24 broadcast of his show "Countdown," Olbermann demonstrated just how sensible the so-called "professional left" can be when criticizing things they perceive to be antithetical to their world view. At the top of his "Worst Persons in the World" segment, viewers were treated to a bonus attack on Fox News, who Olbermann mockingly tried to portray as a sponsor of the show’s segment.

"Get out your pitchforks and torches — time for tonight’s worst persons in the world brought to you by Fox News Channel: Official propaganda arm of Glenn Beck’s ‘I Have a Scheme’ speech, book tour rollout and 100 percent guaranteed in advance miracle. Fabricating and promoting events and then covering them as if they were news since 1996," Olbermann said. "I wish there was a joke here. There isn’t. Fox News Channel: Making [expletive] up since 1996."

The Santa Clarita Chapter
of the
California Republican Assembly
is proud to announce for their next meeting

Guest Speaker

Los Angeles County Supervisor

Mike Antonovich

Thursday, August 26, 2010
6:30-8:00pm

at
IHOP Restaurant
24737 Pico Canyon Rd
Stevenson Ranch

*No Host Dinner: $13.00 members
$15.00 non-members

Please RSVP to:
Michael Hildebrand
Phone: (661) 373-9387
E-mail: CRAreservations@scvgop.org

ABC News set out Monday night to rehabilitate the reputation of the iman behind the proposed mosque near Ground Zero, Feisal Abdul Rauf, trying to discredit criticism of him from the right as Sharyn Alfonsi portrayed him as a model of religious tolerance who condemns suicide bombers, terrorism and Hamas and who deserves admiration because he “eulogized Daniel Pearl.”

The night before, in a Sunday World News story on protests over the mosque, ABC expressed sudden respect for former President Bush as reporter Linsey Davis used him to undermine opponents: “In an attempt to make a clear distinction between Islam and terrorism, within days of 9/11 President Bush went to a mosque.”

Alfonsi generously began with how “he candidly discussed his beliefs with Barbara Walters for her 2006 special on Heaven” where he promised her “the Jews, the Christians, whoever believes in God and does good will be saved.” As for whether “one man’s suicide bomber is another man’s martyr?”, Alfonsi assured viewers:

I watched just about every major political talk show on television this weekend, and the funniest thing I heard was a comment by David Boaz of the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute.

In the predictions segment of "The McLaughlin Group," the Kentucky native spoke of the hotly contested race for Senate in that state between Tea Party candidate Rand Paul and Democrat Jack Conway.

What ensued left the entire panel laughing – except, of course, Newsweek’s Eleanor Clift (video follows with transcript and commentary):

DAVID BOAZ, CATO INSTITUTE: In Kentucky, the Democrats are calling Rand Paul an extremist. Rand Paul is responding by calling his opponent a Democrat. In the end, the voters will be more scared of a Democrat.  

Hehehehehe. 

Picking up on a nugget (my tweet) surprisingly included in a Wednesday Boston Globe article, on Thursday night FNC’s Bret Baier reported in his “Grapevine” segment: “President Bush is apparently more popular than President Obama on Martha’s Vineyard – at least when it comes to clothing.” Baier relayed the day the First Family arrived on the Massachusetts island:

When the First Family vacationed there last year, Obama-themed trinkets were flying off the shelves. Now, the owner of a store called the Locker Room says this summer’s best-selling shirt features Mr. Bush. And even Democrats are buying it. It reads: “Miss Me Yet? How’s that Hopey-Changey Thing Working Out for Ya?”

In an August 18 Globe story, “Vineyard buzzes less for Obamas’ second visit,” Milton J. Valencia reported on the Oak Bluffs store: