“Retro” Pro-Lifers No Match for “Plucky” Planned Parenthood Exec

“Cecile Richards, the new and instantly embattled president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, would like those retro ‘folks’ -- her word -- intent on knocking her organization, and the entire abortion rights movement, off the map to know she takes after her maternal grandmother. That would be the tall, whip-thin woman who, nine-months pregnant and bedridden, took a timeout from home-birthing a future governor of Texas -- Ms. Richards's mother, Ann -- to wring the neck of the chicken her family was having for dinner. Plucky.”
 – From Robin Finn’s “Public Lives” profile, March 10.

Bushies Exploiting Natural Resources

“Gale A. Norton, who as interior secretary has been a key player in the Bush administration's efforts to exploit natural resources on federal lands and a focal point of dissatisfaction by environmentalists, announced today that she was resigning, effective at the end of the month. She said that she had accomplished much of what she had intended to do, and hinted at fatigue.”
– From the initial March 10 online filing by reporter Matthew Wald on the resignation of Interior Secretary Gale Norton.

GOP 1994 Takeover Motivated by “Anger”

“Nineteen ninety-four was arguably the most consequential nonpresidential election of the 20th century. The Republicans shocked political professionals, including President Bill Clinton, by gaining 52 seats in the House, giving them a majority there for the first time in 40 years. (They picked up eight seats in the Senate to wrest control there as well.) What immense forces suddenly burst through the earth's crust that fall? Anger, for one…. “There's little evidence that voters suddenly moved to the right in 1994. The number of Americans who identify themselves as ‘conservative’ (a third), ‘moderate’ (two-fifths to a half) and ‘liberal’ (one-fifth) has scarcely changed over the last 30 years.”
-- Contributing writer James Traub, March 12.

Even Good Economic News Is Bad

“American employers added 243,000 jobs in February and workers posted their highest salary gains in more than four years, the government reported yesterday, igniting concerns among many Wall Street economists that higher wages could fuel inflation and increase expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates further.”
 – Lead sentence to Eduardo Porter and Vikas Bajaj’s report on the latest employment figures, March 11.

And the NYT “Provides Material” for Liberal News Anchors

 “Republicans have done what they can to amplify the liberals' talk. Three days after [Paul] Weyrich warned that the possibility of impeachment was one of the few reasons for conservatives to go to the polls, the Cybercast News Service, a part of the conservative Media Research Center that provides material for talk radio hosts, reported that Mr. Dreyfuss had said in a speech at the National Press Club that impeaching Mr. Bush was a ‘cause worth fighting for.’”
 -- David Kirkpatrick, March 16.

“Eavesdropping on Americans” -- Or International Terrorists?

“The plan by Senate Republicans to step up oversight of the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program would also give legislative sanction for the first time to long-term eavesdropping on Americans without a court warrant, legal experts said on Wednesday.”
 – The beginning of a March 9 story by Scott Shane and David Kirkpatrick.

“Conformist, Conservative” Australian PM Too Square for Gay Activists

“But this year the festivities took place against the backdrop of the 10th anniversary of the election of Australia's conservative, and conformist, prime minister, John Howard, who is now one of the nation's longest-running leaders.”
 – From Jane Perlez’s March 6 “Sydney Journal” on gays celebrating Mardi Gras.

Justice Stevens Not a Liberal?

 “Some, including those who led efforts to pass the ban in South Dakota, said they considered this the ideal time to return the central question of Roe to the Supreme Court. State Representative Roger Hunt, who sponsored the bill in South Dakota, pointed to the appointments of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., both conservatives, and what he described as the ‘strong possibility’ of the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens in the near future and the naming of a conservative as his successor.”
 – Monica Davey on the Supreme Court, March 7.

Republicans Flopping in Face of Hillary’s “Widely Respected Record”

“No matter who the challenger is, Mrs. Clinton is in formidable shape as a senator with high approval ratings, a widely respected record, and celebrity status in a Democratic-leaning state after eight years as the first lady. Independent polls show her to be remarkably popular in New York, with favorability ratings in the 60 percent range. They have also shown that the attacks on her by Washington Republicans are actually increasing her popularity.”
 -- From Patrick Healy’s March 3 profile of Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Oscar Reporter Likens Treatment of War Critics to McCarthy Era

“George Clooney in ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ made a well-crafted look at a time in American history when anything less than complete fealty to the republic was seen as treason, which sounds familiar to some moviegoers.”
 –David Carr’s Oscar predictions, March 3.

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E-mail TimesWatch Director, Clay Waters, with TimesWatch feedback at cwaters@mediaresearch.org