Thread: Amid scandals, White House announces star-studded concert in East Room

Amid scandals, White House announces star-studded concert in East Room

12:05 PM 05/17/2013

Amid sequester and scandal in Washington, the White House announced Friday that the president and first lady will be hosting another concert as part of their “In Performance at the White House” series later this month.

The event will be held in the East Room of the White House and honor singer and songwriter Carole King, who will be awarded the 2013 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. King will be the first woman to receive the award, the White House noted in their announcement.

The program — to be streamed on the White House website and broadcast on PBS stations the evening of May 28 — will also feature performances by Gloria Estefan, Billy Joel, Jesse McCartney, Emeli Sandé, James Taylor, Trisha Yearwood and King herself.

In 2002, Carole King sang “You’ve Got a Friend” for Cuban dictator Fidel Castro at a warming-relations dinner in Havana.

“The Gershwin Prize commemorates George and Ira Gershwin, the legendary American songwriting team whose extensive manuscript collections reside in the Library of Congress,” the press announcement explains. “The prize is awarded to musicians whose lifetime contributions in the field of popular song exemplify the standard of excellence associated with the Gershwins.”

Past winners of the Gershwin award have included Stevie Wonder in 2009, Sir Paul McCartney in 2010, and Burt Bacharach and Hal David in 2012.

“Carole King: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize In Performance at the White House” will be the eleventh “In Performance at the White House” program that Barack and Michelle Obama have hosted.

“Starting in February 2009, these events have honored the musical genius of Stevie Wonder, Sir Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach and Hal David; celebrated Hispanic musical heritage during Hispanic Heritage Month; marked Black History Month with events featuring music from the Civil Rights Movement, Motown, Memphis Soul and the Blues; spotlighted Broadway and the unique spirit of the American musical; and explored the rich roots and resiliency of Country Music,” the press announcement reads.

In recent days, the administration has come under fire for the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups, the administration’s handling of the terror attack in Benghazi, Libya, and the Department of Justice’s secret gathering of Associated Press phone records.


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Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/17/am...#ixzz2TaFVDVO1

Like I said...he knows all about parties....bands....singers ..golf......basketball...and so on..but he knows nothing about the hell he has put Americans in.....Obama you are one piece of work..men are dead because of you , how do go on and have parties...do you not care about the parents of these men...why not get your butt to work cause anybody else that played that stupid card would be fired....unless you're gonna be one of the few who gets away using ignorance as a defense!

NBC's Todd Warns: If GOP Investigates Obama Scandals, 'The Voters Will Punish Them'

By Kyle Drennen | May 16, 2013 | 12:25
Video at the Page Link:

On Thursday's NBC Today, in a desperate attempt to deflect from the scandals engulfing the Obama administration, co-host Savannah Guthrie wondered: "I read a headline yesterday that said Republicans see blood in the water. That they see a president who's very vulnerable politically. Is there a danger that they will overreach?" [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]

Chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd agreed with the slanted premise: "There is. I mean, that's what happened to Republicans in 1998 with Bill Clinton. And if all of Congress is focusing on hearings to do scandals, the voters will punish them. They've done it in the past."
So according to Todd, if Republicans in Congress investigate misconduct in the Obama administration, the Republicans are the ones who will suffer politically? Only if Todd and his media colleagues try to push that narrative to defend the President.

By the way, the "punishment" House Republicans faced in the 1998 midterm elections was to lose a handful of seats but maintain their majority, hardly a political sea change.

Throughout the segment, the headline on screen made clear what NBC was most concerned about in regard to the scandals: "White House Damage Control; Is Obama's Second Term Agenda in Danger?"

After Guthrie observed that White House officials "seem to be genuinely concerned" about the impact of the controversies, Todd fretted: "The story they're the most concerned about is the IRS....This is a government that's trying to implement health care, trying to reform the immigration system. If the IRS is not trusted, it actually could undermine all of his plans."

Guthrie hopefully suggested Obama's firing of the acting IRS commissioner might quell the story: "Do you think the steps that were taken yesterday are sufficient to stem the furor?" Todd replied: "Not with Congress....Congress isn't satisfied and they shouldn't be. There are a lot of – that IG report didn't answer certain questions, like why did these rogue individuals in the Cincinnati office do what they did?"

Notice how Todd accepted the notion that the scandal was limited to "rogue individuals."

On the administration releasing a hundred pages of Benghazi emails, Guthrie parroted White House talking points: "Do those e-mails reveal anything about whether or not this is a sideshow, as the President has called it, or something more substantive?"

Again Todd assumed a conclusion: "Well, I think we know campaign politics wasn't involved, but agency politics was."

In a report prior to Guthrie's exchange with Todd, White House correspondent Peter Alexander announced: "This White House has been facing days of intense scrutiny. And this morning, they're really hoping that they may have stopped the bleeding....now they've launched what you might describe as a three-front war, hoping to try to halt the political damage."

Here is a full transcript of the May 16 segment:

7:06AM ET


SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: We want to bring in Chuck Todd, NBC's chief White House correspondent, political director. Chuck, good morning.

CHUCK TODD: Good morning.

GUTHRIE: Wonder what the thinking is inside the White House. You and I both know that often they look at things like this and they say, "Oh, this is a faux Washington scandal, it will blow over." It seems to be different this time, they seem to be genuinely concerned.

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: White House Damage Control; Is Obama's Second Term Agenda in Danger?]

TODD: Well, it was typical Obama White House reaction, right? Which is they under-react, under-react, under-react, and then they over do it all in one day and try to get this behind them. The story they're the most concerned about is the IRS. They don't think any other story will penetrate with the public. The IRS gets at credibility of the government. This is a government that's trying to implement health care, trying to reform the immigration system. If the IRS is not trusted, it actually could undermine all of his plans.

GUTHRIE: And it's easy to understand. You can explain what happened here in one sentence, which is powerful ammunition for the administration's critics. Do you think the steps that were taken yesterday are sufficient to stem the furor?

TODD: Not with Congress. And I think that that is, you know, the President showed more anger yesterday than he did in either of the early days. I think that was as much about politics as anything else with the public. But Congress isn't satisfied and they shouldn't be. There are a lot of – that IG report didn't answer certain questions, like why did these rogue individuals in the Cincinnati office do what they did?

GUTHRIE: Meantime, the administration at long last releases a series of e-mails covering the debate that went on within the agencies of the administration over what to say about the September 11th attacks on the consulate in Benghazi. Do those e-mails reveal anything about whether or not this is a sideshow, as the President has called it, or something more substantive?


TODD: Well, I think we know campaign politics wasn't involved, but agency politics was. I think that this raises more questions about what was the argument going on between the State Department and CIA? One of the most intriguing e-mails is at the end from David Petraeus, then-CIA director. He goes, "Why are we even bothering with these talking points? They've become so watered down." But it had to do with what State wanted to have done.

GUTHRIE: And very quickly, I read a headline yesterday that said Republicans see blood in the water. That they see a president who's very vulnerable politically. Is there a danger that they will overreach?

TODD: There is. I mean, that's what happened to Republicans in 1998 with Bill Clinton. And if all of Congress is focusing on hearings to do scandals, the voters will punish them. They've done it in the past.

GUTHRIE: Alright, Chuck Todd, more to come on this, thank you very much.

About the Author

Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow Kyle Drennen on Twitter.

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