I watch MSNBC. I watch Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, Chris Matthews, the Ed Show – yes, I watched Olbermann when he was on MSNBC. Don’t really know why, but I suppose it has more to do with a desire to see if the Left’s best and brightest can strike a chord with swing voters, and make me think . . . “yeah, how should conservatives respond to that?” But there is an entertainment value to these shows, as well. O’Donnell’s dramatic cadence, Maddow’s often convoluted and lengthy conspiracies, Ed’s “man of the people” shtick, Matthews’ . . . well that’s tough to narrow down. That guy is pure entertainment.
Nevertheless, adding to the entertainment value of the shows’ hosts are the commercials featuring the hosts. You’ve seen them; they are the Lean Forward commercials. They’re great. The network has an entire campaign around it, and Fox and CNN have their own ads that mock the Lean Forward tagline (Fox: We don’t lean, we move).
The content of the Lean Forward ads make for good fun and easy targets.
Maddow: “We have pursued economic policies now, for a generation, that ONLY benefit the richest people in the country.” (Her emphasis.)
Her definition of “generation” is different than mine. President George W. Bush reduced taxes for lower and middle income workers in 2001. He created a 10% tax bracket, increased the per-child tax credit to $1,000 (and made it refundable), and mailed rebate checks to every taxpayer in America. Although these policies didn’t have much impact on the economy, no one can argue that Bush didn’t reduce taxes for the middle class.
What makes this Maddow commercial worse is another Maddow commercial where she says, “Doing [news] right takes rigor, and a devotion to facts that borders on obsessive.”
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