It was a challenging task but an esteemed panel of NewsBusters editors led by MRC President L.Brent Bozell and MRC’s Vice President for Research and Publications Brent Baker boiled down all the biased outbursts from lefty hack hosts, anchors, reporters and pundits in 2023 and on December 18 announced The Brian Stelter Memorial Award for Quote of the Year.
Of course, every year there is way too much bias for just one category. So Baker led a panel of NewsBusters editors to break down the Worst of 2023 into eight additional categories (The Craziest Analysis Award; The Damn Those Conservatives Award; The Joy of Hate Award for Joy Reid Rants; The Jihadist Journalism Award for Helping Hamas; The Damning Florida’s Dictator Award; The Praising and Protecting Old Joe Award; The Cursing the Conservative Court Award and the Celebrity Freak-Outs Award).
Today we present the WORST OF 2023: The Praising and Protecting Old Joe Award.
Without further ado here is the winner (followed by the top runners-up):
WINNER
“I’m feeling great! That was a wonderful speech. Didn’t you think he was sort of Mr. Smooth?...He was elegant, he was civilized, he was conciliatory, he was reasonable, and maybe most of all, he sounded like a centrist, which is exactly where he wants to be….Biden’s speech….was quite mild and almost lovable with a lot of proposals that a lot of people are going to like.”
— MSNBC presidential historian Michael Beschloss on MSNBC’s live coverage of the State of the Union address, February 8.
The following is a montage of the runners-up and winner:
RUNNERS-UP
“Read a line from David Ignatius today in the Washington Post: Biden delivering on his far-fetched pledge: Compromise, ‘President Biden this week accomplished what America elected him to do — govern from the center and make deals that solve problems….So, could he make centrism, compromise sexy?”
— Host John King on CNN Inside Politics with John King, June 2.
Co-host Joe Scarborough: “Some NATO leaders have told me they were very surprised, the contrast between the image in public and the Joe Biden behind closed doors. Because he is so sharp, and he’s on top of everything….If people want to focus on him falling on a sandbag or falling off of a bike, that's fine. But while they're talking about that, Joe Biden's making, you know, Europe safe for democracy.”...
Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson: “Anybody who spent any time with Joe Biden since he’s been in the Oval Office knows that the reality is [he is] nothing like the, the, the dystopian picture that the Republicans are trying to paint, of this senile, doddering president. And he’s as sharp as a tack.”
— MSNBC’s Morning Joe, July 14.
“This was a President who was ready to be in the arena….He was feeding off of the energy that he was getting back from the crowd in that room...Democrats could use this far-right wing of the Republican Party, this kind of MAGA crew to paint a picture for the American people….It’s a very stark contrast….that people get to choose between. And bonus, Biden comes across as someone who is enjoying himself and who has the energy to be in this job for another, you know, until he is well into his 80s.”
— CNN chief national affairs analyst Kasie Hunt on CNN’s live coverage of the State of the Union address, February 7.
“It’s not just President Biden who is on the ballot and being judged, it’s really the entire constitutional order.... President Biden is a kind of stand-in for the American system.”
— Presidential historian/MSNBC contributor Jon Meacham on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, November 6.
“This is the big stage, the world stage, and with everything at stake on two separate fronts. Two wars, Ukraine and Israel, literally putting everything on the line for the rest of the world, for global security. Would I want a man who’s got, straight-A student in his 40s or 50s out there? Or do I, would I want someone with 40, 50 years of experience on the world stage? That includes decades of wins and losses, politically and geopolitically. And I can’t think of somebody else out I’d want. You name ‘em. Somebody name a better — at this point — more mature mind that can attack these problems and address them with all the different levels of emotion that need to come to the moment. And, and he does it!”
— Co-host Mika Brzezinski on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, November 28.
