for congressman murtha and every other washington bound passenger than to keep the airport open. proving that when it comes to spending, the only change in washington we've seen is the political party that's doing it. that's it for this week's edition of the journal editorial report, thanks for watching. we hope to see you right here next week. >> on fox news watch, our military chief in afghanistan needs more troops to finish the job. but the commander-in-chief may be balking. >> we're not going to make a decision about any further troop deployment. >> should the press press the issue? >> he's here, he's there, he's been everywhere this week, and the media have not miss add step. but is it time for the obama-thon to end? some outrage when an elementary school make young students sing praises for the president. >> i'm so upset that my child is being use this had way. >> did the mainstream media ignore the controversy? and just when you thought you've

heard it all. >> i woke up that night from a blackout to find myself having sex with my own father. >> on the panel this week, patricia murphy, a columnist for politics daily. jim pinkerton fellow at the new american foundation and keir sten powers, analyst and new york post columnist, i'm jon scott. fox news watch is on right now >> i said we should be going into afghanistan. but that's where bin laden is, that's the central front on terrorism and slipping back because we haven't stayed focused on it. we need some troops there not in iraq. >> that was candidate obama on the campaign trail in 2008, but he was saying something completely different last sunday.

>> until i'm satisfied that we've got the right strategy, i'm not going to be sending some young man or woman over there beyond what we already have. >> here is what "the washington post" said on monday morning, on a piece written by none other than bob woodward, mcchrystal, more forces or mission failure quickly followed by more headlines in all the newspapers about afghanistan this week, on tuesday, wall street journal, pentagon delays troop call. wednesday, the new york times, obama considers strategy shift in afghan war. it all got started, really, jim, with that washington post piece which was based on what was supposed to be a classified assessment of the war by the general in charge, general mcchrystal, i just got to wondering, would the post have published that in world war ii, for instance? >> i don't think so. that'd be my guess. look, this is the stuff, highest possible drama, since we're talking about historical

parallels like world war ii when mcclatchy and the long war journal report that mcchrystal says he'll resign if he doesn't get the surge. this takes us back to other incidents between presidents and generals like jimmy carter and the general. and president truman and general macarthur. we are at the highest stakes here. >> it's hard to tell sometimes though keir sten, who is leaguing for what purpose. this was leaked probably from within the pentagon. was it somebody who wanted this stuff to get out there? >> that's exactly what i was just thinking, you have to consider that and i think that it would seem to me it's probably leaked by somebody who wants to put pressure on obamament probably wants to put it out there and i think people would tend to side with the general, tend it side with the military and they know that obama's balking so they think i'll leak this and put pressure on them. >> let's take a look how the afghan troop numbers have changed just within the last year, if you go back to 2007, we had approximately 27,000 forces

in afghanistan, flash forward to september, 2009, under the obama administration, we're up to 68,000 troops. and general mcchrystal, apparently, wants 30 to $40,000, 30 to 40,000 more troops. i see no more important question for a nation, really, than committing its forces to war. have the media given the afghan war the kind of coverage it deserves? >> i think so, i think all of this recent sort of turn on a dime to, is the afghan war really necessary now? which happened in a matter of weeks. i think really shows how easily led mainstream media is. you know, this hesitancy on the part of obama and this week's document really telegraphed to the mainstream press, maybe we should abandon the war now very quickly. and so, i think that the coverage is good, but i think that they're focusing on do we send more troops, do we not send more troops? that's not really the right question. >> july and august, very bloody

months or at least the bloodiest of this war so far and yet, compared with vietnam, relatively small in number. the enemy, you know, clearly knows that americans read newspapers and they don't like to see troop losses rise. >> well, and that's the whole point of a counter insurgency is to drive your enemies to withdraw their troops, withdraw their effort. we actually-- david winn in afghanistan for many, many weeks, he just got back and he complained about the media coverage, saying the question-- as he points, the question isn't more troops or less troops, it's not a political question, it's a strategic county are we fighting counter insurgency or counterterrorism. general mcchrystal thinks one thing and president obama another thing. so this is a strategic mismatch here. a complicated problem and americans frankly don't pay a lot of attention to it. if americans aren't paying attention, the media is not really going to push it out there so i think this debate has gotten american's attention, it's political, it's

interesting, but this has been a mainly strategic mismatch for a long time. >> we have to take break, but first, lots of extras available to you on our website, including some of the spirited discussions that erupt in here during our break. you can hear them after the show at foxnews.com/fox news watch. we'll be back in two minutes to talk about the president and his media blitz. >> a week long obama-thon comes to answered. >> he's been on everything, but the food channel. >> has the media given the president too much for too little? then the world's leaders and jokers converge on the u.n. as the new york press go to town. all next on news watch.

. >> rick: the obama tv blitz started with the sunday talk shows appearing on five networks, but not fox. then on monday, looking for a different audience, he stopped by the late show with david letterman for a few laughs, letterman scored his best ratings in four years with the president in the chair.

tuesday, mr. obama took a serious note and joined former president bill clinton to kick off the fifth annual clinton global initiative. on weapons he was off to the united nations for the speech in front of the general assembly where he addressed global leaders and tackled issues like climate change. on thursday, the president then headed the security council as chairman, delivering a stirring speech to that group about nuclear proliferation. and then off to pittsburgh for the g-20 summit to focus on world economic issues. some see it as a week long obama-thon, the media in step with the president's every move. is it too much? well, every president has been covered this way, patricia. some think it's been obsessive and excessive, maybe, with this president? >> well, each of these events individually were important. you can't not cover the g-20, you can't not cover-- >> can't not go on david

letterman. >> and letterman had the highest ratings in four years, to the point of him being overexposed. the five sunday shows, everybody is not watching five sunday shows, the media is sensitive because they're sensitive to that, maybe bitter about it. he's talking so much because he wants his poll numbers up on health care, it's not how often he's saying it, it's what he's saying, people are not buying what he's selling and the instinct of the white house to coop repeating and and they're convinced people don't know what they think and disagreeing with what he thinks. >> a bully pulpit, where is the anti-cess for the bully pull bit. where is the opposing point of view. well, i think if you're the media and have an opportunity to interview the president, you're always going to take it. >> he knows that. >> i don't think that people are going to say no to it. in terms of the overexposure thing, i don't buy that so much. i know that people are asked had an in a poll and say yes, he's overexposed because they know he's on a lot of things. what's the alternative to leave the vacuum for his opponents to step into and say something?

i think you have to get out there and make his case and all the shows did have republicans right after. john boehner and mch mcconnell. he was answered, i'm not sure everybody stayed on to watch them. >> there was a wall street poll, a poll to say that 54% of americans, exact language. 54% think they're seeing the right amount of president. those of us who have three sets in our office and watch mr. obama all day long, we may be sick of them. the pem aren't. >> he's losing on afghanistan and not able to sell the health care reform as quickly as he wanted and frankly, just doesn't look very presidential. going on letterman doesn't look presidential, it looks a little schlocky. the distinction that the right can make and the opposition can make is that the right is trying to lead and he's trying to sell and to your point, it's not working.

>> of course, no one went on letterman more than john mccain. >> true, and canceled. >> true, it didn't work. >> and made a good point in the journal. if you're going to go on the shows, having to to say or have george stephanopoulos pulling out the dictionary and saying define tax. >> one of the great moments-- the pipeline between hillary clinton and george stephanopoulos? it was fun watching obama on the shows, how many times he would use the word rude. i think it was media countered the time, rude thing, rude thing, part of his talking points and fun to watch his mind works in terms of saying cable news is like the world wrestling federation, he's got a sense of the true dynamic of the media. >> well, are the media his enablers? >> well, again, no, i actually don't think so, every time you see a story about afghanistan, for example, you see a poll that says, by the way, americans don't want to be in there much

longer. when they booked him on the sunday shows they booked mitch mcconnell after him and john boehner and lindsey graham and came out to pick apart everything he said and to your point, george stephanopoulos, a low moment in sports for obama to define merriam-webster what is a tax and what isn't. >> i think they've enabled him a little bit he's gotten an easy rise he doesn't appreciate the opposition. if he had not given an easy ride they may have been more prepared for this. >> maybe one of you can, i can't remember a day when george w. bush was on five sunday morning talk shows. >> i can't remember when norra o'donnell on msnbc slapping down tim carney for how dare you slap down our president. there's still some of that. why wouldn't the school children want to sing a song praising hugo chavez, president obama, that's natural. >> there's about to be nor one of those discussions erupting here.

we have to take a break, if you have a story about media bias, e-mail us at fox news watch. we'll be back to talk about the crazy lead earths at the u.n. >> the u.n., danger posed by climate change cannot be denied. loses out to coverage of the crazies and the celebrities and their secrets. do we really need to know? details next on news watch.

>> the u.n. general assembly was in session this week in new york city with world leaders coming together to focus on serious topics. but along with the serious came the silly which of course drew the media's attention. case in point, libya's moammar

qadaffi, ahmadnejad, and venezuela's hugo chavez, the late night comedians also took note of the nuttiness. >> now, qadaffi's speech, crazy, went over 90 minutes. i think he was supposed to speak for 15 minutes, went on for 90 minutes and as usual all over the place, take a look at this. >> >> that led to a flurry of front page covers in the new york pipes, the daily news called them madmen. news day, still crazy after all these years. jim, here the body is supposed

to solve the world's problems ap the media focused on nut cases. >> nut cases in the case of qadaffi have the blood of 270 people at the lockerbie pan am explosion 23 years ago. in a perfect world the guy would be in jail. >> how was he covered? as a world statesman or as a clown or as the guy who ordered the shoot down, the blowing up of pan am 103. >> talk about enablers, the media put him on front of the papers. for new york papers this is a story you have a tent in donald trump-- kicking him out of new jersey, a made to order local news story and cable news story, there was a lot of important things happening at the u.n. and if you want today know about it you really had to read the bbc. there was no good coverage of it. >> speaking of reading things. i read this quote from an associated press interview with ahmadnejad. i couldn't believe the characterization, ahmadnejad remains soft spoken and almost

completely still in his chair as he politely fielded questions on a wide range of controversies, rankling iran's relationship with the west. he would occasionally nod or offer a small smile, particularly when he appeared pleased with a point he had made, but the iranian leader never gestured or raised his voice. that from an article by robert burns and ann gearen in the associated press on september 23rd. i mean, they portray this guy like he's santa claus. >> he's lovely. >> yeah, i think, i don't have so much trouble with it except for what's left out. i should say in contrast to his usual insane ramblings and weird accusations. you know, they're not, if in fact he was behaving this way report it that way, but point out he's normally a sort of unpredictable kind of crazy man. >> do you think that's guys are crazy like foxes, do they understand the american media and the kind of treatment on the u.n. podium? >> sure, i think they're putting on a good show because they know we're going to give them exactly what they want, which is 70

cameras trained intently on their every word and coverage in the, you know, on the front pages of every newspaper. but frankly, it's giving propaganda. the megaphone. january time you broadcast what these guys, these lunatics have to say it's legitimizing their lunatic beliefs. >> i couldn't believe it, you know, qadaffi covered up the show that i normally do on fox news channel in the middle of the day and i'm madly e-mailing the bosses saying, get off of it. this guy is on three cable networks right now. we're killing the audience. the ratings for that lunatic were higher than they are on a normal day. >> well, no offense to you, jon (laughter) >> and i mean, the point is, let's face it on a tv news show you kind of know what you're going to get. when it's live, who knows what qadaffi is going to do on the podium there. literally you have to watch to see what he'll do next. >> yeah, but the big story was obama humiliating the u.n., it

didn't get covered because you have the whackos. >> speaking of whackos, the celebrity's deep dark secrets, comedian rosie o'donnell confesses she used to break her bones on purpose as a child to feel she had value as a person. figure that out n a new book, anne heche reveals she was sexually abused by her father when she was a child. following up on the same shocking theme, a good one, former teen star actress mckenzie phillips appeared on oprah and dropped a bombshell of other even, a con seen ul incestuous relationship with her father, john phillips, the rock band the mama's and the papas. the look op your face says it all. is nothing sacred? i mean will anything go in the media these days. >> yes, anything will go. anything about-- if it gets ratings, if it gets

eyeballs and people leave the tv's on if they click on it and that's the direction the media is going. >> the ikk factor was all over the place. one more break, a bunch of school children in new jersey were supposed to do this. praise the president in song. some parents not so happy about it. so where is the coverage? we'll be back in two minutes. a this is my small-business specialist, tara.

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our final topic an issue brought to life through an youtube video showing young school children singing a song. >> everybody has to sing it together. >> all right. i like that. >> one, two, three. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ jim is ready to sing along. the students singing the praises of president obama. that is raising concerns about partisan politics, moved into the classroom and student privacy especially from some of the parents. >> it was reminiscent of 1930s germany to worship aware leader.

>> it's offensive they are using my child to do it. >> when i found out it was my school, and i was shocked. >> i was shocked that the children would be recting it in the way they were and being saying the words in light that it's a politician but i think that political views should be kept at home. >> have you heard about this story. it didn't get a whole lot of attention from the mainstream media but one article on the website hinted the concern is only coming from conservatives. kirsten? >> that is really sad if it's only coming from conservatives. everybody should be concerned about it. they would be screaming if it was george bush. >> nora o'donnell, he is president, that is a flimsy defense. >> all those future acorn members. [ laughter ] >> conservative media....