JIM LEHRER:  Good evening.  In an interview on Chris Matthews’ Hardball last night, President Obama tried to quiet skeptics who believe the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan was a sham staged by the U. S. military.   The President also said he is not awed by the power at his command.  Here’s a clip:

OBAMA: I want to show you something, Chris.  [unwrapping a handkerchief] This is bin Laden’s right ear.  I wanted a finger but they were all gone by the time I requested one.   Look at this closeup of Osama from 1997.   Check the right ear.  OK, now examine the real thing here.  Compare the folds, crevices, and ridges.  Clearly identical, yes?  No two ears are alike, Chris.  The one I’m holding was attached to bin Laden’s head.  Case closed.

MATTHEWS: I’m convinced, Mr. President.  Hey, you gonna eat that?  Ah, just pulling your leg, sir.   Last question: you are the Commander-in-Chief of the mightiest military machine on earth.  Are you humbled by the power you possess?

OBAMA:  Humbled?  [snort] Hardly.  I’ve grown in office, Chris.  The bin Laden raid and Libya have actually eased my mind about the use of force.  I want you to meet someone, Chris, the man with the “nuclear football.”  [gestures to military attaché standing out of camera range] C’mon over here, Captain, Major, whatever.  Open up the briefcase . . . .  I’m giving you an order, soldier.   Now show Mr. Matthews which button I push to take out China.  The red one?  Put your finger on it, Chris.  Go ahead, touch it.  Press it and our world goes poof.  Gives you a little thrill, doesn’t it, Chris?  Makes you feel like a God?

LEHRER:  More of the President’s interview with Matthews later in the program.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  Also on the NewsHour tonight: (more…)

NPR Executive Vivian Schiller is gone, but the problem of raging anti-conservative bias in government funded radio and TV still remains. Don’t believe me? I’m the one who was effectively banned from PBS because of my loud, proud pro-troop support on Judy Woodruff’s show.

…On the May 21 edition of Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes, conservative radio host and Move America Forward chairman Melanie Morgan addressed a May 17 statement by Linda Winslow, executive producer of Public Broadcasting Service’s The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, in response to viewer complaints regarding the discussion between Morgan and VoteVets.org chairman Jon Soltz on the May 8 edition of the NewsHour. Winslow wrote: “Since the program is produced live, we can’t do much to eliminate rude guests from your television screen once the segment has begun; what we can do is guarantee you will never see that person on our program again.” On Hannity, Morgan accused Media Matters for America — which published a May 9 item on Morgan’s NewsHour appearance — of encouraging “their people” to call PBS and get her banned from the network. Morgan further stated: “I am demanding an apology from Linda Winslow, because this is a woman who clearly is lying about the situation.” Morgan also asserted: “PBS has a blatant anti-conservative bias. They don’t want to hear a proud pro-American, pro-troop point of view,” adding, “I think that … PBS should be ashamed of itself.”

In introducing the segment, co-host Sean Hannity stated: “In an action that reeks of censorship, PBS’ signature broadcast, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, effectively banned conservative radio host Melanie Morgan from any future appearances.” Hannity was referring to Winslow’s statement, which appeared in PBS ombudsman Michael Getler’s column on May 17.

Don’t forget Juan Williams, a liberal who made the “mistake” of saying exactly what he thought and was fired as a result. (more…)

JIM LEHRER: Good evening.  President Obama returned to the Gulf Coast for an hour this afternoon to comfort a pelican that lost its mate during the recent unimaginable ecological catastrophe selfishly caused by private enterprise.  He also quaffed a quart of seawater to quash rumors Gulf water is unsafe to drink.  Aides said the small tar ball he coughed up later was harmless.

JEFFREY BROWN:  On the NewsHour tonight:

Homeless pet population explodes as the Bush Recession lingers.

Disney World shifts operations to Martha’s Vineyard for First Family’s stay.

And finally, Washington Post Associate Editor Bob Woodward talks with Judy Woodruff about his informant in the West Wing.

LEHRER:  Forget the lineup, Jeff.  Let’s hear about the mole.  Judy, you start.

WOODRUFF:  Thanks, Jim.  Carl, how long have you cultivated this source?

WOODWARD:  Uh, it’s Bob, Judy.  Without getting specific, since January I’ve met this person the first Thursday of every month at 6:00 p. m. in a stall in the women’s restroom at a Starbucks half a block east of the State Department.  Each time she’s given me a carry-on bag stuffed with copies of top-secret memoranda, policy drafts, and audio tapes and transcripts of strategy meetings

WOODRUFF:  Her code name?

WOODWARD:  “Deep Tote.” (more…)

This time last year, two proud and powerful citizens of the world stood at the pinnacle of victory.  Barack Obama was being inaugurated as President of the United States.  Both on the campaign trail and in his inaugural address, Obama proclaimed the start of his “remaking America” revolution.

George Soros had finally managed to back, promote and land a winner.  Their joint venture – Obama’s 2004 bid for the U.S. Senate —  had paid off in the ultimate jackpot:  the presidency.

Soros, the instigator and funder of various “velvet revolutions” in smaller countries, seemed convinced that all he needed to bring the U.S. into submission to a global government, stripped of her sovereignty, was a “citizen of the world” president to replace the all-American president, George W. Bush.  Soros has openly referred to the “bubble of American supremacy” and has berated our lone-superpower position as bringing much more harm than good to the “global family.”

Soros explained his early support of Obama, telling Judy Woodruff in May 2008, “…Obama has the charisma and the vision to radically reorient America in the world.”  When Woodruff queried Soros on whether it might be a concern that Obama lacked experience to lead in this dangerous time we live in, Soros responded, “…this emphasis on experience is way overdone…” (more…)