Bruise Brother

It already seems like an age ago, but on March 5 the morning after Hillary Clinton sailed over the bar the media had set for her, winning the popular vote in Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island the New York senator was joking with Joe Scarborough on MSNBC. In that heady moment, Clinton was asked if she would consider Barack Obama as a running mate, and she instead offered the vice presidency to the former four-term Republican congressman himself. Scarborough flirted and demurred, but the moment was precious after all, the politician-turned-TV-pundit had spent the first month and a half of primary season beating Clinton up as badly as any of his more liberal sidekicks at MSNBC or his competing conservative commentators elsewhere.

Though Scarborough's ratings can't compare with network behemoths like Today, Clinton's visit to Morning Joe appeared to bolster MSNBC's claim that it has become "the place for politics" at least for the slice of Democrats captivated by this presidential contest. She made the pilgrimage even though Scarborough had pummeled Clinton while boosting Obama throughout the early primary season, mirroring the strategy of GOP partisans like Rush Limbaugh (who gave Scarborough's 2004 memoir a blurb quote) and Bob Novak, a much-praised Scarborough favorite. (See "Hillary and the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy,"

March 11.)

Scarborough had been following that game plan in a place where the message might be heard loudest by Democrats a network that was experiencing a 400 percent boost in its under-35 fan base, a 46 percent overall rating rise, and several two-million-viewer nights, particularly when Evening Joe was wearing his other hat and leading MSNBC panel discussions analyzing debates and election returns. With Fox so thoroughly associated with the GOP, and CNN trying so hard to appear "balanced," upstart MSNBC has become the cable network for Democratic voters by default and, like many of the Democrats themselves, was tilting toward Obama very early.

Despite Clinton's recent wins, Scarborough's fellow MSNBCers have kept up their bruising treatment of her. Chris Matthews started things off with a roundhouse blow in January, when he said that she had become a senator and had a shot at the presidency only because of her husband's infidelities. More recently, Matthews has been beating the drum for Clinton's withdrawal as if it has become of a test of her honor. Even the network's usually most detached reporter, David Shuster, got into the Clinton-bashing when he wondered aloud whether the Clintons were "pimping out" daughter Chelsea, costing him a two-week suspension. Tucker Carlson declared that he found Hillary so "castrating" that he "involuntarily" crossed his legs whenever she came on TV, a reflex that neatly contrasted with the "thrill" that Matthews said he felt creeping up his leg whenever Obama spoke.

Meanwhile, Keith Olbermann (who, it must be pointed out, occasionally invites this writer on his show) tried for months to stay above the scrum, but lately has been taking on Hillary night after night never trash-talking like his teammates, but eventually deriding Hillary in one of the "Special Comment" editorials he'd previously saved for acts of war and official treachery.

Yet as punishing as each of these voices has been, it's Scarborough the man for all time slots whose partisan background makes his Clinton hatred worth examining more closely. The six-foot-four, 220-pound ex-quarterback is so versatile that he has replaced, years apart, both Phil Donahue and Don Imus in the network's lineup. When he was hired in 2003, the network positioned him as its prime-time conservative counterpoint to Fox, but now he's MSNBC's morning table-setter and election-night leader. It was on Morning Joe that Chris Matthews delivered his comment that Hillary's political career was merely a result of her husband's betrayal. (Scarborough later proclaimed the outcry that resulted in Matthews's coerced apology for that remark "outrageous.") And it was on Joe's show that Shuster had to make his own mea culpa. But Joe himself landed a telling uppercut in January: He declared that the Clintons were "at war against African-Americans, and now they are at war against the Democratic Party."

The only other time that Scarborough played a role in MSNBC's presidential coverage, in 2004, he praised John Kerry's early debate performance while a member not the leader of its post-debate panels. But he subsequently boasted that he was "the first political commentator to call this race for Bush following the third presidential debate." Meanwhile, in a single month he devoted parts of 16 shows to the so-called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and their attacks against Kerry.

When he's challenged about his biases, Scarborough is quick to whip out an e-mail he received from Clinton campaign mouthpiece Howard Wolfson: "If everyone at your network were as fair," wrote Wolfson, "we would all be better off." But Scarborough's "fairness" is of recent vintage. Continue

Spring Festival is approaching, a family reunion minds of the warmest people s hopes. However, for the families of missing children, the festival is Ganchangcunduan. February 11, China s first man-searching Shen Hao searching with his second son Poker, arrived in Qingdao from his Around the World Poker-searching - the fifth leg of Shijiazhuang. In order to let more people are concerned about missing children, Shen Hao preferred linkage with this truth began his Yanzhao of searching trip.

Poker

February 12 afternoon, Shijiazhuang Railway Station Square. Yanzhao Dushi Bao joint search of the truth Poker Tour banners, and 52 missing children to enlarge photos, it is particularly eye-catching, granting a searching of Poker activities for the past pedestrians and passengers stopped the rush of footsteps.

A lovely Zhang Xiao Lian, both a bright big eyes were fixed on the grid into poker Hongtao, spades, Prunus mume, the tablets.

In addition to these cards printed on the box marked seek , also wrote missing expectations of the family reunion, you love them more hope, the whole deputy poker total of 52 missing children, in addition to the size of poker Wang , each have a poker on the missing child s photo, name, the missing time, the missing locations, disappearances, height, the more obvious features, such as content and telephone contact details. Poker children on the earliest in 1989 lost, the latest of which was in March 2006, each for the licence there are parents who do not know where the child s case.

The kids where you hear the call of the mother? A lovely boy Below the photo, reads a mother suffering Xinyu. The very fact visitors can not help Shanranleixia read here.

Behind every one poker is a family tragedy. Each poker and embodied the aspirations of the parents of missing children, let us bless the children go home early it. Everyone in the banners as long as write on a blessing characters get a search of Poker. said Shen Hao activities sponsors.

The scene there have been many members of the public approached and asked to write on a serious manner, Fu , there is a old man will not write, and also someone to write a blessing. Enveloping his large and small, happiness is full of characters banners. Less than two hours later, 1,500 poker on the end.

Hebei her poker

Shen Hao said that this is his second search of Poker, produced a total of 10,000, Shijiazhuang he released this version is the fifth leg of poker. The first set of poker He has published a total of 60,000, to the end of 2006 of the End (Our newspaper has reported). At present, he has been walking for 16 of the more than 40 cities in distributed free poker.

The first set of poker when Shen Hao also issued to the Shijiazhuang, Hebei is there are two people. Many people are enthusiastic about helping to provide clues, but unfortunately the child still Yaomoyinshen. As long as there is a hope that the points we have to strive for. Shen Hao said.

Statistics about the press, this pair of new poker 52 children from 18 provinces and municipalities, including Hebei, a member of a four They are:

September 28, 1995 County in Langfang City, the text of the rural village at the same time missing Yang Zhi Yuan Yuan and Gelia Doudou, the licensing of Hongtao 5 and Hongtao 6 ;

April 16, 2000 in Shijiazhuang City Park missing Ke Wang Chang an, the licensing of Hongtao 3 ;

August 1, 2004 in Shijiazhuang Changan District runaway Sangze-fai, licensing of Hongtao 4.

Among them, Yuan Yuan and Doudou has been missing for 12 years, the biggest this year should Ke Wang is a 19-year-old Daguniang the.

My two sons are lost in 1995, if the child can come back New Year, it is estimated that the high-much better than I

Yuan Yuan and Peas Chi-Mei Wang s mother also came to the activities of the scene, because the pain of loss tortured people is very old.

We are the Spring Festival, the happy days of the 10000, these families of missing children how to spend? I think these are inexplicable heavy and depressed. Shen Hao said.

Shen Hao in the luggage, the reporter not only see the search of poker, and searching of paper napkin, searching of a calendar. Shen Hao told reporters that he hoped to find more people to help locate the carrier, but now in addition to playing cards, but try other means.

Shen Hao many people feel that life must be earned tracing things. But Shen Hao given the answer is unexpected, the search is part of my life, I am in year three-quarters of the time at home to do his own thing.

Shen Hao, industry do need to have some first base. He is doing site, the search produced at the poker commissioned by the family to collect a certain amount of fees, have been subjected to criticism, but he still insisted. He said: The release of Poker is the loss of searching, I can not spend all the time above, I think, known as caring people on the premise that you must to their families, the people around the responsibility to do , and then again to help those people who need help.

India and millions of boxes of Poker

My greatest hope is that which day to print 1 million boxes of cards, widely circulated in various parts of the country, so there are millions or even tens of millions of pairs of eyes to help these families find missing children by children. At the same time, Shen Hao also quite worried said, is not the sole purpose of searching, and also hope that through this event to arouse the whole society concerned about the phenomenon of missing children. abducted children is not only because parents inadvertently people take advantage of children, the main reason is the buyer market. Shen Hao appealed to the police to establish an early warning system and missing children database on the adoption of children from the system to eliminate the recurrence of this tragedy.

For this to Shek, Shen Hao said he is the deepest feelings of love Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang he arrived at the station on by the enthusiasm of urban management departments assistance, the payment of the best poker venues, the media over the past two days local levels is given a three-dimensional concern.

Shen Hao files:

Shen Hao, Chuzhou, Anhui, China in 2001 founded the first notice of appeal website for the past six years, there are 5,000 families in his website posted a notice of appeal, a total of more than 300 families with a successful service. Request help families throughout China over 20 provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) and abroad. Today, he also owns 8,600 users of the site as a volunteer. Shen Hao of social welfare undertakings, and made due contributions, and in 2005 was named outstanding young volunteers in Anhui Province, Anhui Province, was awarded the 2006 and the Ten Outstanding Young Volunteers Honor.