"So Unfair!" says CBS Chen about Caroline Kennedy

from Newsbusters

CBS’s Chen: Leave Caroline Kennedy Alone, Criticism ‘Unfair’

By Kyle Drennen (Bio | Archive)
December 18, 2008 - 11:45 ET

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On Thursday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Julie Chen came to the defense of would-be New York Senator Caroline Kennedy, who has faced criticism for her lack of experience: "This is so unfair. I mean, look, the system is set up the way it's set up and Governor Paterson decides and that's it. Leave her alone, everyone."That comment followed a report by correspondent Meg Oliver, in which Kennedy avoided tough questions from the press: "She quickly got a taste of the pressure that comes with seeking a high-profile political office...questions mostly went unanswered."

Chen was not so quick to defend Sarah Palin from critics during the campaign. When Tina Fey began impersonating Palin on Saturday Night Live in September, Chen remarked: "Tina Fey has just so much material to work with, this is like, probably a dream come true for her." Earlier in September, Chen wondered about Palin’s foreign policy experience: "The education of Sarah Palin. The Alaska governor has her first meetings with world leaders as they gather at the U.N. How will she do?"

...........................Earlier in Sept:  Chen's remarks on Palin and her experience:

CBS: Palin Needs Foreign 'Education'; 
Chen Put Hawaii in Atlantic

     At the top of Tuesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Julie Chen teased an upcoming segment on Sarah Palin meeting with world leaders at the United Nations by declaring: "The education of Sarah Palin. The Alaska Governor has her first meetings with world leaders as they gather at the U.N. How will she do?" While Chen wondered about Palin's understanding of foreign policy, on May 22, she thought Hawaii was located in the Atlantic Ocean: www.mrc.org

     [This item, by the MRC's Kyle Drennen, was posted Tuesday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

     In a later report correspondent Bill Plante proclaimed: "Palin, who got her first passport just last year, is here and will get a crash course in international affairs. The Alaska governor will be meeting with the leaders of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Georgia and Ukraine, as well as with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and U2's Bono."

     The September 23 segment:

     JULIE CHEN: The education of Sarah Palin. The Alaska governor has her first meetings with world leaders as they gather at the U.N. How will she do?