My letter to Tim Russert (MTP) before his interview w/Bush (9AM ET Sun)

[scottxyz]

To : [e-mail]
Subject: You can DO it, Tim!

Dear Mr. Russert -

You're probably quaking in your boots having to interview George Bush on NBC's "Meet the Press" this Sunday at 9AM ET.

You'll be damned if you do ask the hard questions (and you might want to avoid riding in any small planes afterwards) and damned if you don't (America and history will remember forever that you fiddled and fawned while the economy and the Constitution burned).

Well, if anyone ever was between a rock and a hard place, you sure are. But remember - the job of a journalist is to get at the truth - not to prop up a crumbling, corrupt regime.

In anticipation of your big interview, the internet is burning up this week with easy, urgent questions we're all just dying to see someone with balls ask Bush. Here's a sampling:

http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh020704.shtml
http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/movable_type/2004_archives/000220.html
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0206-12.htm

Admittedly, you're in a tight spot here:

- On the one hand, the viewers aren't just couch potatoes anymore. In the age of the internet, everyone's an armchair pundit now, and high-quality information, argument and consensus circulates and consolidates faster now than anytime in history - far outside the confines of Pravda on the Potomac and Isvestia on the Hudson. If you do a puff-piece, lobbing him easy questions and meekly backing down from his lies, the whole country's gonna notice instantly and rip what's left of your (and NBC's) reputation to shreds - maybe start lumping you guys in with laughingstocks Fox and CBS.

- On the other hand, the Bush dynasty is ruthless, and if you dare point out that the Boy Emperor has no clothes, there's no telling what his henchmen will do to you or your loved ones. (Exhibit A: the Valerie Plame affair.)

One big thing you've got going for you though is this: you've got visibility and credibility. You're not some third-rate internet-based conspiracy-theorist liable to wind up killed in some freak accident once you land your punches. You're Tim Russert of "Meet the Press"; you're a high-profile guy with lots of respect and standing in the profession and among the viewers, and you've got lots more friends than Bush and his cabal of cronies do.

So here's my suggestion: Show some spunk. (The country likes testosterone these days anyways, as all the ads on the Superbowl showed.) Bush is on the run, he's starting to go into meltdown, he's not very bright, and more than half the country has noticed by now that he's destroying our economy and our democracy with his cowardice and lies. Go for the jugular Tim! One-on-one, talking off the cuff, Bush is gonna be easy prey - he's a liar with a horrible record for the past thirty years, and he can't think or talk quick on his feet. You could mop the floor with him just like you've done with countless other guests when they stumble and prevaricate - and you and the viewers know it.

That's what's so exciting about this matchup - we all KNOW you can take Bush - the question is, WILL you?

If you come out swinging, you could score an easy KO against the AWOL Cheerleader-in-Chief. And you could go down in history as the guy who saved the Republic from ruin.

- Scott ___
_______, __

[rhino47]

1. Kick

:kick:

[whatelseisnew]

2. Sorry to break it to you, interview is over, pretaped and editted

did you think the liberal media was going to question W?

[cosmicdot]

9. here's the photo

[KissMyAsscroft]

3. Pointless letter..

Russert is going to try to appear to ask tough questions. Besides they tape on Saturday which gives their Madison Ave editing team all night to edit it to perfection.

Sending the dip shit email implies that you will be watching and driving up his ratings.

Simply don't watch. That is the bet thing you can do.

Maybe send a short email telling him that he has zero credibility and you have no intention of watching.

Bush's last primetime interview was a flop, not because of what he said, but because no one bothered to watch.

[eaprez]

4. The Interview

was already done. Taped in advance from the Oval Office.

[nostamj]

5. "quaking in your boots" ???

sorry, but it's more like a triple-viagra-dose hardon.

and as stated above, the interview is over and being edited into a 60-minute campaign commercial as we type.

to quote timmy:

Integrity is for paupers.

www.makethemaccountable.com

[scottxyz]

6. It's pre-taped?

I didn't think the letter would have any effect - just wanted to let Tim know we're on to him.

Kind of like pre-emptively throwing a tomato at the tube.

But I didn't know it was already taped and edited. I thought they'd just have it on delay or something.

Figures. Couldn't have the President actually taking questions live.

[eaprez]

10. There were pictures

on CNN already of the two of them sitting across from one another in chairs.

[Rebellious Republican]

7. Here is the email that I sent......

Dear Mr. Russert, thought you would be interested to know that myself as well as most of my family and friends have come to one forgone conclusion. That tomorrows interview well be more like a SOFTBALL match and you will give Bush a free pass. We do not plan to watch as we already know the outcome. What has happened to true journalists of days gone by, when did all these used car salesman get journalism degrees?

[SalParadise]

8. My rambling email to them...

Is this interview not being done live tomorrow morning?

I've seen a post on an internet bbs that this was being taped today and the questions being asked have been pre-submitted.

How in the world is your news organization is serving the American public by allowing a candidate literally stage an appearance on a news program?

I honestly did not know Mr. Russert was a complete sell-out to the political establishment, I thought I could trust him to be a credit to television journalism.

If he has presubmitted the questions he's asking President Bush & is allowing the show to be taped a full day in advance, Mr. Russert has moved from the arena of journalist to that of "news personality".

[nostamj]

11. "news personality"

surely you meant "MEDIA WHORE"

but were too kind to say so.................

"Integrity is for paupers." - Tim Russert

[eaprez]

12. It doesn't serve the public

but it serves NBC in the Sunday morning ratings war. Of course they weren't going to turn down the offer to have the prez on their show. Of course they weren't going to require the President to come to the studio's and of course there were going to be 'rules' for the interview. As stated previously, there were already still shots of the interview on CNN.

[trof]

13. Damn good letter, Scott, and nice try. Here's mine.

You get at least an "E", for Effort.
:thumbsup:

Dear Mr. Russert,

Here's a list of questions I'd like to hear you ask Mr. Bush*:

1. What's your favorite color?
2. If you could be a tree, what kind of tree would you be?
3. Do you like puppies?
4. What's your favorite kind of ice cream?
5. What color is your favorite tie.
6. Does God speak directly to you, or do the messages come through Karl Rove?
7. Do you think God was speaking directly to Pat Robertson when He told him you would win a second term in a landslide, or did the message come through Karl Rove?

I guess that's enough for an hour.
I wouldn't want you to ask him any questions that might be embarrassing or that might get General Electric in trouble.
I look forward to seeing the show.
A Devoted Viewer