My take on Obama's MTP appearance today

[sabbat hunter]

People are saying that Brokaw was acting as a RW surrogate with his questions. I have a different take on this. Tom Brokaw was asking questions very carefully and in a way that Obama could refute RW talking points, letting him refute them.


Was Brokaw challenging Obama with certain questions, certainly, but that is what I want. I want my candidate to be challenged and successfully refute those questions. He is going to have to face such questions during the debates, and this line of questioning helps hone those skills.

It also helps refute the RW when they say that the media is all liberal biased. We can point to these tough questions that Brokaw asked.

I found the line of questioning by Tom Brokaw tough but fair. We need to show that our president isn't afraid of answering the tough questions.

[Cha]

1. There's that..but, like this writer states..

Meet the Press: Tom Brokaw Loves Him Some NeoCon Pundits
By: Nicole Belle on Sunday, July 27th, 2008 at 11:45 AM - PDT

Video at link~

"McCain’s Media is up in arms over the backfire of McCain’s challenge to Obama to go to Iraq. Obama went, he saw, he conquered Europe. That has to smart after spending the last seven years telling Americans that the French were sissies to compensate for their sneering of our foreign policy. Tom Brokaw, interim host of Meet the Press, is apparently an elder statesman of the McCain Media, since his choice to confront Obama is nothing less than citing once again those foreign policy “experts” of Charles Krauthammer and David Brooks. Remind me again, when have they been right about anything in this Iraqi invasion and occupation? Oh yeah, NEVER. Naturally, that’s who Brokaw should choose as the framing for his questions accusing Obama of being a little light on the specifics in his Berlin speech. What, you’ve never heard of EJ Dionne or Paul Krugman? How hard is it to even occasionally acknowledge a pundit from the other side of the aisle? Why on earth do they continue to give so much gravitas to pundits who have been so tragically and disgustingly wrong every step of the way?"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6548466

brokaw may have helped Obama but not intentionally.

[hisownpetard]

2. Great post, zidzi. Thanks!

:hi:

[Cha]

3. I got it from babylonsister..

:hi:

[hisownpetard]

4. ...without whom I wouldn't know gabork!!

[Cha]

9. Exactamundo!

:P

[samdogmom]

5. Thanks! I did not see any "Brokaw" help when I watched this program!

I only saw hostile questions and Obama's charming, disarming of them!

My husband, saw the same loading of the deck against Obama and actually COMMENTED on the unfairness! WOW! My husband NEVER thinks the deck has been stacked prematurely! But, for some reason, he saw how unfair Tom Brokaw's questions were today!

Bottom line...if my husband noticed something...then it really is TRUE! Tom played right-wing tool today. Obama disarmed him! End of story.

[Cha]

10. It's win win for Obama..he gets rw framed questions

that look biased and knocks 'em back outta the ball park. B-)

[samdogmom]

13. Touche!

Obama handled the interview with ease...so I have no complaints EXCEPT...I want to SEE a similar interview of McLame in the next few weeks! Does anyone think this will happen?

Me? I don't think we'll ever see McLame comfortably chat with the press the way Obama has demonstrated that he's capable of doing.

[Cha]

15. mccain would start spewing bile if the abc, cbs, nbc

anchorheads talked to him the way they challenge Obama.

"kevinmc (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-27-08 07:27 PM
Original message

"Think Tank finds that ABC, NBC and CBS were tougher on Barack Obama than on John McCain"

In study, evidence of liberal-bias bias

Cable talking heads accuse broadcast networks of liberal bias -- but a think tank finds that ABC, NBC and CBS were tougher on Barack Obama than on John McCain in recent weeks.

LA Times

Haters of the mainstream media reheated a bit of conventional wisdom last week.

Barack Obama, they said, was getting a free ride from those insufferable liberals.

Such pronouncements, sorry to say, tend to be wrong since they describe a monolithic media that no longer exists. Information today cascades from countless outlets and channels, from the Huffington Post to Politico.com to CBS News and beyond.

But now there's additional evidence that casts doubt on the bias claims aimed -- with particular venom -- at three broadcast networks.

The Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University, where researchers have tracked network news content for two decades, found that ABC, NBC and CBS were tougher on Obama than on Republican John McCain during the first six weeks of the general-election campaign.

You read it right: tougher on the Democrat.

During the evening news, the majority of statements from reporters and anchors on all three networks are neutral, the center found. And when network news people ventured opinions in recent weeks, 28% of the statements were positive for Obama and 72% negative.

Network reporting also tilted against McCain, but far less dramatically, with 43% of the statements positive and 57% negative, according to the Washington-based media center............"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6548765

Cable talkingheads represent propaganda central and will stop at no lie to control the mass manipulation.

[Kahuna]

17. Amen Sistah. He handled Brokaw's butt handily. nt

[rebel with a cause]

22. My daughter is like your husband only

I always think she does it just to disagree with me. :) Anyway, she agreed with me today that Brokaw is a right wing tool, not only today but on all days. We kind of think that he just doesn't like Obama and it could be racial or just an age thing.

Obama did handle him well today. Didn't get angry but pointed out the right slant of the interview with a laugh that can best be discribed as "cool headed and bad ass". I loved it.

[stray cat]

6. Thanks for a thoughtful non-knee-jerk view. I hope to watch it tonight

[grantcart]

7. I agree 100% for you.

Obama knew every question that was coming his way.


There were no cheap shots like Gibson asking if Obama had made a "rookie" mistake for a single word in the AIPAC speech 2 months ago.


Obama was relaxed and comfortable with it.


Brokaw's only sin, IMHO, was that he tried to interupt Obama during his answer rather than letting him answer first.


In any case it was of no problem for Obama.

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

8. Spot on. the interview was fine and Obama was fine.

[sabbat hunter]

18. I thought that

it greatly strengthened Obama as someone who knows his stuff and isn't afraid to answer the tough questions. A welcome change from the past 8 years.

[liberalmuse]

11. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

I was wondering about this very thing this morning after I saw the interview. I don't go out of my way to watch conservative interviews (other than with GWBush, and he is almost always handled very delicately by the MSM), so I really can't judge, but had wondered why Brokaw seemed a bit tough. It's clear that Obama has no problem at all with tough questions. When I saw the way Brokaw was relentlessly asking him question after question about the surge, and showing clips where it appeared Obama was saying the opposite of what he was answering, I started to wonder if he would do the same with McCain. Perhaps he would, and if that were the case, then I'm fine with it.

[Geek_Girl]

12. I thought it was one of the best interviews I've seen with Obama

He did great.

Not sure of Brokaw's motive, if he is a RW shrill trying to take Obama down a notch, or if he is just trying to give tough questions in order to get a great interview (ie doing his job).

Either way it was a great interview.

[Diamonique]

14. I agree with your take on it. n/t

[seasat]

16. I going to withhold my opinion until I see his interview with McCain

While Brokaw threw out the gotchas that are usual with "Press the Meat", he wasn't as focused on them and other insignificant stuff as the former host. He did spend most of it on policy. However, I wonder how he's going to handle McCain next week. McCain has laid down some serious fodder for the kind of gotcha type questions that have come to characterize "Press the Meat". If Brokaw goes after McCain over his negative attacks, numerous flip flops, muddles message on Iraq, and quotes liberal columnists, I won't have a problem with his Obama interview. I'm not asking for bias towards our side, I just want equality in treatment. If he dishes out the same to McSame, then I'll be ecstatic because McCain will have a meltdown under that type of questioning.

[Imagevision]

19. Has the entire M$M been dissecting Obama lately or is it just me...?

but then again, McCain has nothing to offer in his interviews or comments that contribute to selling commercials.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

20. I actually think you make good sense. It's very plausible that Brokaw was playing along

Actually helping Obama while surreptitiously debunking ridiculous claims of liberal bias...

[goodgd_yall]

21. Really? People thought that about Brokaw and his questions

That's something I see come up pretty frequently here: the person who asks tough questions, in effect sometimes acting as a devil's advocate, gets trounced. I agree with the OP. I thought Brokaw did fine. A candidate is SUPPOSED to be asked challenging questions.

[sabbat hunter]

23. Exactly

I am glad that you agree with me. :)