Another case in point re: Brian Williams' coddling of Bush (from KO)

[Atman]

KO is playing MORE of the clips from the interview (have the shown the entire thing yet, in one piece?), and Bush got all pissed off when Williams asked him about the war...

"Look, we were attacked by Al Qaida long before I ever thought about Iraq!"

Of course, Williams let that one go sailing straight out to left field, over the green moster, without saying, "Uh, excuse me, Mr. President...what about the PNAC documents signed by virtually every member of your administration, back in 1995? Wasn't that before Al Qaida attacked?"

Nope. Just more free air time for Chimpy to help him cover his sorry, lying ass.

I can't believe anyone thought this was some sort of "hard hitting" interview. :eyes:

[DFW]

1. Hard hitting?

More like "hardly hitting."

Williams didn't ask Bush who Kamoo was, or what the hell
an "ecolectic" reading list was.

That whole interview was a sham from the start, with some
unintentional entertainment provided when Bush started
mangling the language worse than a Great White Shark
dining on filet of unsuspecting seal.

[Atman]

4. There was a lot of cheering going on here this morning, for Williams

Like, whoopee, Brian told him some people call him Patrician! *GASP* Give that man a Pulitzer!

[anitar1]

16. Brian and Bush

A friend told me he thought Bush said "an epileptic" reading list.

[TomInTib]

2. I give Williams credit for giving the fool enough rope..

"Three Shakespeares" being a case in point.

If Williams would have asked any follow-ups, I do not think the interview would have seen the light of day.

[flordehinojos]

15. 3 Shakespeares, as in 3 martines, 3 bloody marys, 3 morning coffees.

3 shakespeares as in right out of an alcoholic's mouth who has no idea in tarnation about shakespeare
beyond having seen the name SHAKESPEARE 3 times on the bookshelf.

[Oilwellian]

3. Another point Williams could have made....

according to Bush's Sec of Treasure O'Neil, the Bush crime family was planning the invasion of Iraq in their first few days of power.

[librechik]

10. we have Bush's biographer saying in 1998 Bush said he wanted a war

to give his presidency legitimacy--he specifically mentioned Iraq!

[Subdivisions]

5. I'm going to play devil's advocate here...

I think Williams was simply giving Chimpy the rope with which to hang himself. I think he left things as they were both out of his need to cover as much ground as possible and his allowing us to make out of Chimp's answers whatever we wanted. Yesterday, everyone was singing his praises. Why turn on him now. He asked plenty of tough questions.

But KO blew him away for sure.

[speedoo]

6. Don't worry, I'm sure perky Katie will nail *.

Won't she?

[Atman]

7. I'm not sure how perky she is these days.

I hear she's dieting.

[babylonsister]

8. Watch the whole thing before you judge; you got snippets on KO. nt

[Marie26]

9. When Bush gave

an especially clueless/idiotic answer, Brian Williams would literally hang his head in shame.

[bklyncowgirl]

19. Maybe he was looking down to keep from laughing.

The fact is that no one who is going to do the sort of interview with Bush that we on this board would like to see is going to get within shouting distance of the bastard.

This was one of the rare occaisions when a media talking head actually brought up some things that were, well, uncomfortable for His Decidership.

I give Williams credit.

[SaneInSC]

11. During the 2000 campaign

During the 2000 campaign, here in SC, I remember one of his visits. At the time I really didn't know anything about him other than he was Gov of Texas, and hey..look at him, he looks a lot like his dad. I watched with interest one of those airport interview sessions politicians sometimes do, y'know where they fly in and speak to the locals/media in the airport terminal and then off to bigger places..Well one of the reporters was asking him what he saw as the biggest challenges, etc..and his answer made me tilt my head like a dog does sometimes upon hearing a strange sound or whatever..like.."Huh?"

What he said was that Iraq and Sadaam was one of the biggest threats we faced and needed to deal with as a priority. This really struck me as odd, as Iraq had not been in the news at all and they were pretty much contained it seemed. I was like.."Whats he talking about..?"

What a piece of garbage...

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

12. "Mr. *, As An American Citizen, I Am Ashamed You Are My President"

What would happen if Brian Williams said something like this to conclude the interview?

Fact is, King george would NEVER grant an interview to someone unless they've drank the Kool Aid. The day he gives a 1 on 1 to someone like Helen T. or Keith O., then I'll believe.

Given that alone, I know which side Mr. Williams is on.

[DFW]

20. I had lunch with Helen T Monday

She is an old friend of the family.

Believe me, there is NO WAY he'll grant her a one on one.
He is still terrified to call on her at WH press conferences.
Imagine, the supposedly most powerful man in the world terrified
of a five foot tall 86 year old woman.

If someone says BOO, he'd probably faint from fright.

[Diane R]

13. Williams played it brilliantly

It was clear that he was disgusted with Bush, and was incensed at the answers from the mental midget. But, he let him talk, knowing that he was finally letting the public see the unscripted Presidential empty mind.

How often do we get to hear bush speak without a teleprompter, and with no power to cut the questioner off? With no handlers around? Williams had a rare opportunity and I think he did an excellent job of letting Bush be Bush. As pathetic as he was.

[Elwood P Dowd]

14. Making the chimp look like an idiot while keeping your job

with a repuke organization takes a little finesse.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

17. It was a cool cat playing with a freaked-out mouse.

Not only the words but the body language. I thought
Bush was going to start crying or cursing or wetting
his pants. Anybody with eyes to see & ears to hear
saw & heard who & what Bush is. Wonderful interview.

[opihimoimoi]

18. Only the most DELUDED PUB would not be EMBARRASSED and ASHAMED

of this Bush/Cheney/and Rummy Trio..

Bush did himself in with that interview...made himself look like the dufus he is....I loved it...