When White America Wants Answers, Tim Russert Coughs Up the Questions

[kpete]

When White America Wants Answers, Tim Russert Coughs Up the Questions
Posted by James Wolcott

I share the stomach growls of my fellow bloggers over Tim Russert's asking Barack Obama his opinion of Harry Belafonte's labeling George Bush the evilest motherfucker on the planet. I too think this was an inappropriate line of inquiry from the Tim Man. Just because Obama has been known to surrender his hips to the sultry sway of the calypso beat is no reason to be quizzing him so oafishly on the subject.

But I am even more upset by the follow-up questions Russert had prepared for Obama, which he tabled in order to spend more time with the Bickersons, James Carville and Mary "Lemon Puss" Matalin. I'm told Russert intends to save them for Obama's next visit, i.e., when he needs a black person on the program whose name isn't Condi Rice. Here they are, and I think you'll find them as tactless as did I.

.............

2) Bobby Brown. Whitney Houston. A marriage in turmoil. Any thoughts?

3) If you were down to your last Oreo cookie would you eat it as snack, or throw it at Michael Steele?

4) What's your favorite UPN show?

..........

http://jameswolcott.com/archives/2006/01/when_white_amer.php

[jaxx]

1. Here's another take on this today.....

Was Race a Factor in Russert's Obama Interview? (cross-posted on HuffPo): In light of the still-burning Chris Matthews scandal, I watched Sunday's political shows with keener interest than usual. And something very strange happened on Meet The Press: Tim Russert asked Senator Barack Obama to respond to Harry Belafonte's remarks about George W. Bush being the "greatest terrorist in the world."

My question is, why? Why did Russert ask Obama in particular about the statements of someone who isn't an elected official, who doesn't speak for Democrats, who doesn't represent Obama, who doesn't represent the Democratic Party, who is entitled to his own opinion.

More>> http://daoureport.salon.com/synopsis.aspx?synopsisId=6f052bca-17ea-4b85-a2d4-ba85a5589324

[varkam]

2. Lemon Puss - I love it!

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

3. Barack Obama gave one hilarious answer to a question by Russert

After hitting him for his Belafonte response, Russert played that clip of Hillary saying that Bushco would go down in history as the "Worst President ever" (shocking, but he did not play the "plantation" part of the quote which I completely expected after the Belafonte bizarrness) Anyway, Obama, paused and said "That's pretty high bar. I mean, we've had some really terrible Presidents."
I died laughing.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

4. Huffington had a very interesting revelation

Apparently, Tim Russert's son Luke, a college sophomore, will be co-hosting a sports radio show with Carville. More of the connected crowd just massaging each other.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/russert-watch-announcing_b_14268.html