Rachel Maddow: ASTOUNDING Final Moments of Her Interview of Tom Ridge

[Hissyspit]

Run time: 03:37 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGWvHKXSZ3M   Posted on YouTube: September 02, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: September 02, 2009 By DU Member: Hissyspit Views on DU: 17889

 
MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show - 1 Sep. 2009: Rachel interviews former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge on politicizing terror threat level during the Bush Administration. Maddow clearly has no patience with Ridge pulling out the "faulty intelligence was responsible for Iraq fiasco" crap and his backpedaling.

PART ONE OF INTERVIEW: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=363305&mesg_id=363305

MADDOW: I think you making that argument right now is why Republicans after the Bush and Cheney administration are not going to get back the country's trust on national security. To look back at that decision and say 'we got it wrong but it was in good faith' and not acknowledge the foregone conclusion that we are going to invade Iraq that pervaded every decision that was made about intelligence. Looking back at that decision-making process, it sounds like you're making the argument that you would have made the same decision again.

Americans need to believe that our government would not make that wrong a decision, that would not take such a foregone conclusion to such an important issue, that the intelligence that proved the opposite point was all discounted, that the intelligence was combed through for any bit that would fit the foregone conclusion of the policymakers. The system was broken and if you don't see that the system was broken and you think that it was just that the intel was wrong - I think that you're one of the most trusted voices on national security for the Republican party, and I think that is the elephant in the room. I don't think you guys get back your credibility on national security until you realize that was a wrong decision made by policy makers; that wasn't the spies fault.

RIDGE: Well, I think you are suggesting that it was only driven by, quite obviously the people who made the decision knew more about the threat than you and I do. And again I think it is a pretty radical conclusion to suggest that men and women entrusted with the safety of this country would predicate a decision upon any other basis other than to keep America safe. Later on it may have proven that some of the information was inaccurate, but there were plenty of reasons to go into Iraq at the time - the foremost were the weapons of mass destruction, that obviously proven to be faulty. But the fact of the matter is, at that time, given what they knew, and they knew more than what you and I did, it seemed to be the right thing to do and the decision was made in what they considered to be in the best interest of our country.

- snip -

MADDOW: If you can go back in time and sell the American people on the idea that 4,000 Americans ought to lose their lives and we ought to lose those trillions of dollars for democracy in Iraq, you have a wilder imagination than I do. We were sold that war because of 9/11. We were sold that war because of the threat of weapons of mass destruction from this guy who didn't have them, and our government should have known it. And frankly a lot of people believe our government did know it and it was a cynical decision. And maybe everybody wasn't in on it and maybe that is a radical thing to conclude...

[Lil Missy]

1. Oh bullshit, Tom.

[Piewhacket]

38. oops. dup.

[olegramps]

66. They knew more than you and I??????

Indeed, they certainly did as Richard Clarke revealed that the administration that was dominated by PNAC radicals used 9/11 as their "Pearl Harbor" to invade Iraq.

"I expected to go back to a round of meetings examining what the next attacks could be… Instead I walked into a series of discussions about Iraq. At first I was incredulous that we were talking about something other than getting Al Qaeda. Then I realized with almost a sharp physical pain that Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz were going to take advantage of this national tragedy to promote their agenda about Iraq. Since the beginning of the administration, indeed well before, they had been pressing for a war with Iraq."

[imdjh]

75. Yep. Wasted a lot of time with him didn't we? The answer is the same.

The people at the top did what was best for the American people, because the people at the top are Americans whose job it is to do what is best for the American people. The people at the top knew things we don't know.

OK, so I'm all ears. I understand that the President knows things we don't know, and that he sees things differently because of it. I knew from the start that the wide eyed Obama devotees, the ones who wear the robe, were going to be horribly disappointed after the election, because when the President took office, he would know things we don't know. He would see things a bit differently, impacts and chinese puzzles of war, economics, and politics.

SO now we're supposed to glean from all this, that the Republicans really do love this country so much that they are keeping up the wall to protect President Obama, because they love America and only want to protect Americans, and that President Obama knows what the people who knew more than we knew know.

[Grinchie]

90. So what actually hit the Pentagon on 9/11 again?

I just saw 911: In Plane Site the other day and it's pretty clear that the Pentagon was not hit by a Boeing Airliner.

I think that 9/11, and the lack of any meaningful investogation sorta lay's out the Pearl Harbor scenario quite clearly.

The sad thing, is that people are so gullible as to compulsively believe what they are told instead of actually doing the research for themselves. They would rather trust the current talk Masthead and leave it at that so they can have a nother Beer and a 24 piece helping of Checken McNuggets while watch CSI: Miami.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

96. WAITING FOR THE EVILDOERS TO GO TO PRISON

BUSH/CHENEY AND ALL WHO WERE INVOLVED IN THE COUP.

THEY STOLE OUR GOVERNMENT

[valerief]

2. "That's the elephant in the room." GOP have lost their claim to being the party

to keep America safe.

Yay, Rachel!!!!

:applause:

[rurallib]

3. she is just about the best interviewer on TV right now.

Moyers, Goodman, Maddow, Olbermann. Slowly, slowly journalism comes back.

[Bette Noir]

18. She and Jon Stewart. They've both gotten right-wing tools fired recently.

I don't see Olbermann doing many interviews-- conservatives are too afraid of him, and won't go on his show. The same folks should be afraid of "just a comedian" Stewart, and "pretty young thing" Maddow. They're both sharks-- in the very best way.

[cui bono]

97. I don't think Olbermann could do that sort of interview and control himself.

Much like me, I think he would react quite strongly with "emotion" and passion. I have a hard time keeping expletives out of my emails to my congress critters.

Rachel handled it wonderfully, saying exactly what she thought in a calm rational manner. Tom Ridge even thanked her for the interview and its tone. :evilgrin:

[DutchLiberal]

120. She, Jon Stewart and Bill Maher.

I know the PC-police on DU hates his guts, but he is the *only* one who tells the truths Americans don't want to hear. Truths that even Maddow or Olbermann don't dare to talk about, lest General Electric fires them. Truths like America only has one political party with two faces; America isn't by far the greatest country in the world when taking in objective facts; America is running an empire by having over 500,000 troops overseas, including over 20 European countries; and his most powerful 'New Rule' about American greed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3JwoiPPTLk

I didn't want to take praise away from Rachel Maddow, because she certainly deserves it, and she tells us things no other "journalist" dares to tell us, and I'm grateful she does it. But it's important to remember she's still working for MSNBC, which is owned by GE, and that she would never be allowed to speak the 'deeper' truths that aren't that obvious.

[ezgoingrl]

4. I think that Rachael is going to win a Pulitzer someday.

n/t

[SusanaMontana41]

122. She's a reporter's reporter.

I wouldn't want to debate her. Glad I'll never have to.

Rachel, :yourock:

[stlsaxman]

5. I guess she had to shake his hand... but i near barfed when she did.

[Slit Skirt]

6. Rachel is the best

rachel just kick's ass

[Joe Chi Minh]

61. No she doesn't. She takes names, too....

[demigoddess]

76. rachel just kicks ass

NO APOSTROPHE

[cui bono]

98. Rachel just kicks ass

CAPITALIZE A NAME

[chollybocker]

7. Go back to your colorful crayons, Tom.

Why does he keep looking at Rachel's (Peabody-worthy) cleavage??

[tblue37]

26. He cannot meet her eyes. nt

[Nothing Without Hope]

79. Exactly. It's typical of liars. n/t

[AlbertCat]

113. It's typical of liars.

Right. Because he knows perfectly well that they had a conclusion 1st...invade Iraq.... and then fitted the intell to support that already-made conclusion. I remember saying to someone back then "They are determined to go to war with somebody" and I had less info than he did. What! I must be a foreign policy genious... and I can't even see Russia from my front porch! There was lots and lots of info telling us Saddam didn't have WMD... and it was just ignored. I remember hearing it. They knew they were lying in the SOTU.

Tom, that candy pink lipstick is lov-er-ly.... but you're still lying with that mouth... and you know you are.

And why is it so far fetched to think that people, like Dubya, Cheney, or Rummy, who are obviously complete and total egotists... wouldn't justify in their minds the putting in harms way of our soldiers is OK if it helps them, and their party? Bush even makes jokes about killing people and looking for WMD. Dick Cheney, we now know since he has diened to emerge from his secret bunker, thinks it's OK to torture people. They weren't called the "Mayberry Machiavellians" for nothing, y'know!

[eleny]

8. She knew she was speaking for millions and she was unflappable

[rhett o rick]

21. Absolutely. Bless her. nt

[Gregorian]

25. We were all on the same wavelength tonight.

I'm betting you yelled at your tv too. I did.

She WAS speaking for millions. And the rest of the people on planet earth. He fooled no one but himself. It's getting good.

[The Wizard]

67. Neitzsche was right.

" The most common lie is that with which one lies to one's self."
Just have to wonder what threats the cartel made to get Ridge to lie through his teeth.

[Fridays Child]

9. Well versed in her facts, well mannered in her approach, and...

...relentless in her pursuit of the truth. Damn, I'm glad she's on our side!

[TheMadMonk]

89. Given the last of those stirling attributes "side" doesn't come into it. nt

[Fridays Child]

123. ?

[WestSeattle2]

10. Rachel rocks yet again. She absolutely shames so-called

"journalists". If they want to see how to do their jobs, they need to watch her, and perhaps grow a pair.

[truedelphi]

11. Great job, Rachel. (As always)

I guess it would have been fun to see her ask him why it was so important to "out" Valerie Plame.

What Valerie Plame went through shows the tremendous punishment people received for not sticking up for the faulty information. People were demoted, people were fired, people were forced to work in the basement at Langley or the Pentagon for not contributing to the faulty info that Cheney/Bush wanted.

And for Ridge to pretend it was otherwise is just another lie upon the huge heap of lies we have already been forced to absorb.

[lordsummerisle]

12. Thanks for posting this

I turned it off in disgust shortly after he started with his "that's not what I meant to say in the book" crap...

[nolabear]

13. That woman is absolutely brilliant.

Elephant, indeed. And Katrina...bless her.

[xxqqqzme]

107. I was in awe of her

composure, which is why she does what she does & I don't!

They got the wrong guy 'dancin' w/ the stars'. Tommy should think about signing up after that amazing tap dance display. Rachel had him dancin' faster than he ever knew he could.

[madrchsod]

14. she`s a rhodes scholar with a doctoral degree....

tommy boy did not have a chance in hell....

[PSzymeczek]

33. Rachel. Is. Amazing.

That is all.

[MissDeeds]

115. Absolutely

She is really one of a kind. She handed Ridge his head on a silver platter, and did it with such grace and skill that he wound up thanking her at the end of the interview. Wow. Just wow. :applause:

[Douglas Carpenter]

15. Rachel is always so great. Kick and recommend!!

[tibbiit]

16. That guy is just a Fat Head.

He is the definition of that old slang term.

Rachel is superb... the definition of superb! :)
tib

[Grassy Knoll]

17. IMHO...

I think he was a patsy in a way, and when he learned of the bull shit and lawlessness of this, he quit ! :nopity:

[BlueMTexpat]

68. But now he continues to be a patsy and a tool,

so he gets no free pass from me.
:argh:

[POR]

111. I agree

Ridge was originally a Colin Powell guy. Powell couldn't get him a cabinet position when the Shrub was appointed by the SC so he was first in line when they decided to create HS.

If you think about it, he walked at around the same time Powell walked. I think they both were figureheads who eventually got an attack of conscience and quit.

That being said, I have no idea why Ridge is doing this tap dance with his book.

[aquart]

19. This man needs a guardian.

He is not capable of the simplest rational thought or conclusion.

[rhett o rick]

20. He says that the people that made the decision to invade Iraq knew more than you and I and were

charged with keeping us safe when they made the decision. What a stupid statement. He claims they knew more than us, yet it was all wrong. How did they know wrong information. Yes they knew more than us. They knew it was a fucking lie. They need to be put in prison.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

31. Rhett, you've nailed it

They DID know more than we did - they knew it was all a lie.

Oh, and Rachel, you did well, too.:toast:

[Enthusiast]

50. They ignored all the evidence.

And they ignored the inspectors for their own convenience. Like you said, they knew it was a lie.

I have a suggestion. The Bush Administration had full intentions to plant evidence for WMDs but conditions on the ground became too dangerous to carry off such a mission without involving too many personnel - potentially compromising security.

[rucognizant]

56. I actually heard......

A 2nd hand account; ( someone with a relative stationed over there,) that there WAS an attempt to bring in WMD/s
by OUR military that was stopped at the Kwuati border.! ( back in early 2004)

[Enthusiast]

91. The worst you can imagine about these

thugs is never bad enough. I would put nothing past them.

I fear this country is on the verge of a fascist revolution similar to that in the days leading up to Nazi Germany. Every moderate proposal by the duly elected government is shouted down as "Socialism! or Communism!" We ignore this at our peril.

[lib_wit_it]

93. True dat.

[BetterThanNoSN]

104. fascism, coming to a theater near you

I fear the same Enthusiast. Who is better to rile up than those toting big guns with small minds. These people can easily be manipulated into being the new Brownshirts, fully ready and willing to 'take back our govt' from the 'radical communists' running the country.
For the last two years of the Bush Administration I had a horrible sense that I was watching in slow motion a train wreck that would occur before my eyes. Although they ran out of time to accomplish all i'm sure they dreamed of in killing the Constitution, it appears to me the train has not been derailed.
Now I can see a worse scenario and it will only take some false flag incident to prove the Dems are 'soft on terror', allowing the batshitcrazy pols like Michele Bachman, Eric Cantor, Peter King, Dana Rohrbacher, etc., to take things to another level. Neo-cons don't die(unfortunately)they just become Fox news analysts.
Sadly, Obama has not taken seriously the egregious acts of the last administration and we are therefore destined to repeat them. Add to that the fact they tried to burn the country down financially just as they were getting their crooked asses out the door, ensuring the next administration would be buried the next four years. As things worsen the next couple of years economically, the greater discontent of the populace will play out in increasingly violent acts towards each other.
I sleep well, for how much longer is my concern.

[sheldon]

22. Hooray for Maddow!

What a gem.

[SheilaT]

23. The simple fact is

that THERE WERE NO WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION IN IRAQ and for Tom Ridge, and all those other Republicans to keep on parroting the line about "The decision makers knew more than we did" and to therefore imply that they made the correct decision is complete and utter hogwash.

Rachel also pointed out that it wasn't the intel that was wrong, it was the policy makers who were determined from the beginning to go into Iraq and who, as she put it, discounted the evidence to the contrary.

[PSzymeczek]

34. He has been threatened.

Simple as that.

[pjt7]

58. Somebody owns Tom Ridge

you can tell that by his body language & words.

[Gregorian]

24. I screamed at the tv tonight. I said the whole world is watching.

And he had better get his act straight. He's fooling no one.

Rachel. Our angel with a phd.

[SeattleGirl]

27. That whole interview blew me away.

She was fearless!

[PinkyisBlue]

28. Rachel was excellent.

Tom Ridge doesn't have the ounce of integrity I previously thought he had. I had hoped he was going to admit, as he had earlier implied, that the national security warnings during the Bush years were manipulated for political reasons. But he didn't admit this and, in fact, gave such rambling, nonsensical answers to some of Rachel's questions that I couldn't understand what the hell he was trying to say. I have to give Rachel a lot of credit for deciphering some of his (non)answers. He reminded me a lot of Sarah Palin....blah, blah, blah.....

I was disappointed that he actually had the nerve to say the intelligence re: the lead-up to the Iraq War was wrong (as most of the others in the administration have also said). In 2002-2003, I remember the weapons inspectors looking in Iraq for WMDs and repeatedly stating they couldn't find any; instead of allowing them to complete their inspections and using this information in a rational way, Bush/Cheney pulled the inspectors out of Iraq and totally disregarded their findings (as it had already been decided to go to war).

It's obvious to me that Tom Ridge is a political hack and is just peddling his book. If he writes the way he speaks, the book is gibberish.

[eagertolearn]

65. Its all part of the ploy to change the perception of what really happened.

And it is working. My husband said after watching this interview "That guy can't appoligize for mistakes. At least Bush came out and appoligized for acting on faulty info". That started a big fight because I told him you can't appoligize for that if you helped to make the faulty info to help qualify a reason to go to Iraq (for Oil). My husband is already saying that is a conspiracy theory (he is a democrat now but was republican before 2004). How can he say that!!! Whats a good book on all of this because he hasn't been following this like i have? I can't believe he said that.

[LiberalLovinLug]

88. people are so set in their beliefs

There are a number of good books written out there. Richard Clarkes "Against All Enemies" is supposed to be good. He should have the legitimacy that your husband would want. After all he worked for Republican presidents as well as Democratic ones.

good luck.

[eagertolearn]

125. Thanks!

[Overseas]

29. K&R ! Loved her commentary.

Polite but devastating. Needed to be said.

[Turborama]

30. K&R We need to go to the YouTube link and add views, ratings, comments & fave

The embedded player views don't seem to count, as I've witnessed with the videos I've uploaded. If the Rachel vids on YouTube gain traction, hopefully that'll lead to more viewers of her show. She really does deserve to have the highest viewing figures on TV.

[bleever]

32. She looked so tired at the top of the show

I had no idea she'd walk the pieces played so far into his part of the board.

It was like watching Michael Jordan, sick with the flu, carry the Bulls through an NBA finals game.

:patriot:

[PSzymeczek]

35. It was like watching the Memorial Day Miracle

Sean Elliott on the verge of a kidney transplant against the TrailBlazers.

[EFerrari]

36. Motherfucker.

[Piewhacket]

37. Tom "the ends (democracy in Iraq) justify the means" Ridge...

you didn't do our country any service worth spit, Tom.

And the best service you do for your country now is to take a
long walk off a very tall building.

[BlueMTexpat]

70. I'll bet that the Iraqi people would rather have their excellent health care,

better opportunities for women than generally are available throughout the ME, decent educational system, functioning electricity, archeological treasures, countless lost family members and friends, and a more stable society back than what sham of a "democracy" we have foisted upon them.
Oh yes, there is the little matter of the tyrant Saddam, but IMHO the Iraqi people would themselves had taken care of him ere long had crushing sanctions not been imposed on the whole society since 2001. We played right into his hand and were thus the villains.
And how much worse was Saddam than the other tyrants we continue to support throughout the ME and elsewhere throughout the world?
After all, we're the ones who initially gave him his weapons of mass destruction ... we just conveniently "forgot" that they'd all been exhausted either against Iran or Iraqi Kurds long before our illegal and immoral invasion.
I concur with the long walk off a tall building, although that is perhaps just what The Dick already threatened him with.

[AlbertCat]

117. Tom "the ends (democracy in Iraq) justify the means" Ridge...

Really!

I declare here and now that I don't give a rat's ass about the Iraqi people. I certainly don't want them murdered in my name so Shell Oil can get a great deal! But I don't care if they live in a democracy of some kind or a yellow submarine. Whatever kind of government they choose, it was not worth the cost. Nothing is worth what Iraq has cost US...the USA, much less the cost to the Iraqis.


Besides, we did not go there to create a democracy. We went there because Saddam was an immediate threat with atomic weapons.


Or was it to build schools and free women from the burka? Nope, I'm sure the mushroom cloud came 1st.

[mzmolly]

39. The intelligence was not wrong. UN Weapons Inspectors determined that Saddam

was NOT a treat, and he did not have a mass, nuclear weapons program. GRRRRR

WTG Rachel!

[JHB]

45. That's a point to underscore...If Bush made the "right decision based on what he knew"...

...why did he try to rewrite history after the fact and claim Saddam wouldn't let inspectors in?

[mzmolly]

82. Especially given Bush is the one who asked them to leave Iraq...

:hi:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvDe7Z-ykDo

[Piewhacket]

40. Oh, and WTG Rachel, and nice post hissyspit. hoot hoot!

[BobTheSubgenius]

41. I don't get to see much of Rachel Maddow,

but everything I have seen leads me to believe that she is one incredibly good journalist. She's prepared, she's knowledgeable, she's quick, she's unflappable and she's fair.

[Apollo11]

43. You can watch Rachel's show anytime online at msnbc.com

Here is the link: http://rachel.msnbc.com

You can line up the video clips so it's just like watching the TV show.

It is 100% legal and lets msnbc know that Rachel is bringing traffic to their website.

[cui bono]

100. And you can grab the podcasts (audio or video) for free, no ads. n/t

[knixphan]

42. K for R!

:yourock:

[JournalistKev87]

44. Did you notice at the end how he was smirking at Lady Maddow?

He knew that she was dead on. Talking points aside, in his (un)heart of hearts, he knew she was DEAD FUCKING ON. I love you, Rachel! You give me hope everyday that real journalism is still alive.

I hope to be as good of a journalist as you are.

[puebloknot]

46. Total obfuscation out of Ridge. "Word salad," as my daughter said.

I'm good with the language, and several times I turned to my daughter and said, "What the fuck did this guy just say?"

He's devoid of any ethical stance, or he's afraid for his life, or both. He's seeking absolution with no mea culpa! How disgusting that the likes of this guy have been at the pinnacle of power in this country for so many years. The scenes of New Orleans were so shameful I just could hardly stand to see it again. The failure to respond was intentional, in my view. Since when could we not have flown over with food and water in helicopters until people could be evacuated. *People*, I just said. Not pawns in a deceitful game.

Middle of the night. I hope I can sleep.

Thanks for posting this.

[chasitynola]

94. 'Word salad'

nice! I will have to borrow that one...

[orleans]

47. she was AMAZING...go rach!!!

she killed him and he died smiling.

so subtle he hardly knew what was hitting him.

[bos1]

48. I wished she had added "one million Iraqi lives" to the 4000 American lives for supposed goal

of Iraqi democracy (which she shows was not the goal or the selling point anyway). That would have put this mass murder, this war crime, in even more stark contrast.

PS Maddow rocks

[arikara]

78. I was thinking the same thing

Over 1,300,000 Iraqi people slaughtered and they are supposed to be grateful for a form of "democracy"? I wish these numbers would be acknowledged instead of always 4,000 Americans killed.

[fasttense]

49. I would like to player poker with Tom Ridge, he has a very obvious tell.

Notice every time Tommy boy started lying and spouting those word salads, he would end with a sniff, as if he were sucking up through his nose the remains of a hit of coke.

That was such an obvious tell that he was bluffing and lying. Watch him sniffing on the video link and see if you don't notice it.

I could win thousands off that idiot Tommy boy in a game of poker.

[alstephenson]

84. I noticed the same thing. Every time he told a whopper he'd sniff.

Rachel's interview was great. Go, Rachel!

[lib_wit_it]

95. I noticed. It's a disgusting tell, but appropriate. He's a snorting pig. /p

[ScottLand]

51. All I can say is

Damn she's good!

[Roland99]

52. Rachel should have given Ridge a bit of reading material >>>>>>>

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6442535&mesg_id=6443462

[droidamus2]

53. Love it

Love how Rachel doesn't back down from Ridges weak excuses. He tries to use the typical political bs answer and she doesn't fall for it. They do it all the time 'they knew more than you and I' right but if you asked them what it was they knew specifically I'm sure the answer would be 'can't tell you that information is classified for national security reasons'. Which in the end come's down to 'you'll just have to trust that we are not lying to you'. Sorry it was the Bush administration we know that you were lying to us most of time Tom.

[indimuse]

54. knr*

Rachel rox!

[SKKY]

55. Can I just brag for a minute and say that I called this a long time ago...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=122921&mesg_id=123091

[pjt7]

57. Maddow is the real deal

& Ridge looks like a midget.

[pjt7]

59. The only point missing was the huge amount of dead Iraqi's

Iraqi widows & orphans & survivors need to come on shows like Maddows & drive the point home, that real people were killed & the suffering rivals the Holocaust.

It's all sanitized & surreal, because we NEVER hear from the Iraqi people..

[DallasNE]

60. Tom Ridge Is Simply Wrong On The Facts

So he fell right into Rachel Maddow's trap. Never once did Ridge or anyone in the Bush administration look at the best intelligence available and that was coming from Hans Blix and the UN weapons inspection teams. Had they bothered to look at those reports they, like the rest of us, would have known with a high degree of certainty that Iraq had no WMD, had no WMD program and were not about to restart a WMD production. Simply stated, Ridge is a liar in a league with Dick Cheney.

[polichick]

62. I'd like to see her go one-on-one with Cheney - but the chickenhawk won't do her show. nt

[robo50]

63. You got THAT right! Rachel is well informed enough to

take on anyone. Cheney is lucky enough now to never have to be interviewed again, until he's put on trial.

[BReisen]

83. I would pay good money to see Rachel and Cheney one-on-one

She would kill him! She is the best thing on TV every night.

[Strong Atheist]

128. In case it hasn't ever happened, Welcome to DU!

:toast:

[Chorophyll]

64. She is the best.

The rethugs should fear her, but they never quite believe that this charming young woman is about to pull the chair out from under them... until she does it.

[madmom]

69. I am sooo glad Rachel has found her own niche. When she first started I

thought she was pretty much a rehash of everything Olberman, but now, all I can say is 'look out world, you're going to hear the truth whether you like it or not" GO RACHEL!:bounce: :fistbump:

[WoodyD]

71. Rachel rocks

She's smart, engaging, and calls people on their bullshit. Rachel and Bill Moyers are the best interviewers on television. Journalism based on those pesky things called facts, not opinion and emotion and who can yell the loudest.

Oh, wait. They don't just scream at people and then edit their interviews out of context. What's wrong with them anyway?

[jsgindc]

74. "The Rachel Maddow Show"

MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show" is the only cable news show nominated for the Television Critics' Association Awards. In the category "Outstanding Achievement in News & Information," Maddow's show is nominated along with CBS' "60 Minutes," HBO's "The Alzheimer's Project," and PBS' "Frontline" and "We Shall Remain."

The TCA awards will be presented August 1st at The Langham, Huntington Hotel and Spa in Pasadena, California.



* THE WINNER WAS: OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS & INFORMATION: “The Alzheimer’s Project” (HBO)

[AlbertCat]

116. Y'mean O'Reilly wasn't nominated? Damn librul media!

[RoccoR5955]

72. Tom Ridge=Bovine Fecal Artist

He was so full of manure, we could have had compost for the entire planet.

[Berry Cool]

73. Rachel did a beautiful job of this.

She was polite and civil, but she would not be turned back or pushed away. She also would not let the interview devolve into a shouting match. She let him speak his piece and essentially said "I don't believe you" and pointed out where what he was saying didn't match the facts.

The NO part...*sigh* I was ready to throttle him when he brought up that "state and local" crap and "the buses, the buses" nonsense. I give her credit for self-control. I only wish she'd nailed him when he again used that "Nobody could have predicted the scope of the catastrophe" bullshit. THEY DID. Thing was, nobody did anything about it.

[Myrina]

77. Rachel = Patriot; Ridge = Lying SOB

:patriot: You are a national treasure, Ms. Maddow. :applause:

[orpupilofnature57]

80. We need this Champ in Washington!!!!

How she keeps her job ,I really don't know.

[Vyan]

81. The Head of Iraqi Intellegence Defected

before the War and TOLD US that Saddam had already destroyed all his previous WMD stockpiles. Bush said "Give me something I can use..." and paid him off to keep quiet.

George Tenet phoned and sent faxes to the White House saying the "Yellowcake Story is Bogus"... so Bush didn't quote the CIA or Tenet, he quoted the British who hadn't figured out that the Niger Document was forgery yet.

Cynical? Maybe so and Maybe not, but Fracking BULLHEADED! - You Betcha!

Vyan

[Nostalgic]

85. I don't understand why he even wrote that book.

It seems like he isn't saying anything new. He's just spewing out the same lies and propaganda that we've heard from the Bush administration for years now!

[dgibby]

86. Forwarded to Rachel.

Here's a copy of the E-mail I just sent:

Rachel, I don't know if you ever read DU, but I thought you'd like to see this. You have quite a fan club!

Kudos for a job well done.

Keep up the good work.

In case you don't realize it, YOU ROCK!!!

[JDPriestly]

87. Ridge is the follower type personality in the authoritarian model.

He presupposes a superior being, a "decider" that is wise, all knowing and can be trusted to -- "decide" things. Ridge sees his role as following, as carrying out the decisions of the decider. (He is also probably good at ordering other people around.) Ridge takes no responsibility for knowing what he trusts the higher being, the decider knew or second-guessing the deciders decisions.

In addition, Ridge believes that the decider by definition is perfect and makes no mistakes. Therefore whatever decision the decider made was perfect.

Ridge cannot contemplate that just maybe Bush did not know what he was doing or worse yet that Bush intentionally disregarded evidence. It's not so much that Ridge worshiped Bush as a hero or liked or trusted Bush as a personal friend. It's that in Ridge's rigid world that's the way things work.

Was Ridge raised Catholic? You betcha! "He was educated at St. Andrews Elementary School and Cathedral Preparatory School and did well both academically and in sports."

per

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Ridge

Tom Ridge was carefully taught to obey authority. He and George Bush shared something important -- a private education where they learned to believe in superior beings, in deciders.

Not all private education is premised on teaching children to obey authority without question. But enough of it is to support an argument that you should send your children to public schools if you want to raise thinking adults. Above all, don't send your children to religious schools. They might end up making fools of themselves on TV like Tom Ridge.

[louis-t]

92. As good as she was, I would have liked to see her

challenge him more on the intel. Unfortunately, her explanations are too complicated for the average freeper to understand. I believe the response by any weak-minded republicant would be "Yeah, but Clinton...."

[butterfly77]

99. Go get em Rachel!!!

:kick: :kick: :kick:

[BlueIdaho]

101. Well...

I guess we can see who ought to be hosting Meet the Press...

Dick Fucking Gregory = empty suit.

[AngryOldDem]

102. Same old bullshit.

A handful of people "know" what is in the country's best national security interests. They pat us on our little heads, tell us not to worry -- they know how to keep us safe -- and then continue to advance their own dark, evil agendas.

Kudos to Rachel for again not taking this crap. Standing up and making them accountable for what they say and do is the only way to win against these bastards. Sort of like shining a light on a dark room full of cockroaches.

I'd love to see her take on Cheney, but I doubt Cheney has the balls to appear on her show.

[orpupilofnature57]

105. J.F.K. Learned and admitted ,Covert Advisor's Expertise isn't worth shit.

[burning rain]

103. In a way, I'm glad W got Cheney as his veep, & not Ridge...

and this interview reinforces that. Cheney does evil proudly and with great gusto, while Ridge pursues wickedness a bit more subtly, and would probably have made BushCo. appear somewhat less culpable in the eyes of the naive.

[sabrina 1]

106. And the color charts, which most of us knew were a joke and

a political ploy to scare people before the election, into voting for Bush. If ordinary people knew this, and Tom Ridge did not, what was he doing in such a position?

And what happened to his little charts, which really did become a joke, AFTER the election?

They really do believe that we are all as stupid as the crazies on the right.

But, at least he was willing to talk to Rachel and give her a chance to express how so many people feel, to him in person. For that he gets credit.

I think someone got to him 'cause maybe I'm imagining it, but I remember hearing that he quit because he would not go along with the politicizing of terror and that was it for him. When it was reported he said so later, it was not a surprise.

But now, he's backing off ~ can't blame him if he feels threatened. Those people are ruthless.

[lumpy]

108. If there was substantial legitimate reason for going into Iraq that

the Bushco'leaderhip' knew about but didn't go public with, why has it not been made public by now, since it is past history. Tom Ridge uses the argument that there possibly were more specific reason for invading Iraq. Keep the bullshit flying, Tom.

[Vinnie From Indy]

109. This is REAL journalism

It is sad that in American media today it is actually shocking to the system to find a journalist asking such an informed, relevant and direct question of these folks like Ridge. What makes Maddow so great is her delivery and her knowledge of the issues being discussed.

[SunDrop23]

110. She is phenomenal! (nfm)

[Major Hogwash]

112. She kicked his ass. Nobody should ever fuck with Dr. Maddow, she's too fucking smart!!

I wouldn't argue with her over what toppings to have on our pizza, let alone argue 6 years later with her about why Bush invaded Iraq.
Are you kidding me?

Rachel knows her shit frontwards, backwards, and upside down.
She is not just another radio personality trying to get people to like her because she has big boobs!
This chick has brains, and more fucking smarts than a college entrance board.
She kicked Tom's ass and if he doesn't know it yet, maybe someone should tell him - we know they lied to invade Iraq!
It doesn't matter how fast he talks, or what he says - we know they lied.

Bottom line - prosecute the sonsovbitches!

[oligarhy]

114. You go Rachel!

Always nice to watch your show, and I am glad that you made it through the flu.

[myrna minx]

118. Thank you Rachel. K&R n/t

[gorfle]

119. What I can't understand.

What I can't understand is how people like this guy come off of interviews like this unscathed. I mean it was a virtual love-fest of thank yous at the end of the interview. These people should be verbally bleeding when they get off the interview stage.

When he says, "Well, the people making the decisions knew more than you or I..." the response should be, "BULLSHIT, MR. RIDGE! It's quite clear by now that they DID NOT know any more than you or I except that THEY HAD ALREADY PLANNED OUT THEIR WAR AND WERE JUST LOOKING FOR A FUCKING EXCUSE TO PIN IT ON.

I guess these reporters have to play nice or no one will ever consent to be interviewed again by them.

I'd just love for once for this kind of bullshit to be called right the fuck out right on national TV. I'd love to see Colbert interview this guy.

[DannyNoonan]

121. Give Ridge credit

For getting the discussion going. Of course he's going to walk it back a bit, if only to save face himself. But he got us focused on an issue that needed more attention.

http://www.pufferfishblog.com/

[patrice]

124. Definition of "safe"? Like 1.5 million dead + 3 million refugee Iraqis will produce no Avengers?

I suppose that mr. Ridge expects that "Democracy" which "won't look that much like ours" will just take care of that little problem by jailing all of the Terrorists, actual and potential, bent on revenge against the U.S. Making that "Democracy" the same as Saddam Hussein. Welcome the new Iraqi Boss, same as the old Boss.

[DuLover2k9]

126. Way to go.

[MikeH]

127. Unfortunately what Tom Ridge said reminds me of something a former friend said

I had a friend who voted for Bush in 2004, felt that what we were doing in Iraq was the right thing for us to do, and said that he was not bothered that we did not find any of the weapons of mass destruction because, as he pointed out, intelligence is not an exact science.

This was a friend whom I met at one of my jobs in the mid 1970's when we were both students, and working under a special program sponsored by our university. He was a fundamentalist Christian, but did not fit the worst stereotypes of people of that persuasion. I was a Christian, but not a fundamentalist Christian, at the time I met my friend, and he was somebody with whom I could discuss issues of the faith, even if we disagreed. I later came to realize that I was unhappy with the Christian faith and the lack of help it was to me, and he was able to accept it, and we were still able to be friends. He was never "in your face" about his faith or his politics.

I was disappointed that he was going to vote for Bush in 2000. Anybody but Gore, and he was strongly against abortion. I tried to accept it at the time. I was definitely worried about Bush, but had no idea how bad he was really going to be.

I got together with my friend in October 2004, right before the election that year. I wanted to find out if he was going to be voting for Bush again. Much to my disappointment and consternation, he was. I was especially bothered that my friend showed no hesitation in saying he was going to be voting for Bush a second time, and seemed to have no misgivings or second thoughts, and that he seemed to have no struggle in deciding he was going to.

I asked my friend what he thought about the Iraq war. He felt it was necessary to remove Saddam Hussein, a brutal and dangerous tyrant, just like we should have removed Hitler before World War II. However the thing he said that really bothered me was that he felt it was OK for us to go to war even if we did not find the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, because intelligence is not an exact science. And I also seem to recall that he was not bothered by our use of torture; I do not remember exactly why.

Especially since Bush got a second term (I don't want to say he "won" a second term), I let my friend know that I needed to reevaluate my friendship with him. For instance I thought his saying that intelligence was not an exact science was a way for him to excuse a pResident who was "his type" of pResident (i.e. ostensibly a fundamentalist Christian, opposed to abortion, and did not have a sexual affair in the White House like Clinton), and I said that to him.

I proposed to my friend that if we got together in the future we could talk about old times, and about school and work, and about people we both used to know. However I could not respect either his politics or his religion any more, and did not want to discuss either with him. (That is something that sometimes works with families.) I did not want to hear my friend's thoughts on any controversial issue, and I did not want to hear about any of his church or Christian activities. And I did not want to hear about his wife's or his family's church or Christian activities, and I said that to my friend knowing that his wife has a singing ministry that is very important to her.

My friend indicated that he preferred that we end our friendship, and we did so on amicable terms. We agreed we could have fond memories of our past relationship, and we both wished each other the best for the future.

My friend and I ending our friendship was one of those things that was necessary. He was a good friend, and we had good times together, and he was "there" for me as a friend many times over the years when I needed a friend to be "there" for me. However Bush was (and still is) really that bad, and it was not OK for my friend to be in favor of the Iraq war. And I especially cannot respect the religious faith of anybody who is for Bush or who is in favor of the Iraq war.