NPR Rebuffs White House On Bush Talk (WH said only a Faux Dem could do the interview-Juan Williams)

[Pirate Smile]

NPR Rebuffs White House On Bush Talk
Radio Network Wanted To Choose Its Interviewer

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 26, 2007; Page C01

The White House reached out to National Public Radio over the weekend, offering analyst Juan Williams a presidential interview to mark yesterday's 50th anniversary of school desegregation in Little Rock.
But NPR turned down the interview, and Williams's talk with Bush wound up in a very different media venue: Fox News.

-snip-
Ellen Weiss, NPR's vice president for news, said she "felt strongly" that "the White House shouldn't be selecting the person." She said NPR told Bush's press secretary, Dana Perino, that "we're grateful for the opportunity to talk to the president but we wanted to determine who did the interview." When the White House said the offer could not be transferred to one of NPR's program hosts, Weiss took a pass.

Perino said she called Williams with the offer Saturday because of the Little Rock anniversary and the racial controversy over charges of excessive prosecution in Jena, La.

"We thought this would be a good opportunity for the president to sit down with someone and have a broader conversation about race relations," Perino said. "The president has talked with Juan before and we know him well. He's active in trying to keep good relations with us. . . . We could have done a print interview, but I felt I wanted people to hear the president's voice."
Williams called his bosses, who expressed concern that the only interview Bush has granted NPR during his tenure was also with Williams, in January.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/25/AR2007092502258.html?hpid=artslot

I believe Juan was on O'Reilly's show tonight defending O'Reilly regarding O'Reilly's comment about Sylvia's Restaurant. - "And I couldn’t get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia’s restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it’s run by blacks, primarily black patronship. … There wasn’t one person in Sylvia’s who was screaming, “M-Fer, I want more iced tea.”

[burythehatchet]

1. TRanslation: We needed to use Juan's brown skin to cast

a little dark hue on Dear Leader as he talked about Jena.

[Rex]

2. They have to be very selective with who to do interviews with

like who would interview Darth Vadar?

[rodeodance]

3. gawd how I absolutely despise that little peabrain!

[Freddie Stubbs]

4. How exactly is Juan Williams a 'Faux Dem?'

I do not recall him ever saying that he was a Democrat.