Posted on 03/04/2004 4:38:21 AM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
There are mornings like this one when you don't have to wait for Katie Couric to open her mouth to know that she's on the warpath. In her just-completed segment, it was enough to see Couric's grim, clench-jawed, tight-eyed, black-garbed look to know that Bush presidential adviser Karen Hughes was going to be in for a bumpy ride.
Couric did let Hughes get in one statement before going on the attack. After Katie's clenched-jawed greeting, Hughes did manage to say: "these ads say a lot about the American people and the shared experiences we've had over the last three years. Sometimes when you're living history it's hard to realize it. The President has great confidence in the American people, a stark contrast with the negative tone of the Democrats."
But then Katie went on the offensive, immediately grabbing her nuclear weapon from the liberal arsenal.
Couric: "There are a number of images of Ground Zero in these ads. A 9/11 widow has said she is offended. She said that 'with 3,000 people killed on the President's watch it takes an awful lot of audacity to use these images. It is in bad taste.'"
Hughes was not intimidated. She politely but firmly took issue, stressing that it was important to remind the American people of what they have been through.
But Katie came back to the charge: "at the same time is it appropriate to use those images for campaign purposes?" she asked, grim-faced.
Remember that when John Kerry starts running ads highlighting his service in Vietnam, where 58,000 US soliders and millions of civilians died. Will Katie be questioning Kerry's decency and good taste in "exploiting" those images?
Next, Katie tried a pre-emptive strike on any possible negative advertising against Kerry.
Q. "Will there be another series specifically targeting John Kerry and when will they run?"
Hughes: "Fairly soon we'll begin talking about Kerry and his record. He has voted against defense systems we're using to win war against terrorism and against intelligence."
Of course we all remember the tough questioning that Katie gave to the various Dem candidates over the course of the primaries for the endless commercials they ran bashing President Bush. Or maybe not.
Katie: "Iraq is never mentioned in the ads. Why is that? Are his campaign advisers afraid he might be vulnerable on that issue?"
Hughes: "We've just begun. I've just come back from Afghanistan where people are grateful that we've rid the country of an oppressive dictatorship and I'm sure the people of Iraq feel the same way."
Katie: "Exit polls among Ohio voters show that by far the most important issue is the economy, with few mentioning Iraq. Since by 'conservative estimates' more than two milion jobs have been lost how do you feel the President can convince the people the economy is strong and getting stronger if it is still on the forefront of people's minds?"
Of course Katie didn't mention that the people polled in Ohio were Dem primary voters, a very partisan, Bush-hating, liberal demographic.
Hughes had an excellent response, one we can expect to be hearing much more of: "Not only have we recently had the strongest growth in the last 20 years, but unemployment, while it will always be a concern for the President, is lower than the average rate in the 70s, 80s, 90s and first Clinton first term. Continuing the President's policies of low taxes, less government regulation and intrusion will work."
My posts on liberal bias at The Today Show often provoke responses along the line of yours. I understand and sympathize with the sentiment you express.
All I can say is that I watch out of a combination of masochism, the fact that Today continues to get the top guests, and the belief that it's worthwhile to keep track of what the liberal media are up to. I'm sure you're familiar, for example, with Brent Bozell and his Media Research Center which dedicate themselves full-time to the same task.
Regarding the typos, I'm the greatest of sinners, so you'll get no complaints from me.
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