Posted on 04/06/2004 4:46:39 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
A triple-header of interesting segments on Today this morning. The most notable was Katie Couric's interview with the father of a young Marine who was just killed in Iraq.
There is something inherently grotesque about this kind of interview. We all know that Couric is bitterly opposed to the war in Iraq and above all to the Bush administration. If she were honest, she would say to the father "don't you realize that your son died in vain?"
But of course she doesn't dare do that. So instead she tries to draw out the most maudlin, heart-rending details of the loss. "How did you hear about it?" "What details do you have about how your son died?"
To his eternal credit, the father, Kirk Morris, would not provide Katie the kind of Bush-bashing fodder she was hoping for.
To the contrary, he said that his son Jeffrey "knew why he was there." He stated that his son's life had not been taking a good path until he joined the Marines, and that the Marines had turned Jeffrey into "the perfect son."
Katie quoted from a letter Jeffrey had sent home from Iraq, in which he told his family that even if he didn't come home, he knew that he was "fighting for the Iraqi people to choose their government, it was a huge injustice for them to be suppressed for 30 years."
Still, Katie persisted in trying to jerk as many tears as she could from the situation. "Jeffrey left behind five little brothers and sisters. How are they dealing with loss?"
Although Mr. Morris had already given sufficient indication that he would not be used for Katie's propaganda purposes, she closed with final question hoping for something to use against President Bush.
"In closing, the country is so conflicted about Iraq. How do you feel about situation in Iraq?"
A. "I think government made best decision it could based on facts it had. I support government and the troops."
I find it despicable that she would even seek to conduct these kind of interviews. Leave them to someone, if there is such a person at NBC, who doesn't think soldiers and their families are chumps.
The interview with Mr. Morris was preceded by a reasonable interview by Matt Lauer of Paul Bremer, US administrator in Iraq.
Lauer did ask one tough question: "We expected opposition from the Sunnis, who are Saddam loyalists, but recently we have seen violent uprisings by Shi'ias. So if Sunnis and Shi'as hate us who are our friends?"
Bremer's answer: "The 90% of Iraqis who support democracy."
As to the situation with Al-Sadr, the radical Sh'ia cleric, Bremer said "this is not a Shi'ia uprising, it is an illegal militia that has attacked Iraqis above all."
Q. "There are reports that Iraqi police have been hesitant to act. How can we be confident in turning over power to that force if they are unwilling to carry out their duties?"
A. "We will take measures against those police who fail to act."
Finally, there was a "pre-game show" for Condi's appearance before the 9/11 Commission.
Reporter David Gregory served as an apt DNC shill. The premise of his report was that W was in a deep hole as a result of the Clarke testimony. Thus Gregory portrayed Condi as "the Bush administration's best hope to answer credibility questions that have come up regarding issue of whether Bush administration did enough to prevent 9/11. They hope her testimony will neutralize what could be a major problem for a President who likes to portray himself as a war-time president."
Note the sarcasm, note the implicit assumption that Clarke has damaged the President's credibility, note the way he tries to portray W as being on the ropes.
Even in a sea of liberal reporters, Gregory consistently distinguishes himself for sheer partisanship.
This young man's father is fighting the war just as surely as his son did. I think that his pride in his son, and how he didn't back down to Katie's attempts at undermining, are all part of the war. It's unfortunate that it is this way. Katie and her ilk so desperately want to see Iraq turn into Vietnam that they will stoop to anything.
I don't think Katie knows what to do when people are so sure in their convictions (and probably their faith, although I didn't hear anything discussions about faith in this instance) and know that what they're doing is right and just, that there is no blame. They want to see people like this father cast blame for his son's death. There is no blame and she doesn't know what to do with that. He's proud of the man his son had become and it wouldn't have happened if he hadn't joined the Marines. Poor Katie just doesn't understand that the military can be an absolute blessing for some people. It sounds like that young man was rescued by the Marines as much as he helped rescue the Iraqi people from Saddam.
Wow, I guess Katie has been stump broke !
When she addresses the commission, she should say to those who were absent "It's nice to see you; I missed you when I appeared before the commission before and I'm glad you were able to be here this time."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.