Posted on 04/21/2004 7:47:27 AM PDT by presidio9
Katie Couric provided a giddy and upbeat session Friday night with Senator Hillary Clinton to promote the publication of the paperback version of her book, Living History. Couric gushed about how “she's received like a rock star. She works on economic development in upstate New York, gives foreign policy and civil rights speeches, shakes hand after hand, signs book after book.”
Recalling how she was booed at a New York City concert shortly after September 11th, Couric empathized: “But it had to hurt your feelings.” But Couric found a positive spin, trumpeting how “by last week, some of those jeers had turned to cheers.”
Picking up on Clinton’s advocacy of more troops for Iraq, Couric echoed the liberal line: “You say commit more troops. But that's the same thing LBJ did in Vietnam. Do you worry that this is another Vietnam?”
Looking to the future, Couric championed: “Now, at 56, Hillary Clinton has a vision for herself. She's a powerful U.S. Senator, and something of a phenomenon in the publishing world. The hardcover edition of her book sold more than three million copies worldwide.”
To end the interview, Couric asked Clinton to “play 'complete the sentence’” with her. Couric’s set-ups: “If I weren't a politician, I would be?”, "The thing I hate the most about myself is?", "My guiltiest pleasure is?", "I'm proudest that?" and “I would like my tombstone to say?"
Dateline anchor Stone Phillips set the tone for the April 16 segment with this admiring introduction: “From the moment Americans met her 12 years ago, it was clear she was a woman to be reckoned with. Smart, tough, ambitious, she seemed tailor-made for the world of politics. So it should come as no surprise that the title, Senator, fits Hillary Clinton like a glove.”
Some excerpts from Couric’s session with Senator Hillary Clinton, taped at the Clinton home in New Castle, New York:
Couric began: “It's springtime in Washington. The monuments of the nation's capital are framed by the cherry blossoms. But like the blossoms themselves, this serene impression is fleeting, and fragile. It's always political season in this town, and this year the skies look angrier and more turbulent than ever. Washington is gripped by the political equivalent of war, and one of the Democrats' not-so-secret weapons is the junior Senator from New York. And just as Hillary Clinton is hitting the stump and hitting the Republicans, the paperback version of her best-selling autobiography, Living History, is hitting the bookstores.”
Couric began with a gentle challenge: “In the afterward to your paperback version of your book, you deplore the partisan atmosphere we've seen in Washington. 'Too often,’ you write, 'ideology and partisanship, not evidence or value, dictate policy choices.’ But it seems at times you yourself were as partisan as many Republicans. So aren't you being slightly hypocritical?” Clinton: “Maybe. You know I hadn't thought about it like that. Because of course I think I've put forth evidence and facts. I mean I think that when you talk about the increasing deficit, and you say their economic theory is not going to work, is that a statement or fact or is it a statement of partisanship?”
Couric continued: “Many Republicans would say there are few politicians more partisan than the former First Lady. In fact, many Democrats have urged Senator John Kerry to choose her as his running mate to guarantee enthusiastic support among hard-core Democrats. On Wednesday, the two Senators campaigned for the first time together in New York. But now it's official. Hillary Clinton says this [video of two on stage together] is as close as we'll ever come to seeing a Kerry-Clinton ticket.”
Couric pressed her about becoming the VP nominee: “If John Kerry called you tomorrow, and said, 'Hill' -- whatever he calls you -- 'Senator, Hillary, I'd like you to be my Vice President?'" Clinton: “I'd say, 'John, I really can't do that. And I will help you, and support you in every way possible.'” Couric: “'But Hillary, the party really needs you.’" Clinton: “Well, you know, I don't think that will happen. I made it clear I don't want that to happen. And what my answer will be, no, if it does happen. I'm not prepared to do that.“ Couric: “When you hear that people say, she can't really be supporting John Kerry. Because if he wins, that screws up her political future." Clinton: “You know, people make a lot of money talking about me, don't they?...”
Couric: “Do you think it would be appealing to you to be President of the United States? I'm asking a hopeless question-” Clinton: “It's not the way I think. I never thought I would end up being the Senator from New York. I never thought that the long-haired, bearded guy I married in law school would end up being President. I don't think like that.”
Couric then announced: “Whatever her aspirations, these days she seems to be the life of the party -- the Democratic Party. And at times she's received like a rock star. She works on economic development in upstate New York, gives foreign policy and civil rights speeches, shakes hand after hand, signs book after book.”
But, Couric lamented, “much to her dismay, she's also used to help elect Republicans” who use her in fundraising letters.
Couric soon recalled, over video and sound from the concert event shown by VH-1: “But when she first arrived on Capitol Hill, it was a rocky start. At a benefit concert for 9/11 victims at New York's Madison Square Garden in November of 2001, Senator Clinton was booed by the assembled firefighters and police officers.” Couric to Clinton: “And one report said you had tears in your eyes as you came off that stage.” Clinton: “Well, I felt terrible. Because for so many of them, it was a chance to, for the first time since September 11th, just to let loose. And, you know, I didn't take it personally. I took it as a sign that I had a lot of work to do.” Couric: “But it had to hurt your feelings. Come on.” Clinton: “No, it did, it did in the sense that it just showed me that, you know, there was a lot of pain.” Couric reassuringly asserted: “By last week, some of those jeers had turned to cheers. New York Fire Department and Firefighter Union officials praised her for securing an $81 Million grant for post 9/11 health screenings for rescue workers. And this week, a poll of voters in New York State showed her job approval rating as risen to 62 percent, up from 38 percent shortly after she entered the Senate. Even one-third of New York Republicans approve.”
Couric turned to Iraq: “But in the middle of her six-year term, Hillary Clinton knows her political fortunes can change at any time, and the issues this year are fraught with political peril. She voted for the war with Iraq.” Couric to Clinton: “Are you sorry you gave the President authority to go to war?” Clinton: “I don't regret giving the President authority. I regret the way he used that authority.” Couric: “She says the administration should have built a bigger international coalition, done more planning, and sent more troops. Clinton: “We should've had more going in. The administration thought that they could win the war on the cheap with few troops and not much of a commitment.” Couric came at her from the left: “You say commit more troops. But that's the same thing LBJ did in Vietnam. Do you worry that this is another Vietnam?” Clinton: “I don't know whether it is or isn't at this point. Obviously, people who have a lot of experience, who lived through that in the Senate, in the military are raising those questions. I'm not prepared to do that.”
Couric moved on to the Clinton administration’s role in figting terrorism: “How do you feel when people say, 'Well the Clinton administration should've done this., they should've responded more forcefully to the USS Cole. There were many things that could've been done prior to the Bush administration taking over, things that weren't done.’" Clinton insisted her husband was “obsessed” with getting al-Qaeda: “I think that is one of the questions that this commission should help us answer. It's been said, and I think it's accurate, that my husband was obsessed by terrorism in general and al-Qaeda in particular. And they did a lot. But there's always room for analysis about what more could've or should've been done. And I think that's true with the Bush administration.”
Couric: “Do you dislike President Bush personally?” Clinton: “No. Not at all.” Couric: “You seem like you do.” Clinton: “After 9/11, for example, I personally told him I would do anything to support him publicly or privately...”
Couric trumpeted: “Now, at 56, Hillary Clinton has a vision for herself. She's a powerful U.S. senator, and something of a phenomenon in the publishing world. The hardcover edition of her book sold more than three million copies worldwide.” Couric cued up this softball: “When you think about it, why do you think it did so well?” Clinton: “Well, as I wrote in the afterward to the paperback, I think a lot of it was just curiosity....”
Couric raised Lewinsky and ludicrously claimed Mrs. Clinton was “candid” about the topic: “I noted in this book, you write quite candidly about the whole Monica Lewinsky affair. And I know you probably hate to talk about it, hate to think about it. But it is in the book. It is in the paperback. Is it hard for you to know that once again, that part of your life is out there?” Clinton: “Well, you know, Katie, I wish that none of that had ever been made public. But that unfortunately happened, for, I think partisan, political reasons.” Couric: “In the book, she writes of the scandal, 'I didn't know whether our marriage could -- or should -- survive such a stinging betrayal, but I knew I had to work through my feelings carefully, on my own timetable.’" Couric bemoaned: “You and President Clinton have a marriage that obviously survived the ultimate public test. Still people insist on analyzing and scrutinizing your relationship, in a way that I find fascinating. Lots of drug store psychiatrists out there with their take on your relationship.” Clinton: “I know. And you know, it's another one of those aspects of being in the public eye that you can't control....”
Couric treated them as a regular couple: “How would you describe your relationship with President Clinton? Do you guys get to even see each other much, because you're running around?” Clinton: “All the time. And you know, this house has been just such a labor of love for both of us, because we've worked on it together. We've made all the decisions together. And it's been just a wonderful time for us.”
To wrap up the session, Couric herself applied some drug store psychiatry: “Let me ask you to finish, let's play complete the sentence. If I weren't a politician, I would be?” Clinton: “A teacher.” Couric: "The thing I hate the most about myself is?" Clinton: “Hmmm. Probably my impatience from, you know, time to time. I just think I have to take some deep breaths, and just accept things the way they are.” Couric: "My guiltiest pleasure is?" Clinton: “Chocolate. Any kind, any time, anywhere.” Couric: "I'm proudest that?" Clinton: “I'm proudest that I raised a wonderful daughter, that you know, I got to be a mother. And had such an extraordinary experience doing that.” Couric: "I would like my tombstone to say?" Clinton: “I hope no time soon. She did her best to live every day, to the fullest.”
MSNBC.com has posted a transcript of the interview and an “MSN Video” box provides an audio clip of about four minutes of what NBC aired: www.msnbc.msn.com
When Hillary Clinton’s book was released last June, Barbara Walters promoted it. As documented in the June 9, 2003 CyberAlert: In Sunday's Barbara Walters special promoting Hillary Clinton's new book, Walters did little more than deliver an hour-long infomercial for the book as she cued up items in the tome for Hillary to comment on, book-ended with plugs for a presidential bid. For Walters, bad things just seemed to happen to an innocent Hillary Clinton whom Walters repeatedly saw a victim: “You made investments in the commodities markets, you dealt in real estate -- Whitewater, you worked for the Rose law firm, all of which at the time you thought were very innocent. All these things came back to haunt you.” Walters concluded the hour by fancifully speculating on the possibility of a President Hillary Clinton and First Husband Bill Clinton.
For that item, and other items on book coverage that weekend: www.mediaresearch.org
Couric interviewed Hillary about the book on the June 10 Today. CyberAlert recounted: While Katie Couric often treated Hillary as a victim, just as did ABC's Barbara Walters, Couric also raised subjects not brought up by Walters, such as how many were disturbed about an un-elected First Lady taking a policy role and those who felt “dissed” by Hillary's dismissal of stay-at-home moms. Couric empathized with Hillary's plight because since her days at Wellesley College she's been “a so-called lightning rod, a term that would haunt you, really for the rest of your life,” prodded Hillary to run for President and delivered this doozy of a loaded question about negative reaction to her political activities: “Were you surprised at the backlash? The really vitriolic, violent backlash against you in many ways? Do you think it was good old-fashioned sexism?" See: www.mediaresearch.org
That's probably the pantsuit, but the party line is that she is being invited on to talk about her book that was released last year and the paperback version, which was released this week. Ignore the fact that no other guest has ever been invited on to these programs to talk about the paperback release of a pre-existing book...
"... Webb and I are very proud of our daughter."
1/3 RAT lemming, 1/3 wheel-spinning gerbil, and 1/3 teenage bimbo.
Being attracted to the likes of this?
From The View:
Behar: "Do you like to watch two women getting it on?"
Coulter: "Uh, no. The last time I did was the Katie Couric interview with Hillary Clinton."
Feel the BURN!
LOL. Maybe she was thinking about the next dinner party with their best friends
The only "vision" serving justice is Hitlery being led away in an orange-suit and cuffs.
I seem to remember some pretty good receptions courtesy of FReepers ;-)
I knew this was going to be a fun thread! Anyone got any pics handy?
Having trouble with Dr Raoul's name. Someone care to ping him?
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