The Alway Gracious Tad Devine.
Posted on 09/01/2004 5:08:16 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
Wow! What an action-packed half-hour on the morning news shows! My remote is still smoking.
Let's start with Today. When it comes to Arnold, there's a strange dynamic at NBC. Their visceral hatred of Republicans is at war with the fact that Arnold is of course married to Maria Shriver, one of NBC's own, and someone who I sense is a social circle friend of Katie Couric.
So from Katie to Campbell Brown to Tim Russert, Arnold received rave reviews. Among the Today 'thumbs up': "the crowd loved Arnold," "an unforgettable national debut with a very optimistic message."
Russert in particular was glowing: "He sure did have star power and cross-over appeal. He can speak to average people, Hispanics, white guys in Flint Michigan [isn't that Moore's home town?], telling them it's OK to be Republican, the big issue is the war on terror I'm with the President, it's OK for you to be so too."
I can't recall if it was Katie or Tim, but one of them set up a potential problem for Arnold and the Republicans, only to knock it down. "Dems look at Arnold's claims of a compassionate GOP that and say that there is a conflicting message. Arnold describes a compassionate party, but on affirmative action, programs for the poor, etc. the Dems would argue the Republicans are not as generous."
To which Russert responded, "but Arnold would say, 'that's OK, you can make it on your own, I didnt speak English till I was 20 and still was able to make it in this country.' It's a very powerful message."
Katie did look for the down side when she fretted that Arnold's 'red meat' line that "you are a Republican if you believe this country and not the UN is the best hope for the world" conflicts with our country's need to engage the UN and foreign allies in rebuilidng Iraq, etc.
Katie is obviously worried about the impact Zell Miller will have tonight. She tried to devalue him as a messenger by asking: "is he really a Dem?" Russert didn't give the answer Katie was looking for: "He'll be able to say: I was a Dem governor, I'm a Dem senator. He'll have a lot of currency tonight."
Katie wondered whether Dick Cheney is going to serve up a lot of red meat tonight or if we'll hear a kinder gentler Cheney. Russert said he'd be both. "There'll be a lot of slicing and dicing of Kerry on foreign policy. That's how Cheney really feels. But he'll also be avuncular."
As mentioned in the headline, CBS finally discovered the RNC. You'll recall that yesterday they chose not to devote a single segment in the crucial half-hour to the RNC. This morning, Charles Smith interviewed Lynne Cheney and one of her daughters, Elizabeth (not the gay one, Mary).
The entire thrust of Smith's interview was to attempt to stir up division and bad feelings among Republicans.
"Is it disappointing to be involved in controversy?"
"What your father said on gay marriage was very dissapointing to conservatives in the party."
Then some false 'personal' concern: "How is Mary [the gay daughter] doing amidst all of this?"
"What do you understand that cultural Christians don't understand."
With grace and intelligence, the Cheney's strode through the mine field Smith had laid, without a misstep.
An aside: fairness dictates, since we are quick to observe this about Dem women, that it appeared to me that Lynne Cheney has had some cosmetic surgery. She did look very nice.
Perhaps the most telling moment of the morning was the coffee klatch between Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopolous at GMA.
George admitted that Kerry is "angry with his staff." Apparently the poll numbers that worry them the most are W's approval ratings which are now solidly over 50%, and the fact that Kery went from a sizeable post-DNC advantage to a sizeable deficit on who would make the better commander-in-chief.
Steph said the Dems have a three-pronged strategy: 1. Kerry's speech at the American Legion, where he'll give a tough critique on Iraq and try to exploit W's recent statement on the winnability of the war. 2. A major advertising buy on domestic issues; and 3. A rapid response team. Many new people are being brought in but no one is being fired.
Fretted Sawyer, effectively acknowledging that Kerry is in deep trouble: "Can he turn it around or is it too late?" Steph: "It's not too late, the race is still tied. The next big moment is the debates."
Another aside: GMA then moved from former Clinton advisor Steph, to son-of-Mario Chris, who gave a report on security at the convention. Gee, who says the MSM have a liberal bias?
Finally, back at Today, Katie interviewed former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey. Aside: with his faux-Caesar hair cut and suntan, Kerrey is looking more and more like a third-rate Frank Sinatra impersonator. I was waiting for him to burst into "Strangers in the Night."
The thrust of Kerrey's argument was that the Republicans are being too mean to John Kerry. W should thank Kerry for his support on Iraq rather than scorning and ridiculing him as a waffler.
To Katie's credit, she did ask: "what about not supporting the $87 billion?" Kerrey moved on quickly without really answering.
But in trying to argue that John Kerry has been been "steadfast," Bob Kerrey might have created another flip-flop controversy. Kerrey claimed that Kerry would have supported the Iraq resolution "even if he knew what we know today," [i.e., the lack of discovered WMDs]. But wait a minute! Jamie Rubin said that about Kerry a week ago, but then was forced to apologize and say it's not true. Now Kerrey seems to be resurrecting the claim. So which is it?
Katie then raised W's statement in the Lauer interview about the winnability of the war. "Is it a tempest in a teapot?" Kerrey: "Nothing to it except that the Republicans have been whacking Kerry for being a waffler and flip flopper." The problem for the Dems: everyone knows it was not a flip flop by W.
Finally, Katie raised the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth: "how do you feel about the controversy?"
Interestingly, Kerrey didn't claim it was a W campaign set-up. To the contrary, he said the Swiftees "hate" Kerry for his 1971 testimony. That suggests their ads are authentic. Still he agreed with Katie that W for some reason should condemn the ads more strongly. Katie 'forgot' to ask if Kerry should condemn the Move-on.org ads or Fahrenheit 911.
All in all, a good morning for W. The convention played to strong reviews, Kerry was depicted angry and in trouble, and CBS' attempt to trip up the Cheney's fell flat on its face.
The Alway Gracious Tad Devine.
Bump for later reading.
Man, he looks like a fake human being...a twisted parody of Al Franken or something.
Yes! Yes! Yes! That's him; Tad Devine!! What is WRONG with that guy? I am right that he always looks like he just smelled something bad? What an absolutely AWFUL representative for the Kerry campaign. I can't believe they let him out in public.
Uh, Katie, you might want to read his biography sometime. It includes the following:
Though he is a lifelong Democrat, Miller has kept his pledge to serve all 8.5 million Georgians and no single party in the Senate ... Miller’s Senate term ends in January 2005 and he has announced he will not seek re-election. The native Georgian has served in elective office in six different decades, beginning with mayor of his hometown of Young Harris, Georgia, in the late 1950s. When he was elected to the U.S. Senate to serve the remaining four years of the late Senator Paul Coverdell’s term, Miller became only the third Georgian – following Richard B. Russell and Herman Talmadge – to be elected as both governor and senator.
He thinks he's a Democrat. The people of Georgia think that he is a Democrat. Maybe you should too. As he has noted, he didn't leave the Democrat Party. It left him.
Katie and Charlie need to come out here into the heartland where they could learn some real life lessons. They need to sit at my 85 year old Mother's "dinner," not lunch, table and have a second helping of her fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, fried apples, blackberry cobbler and chocolate eclair cake. They could look out upon the garden where the potatoes and green beans were raised. These are the kind of people who used to vote Democratic and are registered Democrats still..However, the party hooked up with people displaying such socialist values that my parents could no longer vote with them..My folks (Dad is 88) have not changed..Their political party dumped them for the fringe, and, they learned about it through watching Katie and Charlie who have not ceased to promote the leftist view of the world. Now, they watch FOX..
There was a lot of speculation last night on FR that Bush's twins would be the center of focus on the morning shows. Apparently, that didn't happen. As someone wisely suggested last night, "the twins are not an issue."
yup!
Much as I despise Ahhhnold's social liberalism, I have to admit, that was a FAN-tastic speech.
Ahhhhnold's list, "If you believe _______, then you're a REPUBLICAN," was an outstanding rhetorical device that, in itself, might make a few Dim bulbs see the light.
OTOH, I don't think Ahhhnold boosted GWB as much as he did himself. He did boost the Republican Party, though. And I'll take the votes of social liberals if they help GWB defeat Jean-Fraud Kerrý.
We've got to remember, the mainstream media is "selling" us what they think we are dumb enough to believe.
Please have a look at my companion thread describing the absolutely mind-boggling way in which Katie Couric just got through dissing Michael Moore:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1204675/posts?page=1
There was some footage of them, but thankfully no talking heads gravely discussing their impact.
At the time I considered this a genuine, authentic emotional moment for Daschle, and I was dumb enough to think it signaled an end to the 2000 bitterness.
Thanks.
Nonsense you'll see ME challenge Bush before you see that cowardly commie-loving @@@@.
Dubya will carve Kerry up in the debates like a turkey on Thanksgiving day, imho.And then .....
Hear the Donkey Bray
(RealPlayer)
[Expletive deleted] !!!
As far as family speaking at the conventions - in order from best to worse:
1. Laura
2. Kerry's kids
3. Bush's kids
4. Terri Kerry
I don't think we have much to worry about.
I was watching Scarborough and Reagan on After Hours this morning and am appalled at how much Joe Scarborough has gone over to the other side. He probably thinks he's being impartial but - he's saying the correct things which will get him into the Old Media cocktail parties. He's obviously got his sights set on something bigger than MSNBC when he gets cancelled and comes across as interviewing for a job on ABCBSNBC. And - Ron Reagan comes across as a major league rookie next to the panel they had. He has a horrible, horrible, personality for this type of show. However, his contrived face gestures, effeminate voice and body language are probably loved by the out of touch management at that station.
I personally believe that Bob Kerrey was "taken out" by Bill and Hillary Clinton.
First, Kerrey was quoted in 1995 or 1996 as saying "Bill Clinton is an extraordinarily good liar" (Esquire Mag, I believe).
Second, in reviewing the political landscape for obstacles to a Hillary nomination in 2008, Bob Kerrey was clearly one of the strongest possibilities.
The "war crimes" stuff was the perfect combination of revenge and elimination.
Wonderful report -- thanks.
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