Like the old Soviet Union, very solemn music will accompany the test pattern.
Posted on 10/11/2004 4:51:50 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
It could have been worse. The exploitation of Chris Reeve's death for political purposes, that is. If it had combed its archives, Today could probably have displayed footage of Reeve with Kerry, and certainly could have aired a clip of W expressing his opposition to federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. It did not.
In fairness, Today tiptoed to the edge of exploitation but did not quite cross over. That being said . . .
First, there was the red-eyed and distraught Katie. I'm not sure I've ever seen her so sad, up to and including 9/11 or even the day the Supreme Court ended the 2000 recount.
We were treated, not once but twice, to the same clip of Reeve from the 1996 Democratic National Convention, saying "America does not let its neediest fend for themselves," as a man in a wheelchair looked on. Got it.
It was recalled that Kerry referred to Reeve in the Friday night debate. Check.
And when Katie interviewed two of Reeve's doctors, one of them said that Reeve would be so interested to know everything that occurs over the next few weeks with the election, etc. And we all know what that means.
Just in case anyone was still wondering where Chris was coming from, here was a clip of him saying "it gets lonely sometimes to say 'come on, let's get more progressive.'" Yes, that's the problem with America. Not liberal enough.
The message could not have been made too much clearer. Honor Chris Reeve: vote Democrat!
Then it was on to an inspiring interview with Afghani President Hamid Karzai.
A news segment at the top of the hour had done its best to undermine the significance of the election, focusing largely on the snafu with the ink used to ensure that people could only vote once. In fairness, Today did air a clip of an elections inspector stating there was no evidence of fraud, or evidence that any one candidate benifited from the ink mix-up.
But there was no stopping, and no mistaking, the incredibly emotional interview with Hamid Karzai, and to his credit, interviewer Lester Holt (sitting in for Matt and doing, as is his wont, a much fairer job) did nothing to undermine the moment.
Looking strong and confident, dressed in bright green robes, Karzai called the election "a huge step on way to democracy,' and added "the numbers and enthusiasm both were very, very great. It was a day of celebration for the Afghan people. A victory of the Afghan people over terrorism."
It was clear that he was deeply moved by this moment in Afghan history. He went so far as to say that he is more pleased by the fact that Afghanistan has taken this step than he is concerned by whether he wins or loses the election.
Although surely he must have the instincts of a politician, he actually seemed sincere. His joy at presiding over this historic moment was clear and unbridled.
He also stated, in response to a question about the availability of any new intelligence regarding the whereabouts of OBL, that the election sends a message to him that the Afghani people reject him and welcome freedom and democracy, that he will be found sooner or later and that in the meantime he must hide in an even tighter hole.
Karzai went out of his way at the conclusion of the interview to say: "I want to thank the people of the United States for their great help that made this day possible."
I tuned in to see Karzai, but I only caught the tail end of the interview. What was that about Holt ending the interview? Was Karzai worried NBC would cut him off before he could offer his thanks for American support?
The Karzai interview was very good. He ended by thanking the American people for all their support in an animated (for him) way.
Well, with Karzai being in Kabul, there was a signficant transmission lag, so it was hard for Karzai to know when the interview was going to end. Don't think he was implying any hijinks; just wanted to be sure to make his point of thanking the USA.
Got it, and thanks for the thread, BTW! But considering it was NBC, I'd still be worried about the hijinks :)
The same thought occured to me.
That was a great interview with Karzai. You could just feel the joy over freedom and a future for his country. Thank you, Mr. Karzai, President Bush, and the military, American and other coalition members, for this great day.
Sounds like the Dems might have another Wellstone Memorial moment
Good point. It will be interesting to see if the Dems learned from the Wellstone fiasco or whether they'll fall into the same trap.
Ping
Don't forget the day after the 2002 mid-term elections. She was positively funereal.
LOL!! On Nov. 3, The Today Show will be postponed because Katie Couric and Matt Lauer will he hospitalized in the Psych Ward at Bellevue from the hysteria of Kerry's defeat. And of course, Campbell Brown will be in severe depression too so she will not be able to sub for Katie. And Chris Matthews and ballerina Ron Reagan will be beside themselves. Only Joe Scarborough will be around for the post-mortems.
Thanks for the ping.
I;ll mute the Reeves stuff.
I watched for a second, but turned it before I could hear her blame President Bush!
>>I noticed Katie immediately asked if Chris Reeves death would have an effect on the election<<
Didn't he die of a heartattack from an infection?
How would stem cell research have made a difference to him anyway.
By the way, the liberal censors at Today let another positive story slip through.
Reporting from Iraq, an NBC reporter stated:
"There are indications that US military pressure and Iraqi diplomacy are beginning to pay off. Sadr's rebels are turning in their weapons. The breakthrough came days after a joint US/Iraqi offensive crushed rebels and took over the city of Samara."
HA!HA!..LOL! :))
Like the old Soviet Union, very solemn music will accompany the test pattern.
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.