Angry over on-air remark, adviser threatens a ban

Boston Globe ^ | October 31, 2004 | Patrick Healy

[Cableguy]

DES MOINES -- John Sasso, a senior adviser to John F. Kerry's presidential campaign, threatened to ban Fox News staff from the candidate's plane Friday night when Fox initially refused to apologize for a talk show host's comment that a new videotape showed Osama bin Laden with a Kerry button.

ADVERTISEMENT Kerry advisers quickly backtracked, however, concluding that an escalating conflict with a major cable channel just days before the election would do nothing to help the Democratic nominee. Kerry senior adviser Mike McCurry spoke to Fox executives Friday and yesterday and was told that the Fox News host, Neil Cavuto, may address the remark on Monday's show, officials from Fox and the Kerry campaign said.

The furor was a rare moment of visible frustration inside the Kerry camp: Kicking a major cable outlet off of the candidate's plane would almost certainly spark a run of negative stories in the media about Kerry lieutenants lashing out and their preelection confidence vanishing.

After the videotape of bin Laden was widely broadcast Friday afternoon, a Republican guest on Cavuto's show said the Al Qaeda leader's criticisms of President Bush amounted to ''an endorsement" of Kerry. A second guest objected, saying, ''I don't think he's going to have a Kerry-Edwards sticker in the cave."

Chimed in Cavuto: ''He's all but doing that. I thought I saw a button."

[Right_in_Virginia]

"Chimed in Cavuto: ''He's all but doing that. I thought I saw a button."

How good of the Boston Globe to publish Neil's comment for those who missed his show ;-)

[mombonn]

Neil Cavuto, may address the remark on Monday's show, officials from Fox and the Kerry campaign said . . .

Should be interesting.

[mombonn]

LOL - your age is showing!

[Cuttnhorse]

Neil is a national treasure. The best program on FOX.

[Recovering_Democrat]

No big deal. The Kerry "campaign" will ban all news organizations after Tuesday.

[Clara Lou]

Sarcasm is so lost on those freaks.
No, no, no. There are rules for Democrats/liberals, but there are different rules for Republicans/conservatives. When Democrats/liberals do something [assault someone for wearing a Bush T shirt, for instance, or steal yard signs] it's OK. If a Republican did it, it would be intimidation. See? It was no big deal when some network show put a subliminal 'sniper wanted' text over Bush's image on TV. What would happen if a FOX network show did thatover an image of Kerry? See the difference?

[barker]

.... Neil Cavuto, may address the remark on Monday's show, ....

Monday is a must watch show. Neil, after Brit Hume and followed by Gibson, are by far the best on Fox. Neil is very smart and unlike sKerry can take a joke and poke fun at himself.

[aculeus]

I love panic ... on their side.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Gee...a two-day ban. Shows Kerry's muscle, eh ?

[HitmanLV]

Haha! I am glad you enjoyed my wisecrack! It's part of my arsenal whenever I see somebody get mad or sound bitter - part of my comedy 'material' as I move through life! Barely 3 weeks ever go by without me referencing Godfrey & LaRosa, I tell you! I am a decidedly 'retro' guy!'

But in the interest of 'True Confessions,' I have to tell you that I am 36 years old, and the Godfrey/LaRosa thing happened in the Fall of 1953, about 14 years before I was born. ;-) I am just a very knowledgeable guy, but the only problem is that most of my pop culture knowledge ends around 1980. Haha! I'm too retro, it seems!

In any case, the chicks seem to like it when I take the mike and manage to sing the complete lyrics to songs like 'Cheek to Cheek,' on Karaoke night, and since the pretty ladies like it, I don't complain!

I credit my dad (born 1927 and still kicking!) with introducing me to great music, great televison, great fiction, great comedians, great movies, and fine culture like opera and theater, etc. Thank goodness I didn't need 5 Queer Guys breaking into my house to get me cultured! I never understood why people thought that kind of stuff was somehow 'gay,' since I think a range of tastes and knowledge tends to make a man more masculine and appealing to women, but who knows? ;-)

My taste in music runs from the 1920s through the 1970s - I haven't been able to turn on broadcast radio for music in over 20 years! Thank goodness for Sirius satellite radio!

In any event, while I am too young to really remember Godfrey/LaRosa, I'm not to young to use it as a joke here and there. And let me tell you, people who 'get' that wisecrack tend to be VERY cool people, so kudos to you all!

So if you enjoy them I'll just keep up with my retro style wisecracks! Thanks for the laughs, it's always a pleasure. ;-)

[jwpjr]

Gosh, my grandmother who's been gone for almost 40 years now, didn't forgive Godfrey for years and years! Thanks for the memory! I hate to sound old and hackneyed, but that certainly was a different America in the early 50's, wasn't it. We had an election, those who were sufficiently motivated made the effort to get registered and to make it to the proper polling place and when it was all over the loser congratulated the winner and life went on.

[McGavin999]

What is funny is the media has all the signs of what their lives would be like under Kerry and they've been too supid to pick up on it. Kerry and his supporters strong armed the POW story, they all but threatened to shut a broadcaster down for airing his opinion. He's smeared various reporters, and now they threaten to toss a reporter off the campaign plane because of what someone else said.

But then, these folks are pretty dumb, they've never been good at reading the handwriting on the wall.

[HitmanLV]

Your grandmother was right, and plenty of folks shared the sentiment at the time.

It was the worst move Godfrey ever did. I have read that it was a combination of things - La Rosa being independent and getting his own agent, which was a no-no with Mr. G, and also that Mr G had a bit of what we used to call a 'woodie' for one of the McGuire sisters, who were regulars on his program, but who was romantically involved with LaRosa at the time, I think.

In any case, you are 100% right - it was a better time. You won some, you lost some, and most people had the maturity to deal with it. People were a lot more responsible about their duties. My dad was an FDR Democrat, turned to Nixon in '60 and never looked back. :-)

Also, read my post just above yours, # 90 for a 'true confession' that I hope doesn't disappoint you! Thanks for the post and I am glad my first post brought back a memory from a time long gone! ;-)

[newzjunkey]

It's at least the second evidence since they already threatened Sinclair broadcasting saying, "They better hope we don't get elected." It's all very disturbing, even surreal. I'd laugh if it wasn't they're so serious.

[wouldntbprudent]

Neil was perfectly within bounds to state his opinion that OBL was favorably disposed towards skerry's policies this way.

Don't back down, Neil! In fact, yes, address the remark---by expounding upon it and tying it even more clearly to OBL's remarks AND by telling us all about how mad it made the skerry people.

[wouldntbprudent]

Rat 527 saying OBL endorses Bush in his vid

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1263451/posts

[Constantine XIII]

ROFL!

[bonfire]

Neil is the absolute best. He's the most UN-PC guy on the air waves.

[BlindGuardian]

What movie was this from ^ ?? I can't remember!

[Texas Deb]

My, my - seems Komrade Kerry and his Koolaid Kampf are getting a bit "snippy", doesn't it??