Posted on 06/06/2005 11:13:29 AM PDT by fight_truth_decay
In summarizing the lives of the 25 finalists in the Discovery Channel's "Greatest American" contest, NBC's Matt Lauer on Sunday night labeled Bill Clinton as "brilliant" before trumpeting: "Under Clinton the economy boomed -- deficits turned into surplus -- and more than 22 million jobs were created. Along with the character flaws and the subpoenas came peace and prosperity." The brief segment did not feature any explicit criticisms of Clinton's presidency, but when it came to George W. Bush, whom Lauer described as "our tough-talking, language-mangling Commander-in-Chief who most Americans just want to hang our with," Discovery put on musician "Moby," who declared over flag-draped coffins: "From my perspective, you cannot call yourself a Christian, talk about the sanctity of life, and then support the death penalty, and support a war."
To launch its series of Sunday night shows in which the public can vote to select the "greatest American," Discovery on Sunday night aired a three-hour program (8-11pm EDT) hosted by Lauer. For the first two hours, Lauer ran through those ranked from #100 down to #26 as nominated by AOL members over the past few weeks. Amongst those in the bottom 75, some ridiculous nominations, including Phil McGraw, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Tom Cruise. Micheal Moore made it too, a couple of spots ahead of Rush Limbaugh who came in at #59. Lauer asserted: "His ultra-conservative show has transformed talk radio into a powerful political force."
Discovery devoted the third and final hour to the top 25, for whom the public can now vote -- via phone, text messaging or AOL's Web site -- in the "Greatest American" short-run series on Discovery over the next few weeks (two-hours this Sunday, an hour each on the next two Sunday nights.)
In addition to Bush and Clinton, the final 25, as presented by Lauer in alphabetical order:
Muhammad Ali Lance Armstrong Neil Armstrong Walt Disney Thomas Edison Albert Einstein Henry Ford Benjamin Franlkin Bill Gates Bill Graham Bob Hope Thomas Jefferson John Kennedy Martin Luther King Abraham Lincoln Rosa Parks Elvis Presley Ronald Reagan Eleanor Roosevelt Franklin Roosevelt George Washington Oprah Winfrey Wright Brothers
Discovery's format interwove narration from Lauer with clips or pictures of the subject and with comments from a variety of public figures. In the top 25, each person got about 90 seconds.
For George W. Bush, his segment began with a clip of him at Ground Zero in 2001: "And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon."
Lauer: "He's our tough-talking-"
Bush: "And you're working hard to put food on your family."
Lauer: "-language-mangling Commander-in-Chief who most Americans just want to hang out with."
Tom Brokaw: "People look at George Bush and however else they may feel about him, they think, 'you know, that's probably a guy I'd like to have a beer with.'"
Ann Curry on Today, December 2001: "The U.S. Supreme Court effectively handed George W. Bush the presidency last night."
Lauer: "After conquering dangling chads in 2000, George Bush took over the family business. And like father like son tied his political fortunes to Iraq."
Senator John McCain: "If the people of Iraq are able to achieve a free and democratic society, history will show that those young Americans died in the service of a noble cause."
Moby, musician, over shot of flag-draped coffins: "From my perspective, you cannot call yourself a Christian, talk about the sanctity of life, and then support the death penalty, and support a war."
Bush: "Even though we haven't found the stockpiles of weapons, we thought were there, I still would have made the same decision."
Rudy Giuliani: "Sometimes events force greatness or the lack of it, and in his particular case, it showed greatness. And I think that is gonna give President Bush a very important place in our history."
On Clinton, Lauer began with: "Brilliant."
Clinton before Congress: "Let this Congress be the Congress that finally balances the budget."
Lauer: "Skilled and surprisingly self-destructive."
Clinton: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."
Howie Mandel, comedian: "It's not sex!"
Wendy Williams, syndicated radio personality: "It was sex, Bill."
Clinton: "It depends upon what the meaning of the word is."
Lauer: "Despite the scandals and investigations, Bill Clinton was an incredibly popular President who connected with the American people."
Clinton: "The best is yet to come. The best days of America."
Howie Mandel: "Phenomenal politician, phenomenal speaker."
Clinton: "Thank you and God bless you all."
Tiki Barber, New York Giants: "He could talk on any level to anyone and make them feel comfortable."
Lauer: "Under Clinton the economy boomed -- deficits turned into surplus -- and more than 22 million jobs were created. Along with the character flaws and the subpoenas came peace and prosperity."
Jesse Jackson: "He was a good President and the facts speak for themselves."
Unidentified woman: "I do think that he's one of the smartest Americans. The things he wanted to do for our country were positive."
Brokaw: "My guess is that he'll be judged as an exceptionally skilled politician with some grave personal flaws."
For the Web site for the show, where you can cast your vote or watch the brief biographies of each nominee:
greatestamericantv.channel.aol.com
The Thoughts of Muhammad Ali in Exile (JAIL), c. 1967
..."I never thought of myself as great when I refused to go into the Army. All I did was stand up for what I believed. There were people who thought the war in Vietnam was right. And those people, if they went to war, acted just as brave as I did. There were people who tried to put me in jail. Some of them were hypocrites, but others did what they thought was proper and I can't condemn them for following their conscience either. People say I made a sacrifice, risking jail and my whole career. But God told Abraham to kill his son and Abraham was willing to do it, so why shouldn't I follow what I believed? Standing up for my religion made me happy; it wasn't a sacrifice. When people got drafted and sent to Vietnam and didn't understand what the killing was about and came home with one leg and couldn't get jobs, that was a sacrifice. But I believed in what I was doing, so no matter what the government did to me, it wasn't a loss.
At least he had some proper perspective... but I wouldn't waste my vote on any entertainer...
The first "W" got my vote.
If Clinton was so popular with the American people, how come he never won the majority of the vote? How come his party lost control of the House of Representatives for the first time in forty years?
Yeah, the 90's were peachy keen: Investors throwing wads of cash at twenty-six year old CEO's running dot.com empires. And just beneath the surface, corporate scandals, and a terrorist build up.
I agree: without George Washington, we wouldn't have a United States of America.
Says one can vote three times a week. Clearly, this site is run by Democrats.
Well, they let me vote thrice, so George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Ronald Reagan got my votes. What Dubya does in the next 3 1/2 years will determine whether or not he belongs next to them.
It is a pretty silly list, though. Eleanor Roosevelt must be in there so that they can include the Witch next time they try this. And I love Elvis, but come on! Kudos to Lance Armstrong for beating cancer and all that, but Greatest American?! As for Clinton, it must have been mandated in the contract that he finish in the top 25 before Lauer would host the show.
I saw the promo's for this show and could only chuckle, and make a mental note to avoid it all all costs. I figured Lauer's list would most likely include Peewee Herman and Hunter S. Thompson, if he were honest, that is. Even when the media tries to compliment GWB or the Gipper, it comes off as pure begrudging hypocrisy. Barf.
The Reagan bio leaves off the fact that he led America to victory in the Cold War. You'd think that would qualify as a "major accomplishment" (more than jelly beans!)
LOL
Man I loved that show
Hey Matt... one small question... WHAT Clinton success?
Other than luring young chubby interns, and ruining a perfectly good cigar, what did he ever accomplish?
I'm voting for "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.
Matt Lauer has the intellectual depth of a puddle. Didn't he used to host Total Request Live?
And so it would have been proper for a Christian to continue to allow millions to die in gas chambers rather that fight a war against the Nazis. These nitwits will be forever clueless.
Let's make Ronald Reagan the Greatest american.
You can vote at this website:
http://tv.channel.aol.com/greatestamerican
Voting for the TOP 5 starts on that date. Cast your vote for Reagan now.
This is an excellent chance to FREEP this poll. If we all joined together and voted for Ronald Reagan, it would really set the liberals on their heads!
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