Posted on 12/01/2005 5:25:07 AM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
by Mark Finkelstein
December 1, 2005 - 08:16.
Sometimes even the Marxists get it right, and no, I'm not speaking of John Kerry. I'm referring to Karl Marx himself, who famously said "history repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.”
To judge by his treatment at the hands of Matt Lauer this morning, John Kerry, Part Deux teeters on the brink of being seen as a farce and an embarrassment, even by his erstwhile supporters in the MSM.
Kerry was in to offer his critique of Pres. Bush's speech of yesterday in which he laid out his plan for victory in Iraq.
When Kerry argued that "the insurgency has to be dealt with through a political reconciliation," Lauer cut him off peremptorily, and did so saying: "with all due respect," not-so-subtle code for "not much respect is due." Lauer pointed out that "the President talked about the political process as well and laid that out in his plan for victory."
Lauer had done his homework and continued his critique of Kerry's bona fides thusly:
"I've been reading the key points of the plan you laid out on November 10th, and in all honesty, except for the fact that you want to withdraw 20,000 US forces immediately following successful elections in December, it doesn't seem that you have all that much disagreement on the big items on that list."
Compare and contrast with the reverential treatment a John McCain or other Today fave receives, and Kerry should realize that he had been seriously 'dissed' this morning.
Then it was on to Katie Couric's interview of Mary Matalin, former adviser to VP Cheney.
Matalin was the living antithesis of the notion that the Bush administration has been lackadaisical in its response to critics. She was absolutely loaded for bear, citing an avalanche of facts and figures to make the case that there has been significant military, political and economic progress in Iraq and that a precipitous withdrawal, as urged by some Democrats, would be disastrous for both Iraq and our own national security interests.
Mary got off a zinger right out of the box. Couric asked her to comment on Kerry's suggestion that an estimated timetable for troop withdrawal is something that needs to be debated.
Matalin, unsuccessfully suppressing a grin: "it has been discussed and debated, and John Kerry was against that position before he was for it." Ouch.
When Matalin cited an impressive list of accomplishments in Iraq, Couric countered with the President's weak poll numbers on Iraq.
When Matalin began to react, Couric cut her off: "before you sigh so audibly and visibly, Mary, the latest Gallup poll shows the president's approval ratings at an all-time low. Why is there such a disconnect between what is going on in Iraq and how the American public is perceiving it?"
Matalin: "For months now, the Democrats have been saying 'the President lied, the President lied, the President lied', with no evidence whatsoever. In that same period of time the President's credibility has dropped 20 points. Now he's fighting back."
She continued: "People here are bombarded with relentless demagoguery from the Democrats, and frankly, a disproportionate [negative] view of what's going on in Iraq from the MSM is affecting the polls."
Couric sought to end on a Kumbaya note: "You know, Mary, 160,000 US service men and women, many of them quite young, are still in Iraq. Do you think somehow Democrats and Republicans can get together and agree on some kind of strategy since so many US lives have already been lost and so many are continuing to be at risk?"
Matalin was having none of a false consensus:
"The cost of action is high - we've lost 2000 of our best and brightest in three years. But the cost of inaction is even greater. We lost in three hours 3000 innocent Americans. There is a cost of inaction and we should have that debate."
She continued, barely pausing for breath: "And we should talk about the consequences of pulling out, which would be rampant slaughter, implosion of the country, destabilization, in the region and global economic consequences. They don't talk about what they're doing . . . emboldening our enemies by talking about withdrawal."
As Katie Couric likes to say of her feminist sisters: you go girl!
Mary Matalin is very good at what she does, choosing husbands the one glaring exception. :-}
Doubtful. He still blames his assistants for the failures of his campaign, so there's no reason to belive that Kerry is capable of any kind of self-criticism. He probably left the interview thinking that Lauer was disrespectful, and "obviously not as intelligent as he makes himself out to be".
Team Bush needs to get off their duffs and get out ahead of this.
H Dean was on the Tonite Show last evening, spewing the party line.
N Pelosi was on Fox and Friends this morning spewing.
Nothing from the other side.
Quiet.
No representation.
No one countering.
Silence.
No response.
Nada.
The only saving grace for the Today Show is that Kerry is so boring, he probably put the viewers to sleep.
Dems are out in force in the media.
Pubbies are ---- asleep.
This is the MSM's way of telling J-FinK that he is persona non grata in any future presidential bids. In Dem circles, once you lose, you're toast. No Nixonesque rehabilitations are allowed......
LOL. Perfect. When will Effin realize that he is not the annointed one?
My husband and I are total opposites. He thinks I'm crazy and I know he is... LOL!!!
Lauer is laying out the MSM ground game for ensuring a clear path through the Democratic Primaries for Hillary. Kerry, Gore, etal... beware. You are now worthless in the eyes of the MSM and DNC.
When did that happen?
I went back and checked and Mary is generally referred to in the media as a "former" Cheney adviser. I think she has moved back and forth between the public and private sectors a numbr of times, and continues to serve as an informal adviser/spokesmen.
Considering that the MSM basically controls PR how exactly do they accomplish that?
Matalin: "For months now, the Democrats have been saying 'the President lied, the President lied, the President lied', with no evidence whatsoever. In that same period of time the President's credibility has dropped 20 points. Now he's fighting back."
I wish she would have added... "And you people in the MSM have just stuck microphones in front of their mouths and let them say anything they want without doing your job of digging up and reporting facts."
Of course he has a plan, and it can all be boiled down into a single sentence:
RUN FOR THE HILLS!
Who are you blaming for the fact that Leiberman's WSJ editorial was NOT covered by any, and I mean ANY, of the MSM news outlets?
Bush and his PR department?
The facts are the MSM has the bully pulpit and PR will not make the light of day except on FOX. Pity, yes I know.
bttt
Please check out the following para of my report, where it's mentioned that Mary did speak of W's disproportionately negative media coverage.
Mary nailed it!
Thanks for the report!
The President's speech has put the Dems back on the defensive. Its becoming clear to all that the Dems do not have a coherent message; Lieberman supports the President, Murtha/Pelosi want an immediate withdrawal, and Kerrys an idiot.
Watch the President's poll numbers start to go up. This is a BIG turning point.
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