Couric took umbrage at how Coulter, author of the new book, Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right, had suggested that “I'm a Ronald Reagan basher" when, Couric maintained, she was very tough on the author of the “airhead” characterization, Edmund Morris. Couric demanded: "You used me as an example of liberal bias against Ronald Reagan. And I'm just curious why you took it so out of context?"
Couric failed to note that she didn’t interview Morris until two days after she opened with the “airhead” insult. That aired on Monday, September 27, 1999. Morris didn’t appear on Today until Wednesday, September 29. For a full rundown of the interview: http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/1999/cyb19990930.asp#3
| Of course, Couric’s bias came in choosing that most derisive characterization as the one to herald at the top of the show, especially when she dropped the word Morris had preceded it with: “apparent.” And, as Coulter explained, Morris wrote that he soon realized that Reagan was far from an airhead. When Coulter contended that Today had trumpeted the “airhead” charge on three different mornings, Couric countered: "No it was just one day and we'll get the transcripts for you.” |
 Katie Couric argued with Ann Coulter for suggesting bias in Couric opening Today by trumpeting how an author called Reagan "an airhead" |
In fact, as reported in the September 29, 1999 CyberAlert, Today opened with the “airhead” terminology on two different mornings. First, Couric used it on Monday, September 27, 1999 as quoted at the top of this item. Second, here’s how Matt Lauer began the broadcast the next day: “Good morning. For the first time President Bush is responding to the controversial new biography of Ronald Reagan. And in particular the author's assertion that Reagan was a great President but an airhead."
George H.W. Bush: "And it's brutal and grossly unfair and untrue.”
Lauer: “And Mr. Bush has more to say today, Tuesday, September 28th, 1999.”
MRC analyst Geoffrey Dickens took down the exchange from today’s Today, June 26, which Today did not air until the 9:30am half hour, a very unusual time for a serious subject. Today followed Coulter with a segment on cooking fish.
Couric set up the interview: "She's been called everything from a 'pundit-extraordinaire,' to 'a right-wing tele-bimbo,' but one thing Ann Coulter has not been called is understated. In her latest book, Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right, the controversial author takes on big media, big government and most of all liberals. Ann Coulter, good morning nice to see you."
After asking Coulter "What are some of the big liberal lies that are out there in your estimation?", Couric got to herself: "I think I do have to bring up a section of the book where you talk specifically about me and this is not where you call me the 'Eva Braun of liberalism,' which I'll ask you about."
Coulter: "Affable."
Couric: "'The affable,' oh thanks that makes me feel so much better. But you talk about the, the media bias against Ronald Reagan and you use a quote in open from the Today show where we say, 'An airhead, Ronald Reagan is an airhead.' And we're quoting Edmund Morris. But frankly in the book you make it sound as if I was saying that rather than Edmund Morris. And I guess one of your problems is with, even using that, is that he said he was an, 'apparent airhead,' and we failed to say, 'apparent airhead.' And during the course of the interview with Edmund Morris I really conducted an extremely challenging interview with him because he did eviscerate Ronald Reagan in his book. It was a very, very unflattering portrayal. The Reagans were very unhappy with it, conservatives were very unhappy with it. Afterwards Edmund Morris was unhappy with the interview and Nancy Reagan called to thank me for my line of questioning. So I'm just wondering how that jibes with your contention that somehow I'm a Ronald Reagan basher?"
Coulter: "Well I didn't call you a 'Ronald Reagan basher,' I said, which is true that the Today show-"
Couric: "Well you used me as an example of liberal bias against Ronald Reagan. And I'm just curious why you took it so out of context?"
Coulter: "Well I don't think I did, you're taking it out of context."
Couric: "No, I'm not."
Coulter: "What I said was, which is true, that the Today show opened, I believe it was three days in a row, with the announcement: 'Ronald Reagan was an airhead, that's the conclusion of this new book by Edmund Morris.' When Edmund Morris came on for that interview with you he described that as a grossly unfair characterization of his points-"
Couric: "Well we should also point out-"
Coulter: "His entire book was contradicting that. So when the author himself and George Bush, the Vice President was interviewed about this, all say that, that was a grossly unfair characterization..."
Couric as both talk over each other: "Right and-"
Coulter: "...well then whose characterization was it?"
Couric: "And that's in, that's-"
Coulter: "It wasn't Edmund Morris's he certainly denies it."
Couric: "Well actually he backpedaled considerably. If you had read the book by Edmund Morris-"
Coulter: "I did."
Couric: "...you would have seen that he was extremely critical of Ronald Reagan in the book."
Coulter: "No, I didn't like the book but he didn't call him an airhead. The Today show called him an airhead."
Couric: "He called him, 'an apparent airhead,' he did call him, 'an apparent airhead,' I have the quote right here if you would like me to read it?"
Coulter: "No, I've, I've read the quote and it's in my book."
Couric: "He said that, 'Young Kim Timmons-'"
Coulter: "I don't think we are going to resolve this."
Couric: "'...she of the blue-eyes and enchanting grace played occasional hooky from the White House speechwriting department to help me build a chronology and I was about hire a full-time assistant. Yet the magic of Geneva had faded. Dutch remained a mystery to me and worse still, dare I entertain such heresy in the hushed and reverent precincts of his office, an apparent airhead.' So these are Edmund Morris's words. But-"
Coulter: "But was also in his words, though, when he came on your show was that, that was a grossly unfair characterization and then that was at the beginning of the book, he said he described him as 'an apparent airhead' on a very first meeting and that the entire course of the rest of his book was contradicting that. So for the Today show to be opening three days in a row, 'Ronald Reagan was an airhead,' I'm sorry that's dishonest."
Couric: "It, it, it was one day. And also just for your information it was one day."
Coulter correctly pointed out: "No, you said it one day, Matt Lauer said it another day."
Couric falsely claimed: "No it was just one day and we'll get the transcripts for you. But anyway he also said, Edmund Morris, 'Beyond amazement I was distressed by the relentless banality not to say incoherence of the President's reprise in interviews.' So he did make these, he didn't really switch in the book. But we don't want to get too mired in this."
Coulter: "Yes, by the way my book is not, not only solely not about this quote it is not solely about the Today show."
But there’s certainly enough material so it could have been.
If you pick up Coulter’s book, which is published by Crown, you’ll see quite a few familiar quotes which were, like the Couric and Lauer quotes above, first exposed in MRC publications, mainly CyberAlerts and Notable Quotables.
Coulter’s acknowledgments page offers this credit:
“Novenas should be said to Brent Bozell and the Media Research Center, who have been on the case long before I was.”
To see the book’s cover or to order it online:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400046610/qid=1025037811/
sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-0178689-4179105
Today has posted an excerpt from her book: http://msnbc.com/news/763069.asp?cp1=1
[Web Update: NBC’s Today used the "airhead" term four times to describe Ronald Reagan. As Mickey Kaus noted in a July 8 "Kausfiles" posting on Slate.com, via a Nexis search he found the term employed "two days, three times (plus once on Later Today)." Today opened with it twice, as CyberAlert documented, but also employed the term two other times that week. Kaus explained: "Couric said it on Sept. 27, 1999. The next day, as charged, Lauer opened the show by talking about ‘the author's assertion that Reagan was a great President but an airhead.’ NBC's Jamie Gangel repeated the ‘airhead’ charge without the ‘apparent’ later that day in a Today interview with ex-President George H.W. Bush. The winner: Coulter on points. She was closer to the truth than Couric, who picked this particular fact fight and was wrong." For the Kaus piece: http://slate.msn.com/?id=2067592]