J. Baptiste de la Salle needs to open up a can of C.B. whoop@$$ on that guy . . .
"I want you . . . to straighten up and fly right, Chris."
Posted on 02/03/2005 7:54:50 AM PST by paudio
MSNBC's "Hardball" host Chris Matthews suggested last night that the high point of President Bush's State of the Union Address - the emotional hug between grateful Iraqi voter Safia Taleb al-Suhail and Janet Norwood, mother of a Marine who died liberating her country - was staged by the White House.
The cynical host apparently first voiced his skepticism during a commercial break. His comments were immediately seized upon by "Hardball" guest, MSNBC contributor Pat Buchanan when the show returned.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
Perhaps they hadn't been introduced before for the exact same reason TV shows doing suprise meetings NEVER have the people meet before, to get a genuine unrehearsed reaction on camera. There's nothing jaded about it, it's Occams Razor, the simplest solution is the most likely, and the simple solution is that they did this the exact same way live TV has been doing this type of thing for 40 years.
You're 2/3 of the way there. The symbolism of having each of them was planned, now why shouldn't there be a plan to have them meet on camera instead of off so that IF some genuine emotional response happens it does so ON camera where it will help send a message to all of America?
Of course the exact moment itself couldn't have been planned, but what you can plan is to create possibilities. Sewing the seeds and bringing the water and hoping something sprouts. That's live TV, that's emotion based TV, that's good TV.
J. Baptiste de la Salle needs to open up a can of C.B. whoop@$$ on that guy . . .
"I want you . . . to straighten up and fly right, Chris."
Nothing in there that disproves anything I said. Nothing in there vastly different from any suprise re-union on any daytime talk show since the 1970s or even 1960s. Everything up to reaching down for the hug is purely scripted, you're supposed to stand when introduced to an audience, the TV guys had the speech and the seating chart and knew where to aim and when. Everything after then was the happy accident PR guys pray for every night when they go sleep, a wonderful moment, shared with the American people, that really helped drive home the point the President was making. Genuine, and yet the result of some careful pre-event staging to get the right people at the right time in front of the right camera... TV.
My guess? B f'in S
No. I don't think she lied at all. I think her reaction was a genuine reaction within a staged event. Just like when Oprah re-unites long lost relatives on stage instead of in the green room.
My argument is easily comprehended. Yes the object was to introduce these people to the nation, to put human faces and human emotions to the event to drive home the righteousness of the Iraqi invasion to an American public that had begun to show doubt.
It's not an opinion, it's the reality of TV. To think your way I'd have to assume that the people W pays to take care of things didn't do their job, didn't understand the medium they were dealing with, had no comprehension of the standard methods used by TV pretty much since it was invented, and yet somehow lucked into the perfect situation that every TV producer begs for every night. To think my way you merely have to assume that TV is TV and professionals know how to do their job. If there's an incoherent argument here it's not mine.
New to this thread - but you appear to be a cynical person - good luck with that.
Saw it, many times, even before the many many times people have pointed it out to me. And I believe her and do not contradict her. But just because her REACTION wasn't staged does not mean the SITUATION was not staged.
Good lord, are you STILL here trying to make that same stupid argument you made this morning?
BOTH people said that it wasn't planned or staged or anything.
Give it a rest.
No it's perfectly within the norm. It's also perfectly within the norm for those being honored by the President to be getting those honors as part of the message to the American people of the SOTU. This is very expensive TV time, live broadcast on all the major networks and cable news channels, you don't just introduce people for fun.
They were seated near each other because that's where the guest VIPs sit. The interesting question is why were they not previously introduced. Even if there was no meet-n-greet before the speech at the very least you'd expect that Laura, a person who has displayed great social grace, would do the normal polite thing and introduce everybody in the VIP box to each other, and normal introductions generally have a sentence or two about the person. You don't just say "this is Bob" you say "this is Bob from accounting". And yet that didn't happen in this case, as the Marine mom says, they hadn't been introduced. Things like that don't happen on accident, things like that happen when short guys with clipboards say "do us a favor and don't introduce them, let W handle it during the speech".
I don't think anyone KNEW it was coming, but I garauntee some guys with clipboards HOPED it was coming. That's how these kind of TV moments happen, nobody KNOWS but everybody HOPES. Because when you know then that means it's fully scripted and will come off stilted and it won't have the proper impact, but when you hope it means you're sewing the seeds and if something happens it's purely spontaneous and much more meaningful.
The man behind the curtain was neither. He was just some guy, who'd built a big rep. Of course in TV land they don't even get the big rep, they're just some guy working their butts off for less money than the on screen talent and the only reward being those occasional perfect TV moments.
I am a cynical person, but for once in my life I'm not being cynical. If I was being cynical about this that would imply that I feel the moment was less than it appeared, if anything because I respect the work that goes into making these kind of moments I feel it's MORE than it appeared. TV magic doesn't happen on accident, I remember one interview I saw with a producer of Sports Center, talking about all the psychotic chaos that goes on cutting to live shots and getting updates from games still going on and changing guys shirts when they spill their coffee during the commercial... all this absolute insanity is going on behind the scenes, all with the goal of making it look like nothing exciting is happening. It's the old duck on the pond, calm and cool on top and paddling like hell underneath.
Just politely responding to people that posted to me. And no it's not "still", it's again. Took about 4 hours off for household duties, dinner and other recreation.
I'm sure neither person was coached or prepped in any way. But that doesn't mean it wasn't staged, it simply means they weren't in on the staging. Plenty of staged things happen on TV every day without the knowledge of the people on camera.
I'm only going to give it a rest when the people who don't want to understand the truth learn how to stick their fingers in their ear without insulting me in the process. I don't give a damn if you agree with me, but when you insult me I WILL respond. Want me to rest, lead the way to restville.
The Clinton "Sudden Tears" video footage was discussed on WOR radio today , for some reason, by Bob Grant, but I don't think it was in reference to anything staged at Bush's speech. Grant also mentioned the set up shot of Clinton arranging stones in the shape of a cross at some WW2 memorial site (where no stones were known to exist) and the famous Bill and Hill in swimsuits dancing to unseen and unheard "music" on a deserted beach, just before the Lewinsky story broke. It was clear to us at the time what a
plant that picture was, and how calling attention to it with mock outrage, even though it would've disappeared from its lone appearance in the LA Times, actually BROUGHT it to everyone's attention, and killed multiple birds with that one stone/pic.
Oh you're so clever, rah rah rah. Can't come up with an INTELLIGENT reply that uses FACTS so you continue with the pathetic insults. Use that cleverness to actually THINK of something to say, or just bugger off, nobody is making you read my posts, don't like them look away. Keep insulting me though and I will keep refuting you. There's nothing I enjoy more than an opponent that admits through their need to use insults that they've lost the argument but are too childish to admit it, poking people like that is fun. Every insult you hurl is nothing more than you announcing to all of FR that you have no clue, but you're not going to let being wrong convince you to walk away. Keep throwing them, keep telling everybody all about you and why nobody should ever listen to you again. I enjoy it.
President Reagan is lucky he adopted Michael.
To: Drango
Breaking:
Chris is a pedophile.
I have NO evidence...just wondering.
People thought the flag raising on Iwo Jima was "staged", too, but it wasn't. Sometimes, good things happen all by themselves. I'm glad I'm not so cynical that I see a plot behind every good thing that happens.
Well that answers the question I had in my mind last night "how long will it be before the dems say it was staged?" Apparently about 4.1 nanoseconds.
@sses.
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