Here is a little example of an "interviewer" with a Republican guest, today's Gregory and McCain:
MR. GREGORY: Are you concerned that youre effectively too close to the Bush policy on Iraq?
SEN. McCAIN: No. Ive got to do whats right for the country. And this isthis is really one of the most preeminent national security challenges weve faced in the post-Cold War era. We all know that. Ive got to do whats right.
MR. GREGORY: Let me show you something that you said about public support for the war back last year in November. Put it on our screen. If we cant retain the support of the American people, we will have lost this war as soundly as if our forces were defeated on the battlefield. As you well know, public opinion has turned sharply against the war. Sixty percent, according to recent polls, say the war in Iraq has not been worth it. Has this government lost the people?
SEN. McCAIN: I dont think so, in this respect. Most of the Americans, when youre asked, Do you want to set a date for withdrawal, say no. Of course theyre frustrated. All of us are frustrated. Ive expressed my frustrations to you this morning. But they are not ready to face the consequences of failure by setting a date certain for withdrawal, and I believe that, that they are largely, although frustrated, recognize the consequences of failure.
MR. GREGORY: There has certainly been a growing body of public opinion as well as conservative opinion in the media that has turned against the president in this war. This is what the editor of the conservative National Review wrote, comparing the war in Iraq to Vietnamwell put it on our screenfrom this week. In Iraq, as in Vietnam, we face a vicious insurgency that has worn down the will of the American public. In Iraq, as in Vietnam, we have failed to cut off the enemy from re-supply. In Iraq, as in Vietnam, we have had ever-shifting military strategies. In Iraq, as in Vietnam, we have had trouble building effective, clean governmental institutions in the soil of an alien culture. Most importantly, in Iraq, as in Vietnam, we face the prospect of defeat. You were in Vietnam. Is this Vietnam?
SEN. McCAIN: I dont think so. In Vietnam there was a government that never had support of the people. It was a sort of a revolving door. There were massive re-supplies coming in from Russia and China. They had veryother significant differences.
I believe that this government still probably hasthis freely-elected government probably still has the support of most of the people in Iraq. And there are areas of Iraq that are well under government control. But itsIwe risk failure in Iraq, but I dont believe that we have reached nearly that point yet. I think we can still salvage it.
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Each of McCain's answers starts with a denial of Gregory's assertion. I wonder how often that happens with a Dem guest. /rhetorical question