Posted on 02/07/2003 9:36:33 AM PST by RatherBiased.com
ABC, Rather Snubbed at Luncheon
During most important meetings, the seating arrangements often say more about what the hosts think of you than anything than anything else. This was particularly true at a recent White House luncheon for the bigwigs of television news where, it seems, the Bush Administration made its views known about whom it likes.
In a little-noticed article in the Style section of last week's Washington Post, society columnist Lloyd Grove gave the low-down on who sat where at the preview session before the president's State of the Union Address.
Grove's take:
"We wondered why Tom Brokaw and Jim Lehrer could literally rub elbows with the Big Guy, while Peter Jennings had to crane his neck. And did Dan Rather mind being all the way at the end, where it was hard to see what Ari Fleischer was doing?"
Our take:
According to the seating chart, of the eleven journalists in the room, the three who got the worst treatment were Peter Jennings, George Stephanopoulos--both of ABC News--and Dan Rather. Not only were they seated away from the president, located in the middle, they also had an even harder time taking part in the discussion with press secretary Ari Fleischer, who was at the head of the table and directed the informal meeting.
From the looks of it, it seems as though the White House was trying to express its displeasure with ABC News for making a prominent Clinton strategist the host of its Sunday show and the most visible political correspondent on ABC. Conservatives have also been complaining about Jennings's coverage of the Bush Administration's Iraq policies. With both of its representatives on the outs with the White House, ABC was the only network that saw both of its reporters seated poorly.
It's also no secret that the second Bush admin isn't particularly friendly with Rather. That probably comes as no surprise since Rather has expressed skepticism about Bush from the beginning--from doubting his competence with allusions to an "Uncle Cheney, who runs an awful lot of things" to remarks about Bush being "elected or selected, whichever word you prefer." Rather's voluntary speech at a Democratic fundraiser in April of 2001 likely didn't help things, either, especially after Ari Fleischer said of his appearance, "That's an issue that the media needs to grapple with."
We're not sure if ABC and Rather received less chicken, too.
Oops, you have a couple typos. It should read:
liberals are just as REAL an enemy of America as AOL, those commies.
Okay, that was stretch . . .
I would have had Britt sit on my lap.
Look at the seating chart. Stephanopolis was seated across the table, facing Bush. How is that a snub? You'd think Jennings and Rather were accusing Jim Lehrer of having a fat melon noggin, and thus co-accusing Bush of rigging the seating so our nation's Most Valuable Newsmen's view of the Chief Executive would be obstructed. What's the matter - was their view of the teleprompter blocked?
LOL. That makes it even more hilarious. Phil couldn't find his own ample shadow without a DNC guide, let alone serious intell about Iraq.
Good one!
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