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Columnist's comments on Bush met with cheers, jeers (Reeves predicts Bush assassination)
Sarasota Herald Tribune ^ | 3/20/03 | Robert Eckhart

Posted on 03/20/2003 1:32:10 PM PST by FastNBulbous

Columnist's comments on Bush met with cheers, jeers

Richard Reeves predicts President Bush will be assassinated over the war.

By ROBERT ECKHART robert.eckhart@heraldtribune.com

SARASOTA -- The jeers started at about the time syndicated columnist Richard Reeves predicted that President Bush will be assassinated over the war with Iraq.

Reeves, addressing a crowd of 1,700 at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Wednesday, also called Secretary of State Colin Powell "incompetent" and -- this one got the most boos -- said that starting a war with Iraq will be the beginning of the end of the American Empire.

A few hundred people clapped. Several hundred booed, and about 50 walked out, making it the the most controversial Town Hall Today lecture in a decade.

"I wasn't surprised," said Susan Barcomb, chairwoman of the volunteer group that organizes the annual lecture series as a fund-raiser for the Ringling School Library Association. "He's very liberal and very outspoken."

The last person who got booed was Robert Kennedy Jr., early in the Clinton administration.

The audience at the Town Hall lectures is largely retired, well-to-do, well-educated and tough.

But the catcalls are usually saved for people who get out of their seats early to get a good seat for lunch.

Reeves, who has written critically-acclaimed books about Presidents John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, had talked for an hour about the two presidents without any trouble.

Iraq came up during the question-and-answer portion of his presentation. He didn't say anything out of line with what he has written lately. On Saturday, for example, he wrote, "It is hard not to conclude that the president is ignorant, the secretary of defense nuts and the secretary of state incompetent."

And he had plenty of supporters at Wednesday's lectures. But some of them thought it best to keep quiet, unlike the 200 or 300 people who booed him.

An 80-year-old woman who agreed with Reeves called the Herald-Tribune to talk about it, but wouldn't give her name. She didn't want her neighbors to know she doesn't agree with them about the war.

"I just felt very strongly that he said many of the things that should be said, and there were a lot of people who just didn't want to hear it," she said. "Many of the things he said were a little bit much, and I think some people were offended because of what's going on now in the world."

Reeves left Sarasota in the afternoon and did not respond to e-mails requesting an interview.

But he wasn't fazed at all by the booing as he sat with Barcomb and ate lunch at Van Wezel -- grilled fish with salsa, rice and lemon meringue pie.

"He had so many people come up to him who were praising him and asking questions," Barcomb said. "I had to drag him out of the lunchroom. They wouldn't let him go."


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: antiamerican; antibush; clymer; columnists; editorial; lovedclintonswars; notapeacemovement; richardreeves; usefulidiots
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To: martin_fierro
Another elderly a$$hole with that stupid JFK haircut. Does anybody take these boobs seriously?

If this guy is actually syndicated, I can think of at least fifty Freeper who should have regular columns.

61 posted on 03/20/2003 2:20:47 PM PST by metesky (My retirement fund is holding steady @ $.05 a can)
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To: FastNBulbous
Unfortunately, targeting "senior leadership" cuts both ways. Please be safe President Bush and Cabinet.
62 posted on 03/20/2003 2:25:59 PM PST by RuleOfLaw1
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To: blackdog
After we are done with preoccupation with Iraq and N Korea, we folks who are red-blooded American patriots need to consider how to best neuter (neuteralize?) the extreme virulent violent left in the U.S.

There is a dangerous fifth column forming in this country. They need to know that if their actions cross over the line from free speech into the arena of illegal action that there are patriots willing to confront them and thwart them physically.

Dangerous - maybe. But I am fed up with the luke warm politically correct response given these HateAmericaFirsters by local authorities. That is particularlly true of our law enforcement folks here in Seattle.

63 posted on 03/20/2003 2:37:40 PM PST by HardStarboard
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To: FastNBulbous
This is interesting:

A few hundred people clapped. Several hundred booed, and about 50 walked out...

If there were 1,700...what did the majority do, nothing? It sounds like a few booed, most clapped and a few walked out.

64 posted on 03/20/2003 2:37:45 PM PST by Hildy
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To: FastNBulbous
Does anyone here remember what would happen if this would have been said of Bill Clinton? The columnist would have been audited by the IRS, the Secret Service would have detained him, his cat would have been killed, and his tires slashed. That's assuming he wasn't shot in the back of the head and laid on a railroad track to make it look like a suicide.
65 posted on 03/20/2003 2:41:15 PM PST by TommyDale
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To: Landru; Mudboy Slim; sultan88
Grrrrrr...That reminds me of the press conferance today.
A reporter asked Ari, "If Saddam is a legitimate target for assassination, does that mean that President Bush is also a legitimate target?" (rough quote)

Did you guys hear that one? I was driving down the road, shouting at my radio...I couldn't believe some of the Helen Thomas type questions.
66 posted on 03/20/2003 3:14:29 PM PST by FBD (Time's up Soddom ......the grandmother of all battles has begun.)
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To: Landru; FBD
So your're thinking, as am I, that there was no 80 year-old woman??
67 posted on 03/20/2003 3:23:07 PM PST by sultan88
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To: sultan88; Landru
I just sent the jerk an email...
68 posted on 03/20/2003 3:26:11 PM PST by FBD (Time's up Soddom ......the grandmother of all battles has begun.)
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To: FBD
"I just sent the jerk an email..."

HA!!

...a complete waste of valuable electrons.

69 posted on 03/20/2003 3:28:01 PM PST by Landru
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To: sultan88; Landru
email the jerk:

richardreevesweb@aol.com
70 posted on 03/20/2003 3:30:50 PM PST by FBD (Time's up Soddom ......the grandmother of all battles has begun.)
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To: sultan88
"So your're thinking, as am I, that there was no 80 year-old woman??"

Damned right that's what I'm saying.

When are we going to start DEMANDING the names of the people the mediot cretins like to quote -- "anonymously" -- more & more often; who, *just* happen to parrot the Liberal-Socialist's shtick verbatim, huh?

I mean, how do we know any such person exists & especially when -- as I pointed out -- the supposed "concerned citizen" in effect contradicts their motive for wanting to remain unnamed within the same stinking piece.
Geehezzzz have we all gone daft, or what.

This stuff's pure BS & has been pure BS for a very, long time.
The fluffy, glowing *augmentation* of these "quotes" seems to tip-off the fruad, everytime.

Listen.
I'd LOVE to see -- *someone* ~ *anyone* -- just once get in the FACE of these mediot phonies & DEMAND *poof* their "sources" exist.
The moron urinalists could never provide any evidence whatsoever & I'd lay a hellova wager on that.

We've [read: AMERICA] got to start *checking* these LIARS *&* their "stories" out a lot more thoroughly than we have.

No where in our society are people reasonably expected to believe anything someone claims without their FIRST backing up their claim??
So why should some -- demonstrated -- Liberal-Socialist moron playing "journalist" be any different?

...that's the $64 question.

71 posted on 03/20/2003 3:45:51 PM PST by Landru
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To: Hildy
Oops, I reread this and I wrote it wrong. Sounds like a few clapped, MOST booed and several walked out.
72 posted on 03/20/2003 3:46:48 PM PST by Hildy
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To: Steel Eye
>"Notice that in his column about the Sarasota talk he doesn't mention the assassination prediction."

There was a period on the Art Bell show where he was entertaining assasination predictions from various leftist psychics and the like. He got a visit from the secret service and today the Art Bell show is no longer a clearinghouse for presidential death threats.

73 posted on 03/20/2003 3:49:23 PM PST by Dialup Llama
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To: FBD
Believe me, if there were a way to email this jackass a STD, an atom bomb, or anything else *meaningful* that'd be guarenteed to get the miserable quisling's attention?

...don'tcha think I would?

74 posted on 03/20/2003 3:50:29 PM PST by Landru
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To: RayChuang88
Secret Service is in disarray. Clinton screwed that up also. "His" guy was just fired and replaced.
75 posted on 03/20/2003 4:31:21 PM PST by KickRightRudder
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To: martin_fierro
That picture makes him look like a flaming fa*. Probably gave oral favors to the Kennedy men after Marilyn.
76 posted on 03/20/2003 4:34:23 PM PST by KickRightRudder
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To: Landru; Mudboy Slim; sultan88; MeeknMing
..."Believe me, if there were a way to email this jackass a STD, an atom bomb, or anything else *meaningful* that'd be guarenteed to get the miserable quisling's attention?...don'tcha think I would?" ... ~Landru~Richard Reeves
Well, I can always pretend he got my email...I feel better, anyway! :^D
77 posted on 03/20/2003 4:38:53 PM PST by FBD (Time's up Soddom ......the grandmother of all battles has begun.)
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To: FBD
Has anyone sent a copy of this to the SS?

Talk like this is very, very bad.
78 posted on 03/20/2003 5:00:02 PM PST by Stopislamnow (Because tomorrow we'll all be dead and won't be able to)
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To: FBD
The jeers started at about the time syndicated columnist Richard Reeves predicted that President Bush will be assassinated over the war with Iraq.

What an ARSE-hole to say something like that. Sheesh !

http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=15919

Richard Reeves

79 posted on 03/20/2003 5:01:03 PM PST by MeekOneGOP (Bu-bye Saddam! / Check out my Freeper site !: http://home.attbi.com/~freeper/wsb/index.html)
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To: Stopislamnow
I agree ! Very bad . . .
80 posted on 03/20/2003 5:05:55 PM PST by MeekOneGOP (Bu-bye Saddam! / Check out my Freeper site !: http://home.attbi.com/~freeper/wsb/index.html)
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