September 10, 2006
The football season is definitely upon us with Tim Russert geared up for some smash-mouth politics. This was the case today in his interview with Vice President Dick Cheney. As Mr. Russert knows, any good football relentlessly pounds the ball on the ground to establish territory – gutty and in the trenches. Finally, Mr. Russert was successful in taking one from the Vice President. So many times, had Mr. Cheney been interviewed on Meet The Press and every time out he had established his ground and kept pounding away, but not quite so this time. All winning streaks come to an end and today Mr. Cheney had no ground game and his quarterbacking was definitely called into question.
I anticipated Mr. Russert indeed asking a tough question, but he usually doesn’t follow up and keep the pressure on – at least that was the line before the interview. Many topics weren’t discussed during the full-show interview, such as real domestic issues. The leak of Valerie Plame’s identity was as close as they got, but it is quite clear that domestic policy isn’t something Mr. Cheney puts at the top of his agenda.
On the eve of the 5-year anniversary of downed planes, human sacrifice, and numbing introspection, the question of catching Osama Bin Laden still hangs over the doorway of American war rooms in this fight against terrorism and the discuss of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and his whereabouts at the forefront. Cheney has a gift for explaining things away. At noted by Russert, opium production is up 60% and the narco-state that is Afghanistan is growing again. Cheney swept it away saying that the country has been and seemingly always will be in this condition, a feeble attempt at an explanation.
Mr. Russert turned the conversation to Iraq and Cheney could only shuffle his feet. What I’ve noticed from watching all Cheney’s interviews on Meet The Press is that when he sits at the MTP table, his head gets lower in relation to the line of his shoulders when he’s lying. It’s unmistakable. Pressed by Russert on the connection between al-Qaeda and Saddam’s regime, Cheney lowered his head and cited two suspect pieces of intelligence. A 70% probability that it was Mohammed Atta pictured in a photograph – that’s our rationale for war?
At one point in the questioning, Russert interjected North Korea and its nuclear capability and the fact that we’ve let that situation fester – “you took your eye off North Korea to focus on Iraq.” At which point, Cheney smirked as if to say – “if only we were on the hunting range…” He proceeded to take the conversation back to the ‘beginning’ – September 11.
I could go on and on with examples of how Mr. Cheney tried unsuccessfully to avoid Russert’s rush attack but the Vice President that this contest was over by the first half. It was good to see someone hold Mr. Cheney’s feet to the proverbial fire, but it was more important that it was Tim Russert who did it. There are many politic talk shows, but Meet The Press is the political interview of record as far as I am concerned.
Throughout the broadcast, Mr. Russert seemed incredulous with regard to Cheney’s answers. He felt duped I suppose by the answers given in previous interviews and it was evident that he felt he needed to make himself righteous again.
Cheney knew it and his defense was weak. He referred to newspaper articles that he doesn’t like as thumb suckers. By that rationale, this interview was a thumb sucker. “That’s all I’m going to say on the subject.” This quote is actually in reference to the Scooter Libby case, as much of domestic policy as they were going to discuss, but this was really the theme throughout – pleading the fifth or blaming other people – George Tenet for example. “George said it was a slam-dunk.” So then if he was wrong, why was he given the highest civilian award this country could bestow on an individual?
As Mr. Cheney would say throughout the interview, “hmmm…”
It’s the beginning of the season and you can tell Dick Cheney doesn’t like football, that was his former boss, Richard Nixon’s game, he didn’t bring his helmet for this hour of knocking heads, and his sport of choice requires a gun. By the way, duck hunting isn’t a sport – the ducks don’t have guns.
With that said, the study of linguistic pragmatics becomes essential in deciphering the final exchange.
MR. RUSSERT: Should I be relieved you didn’t bring your shotgun in today?
VICE PRES. CHENEY: I wouldn’t worry about it. You’re not in season.
[Read: You should be because this is probably your last interview with me. And now you are in season.]
MR. RUSSERT: Mr. Vice President, I hope I never am.
VICE PRES. CHENEY: All right.
[Read: I have some buckshot with your name it.]
MR. RUSSERT: Thank you for sharing your views.
VICE PRES. CHENEY: Thank you, Tim.
[Read: Congressional expletive.]
So with the season opener in the books, it’s Russert 24, Cheney 3. You go Buffalo!
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