The article led off with the news that NBC is considering an ensemble of hosts for "Meet the Press," led by Chuck Todd:
[The network] is leaning toward an ensemble of hosts that would be led by Chuck Todd, NBC's political director, and include David Gregory, a correspondent and MSNBC anchor, according to a person who had been briefed on the proposal but was not authorized to comment, partly because the plans were not set. Like the turnover of anchors at all three network newscasts, the process of choosing a successor for Mr. Russert has been closely watched in media and political circles.
This column has been saying for months now that it would be Chuck Todd, Tim Russert's protege, that would take over the show. The only deficiency we see with the choice is that Mr. Todd has really ever interviewed on air, something in which Mr. Gregory has done a ton.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
9.28.08: Who Can Claim Victory?
I am not sure why it is exactly, but lately on MTP they have been booking guests for 3 and sometimes 4 different segments in the hour. The guests have all been good but obviously the content of these interviews has suffered. Since Mr. Russert passed there have been subtle little changes like these and it is the opinion of this column that they are the result of Tom Brokaw being a poor moderator.
Again, credit goes to Betsy Fischer, the executive producer, of MTP for securing David Axelrod (chief strategist for Sen. Obama) and Steve Schmidt (chief strategist for Sen. McCain) for their first joint appearance. In a surrogate discussion such as this, the attacks come in hard and pointed, but it ends up being a zero-sum gain for both sides. "John McCain never said 'middle class' in the debate," from Mr. Axelrod. "Senator Obama never used the word 'victory' once," countered Mr. Schmidt. The two men went back and forth this way through out and Mr. Brokaw's contribution were as follows: Gen. Petraeus would use the word 'victory' to describe Iraq's end game. Also, he showed a poll that had Senator McCain leading in the 'who is more ready to be commander-in-chief."
First, Mr. Schmidt's own demeanor and presentation was eerily similar to that of Senator McCain's - stiff and defensive. With Mr. Schmidt as his top advisor, it is no wonder that Senator McCain's answers are detached and veer away from what the public actually knows the truth to be. This says a lot about the entire tone of their campaign. For the Republicans, it should be all about tone because given the current political climate (meltdowns in domestic AND foreign policy), substance is not something that the McCain campaign can claim as their own.
With regard to 'victory' in Iraq, this concept is a myth in terms how this conflict will end. What does victory mean? The Republican definition consists of our troops returning home, leaving behind a fledgling democracy in peace. But does this include a payment stoppage to the Sunnis in Anbar Province? Does this mean leaving a government that is elected by Iraqis or one the most suits the U.S. Administration? Then there is the essential point that this is no longer a war in Iraq, it's an occupation, and in all occupations there will be insurgent elements. Why not consider that if U.S. Troops were to re-deploy to the borders, insurgent elements may subside. Most cynically, victory could be defined, in like of our financial crisis, as to stop spending $10 Billion per month in a country half way around the world.
And speaking of victory being hazy, the first installment of the Senate Debate Series took place today between Mark Udall (D) and Bob Schaffer (R) for the seat in Colorado. The predictable (not necessarily a bad thing) topic is the $700 Billion Bail. The general, correct consensus is that no one wants to do it, but it's absolutely necessary, which instantly switches the argument as to who is to blame. Simply, years and years of curtailing trading regulations eventually stripped all these institutions of real capital, beginning from the Reagan years. De-regulation has been a pillar of Republican financial philosophy since those days. However, even given this indefensible position, Mr. Schaffer won the debate by excusing himself from the last six years (he left Congress in 2002) and then blaming his opponent's party (in power for the last two years) for our current situation. Astounding... but what's more astounding is that I can sit here with my little blog and have a counter argument at the ready, and these politicians do not.
Case in point: Shouldn't Sarah Palin have known that she was going to be asked by Katie Couric about how Alaska being next to Russia gives her foreign policy experience. She should! But she was like a moose in the headlights and all she could do was spew gibberish.
By the way, in the past two years, the Democratically controlled Congress has had to hold an untold number of hearings to unravel all the unethical doings of the Republicans and their lobbyists while trying to implement new regulations.
Also, the question needs to be asked why did President Bush wait on this bail out plan when he had the proposal on his desk two months ago? The answer is simple: He didn't want to give congress any time to react and he foolishly thought that everyone would just OK $700 Billion to the Treasury Secretary without any oversight in place. 'Shrewd' is another adjective forever taken off the table when describing President Bush.
However, that word can most certainly be applied to the week's last guest - Bill Clinton, who choses his words very carefully. Mr. Brokaw, in another typical baiting question, asked President Clinton if he would give the same praise to Barack Obama that he gives to John McCain. Clinton is too savvy to fall into a pothole like that. They're two different men and President Clinton has the vocabulary and state of reason to give each man is distinct due. There are still people out there who feel that President Clinton will try to subtly derail Senator Obama's campaign so that Hillary Clinton can pick up four years from now where she recently left off. But just know that on all levels, you can surmise that Bill Clinton is a party guy and should be taken at his word that he is going to do everything asked of him by the Obama campaign.
As for this week's post, I will leave you with this: It's not important who won the debate, even though most pundits give it to Obama. What is important is which candidate has the best 360 degree knowledge of the challenges that face this country and what they do with that knowledge. With that in mind, Senator McCain presented to the country on Friday that he is set in his ways and is going to carry out a pre-determined agenda in spite a potentially changing circumstances. The world moves and changes too quickly to be dogmatic. Senator McCain still prides himself on being a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution. Well, frankly, he's dead and all the army's guns blew up in their collective faces this week.
Again, credit goes to Betsy Fischer, the executive producer, of MTP for securing David Axelrod (chief strategist for Sen. Obama) and Steve Schmidt (chief strategist for Sen. McCain) for their first joint appearance. In a surrogate discussion such as this, the attacks come in hard and pointed, but it ends up being a zero-sum gain for both sides. "John McCain never said 'middle class' in the debate," from Mr. Axelrod. "Senator Obama never used the word 'victory' once," countered Mr. Schmidt. The two men went back and forth this way through out and Mr. Brokaw's contribution were as follows: Gen. Petraeus would use the word 'victory' to describe Iraq's end game. Also, he showed a poll that had Senator McCain leading in the 'who is more ready to be commander-in-chief."
First, Mr. Schmidt's own demeanor and presentation was eerily similar to that of Senator McCain's - stiff and defensive. With Mr. Schmidt as his top advisor, it is no wonder that Senator McCain's answers are detached and veer away from what the public actually knows the truth to be. This says a lot about the entire tone of their campaign. For the Republicans, it should be all about tone because given the current political climate (meltdowns in domestic AND foreign policy), substance is not something that the McCain campaign can claim as their own.
With regard to 'victory' in Iraq, this concept is a myth in terms how this conflict will end. What does victory mean? The Republican definition consists of our troops returning home, leaving behind a fledgling democracy in peace. But does this include a payment stoppage to the Sunnis in Anbar Province? Does this mean leaving a government that is elected by Iraqis or one the most suits the U.S. Administration? Then there is the essential point that this is no longer a war in Iraq, it's an occupation, and in all occupations there will be insurgent elements. Why not consider that if U.S. Troops were to re-deploy to the borders, insurgent elements may subside. Most cynically, victory could be defined, in like of our financial crisis, as to stop spending $10 Billion per month in a country half way around the world.
And speaking of victory being hazy, the first installment of the Senate Debate Series took place today between Mark Udall (D) and Bob Schaffer (R) for the seat in Colorado. The predictable (not necessarily a bad thing) topic is the $700 Billion Bail. The general, correct consensus is that no one wants to do it, but it's absolutely necessary, which instantly switches the argument as to who is to blame. Simply, years and years of curtailing trading regulations eventually stripped all these institutions of real capital, beginning from the Reagan years. De-regulation has been a pillar of Republican financial philosophy since those days. However, even given this indefensible position, Mr. Schaffer won the debate by excusing himself from the last six years (he left Congress in 2002) and then blaming his opponent's party (in power for the last two years) for our current situation. Astounding... but what's more astounding is that I can sit here with my little blog and have a counter argument at the ready, and these politicians do not.
Case in point: Shouldn't Sarah Palin have known that she was going to be asked by Katie Couric about how Alaska being next to Russia gives her foreign policy experience. She should! But she was like a moose in the headlights and all she could do was spew gibberish.
By the way, in the past two years, the Democratically controlled Congress has had to hold an untold number of hearings to unravel all the unethical doings of the Republicans and their lobbyists while trying to implement new regulations.
Also, the question needs to be asked why did President Bush wait on this bail out plan when he had the proposal on his desk two months ago? The answer is simple: He didn't want to give congress any time to react and he foolishly thought that everyone would just OK $700 Billion to the Treasury Secretary without any oversight in place. 'Shrewd' is another adjective forever taken off the table when describing President Bush.
However, that word can most certainly be applied to the week's last guest - Bill Clinton, who choses his words very carefully. Mr. Brokaw, in another typical baiting question, asked President Clinton if he would give the same praise to Barack Obama that he gives to John McCain. Clinton is too savvy to fall into a pothole like that. They're two different men and President Clinton has the vocabulary and state of reason to give each man is distinct due. There are still people out there who feel that President Clinton will try to subtly derail Senator Obama's campaign so that Hillary Clinton can pick up four years from now where she recently left off. But just know that on all levels, you can surmise that Bill Clinton is a party guy and should be taken at his word that he is going to do everything asked of him by the Obama campaign.
As for this week's post, I will leave you with this: It's not important who won the debate, even though most pundits give it to Obama. What is important is which candidate has the best 360 degree knowledge of the challenges that face this country and what they do with that knowledge. With that in mind, Senator McCain presented to the country on Friday that he is set in his ways and is going to carry out a pre-determined agenda in spite a potentially changing circumstances. The world moves and changes too quickly to be dogmatic. Senator McCain still prides himself on being a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution. Well, frankly, he's dead and all the army's guns blew up in their collective faces this week.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
9.3.08: Turpentine, the Joe Biden Interview
Not surprisingly, Joe Biden was the first of the four candidates to appear on MTP post conventions. What was also not surprising is how Senator Biden schooled Tom Brokaw in the interview. As it has been made known, this column is not Mr. Brokaw's biggest fan. Mr. Brokaw's initial questions to Senator Biden were only a more dignified type of 'gotcha' questions, but 'gotcha' questions nonetheless. "Who did you call after Sarah Palin's speech?" What kind of question is that? "Is it tougher to debate Sarah Palin because she is a woman? Is it a problem for your campaign that women feel familiar with her and call her Sarah?" Talk about elitist positions... Meet the Press is a serious program to deal with serious issues and thankfully, Senator Joe Biden has more experience on the show than Mr. Brokaw.
The senator kept bringing it back to discussing issues and what Sarah Palin didn't say about so many things troubling the country - from healthcare to job losses to foreign policy. Topics, which this column frankly feels, are above her pay grade. Joe Biden washed the off-color paint that Mr. Brokaw was slinging... with turpentine.
With regard to the 'surge' in Iraq, it was perfectly clear that Senator Biden had a much better grasp of all the dynamics between Iraqi Sunnis and Shia respectively. In fact, Senator Biden continually corrected Mr. Brokaw. See below transcript.
MR. BROKAW: ...But it's a process, and it's beginning, and the surge made that possible, did it not?
SEN. BIDEN: No. The surge helped make that--what made is possible in Anbar province is they did what I'd suggested two and a half years ago: gave local control. They turned over and they said to the Sunnis in Anbar province, "We promise you, don't worry, you're not going to have any Shia in here. There's going to be no national forces in here. We're going to train your forces to help you fight al-Qaeda." And that you--what you had was the awakening. The awakening was not an awakening by us, it was an awakening of the Sunnis in Anbar province willing to fight.
MR. BROKAW: Cooperating with the Shia.
SEN. BIDEN: Willing to fight. Cooperating with--no, they weren't cooperating with Shiite. They didn't cooperate with the Shiites.
MR. BROKAW: Once the awakening got under way.
SEN. BIDEN: No, no, no. No, they didn't cooperate with the Shiites. It's still--it's a big problem, Tom. You got--we're paying 300 bucks a month to each of those guys. Now the problem has been and the, and the promise was made by Maliki that they would be integrated into the overall military. That's a process that is beginning in fits and starts now, but it's far from over. Far from--look, the bottom line here is that it's--let's--the surge is over. Here's the real point. Whether or not the surge worked is almost irrelevant now. We're in a new deal. What is the administration doing? They're doing what Barack Obama has suggested over 14 months ago, turn responsibility over and draw down our troops.
And what is also clear is that Mr. Brokaw's rudimentary knowledge about the occupation in Iraq is also Senator McCain's view. Let's also not forget that the current administration is now signing an agreement to set a timetable for troop withdrawals as Senator Obama has already called for. It almost seemed like lecturing but Mr. Brokaw needed it. He misrepresented what Mr. Biden understood and had to be corrected.
Then, yet again, Mr. Brokaw disappointed with his questions about faith and actually saying that Senator Biden frequently talked about his faith. First, Senator Biden instantly corrected him, stating he rarely talked about his faith and with his answer to the abortion question, he outlined exactly how the American Government should function - as a separation of church and state. Being Catholic, Sen. Biden feels that life starts at conception, but that belief is based on his faith, to which he said he would not introduce and advocate legislation based on a religious belief. As he accurately stated, we are a pluralistic society.
And when there is real straight talk, it is more likely to come from Joe Biden, and Barack Obama, for that matter than John McCain.
In the second segment with Tom Friedman, NYTimes columnist and author, talked about his new book entitled "Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America," With that, he is the most important quote by Mr. Friedman on today's program.
MR. FRIEDMAN: No, there's no question this has been a bipartisan effort to get us into this alley, dead end, that we're in right now, Tom. But when I hear, drill, drill, drill, or drill, baby, drill, I try to imagine--Tom, you were at the convention, I wasn't, what would happen if the Saudi, Venezuelan, Russian and Nigeria observers were up in a sky box in that Xcel Center listening to the crowd chant, "drill, drill, drill"? What would they be doing? They'd be up there leading the chant. They'd be saying this is great. America isn't sitting there saying, "Invent, invent, invent new, renewable energy," they're saying, "drill, drill, drill." And you know, for me, yes, we do need to exploit our domestic resource. I'm actually not against drilling. What I'm against is making that the center of our focus, because we are on the eve of a new revolution, the energy technology revolution. It would be, Tom, as if on the eve of the IT revolution, the revolution of PCs and the Internet, someone was up there standing and demanding, "IBM Selectric typewriters, IBM Selectric typewriters." That's what drill, drill, drill, is the equivalent of today.
And what Mr. Friedman advocates is that it is America who leads the E.T. (energy technology revolution as he calls it) in the world. From the above excerpt, it is clear that Mr. Friedman does not believe that this agenda is coming from the Republican party. And the American people know this! Even most Republicans...
Lastly, this week, [as a small tidbit that is worthy of knowing] Senator McCain's top campaign strategist said that this election is not going to be about issues, but about the personalities running for office. This type of cynicism is never beneficial to the American people, period.
The senator kept bringing it back to discussing issues and what Sarah Palin didn't say about so many things troubling the country - from healthcare to job losses to foreign policy. Topics, which this column frankly feels, are above her pay grade. Joe Biden washed the off-color paint that Mr. Brokaw was slinging... with turpentine.
With regard to the 'surge' in Iraq, it was perfectly clear that Senator Biden had a much better grasp of all the dynamics between Iraqi Sunnis and Shia respectively. In fact, Senator Biden continually corrected Mr. Brokaw. See below transcript.
MR. BROKAW: ...But it's a process, and it's beginning, and the surge made that possible, did it not?
SEN. BIDEN: No. The surge helped make that--what made is possible in Anbar province is they did what I'd suggested two and a half years ago: gave local control. They turned over and they said to the Sunnis in Anbar province, "We promise you, don't worry, you're not going to have any Shia in here. There's going to be no national forces in here. We're going to train your forces to help you fight al-Qaeda." And that you--what you had was the awakening. The awakening was not an awakening by us, it was an awakening of the Sunnis in Anbar province willing to fight.
MR. BROKAW: Cooperating with the Shia.
SEN. BIDEN: Willing to fight. Cooperating with--no, they weren't cooperating with Shiite. They didn't cooperate with the Shiites.
MR. BROKAW: Once the awakening got under way.
SEN. BIDEN: No, no, no. No, they didn't cooperate with the Shiites. It's still--it's a big problem, Tom. You got--we're paying 300 bucks a month to each of those guys. Now the problem has been and the, and the promise was made by Maliki that they would be integrated into the overall military. That's a process that is beginning in fits and starts now, but it's far from over. Far from--look, the bottom line here is that it's--let's--the surge is over. Here's the real point. Whether or not the surge worked is almost irrelevant now. We're in a new deal. What is the administration doing? They're doing what Barack Obama has suggested over 14 months ago, turn responsibility over and draw down our troops.
And what is also clear is that Mr. Brokaw's rudimentary knowledge about the occupation in Iraq is also Senator McCain's view. Let's also not forget that the current administration is now signing an agreement to set a timetable for troop withdrawals as Senator Obama has already called for. It almost seemed like lecturing but Mr. Brokaw needed it. He misrepresented what Mr. Biden understood and had to be corrected.
Then, yet again, Mr. Brokaw disappointed with his questions about faith and actually saying that Senator Biden frequently talked about his faith. First, Senator Biden instantly corrected him, stating he rarely talked about his faith and with his answer to the abortion question, he outlined exactly how the American Government should function - as a separation of church and state. Being Catholic, Sen. Biden feels that life starts at conception, but that belief is based on his faith, to which he said he would not introduce and advocate legislation based on a religious belief. As he accurately stated, we are a pluralistic society.
And when there is real straight talk, it is more likely to come from Joe Biden, and Barack Obama, for that matter than John McCain.
In the second segment with Tom Friedman, NYTimes columnist and author, talked about his new book entitled "Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America," With that, he is the most important quote by Mr. Friedman on today's program.
MR. FRIEDMAN: No, there's no question this has been a bipartisan effort to get us into this alley, dead end, that we're in right now, Tom. But when I hear, drill, drill, drill, or drill, baby, drill, I try to imagine--Tom, you were at the convention, I wasn't, what would happen if the Saudi, Venezuelan, Russian and Nigeria observers were up in a sky box in that Xcel Center listening to the crowd chant, "drill, drill, drill"? What would they be doing? They'd be up there leading the chant. They'd be saying this is great. America isn't sitting there saying, "Invent, invent, invent new, renewable energy," they're saying, "drill, drill, drill." And you know, for me, yes, we do need to exploit our domestic resource. I'm actually not against drilling. What I'm against is making that the center of our focus, because we are on the eve of a new revolution, the energy technology revolution. It would be, Tom, as if on the eve of the IT revolution, the revolution of PCs and the Internet, someone was up there standing and demanding, "IBM Selectric typewriters, IBM Selectric typewriters." That's what drill, drill, drill, is the equivalent of today.
And what Mr. Friedman advocates is that it is America who leads the E.T. (energy technology revolution as he calls it) in the world. From the above excerpt, it is clear that Mr. Friedman does not believe that this agenda is coming from the Republican party. And the American people know this! Even most Republicans...
Lastly, this week, [as a small tidbit that is worthy of knowing] Senator McCain's top campaign strategist said that this election is not going to be about issues, but about the personalities running for office. This type of cynicism is never beneficial to the American people, period.
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