Fair & Balanced DSM discussion on Hardball...

[slor]

Following the reporter that broke the story, they have a neo-con and a neo-con apologist to discuss it. Why I expected anything less, is beyond me.

[BattyDem]

1. It could have been worse ...

they could have had the neo-cons on WITH the reporter - and we all know they wouldn't have allowed him to make a point or finish a sentence. At least he got to speak the truth without being interrupted and talked over.

[Eloriel]

2. I know. Discouraging, isn't it?

We ought to write them.

HOWEVER, he did have Michael Smith on and let him talk uninterrupted and unspun. There is that.

[DisassemblingHisLies]

3. James Woolsey & David Kay

both suggested the term "fixed the intelligence" meant something other in British terms.

Why didn't they include Michael Smith, the British journalist who broke the DSM story, in this conversation? Instead of speculating, they could have gotten this Brit's clarification.

[rainy]

4. why didn't they have Conyers or ANY of his wittinesses?

That constitutional lawyer was so great why not have him on instead of two neo-conservatives?

[slor]

7. It has already been clarified that "fixed" in Britain means...

the same as in America, manipulating it. That was already reported, though quietly. These guys need to keep up with their talking points, they should have gone with the, "oh, they are fake" lie.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

8. I know, I saw that too

And the Brits have come out and said "fixed means fixed" over there just like here. That really is a pathetic fall-back position. Like in Britain it means "we need to fix it (def. - thoroughly investigate with no political agenda until it's squeaky clean.Wot?!! It means something else Stateside? Blimey!!")

[SlavesandBulldozers]

9. it's obfuscation. it's "disassembling"

it's hilarious.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

5. I thought David Gregory did a far more credible job than Chris Mathews

would have been capable of. I thought he let the guests speak, he asked good follow-ups and on the whole it would have been highly informative if someone watched the show with absolutely no foreknowledge. And it was somewhat balanced in its overview. I think David Gregory was better than George Stephanopolis or Tim Russert or Bob Schiefert in actually trying to report the story. Keep Tweety on permanent vacation and give his slot to Gregory

[bj2110]

6. I agree... Gregory did a nice job staying on point with the DSM...

even though the guests were a joke. Smith was pristine.

[smartvoter]

10. One point that was missed in the discussion was that it is not just

when policy was set versus public statements, but they were planning long before they went to Congress, which is supposed to authorize war.

[smartvoter]

11. It was fine until the final segment. Smith, Boxer, etc. nt

[greenman3610]

12. what's the contact email for hardball?

[Donailin]

13. yeah, we need to let them know

we're not complete fucking idiots. They PURPOSELY told Smith, "Thanks we have to go, that's all we have time for!" so that he couldn't give the definition of "fixed" -- as if we evwen fucking need it.

oh godammit I can't take this crap

[smartvoter]

14. [e-mail] nt

[Donailin]

17. just emailed them

>>Very much appreciate you having Michael Smith on today, but why did you tell him time was up when clearly he could have made perfectly clear what "fixed" means. He responds about that here: Washington Post :The Downing Street Memo

"Fairfax, Va.: Do you expect we will see more leaks which further corroborate the assertion that Bush lied to justify the neoconservatives' aggressive stance against Iraq? Also, what are your thoughts on the semantics argument of the Iraq war supporters (i.e., in the U.K., "fixed around" doesn't mean what you think it means...)?

Michael Smith: There are number of people asking about fixed and its meaning. This is a real joke. I do not know anyone in the UK who took it to mean anything other than fixed as in fixed a race, fixed an election, fixed the intelligence. If you fix something, you make it the way you want it. The intelligence was fixed and as for the reports that said this was one British official. Pleeeaaassee! This was the head of MI6. How much authority do you want the man to have? He has just been to Washington, he has just talked to George Tenet. He said the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. That translates in clearer terms as the intelligence was being cooked to match what the administration wanted it to say to justify invading Iraq. Fixed means the same here as it does there. More leaks? I do hope so and the more Blair and Bush lie to try to get themselves off the hook the more likely it is that we will get more leaks."




Do you take those of us who pay attention for complete idiots? David Kaye and Woolsey? Why not Richard Clark and Woolsey? Or Woodward and Woolsey? Or David Kaye and Scott Ritter?

That would be fair and balanced. Something I will not be accusing your corporate run news of any time soon. And you wonder why being Fox-lite isn't helping with your ratings. . . could be that there is only so much market for dumbed down Americans.

Danielle

Silver Spring MD

[Stirk]

15. Well, excuse me- that's called 'balance'.

You know... if you're going to broadcast 5 minutes of facts, you have to give the Bush Administration 10 minutes to lie and attack the person who offered the facts.

[creeksneakers2]

16. They should have included a disclaimer

saying Woolsey was or still is the lawyer for Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress. Calling him a former CIA chief made him look like an independent expert.