Andy Rooney just apologized for backing the war in Iraq~~

[jab105]

I think this may be significant!!

On 60 minutes...it was a great little "essay"...about how we shouldnt have gone in without the security council...

[maggrwaggr]

1. wow! Sorry I missed it!

I don't like the guy one bit, but I'm all for people realizing they were wrong about the war.

It's about time people finally started to fess up.

[CatWoman]

25. the video is at this link

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/rooney/main3419.shtml

[Brian Sweat]

27. They only have it on Real Player

I won't install Real Player on my machine. Can anyone convert it to mpeg or MS Mediaplayer?

[CatWoman]

28. I suppose now you want me to burp you after you eat??

[no name no slogan]

44. RealPlayer installs spyware on your machine

Real's software has a bad habit of "phoning home" and reporting your music and internet habits to the company. Not only that, it tries to take over your computer and puts its little pieces of crapware into any spare nook and cranny it finds. I've cleaned RealPlayer out of too many people's computers over the years to trust them.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=RealPlayer+Spyware&btnG=Google+Search

[Kahuna]

51. LOL!

:evilgrin:

[Wonk]

32. mp3 and quicktime versions here

mp3 quicktime

[Nlighten1]

53. Here is a replacement for RealPlayer.

http://www.geeknews.net/index.php?info=98


Enjoy

[spanone]

40. CatWoman - thanks for the link ***Great piece.

[stlsaxman]

2. THANK YOU ANDY!!!!!!

I jumped up from the edge of my seat after hearing his editorial!

Now, THAT is ethical journalism !!!!

Go Andy- Speak truth to power!

[frank frankly]

3. great to hear

come forward, media whores, and begin to atone.

[Cat Atomic]

4. Thanks, Andy. A little critical thinking might've actually been

useful if you'd done it a year ago.

Better late than never, I suppose, but it's hard to give someone kuddos for acknowledging reality too late.

[oxycontinrush]

6. If they admit prior position was wrong before changing, it's ok

We all make mistakes. As long as a person is willing to go on the record and point out what their previous position was and admit that position was wrong before changing, I'm fine with it.

You almost never see this happen. Most try to run from their previous positions and act like they believed in the new position the whole time.

[bahrbearian]

13. Or like Chimpy "Spin It"

[Cat Atomic]

20. Well, that's true. And it does take bigger stones

to admit when your wrong than to just keep on defending a crappy position.

But it still annoys me. All this shit was obvious before the war ever started. You didn't need to be a genius to see it- alot of people simply chose not too. And Rooney, having the position he does, and the media voice he does, had even more responsibility to be honest and critical than the average person did.

It's aggravating. I'd love to know what he thought of protestors on the lead-up to war.

[KeepItReal]

5. Apology not accepted

How can you forgive someone who is supposed to be a "journalist/media-type" for being too unconcerned to their homework on why this invasion of Iraq was bogus, a red herring, a distracton from going after Al Qaeda, etc...

Folks here on D.U. knew the invasion of Iraq was a sham...the majority of the U.N. knew it was a sham... Bush Daddy's man Brent Scowcroft knew it was a sham...I could go on and on.

[oxycontinrush]

9. You know what they say about the first stone.

Nobody here is perfect. We just do the best we can.

We're the progressives. We're the ones that are supposed to understand people make mistakes and be forgiving when they come around.

We're trying to defeat the hypocritical moralists.

[KeepItReal]

14. I feel you...hard to forgive when troops are dying over B.S.

If this was another Kosovo, or Rwanda, or Somalia I could understand people being for or against military action - those were tough calls. No problem.

But when we *already* had UN inspectors on the ground and no-fly zones over most of Iraq, how the fudge can folks like Andy justify an invasion when we already had Saddam in check? Thats the ignorance I'm having a hard time forgiving.

I try not to hate folks, so I'm not mad at Andy. But as Michael Irvin said when he was falsely accused of drug use... They better report being wrong (about the war) with "the same intensity" they cheerleaded for the damn thing.

'Luck troops.

[w4rma]

37. Attitudes like yours is why folks don't admit prior position was wrong

IMHO, we need to promote an environment where folks *will* come out and admit they were wrong so that we can set some other folks straight.

What's more important? A grudge? Or getting enough support to bring the troops home?

[are_we_united_yet]

30. I agree with you eom

[Jack Rabbit]

7. Excellent

Now, I'd like to hear each of the "Blair Democrats" fess up -- and Will Marshall, too.

[pasadenaboy]

46. that's funny

the antiwar position has been weakened by our success in Iraq. HA HA HA

[wuushew]

8. Don't forget the hatchet job on the saints, corporate scandal and suv's

A good show to be sure

[leesa]

10. Well, tell it to the dead Iraqis Andy!

No media person should be able to get away with this shit! Especially when so many people were sending these 'journalists' so much information.

[Bread and Circus]

11. Actually I don't think he backed it.....

originally, I think he apologized when the
war was going well and now he apologizes for
that (mistaken) apology.

Bottom line, he recognizes the war as a sham
and wrongfully prosecuted.

It's a good thing. We need more like him, willing
to say they were wrong and willing to point out
Bush's arrogance.

[JeebusH]

12. Andy was AGAINST the War and apologized for backing out on that ...

after the seemingly "quick" victory, Andy pulled a Tweety and said he was wrong and it look like the war was worth fighting and he apologized for that

He sort of contradicted himself; he called the UN "namby-pamby" and ineffective, but said Bush shouldn't gone in without them (if they're so "namby-pamby" and ineffective as you say Andy what good would they be???)

He also basically said that Bush was the reason the U.S. is so disliked in the world right now

[stlsaxman]

15. The last few lines of the essay were most telling-

haven't seen the transcript, but, in no uncertain terms he said America is being
run by folks who care NOTHING about its people.

can someone post a transcript once it's available?

[quaker bill]

17. I thought I heard

Not caring about Amreican Values...

[JasonBerry]

33. The Last Lines....

"It happened to the great Greek and Roman civilizations. They didn't disappear because there was anything wrong with the ideals on which those civilizations were based. They disappeared because there got to be fewer and fewer Greeks and Romans who believed in those ideals, and they were taken over by people who didn't believe in them at all."

"We've got some people who don't believe in our American ideals -- so watch out."

[jbm]

34. this line...

"We've got some people who don't believe in our American ideals -- so watch out."

Is it to much to hope that he is referring to Bush and the gang? or amd I misunderstanding what he's saying?

[LibertyorDeath]

43. He was most definitely referring to the idiot son.

He obviously has had some-kind of realization or someone at the CIA is calling in a favour.

"Is it to much to hope that he is referring to Bush and the gang? or amd I misunderstanding what he's saying?"

He just pissed on Bush.

[ewagner]

18. I'd like to see the transcript too

give this a :kick: to keep it active.......

[Wonk]

45. transcript here (thanks pasadenaboy)

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/10/10/60minutes/rooney/main577569.shtml

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=525113

[pasadenaboy]

47. you're welcome nm

nm

[CatWoman]

24. try here

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/rooney/main3419.shtml

[PatrickS]

22. Flip Flop Andy

You're right. He was against it at first. Then when the invasion was "quick", he changed his mind. And now he changes it again. Make up your own mind, Andy!!!

[JeebusH]

26. its still crummy what Andy did ....

if you think someone is wrong for picking a fight with a person for no good reason, but then they beat that person up fairly quickly its suddenly OK???

[quaker bill]

16. Is CBS turning left?

I heard something about missing WMD for 60 minutes next week..

Or was I just hallucinating???

[frank frankly]

19. Of the "big four", CBS seems to be the best

They've done some stories on the military vaccinations recently...

[wtmusic]

48. Rather has always been the most open to liberal viewpoints

[childslibrarian]

21. How often is anyone in the media big enough

to admit their mistakes? That takes courage. I am proud of him.
:tinfoilhat:

[JackSwift]

23. Did he apologize to the French?

He was especially unfair to the French.

[Tatiana]

29. Well that was pleasantly surprising!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/10/10/60minutes/rooney/main577569.shtml

[BrotherBuzz]

31. Indeed, it may be significant...

The nation turned against the war in Vietnam when Cronkite came out with his position against it on national television. Now, I know that Andy Rooney isn't as big as Cronkite was, but there really are a lot of old farts that hang on all of Rooney's words and they now have a reason for speaking out against this damn war (and Bush*). It may be a small victory but I'll take it, and I'm glad Andy's now on my side.

Thanks for the heads up for us west coasters, I will tune in and watch.

[WillyBrandt]

35. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth

Christ! Why the hell are people here bitching about Andy Rooney flip-flopping twice and not being as brilliant and incisive as the folks on DU?

This is a man who carries some earnest American authority with many people, and he truly seemed sincere when speaking. He realized he was wrong, apologized, and did his part to spread some common sense.

We WANT more people like Andy Rooney: you approach the convert with open arms, not a superior scowl. If our goal is maintaining our insular sense of superiority, then let's turn our backs; but if what we really care about is keeping our soldiers from dying and our country and world from burning, then let's welcome a new friend.

[BrotherBuzz]

39. Was I bitching about Andy Rooney?

[WillyBrandt]

41. Sorry

I meant to reply to the top one (actually to those negative ones responding to the base message), not you. Your message was very good.

Apologies for the mixup.

[BrotherBuzz]

42. Okeydoke

I bet I get mixed up more then you do! "Apologies" is my middle name.

[jab105]

36. Yes, that's exactly why I think this is so significant...

for HIM, who is very respected, to apologize for apologizing...you know what I mean:) well, it shows that the Bush administration is indead wrong...I think it is a good person to admit they were wrong...you dont see Bill O'Reilly doing anything like this, even though he was quite vocal in April-May that if no WMDs were found in a monththen the war wasn't justified...

GO ANDY!!

[Cat Atomic]

38. Actually, he didn't apologize for much.

He really only said it was a mistake to invade without UN backing, and still calls the UN a "namby-pamby organization" composed of people who were "sitting on their hands", refusing to act, because they had business interests in Iraq.

He's not acknowledging any of the deceit that this war is built on. He's saying that it's too much for us to handle alone, which is hardly an insightful observation, and certainly not stinging criticism.

Sounds like the guys who timidly criticized the Vietnam War by proclaiming "we aren't fighting it right".

[Must_B_Free]

49. Rooney said the Bush Admin doesn't believe in American Ideals

That is as searing an indictment you can make.

And he said it in the context of the falling of the Greeks and Romans

[maggrwaggr]

50. Okay, just read the transcript. I still think he's an A-hole.

A major major a-hole.

In fact the way he flipflops makes him a BIGGER a-hole than ever.

Hm, nah, we shouldn't kill these people. Oh, we're already killing them and it's going well? Okay! I'm all for it! Hm, now it's not going so well? We're starting to look bad? People might not like us? Oh gosh, now I'm not for it anymore.

Way to stick to your convictions, a-hole. You call those values? You call those morals?

That's despicable, you miserable old piece of crap.

[Kamika]

52. ohman is this gonna get misinterpreted

All the freepers will ofcourse say the libruls are the non americans