Who Loves Ted Koppel & Nightline?

[IdaBriggs]

Wasn't it BEAUTIFUL last night when Ted CRUSHED John "Smear Boat" O'Neill into the dirt? My favorite part was when Ted kept asking "Why would these Vietnamese peasants lie to back up the official Navy and John Kerry accounts of the incident?" and then O'Neill just sputtered and turned funny colors!

If you missed it, the report is here: http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Vote2004/story?id=166434&page=1

Here's some of it just to whet your appetite!

<snip>

Life along the Bay Hap River in southern Vietnam has changed very little in those years. The river is lined with small hamlets and isolated shacks reachable only by boat. They are surrounded by marshland, separated by winding canals, and concealed by thick walls of vegetation.

The canals lead to Tran Thoi village, the coordinates of which are publicly available in the U.S. military's after-action report on the 1969 battle. The Vietnamese government initially rejected Nightline's request to visit the village, saying it did not want to somehow influence the U.S. presidential election. Once Nightline explained that the intention was to simply find out what the Vietnamese people remember and think of what happened there, permission was granted.

On Feb. 28, 1969, a convoy of three American Swift boats came up the river under the command of Lt. John Kerry, arriving at the village of Tran Thoi. According to Kerry's medal citation, the boats "came under intense automatic weapons and small arms fire from an entrenched enemy force less than 50 feet away. Unhesitatingly, Lieutenant Kerry ordered his boat to attack."

<more>

I was mistaken about the transcript being at the above link in last night's thread. Anyone know where to find a copy of it -- especially where Ted is rolling his eyes and silently laughing at John?

[IdaBriggs]

1. Kick for Kerry! nt

[rndmprsn]

2. two bog woop woops for koppela and nightline!

the best piece of journalism in a long time....frontline this week was superb too.

[hippiechick]

3. kick

:hippie:

[realFedUp]

4. The show needs to re-air the next night much earlier...

like the Daily Show does.

[LynnTheDem]

5. NOT ME!!!

Did you ever read the interview Koppel did with neocon nut Woolsey??? Where Koppel said he UNDERSTOOD if the Iraq invasion was about just showing our strength, this was a PLAUSABLE REASON to invade a sovereign nation and KILL people???!!

How many people on this board "loved" tweety for the one time he grew some integrity???

Telling FACTS, regardless which side they benefit, is KOPPEL'S US CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE. He ain't doing us a FAVOR!

[Gabi Hayes]

16. you are CORRECT about that, as well as the fact that they waited

until the damage was LONG done to investigate

so WHAT if it took awhile to go to Vietnam and do what they did there?

they help PUBLICIZE at the beginning, when they should have HELD OFF until they had at least some idea of the provenance of both the GROUP itself, and the OBVIOUS LIES being told

ABC sucks, and sucks HARD

if Kerry loses, THIS will be the main reason, with the media going along hand and glove with the pugs in painting him as a flipper in second place

[giant_robot]

6. O'Neill came off as a real ass.

He certainly didn't help his case last night. I've got to give Ted high marks for sticking to the issue and not lettng O'Neill change the subject. I also liked his explantation of why he was bringing up the issue again. (Because of the new info gathered in Vietnam.)

[liberal N proud]

7. I have hated Nightline from its inception and Kopple is and ASS

[Fluffdaddy]

8. Night-Line and Ted are Fair an Balance. I watch 2 or 3 times a week

Great show last Nite Ted

[gauguin57]

9. Nightline was FABULOUS last night, because FINALLY someone

put O'Neill in his place. O'Neill just kept hammering away at the old, unproven shit, and saying the Vietnamese peasants can't be trusted because they're "in a closed society, in a closed society, in a closed society ..." (he sounded like a freaking ROBOT).

Anyway, Ted wasn't having ANY of it ... kept hammering at O'Neill -- "why can't you at least admit the possibility," Koppel said, that these peasants, who were THERE, who SAW the whole thing, who don't even know who John Kerry is, who have no reason to tell anything but the truth, might be telling the truth.

O'Neill kept holding up different books and yelling (refusing to listen to Ted's questions) till Ted finally said, "Please stop holding up books!!!" And O'Neill just wouldn't shut the fuck up long enough for Ted to ask him anything, so Ted finally just cut him off.

O'Neill made a total freaking ASS of himself on that show. The peasants said what they SAW -- THEY WERE THERE ... they saw a firefight with lots of Vietcong firing at the Americans. The one guy with a rocket launcher wasn't some pathetic teen, the peasants said -- he was a 26-year-old man, and was a really strong guy.

And there were weapons stored in the part of the village that was destroyed (though the destruction didn't get the weapons).

MEANWHILE, George Bush was goofing off, drinking his brains out and doing drugs, and pussing out on his Guard service.

[CatWoman]

12. "Mr. ONeill, put down the book, Sir".

"Please put down the book. No one can see what it says anyway."

LMAO!!!

[siliconefreak]

10. Absolutely

It was as good as the Jim and Tammy Faye episode of Nightline back in the 80s. O'Neill hanged himself.

[Supersedeas]

11. but but but but but...Rather ought to be fired for this

[BUSHOUT]

13. He's the real deal. Is the truth now getting picked up by media at all?nt

[sonias]

14. kick

For good reporting content.


Sonia

[mzmolly]

15. Is this story getting media attention today?

If not we need to get this out in soundbites. :hi: