Why is that pantload Russert beating the Swiftliar crap

[fishface]

all over again today??

[mattclearing]

1. Cause he's not a neutral party.

Russert likes to say that he is hard on everyone and is equally hated by the left and the right, but he tends to let the RW talking points dictate the terms of his debate.

[salin]

2. Maybe the announcement that one of the primary swifties

has declared an intention to move to Mass and run against Kerry in the Senate? (Just trying to think of anything that might fit with this timing.) Not watching the show - what is Timmy saying?

[fishface]

3. He dredged up the Cambodia garbage again

and releasing 'all' of Kerry's records to prove the Swiftliars wrong and it sounded like we were back in pre-election re-runs.

[rfkrfk]

36. What did Kerry say about Cambodia?

Does NBC post a transcript?

[Sparkly]

4. I'm not seeing it

Is it on NBC? Is it airing now?

[fishface]

5. Yeah on the east coast..Boston market area..nt

[Sparkly]

6. I'm on the east coast

I think local news may have pre-empted to tell us about our snowfall. :(

[noamnety]

12. It's on at 10:30 in MI

All different times, depending on where you are, for some reason.

After I watch it, I suspect Russert will get his first piece of hate mail from me.

[rox63]

16. I'm in the Boston area

And it's not on channel 7 (local NBC affiliate) until 10:30 AM.

[rox63]

23. Preempted for NE Patriots rally

Damn! Meet the Press was preempted for live coverage of a rally for the New England Patriots. I'm all for supporting the home team. But I also want my Kerry interview. :(

[LittleClarkie]

22. It will replay tonight on MSNBC if you have cable

I think that was 10:30 pm and 1:30 am, but don't quote me. Go have a look at their schedule.

[still_one]

7. why are we still watching the repug propagada machine?

[elizm]

8. It was disgusting...

Did you notice how Kerry missed the opportunity on the 'poll' question?

[MelissaB]

9. Yep!

[MichiganVote]

10. I turned it off, useless and of no real importance anymore

[LittleClarkie]

15. I woke up and turned it on at 8:30 am and missed that crap

Good. I got the family values thing and how do you feel about Howard Dean. Damn I thought Kerry sounded good. He was talking about how we didn't need a spokesperson so much as we need someone to help moderize the Party. He thought Dean would be a good man for that job.

As for family values, he dragged the talk away from abortion to a discussion of how they've gone up under Bush and went down under Clinton. He said he was wrong on Scalia back in 1988 and would vote against him now. He dragged Tim into a talk about how many children are not insured and that this fact mocks the Republican's insistence on family values. They talk alot but don't do anything. He talked about the national debt being more of a crisis that the phony Social Security one. Social Security will be fine for many years, and that there are simple things to be done that wouldn't include privatizing.

He talked about irresponsible taxs cuts being rolled back. Tim called it raising taxes. Kerry said you can call it anything you like, but it's irresponsible and he showed a headline saying that the rest of the world doesn't want to deal with this irresponsible president and his debt. (that last bit was a loose paraphrase, didn't quite get it.)

I would disagree that this has no value or importance if Kerry is going to remain a leader in the party and fight for the things we need him to fight for (and against -- like Condi).

I will rewatch this tonight, but I'm glad I missed the smear stuff. I got the good, important bits instead. I probably wouldn't have taken notice of the second half if the first half had pissed me off.

[MichiganVote]

I meant the smear stuff has no real importance

I am tired of the media prima donna stuff Russert puts out. When I saw that topic come up I said enoughs, enough.

[LittleClarkie]

18. Oops, sorry. I agree. No importance.

Thank heavens I goofed up the time. I thought MTP didn't come on until 8:30. I missed the crap and was able to hang in for the good stuff at the end. Kerry must have been sick of the crap too, as he dragged the conversation to where he wanted to go, which was health care.

I wonder if Russert was actively trying to stay away from that kind of stuff and talk about inconsequential crap.

[deminks]

11. It was very suspect.

I have to wonder about any newsmedia who bring this subject up. Who keeps this Swiftboat stuff in the news? Why does Timmy keep this junk in the news? Who is supporting Timmy to do this? There is so much going on about what Kerry is doing since the election, Timmy won't go into that, oh no. We have to drudge up all this other horse manure. :grr:

[FULL_METAL_HAT]

13. Russert is a RW attack dog :( Kerry's military record but NOT **'s ??

(this is from another MTP thread going on here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=310012 )

The sad news is Russert has his talking points from on high.

This shows he's no longer a journalist seeking truth.

Talking about the Swift Boat Liars, he just asked Kerry three times "will you sign <the document release> form?" As if it matters to ANYONE except the SORE WINNERS.

And Kerry just taking it and almost whiningly defending his military record and never nailing ** makes me feel that he's complicit with this BS. All he'd have to say is "this is rediculous when **'s record is still cloaked in REAL secrecy".

Okay commercial over, here's his chance to stand up!

[OneTwentyoNine]

14. Keeps him from discussing REAL issues,WAR,Healthcare,kids etc...

Forget that crap,eh Timmy...just keep pounding the Swift Boat Liars drum for them. What payroll are you really on Tim??

[LittleClarkie]

17. By 8:30 am when I got up, Kerry had dragged the convo into health care

I liked the way he did that. He took a discussion of family values, and started talking how 11 million kids with no health care is not showing family values. When he brought up abortion, Kerry got in that it went up under Bush and down under Clinton. Good, turn it back on the guy. I thought Kerry sounded pretty darned good. He didn't bore me the way he could sometimes during the campaign. He must still be fired up, or he's figured out how to get rid of senate speak.

[OneTwentyoNine]

19. Glad to hear that...Maybe Dems are FINALLY growing a spine...

They've got to get on the Boxer bandwagon and start firing back,and firing back HARD. This pussy-footing,hand wringing crap hoping we don't look "to confrontal" just doesn't work today. Its time to REALLY get tough,talk LOUDER than they do and get with it.

[LittleClarkie]

21. I don't think it was a Boxer bandwagon, it looks too organized

I thing they have an overall game plan. The Dems are acting as a group it looks to me, and that would have taken some planning. I like it. I like the new minority leader, he's a bulldog. I like Boxer, Kerry and anyone talking tougher right now.

I was glad to hear him say he thought Dean would be good for the party for modernizing it.

[soleft]

20. Maybe it's to headoff buyer's remorse

Hey people - you elected a guy who's completely fucked up the world, further proven to day by events in Iraq, but aren't you glad you didn't vote for Kerry

[Darkhawk32]

24. Because they fear Kerry in 2008...

Face it, right now John Kerry is still the face of Democratic Presidential candidates.

[Vinnie From Indy]

25. Kerry has PROVEN to me he has no idea when to fight!

Watching him today finally drove it home that he has no idea of when to fight back. Russert is beating him like a rented mule and he just sits there and takes it like a scared child.

[blm]

27. Horseshit. Kerry is sounding like a REAL leader and statesman.

He is showing that his policies are better and his diplomatic skills with other world leaders are FAR superior to any Bush has demonstrated.

You wanted him to show up with a stick of a dynamite and a ransom letter?

[John_H]

31. True but he had a great opportunity to help himself and his party

by calling russert on his bias on air, and he didn't take it. He probnably thinks that to do so would risk sounding unstatesmanlike, and he may have torn Timmy a new one during the break for all we know, but a major piece in the victory puzzle is shutting down the TV talkshow arm of the GOP propaganda machine. And the way to do it is to call them on their whoring right where their audiences can see.

One major difference between Kerry and people like Clark is that Clark knows that if you go after a whore right on their show, they will back down immediately.

Russer would have moved along when it became clear the SBL issue was going to cost him, not Kerry.

[ginnyinWI]

29. Russert asked good questions

And I thought John Kerry was very smart. Should make some regret their vote for *.

[DearAbby]

45. Do you recall during the campaign, When Kerry had this much time on MSM

There was hardly any Media coverage of his campaign.

[susu369]

26. Question: where was Timmy during Viet Nam?

Did HE ever serve in the military?

I know he writes about his father's service (WWII) in his book. I can't read that or listen to MTP.

[NYCGirl]

28. With all due respect, what does that have to do with an interview?

Russert's interviewing him, not debating him.

[susu369]

32. Your point is fair - I was just curious

Simply: the information would help define Russert for me.

[NYCGirl]

30. I must preface this by saying that I haven't seen the interview, but

perhaps he's bringing it up because if Kerry decides to run again, the Swiftboat guys will most surely be around again. They've had a taste of money and gotten their ugly mugs on the tube, and they won't go away that easily.

Perhaps this would be a good time for Kerry to put them away for good.

[noamnety]

33. I just saw it

Overall, it was good, Kerry did great.

However, it was more than discussing it as a historical issue - he was holding up their book - which is generally considered a promo, and playing their commercials.

[NYCGirl]

34. And I hope it gave Kerry a good opening to slap the Swifties around. NT

[Sparkly]

35. Watching now

:puke:

Of all the things Russert could discuss with him!!

[Sparkly]

37. It sounds like Russert's just carping and griping at Kerry

And then you did this wrong... And your party was terrible with this problem... And where's that money, where's your form 180, let me hold up this Swiftliar book, so let's talk about some more things you did wrong...

I think Kerry's handling it just fine. And he spoke very highly of Howard Dean.

More after the break -- can't wait to see what else Timmy throws at him.

[JNelson6563]

38. Cause he knows

the results it will yield.

[Jawja]

39. Because he's on the

payroll, perhaps??

[thethinker]

40. This interview was terrible

I am writing Russert a letter to complain. Instead of interviewing Kerry, he just brought up republican talking points from the election.

It is obvious to me that we have a lot of "journalists" on the payroll of the republicans. That would be the only reason he would hold up the book of the Swift Boaters and try to promote it.

[Donna Zen]

41. Two to begin with:

Reason #1: Russert is a close friend of Rummy's

Reason #2: Russert works for the largest or one of the largest military contractors in the world...maybe the universe. Oil companies have at least 25% investment in all of the major networks except the one that employs Dan Rather.

Kerry did fine although I could certainly nit pick. His message is still defused and he tends to begin sentences and then loses interest in their completion. The Dems are staying on message re: choice with the new emphasis on rare-adoption-education/prevention. I would like to see them take up Frenchie's suggestion of the framing of "don't want." Personally, I find the tactic of "I don't want the government in my bedroom or in my medical decisions" very effective. I mean, who can argue with it?

What surprised me was the baggage that Kerry has about Social Security. I believe he is on board...that is not the issue, nevertheless, the history a long-term senator carries is a double-edged sword.

To me...and I'm not looking for agreement or a flame war, Kerry came across with more clarity than he sometimes displayed when interviewed during the campaign season; nevertheless, I would like to hear a "clear" answer prior to the rationale for the answer. An example would be the question posed about abortion where the listener had to wait until the final sentences to learn that Kerry supports R v W. Think of it as organizing an essay. Does one present the thesis first or last? How can one prove or rationalize something that has yet to be stated?

Again_I watched the interview, and IMHO, Kerry did fine and Russert is not your friend, my friend, or a friend of any progressive movement. Money talks and Russert gets the message.

[FrenchieCat]

42. I agree Donna Z about Framing the "Don't wants"....

If Kerry would have done this in the interview, Tim Russert would have been forced to counter with "well, what do you want?"...which would have allowed John Kerry to put out the Dem agenda and allowed those Bush voters to get an earful....

Here is the thread referring to the "Frenchie" suggestion that you referred to in #2-- Just in case some missed it.

It really is about the approach, isn't it?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1541552

[Donna Zen]

43. I love that post

...and referenced it over at CCN this morning. Imagine if when Russert started nagging about the pro-choice position, Kerry had shot back with: I don't want the government in people's bedrooms; do you? (followed by) We believe that there is an alternative: 1-2-3. No one wants to have an abortion.

Also, about the elections: I am amazed that not one of the Dems. have pointed out that the elections are great, that Saddam-long-gone is great, and that there are many ways we could have helped the Iraqi people achieve this without a war; just as we achieved great things during the Cold War without invading another country. (see Broken Promises~Wes Clark the only exception to the rule.)

We are on the right side of these issues. So do we have alternative solutions or not? Put up a well-framed coherent message and America's ears will prick up. Give a clear straight answer, give the rationale, and then restate the answer in broader terms.

ggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

[Lostnote03]

44. "great Job Guys"....here's a lil more airtime...T.Russert<sarcasm alert>