WOW -- Matt Lauer Unleashed!!

[Leopolds Ghost]

Was Katie Couric's departure a factor in this?

Did anyone else see the Matt Lauer interview that was aired (or re-aired) on the Today Show yesterday morning?

I swear to god, I was getting sick of hearing people talk about how pitiful Bush looked (too much wishful thinking) until I saw this particular interview.

MY GOD, the man was totally out of his depth -- and the cameraman deliberately chose a Peter Jackson approach, delivering all of Bush's lines in "over the shoulder" extreme closeups with Bush looking off to one side at Matt Laurer, making Bush look like a fool due to the pronounced magnification of Bush's facial tics, just the way you'd shoot a bad guy when the hero finally pins him to the floor in a Bruce Willis movie. (all of Matt's shots were two-shots or Matt facing the camera over Bush's shoulder; all of Bush's shots were done with a different cameraman who, I must say, DELIBERATELY zoomed in on the side of Bush's face, making him look "two faced".)

But that wouldn't have mattered if he didn't appear completely nonplussed. The saddest part about it was that Matt Lauer's questions -- about whether the CIA tortured Khalid Sheik Mohammed -- weren't that hard to answer. If Bush weren't so wrapped up in his own little world he could have simply said, "things were done, this was an extraordinary circumstance, I oppose torture" and he would have saved face. Instead, he acted as if he was caught cutting class by Principal Lauer and was surprised to learn that he could actually be confronteed on such issues. The man is even more sheltered from reality and out-of-it than his father.

[Berry Cool]

1. Many of us saw this on Olbermann, yes.

And were pleasantly surprised by the way Matt got up in his grill and made him visibly uncomfortable, nervous and, most of all, DEFENSIVE.

It's about damn time!

[Leopolds Ghost]

3. I'm a radical populist, but... The leader of the free world should not

be so unable to "mix it up" with people, that he completely breaks down whenever someone gets in his face.

I have a "co-worker" (sort of) who is completely neurotic who freaks out like that and breaks into a cold sweat when people talk too loud. He would be the first to admit nobody would elect him to office, though.

[elehhhhna]

62. Katie was there, too! Didn't y'all see the top of her head, at the very

bottom of the screen, bobbing up and down in the vicinity of the Presidential package?

SOME people swear they saw it.

[mmonk]

2. It was great. Saw it on KO's Countdown.

We need more of the real journalism displayed there.

[Leopolds Ghost]

4. So this was a new interview -- was there a thread on this?

I probably should have looked yesterday, but I was watching the commemoration ceremony on TV.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

14. Here's the link...click on georgie's mug.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633/?ta=y

MKJ

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

33. Lead video's been changed. You can still access the video

by clicking here. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633/?ta=y

and going down the page to "Today Show Video and look for "Matt Lauer interviews Bush about 9/11" Enjoy! MKJ

[October]

64. I tried, but it said "Sorry, not available..."

Did they pull it?

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

90. It appears it's getting buried. Now, you have to hit "this week's video"

and then get it from there.

It's almost not worth it, except, there's a lot of "crazy gwb" material in there besides what we're talking about.

Anyway, I guess we can access it from this spot until the end of the week. MKJ

[Leopolds Ghost]

6. It wasn't just real journalism... it was deliberate camera work

Cameramen only use that shot for hostile witness type conversations.

Usually, the "hero" or investigative reporter is looking slightly to the left, at camera, in a frontal shot.

Then you cut to a two-shot of both parties standing side by side.

The purpose of the two shot is usually to establish the size of the antagonist. I.e. cut him down to size.

Either the hero is taller than the villain, or, conversely, that the scrappy interviewer is much shorter than the meat-headed antagonist.

In the two-shot, the protagonist is usually to the right, the antagonist is to the left.

We're already conditioned to support the person asking the questions if he's looking generally in the direction of camera when he speaks. (not right at camera, though, unless he's adressing the audience.)

Then you jump cut to an extreme close-up of the hostile witness / antagonist in a 2/3 profile, looking nervously to his right (at the interviewer). It makes the viewer uncomfortable and instinctively side with the protagonist.

If it is a friendly interview, the two-shot will be a chummy, over-the-shoulder affair with both parties looking in the general direction of the camera, or else the two will be seated facing each other.

If a witness or interviewee is looking off to the left, you're more likely to side with him because it places you on the right-hand side of the interviewer. Bush is looking off to his right, and worse, he's looking up.

If Matt's taller than him, Bush would have been smart to focus on his lapel or something. Wait a minute, smart? What am I saying?

Classic camera technique. I wonder who decided in ADVANCE to play it as a hostile interview, given the nature of the occasion?

Clearly, with Couric's departure, someone was getting fed up with Bush.

[Olney Blue]

12. Interesting! Thanks.

[ccpup]

16. What's fascinating, of course,

is that the White House usually has a very firm hand on stuff like this, not releasing it until it's been "approved" by bush's handlers. I wonder how the obvious play on camera angles (not to mention the line of questioning!) got past the WH?! Looks like their grip is slipping over there. And poor little defensive, angry, out-of-his-element-and-he-knows-it-but-he's-still-better-than-you-even-if-you-are-smarter-than-him Bush is the Public Face that's hung out to dry.

Popcorn anyone? :popcorn:

[Felinity]

19. No K&R's? Here's one.

I missed yesterday's thread, but this is a big topic. Bush looked like he was drunk and stoned. Red-faced, eyes glazed, quick to get defensive and counter-attack. Deer in the headlights; I wish his wheels had come off on camera.

Did you see those hand gestures? Very aggressive, first with the finger pointing (very rude) and then with the open palm.

However, I did not find the standing up interview to be appropriate. It looked unnatural and weird to me. If they really did orchestrate it to make Bush look bad though, I suppose the end justifies the means. At least that is what Rove would say if the tables were turned (which they usually are).

[Leopolds Ghost]

22. Yeah, as someone mentioned they used the classic "two-faced" camera shot.

You never shoot someone from the left-hand 30 degree angle
(Also known as a 2/3 profile) unless you're trying to unsettle the audience. It's very unflattering to Bush, and the subject (Bush) is looking the "wrong" direction.

As I rememmber (I saw this on TV and it was very noticeable, so much so I thought it might have been a rerun of a "classic" interview where Bush punched Lauer, or something) the camera was below Bush, and Bush was looking up at Lauer. Even worse.

If you're looking up at Bush, that says "this is a powerful person". Except he's in 2/3 profile, which says "this is the hidden side of Bush", because you so rarely see someone in 2/3 profile that it's off-putting. And he's looking off to the right which means you're supposed to identify with the person on your right (Lauer) and not with Bush, or he'd be looking to his left. Of course this is all just camera tricks but it's based on real psychology.

And if I recall, he's looking UP at Lauer which says "Lauer is putting Bush in his place, even though he's a powerful person." All before Bush even opens his mouth. These camera tricks are used so often to make powerful people look good that it's noticeable when someone turns the tables in a white house interview. One of the reasons the Media lost respect for LBJ and Nixon and ultimately made them both look like fools to the public is because they didn't know how to appear before cameras. Bush is not a tall man, you'd at least expect them to train him to look at people's lapel, instead of looking up at everyone all the time like Danny DeVito.

[Cha]

27. Thanks for making it

Harder out There for the chimp!

[elehhhhna]

65. "It's hard out there for a Chimp" -- didn't that song win a Grammy?

[Cha]

77. I know it won the best

song for Academy Award! :rofl: Three 6 Mafia..http://www.oscar.com/nominees/bestsongnominee2.html

[Justitia]

30. The psychological aspects are so intriguing. Now, I'll be scrutinizing

camera angles in every interesting interview.

Fascinating information. I must say, the techniques are very effective!

Where do cameramen learn this?
And do they need permission to employ their techniques or do they call their own shots, so to speak?

[Leopolds Ghost]

40. I learn this stuff from reading about/watching cinematography commentaries

The sort of techniques very important when filming dialogue. Some movie including documentary stuff has a DVD edition with commentary by the director or cinemaographer that can often prove to be interesting.

For instance, I learned there's an "iron clad rule" of camera work for 100 years that you do not "cross the line" meaning the eye line. If one person is looking to the right while saying something, the person he is talking to must be filmed looking the other way while responding.

Another rule is that if there are multiple people in the room, you have to include reaction shots or the audience loses track of who the first speaker is talking to.

As we saw with the Bush/Kerry debates and how it was filmed on the various networks, reaction shots can be manipulated to make the respondent look good or bad.

My hunch is that if you're filming the reaction shot while the first person is still speaking off-camera, it makes the respondent look passive. We saw that with Bush fidgeting during the debates.

Another trick you notice is, you do a quick cut to a reaction shot and then back to the interviewer before the respondent has a chance to respond, it serves to emphasize whatever it is the interviewer is saying.

If you stay on the respondent until he starts speaking, or cut to the respondent right when he opens his mouth, say, to interrupt the interviewer, it serves to emphasize his reply. You are being forced to give him your undivided attention so it is no longer considered an interruption -- sort of like when a charismatic speaker dominates a discussion.

It's very educational to learn why people instinctively respond to what they see on a TV screen or movie screen. For instance, one of the reasons Citizen Kane is considered one of the best film ever made is because of pioneering camra work, like a "worm's eye view" shot of the protagonist; it was also unusual because it was a critical portrayal of one of the most powerful media moguls in America at the time. What's scary is looking at how TV has changed in the "MTV era" and become more and more programmed to elicit the intended reaction from viewers.

I don't know who literally "calls the shots" in this situation. :-)

[tinfoilinfor2005]

43. Height:

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey
Name: Matt Lauer
Birthday: 12-30-1957
Birthplace: New York City
Current Location: same :)
Eye Color: brown
Hair Color: dark brown... (but it's turning grey!)
Height: 5' 11"

If junior is 6 foot, as he claims, he wouldn't be looking up to Matt. I think * is probably more like five-seven, or eight at best.

[Leopolds Ghost]

49. Maybe Bush was looking up into space

He has a tendency to do that. It makes him look short (and inattentive), of course.

Notice how smart leaders are always looking down at the audience's feet, when not addressing the camera, so they look both tall and pensive at the same time. And the pictures of LBJ in the other thread clearly show the value of not allowing a taller person to draw your gaze upwards by moving in close to you; LBJ is harassing some reporters and they merely look respectfully straight ahead at his lapel. :-)

[Straight Shooter]

81. LOL. The camera kept adjusting bush's podium in the debates w/Kerry.

At least on the first night, I remember everyone laughing in the room because bush looked so short next to Kerry, even on the podium, and the camera kept adjusting him upward so there would be more podium and less bush in the picture, creating the odd effect that bush was equal height to Kerry.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, the camera jerked his image upward a little at a time and it was very noticeable.

The lesson here, folks, is that bush just doesn't measure up. ;)

Fascinating commentary, Leopold's Ghost. I am always intrigued by the manipulation of perception on a subconscious level, especially when used on mass audiences.

Watching the interview with Matt was astoundingly uncomfortable for me. It wasn't just bush's body language, and now I know why.

[elehhhhna]

66. I was JUST going to look that up! Thanx TF!

I'm a 6'1" female and I can guarantee that 95% of the famous men I've ever met (The Bears Superbowl team, many of the Bulls, James Baker III,and others) with the exception of Warren Beatty (don't even ask --he's super arrogant) LIE about their height.

How do I know? After meeting them I'd look up their stats & LMAO.

[girl gone mad]

82. famous women do it, too.

Most actresses give themselves a couple of extra inches.

Some claim to be shorter in order to get parts, since most actors are actually on the short side.

[exlrrp]

48. Thanks for this

great observations

[Cha]

26. There's a KNR from me down

thread..I want this to get on the front page! Thanks!

[immoderate]

47. The deer know it. (A classic TOON)

--IMM

[Extend a Hand]

97. I hadn't seen that

:toast: :rofl: :rofl:
best.cartoon.ever

[Moochy]

91. Provoking the Opposition

I think it was Chris Matthews today or one of his guests who suggested that maybe the recent series of public events are meant to stir up the base, and publicly provoke the opposition. (my paraphrasing)

[Cha]

25. Then I imagine rove

would like to metaphorically shoot the cameraman. Something happened that was out of his control.

[WinkyDink]

70. "metaphorically"?! Guess again!

[Cha]

78. Not so

metaphorically? :)

[Justitia]

29. Fascinating stuff! I'll be paying much closer attn to camera work, thanks

[Joe Chi Minh]

86. TV cameramen in the UK are masters at that sort of thing.

I remember one showing close-up shots of a police sergeant's hands just hanging by his sides normally, but clenching into fists, closing again, and then clenching again, etc, while he was being questioned by a journalist. Absolutely hilarious! Particularly when he realised it, and his face darkened and glowered.

[CornField]

39. For me, it wasn't just the camera. It was also the audio

Especially in the beginning of the interview, the audio was set so sensitive that every wheezy breath Bush took could be heard -- the effect of him panting.

[Stardust]

99. I am.

[bunny planet]

5. Yeah, the camera angles really did intensify *'s insanity for the audience

Kind of reminded me of the schizoid scene with Gollum in the Lord of the Rings. Two-faced.

[bklyncowgirl]

7. Who is spiking the NBC office coffee ?

First Brian Williams sends the Chimp into an imitation of an outraged cracker with a fourth grade education when he mention's Bush's patrician origins--and then asks him what he thought of the "backstory" in Camus' "The Stranger" enabling the leader of the free world to let us all know that he has ecaclectic reading habits.

Then Tim Russert actually manages to take his lips away from Dick Cheney's posterior long enough to ask him a few fairly tough questions--not much but it's a step forward from his usual starstruck fan mode.

Now Matt Lauer actually gets in Bush's face and pushes the buttons that send him into broken record mode--how many times did Bush say "I'm trying to save your family."

Did GE lose some big military contract?

Has David Gregory been seen hanging around the coffee pot with a teeny little bag of testosterone?

Or has someone let Keith Olbermann hang around the office and slip in a little bit of what he's been drinking lately here and there when nobody's looking.

Inquiring minds want to know.

[Leopolds Ghost]

8. If Bush were Smart, he would go on Dr. Phil and admit he's an ecalectic.

Wait, what am I saying? ;-)

[WinkyDink]

9. A test. A test to find out if indeed there are more people fed up with

Bushco, Iraq, Katrina. etc. ad nauseam, then there are morans who will watch ABC as pro-Bush. A test to see if KO has found the mother lode of discontent.

IOW, it's all about the ratings.

And that's okay by me, if network competition results in the Grilling of Bushco.

[Cha]

28. Youse guys are

cracking me up~! :D

[Vinca]

10. I couldn't believe Matt Lauer. If that's what happens when

Katie leaves, she should have left long ago. I loved the question about how do you know if, because of what we do, we're becoming like those we're fighting. It took Shrub a couple of seconds to figure out the question, but I thought he might blow up and explode when he did.

[donco6]

88. It should have made his head explode.

It's an utterly logical question. Bush's synapses being incapable of logic, should have overloaded and caused a cerebral infarction. He must not have truly understood the question.

[dipsydoodle]

11. The video link is here

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2112542

[mom cat]

50. Thanks for the link. Rate it up folks.

[file83]

52. Thanks for posting the VIDEO link to the Matt Lauer / Bush interview!!

After watching - Bush almost seems to be threatening Matt by repeatedly using the phrase - "I'm trying to protect YOU and you're FAMILY." He says it like 4 times - he then goes on to clarify that by "family" he means Matt and the American people he represents. Yeah, sure Bush, Matt got the message.

WTF was that all about?

[dipsydoodle]

57. "almost seems to be threatening "

He is threatening - watch him keep poking with his finger each time he starts to lose it.

[file83]

60. You are right

:thumbsup:

[elehhhhna]

67. I see a fan letter from the WH in Matt's future:

[dipsydoodle]

71. Go here

http://www.thedossier.ukonline.co.uk/video_cover-ups.htm and then scroll down to the one labelled Conspiracy ? Anthrax Attacks - History Channel. There's lots of other ones on there as well you'd probably enjoy watching when you have the time. Then click on Video in the top lefthand menu to find all the different sections - leave that until you've got about a week to spare !

Was that letter an original or did you write it ? :)

[elehhhhna]

79. C&P's from FBI website. Original. See my goofed up inaccurate ex-greatest

page thread on Anthrax attacks,here:http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2115810&mesg_id=2115810

[Olney Blue]

13. He was tough in the recent Ann Coulter interview too.

Who knew he had it in him?

[Jawja]

15. Lauer's interview was great,

but I wish just ONCE, that someone would respond to that creep when he says, "My job is to perteck the 'Murican peeple..", that NO HIS JOB IS TO PROTECT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE U.S., which he has not done!!

Just once, would I like for someone to set that little basturd straight.

I noticed how he tired to SCARE Lauer with Lauer's own family. In that short interview, an exclamation point was put on tbe Creep's justification for his war crimes foreign policy: "I GOT TO PERTECT YOU AND YER FAMILY!!"

What utter and complete bullshit.

[NewJeffCT]

17. Is the interview online at all?

I'd love to see it.

[NJCher]

24. Is the interview online at all?

see BleedingHeartLiberal's post 14 above.

There are two back-to-back interviews plus bush's address from last night. My Mozilla wouldn't play it without work on the extensions but IE did.

I see where bush was poking at Matt with his finger. He was very in-his-face about "protecting" him and his family. What an ass. What a total and complete ass.

The other body language was condescending, where he would touch Matt's arm. He also would spread his fingers and gesture downward. That's a control gesture.

What the loud language was all about was bush is a bot and he slipped into "pertek yer family" speech mode. He forgot it was an interpersonal communication session in an interview. Remember, the boy doesn't have too much upstairs.

At least Matt didn't let the body language intimidate him. In fact, I have to hand it to him--he ignored it and didn't let it get in the way of the interview. Not easy to do.




Cher

[Leopolds Ghost]

42. What is it with him and touching people on the head & shoulders?

Very paternalistic.

[elehhhhna]

68. LOL thank God Matt's hair grew out from that baldysour buzzcut, eh?

[quiet.american]

38. Link --

http://movies.crooksandliars.com/Today-Lauer-Bush.mov

[NewJeffCT]

87. thanks

not a bad job by Lauer.

[underpants]

18. We don't do it, we've never done it, and we are going to stop doing it

The Tonight Show

Leno: In more serious news, President Bush's new position on torture is: We don't do it, we've never done it, and we're going to stop doing it.



http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/Funnies/story?id=2414633

:rofl:

I heard that on Sunday and it is just too funny to pass up.

[90-percent]

21. KO

So glad I taped it Monday night. It's historical and history may look back on it as the turning point when this evil house of cards finally faced a hurricane of angry and informed Americans.

Nice to see Lauer and the other NBC journo's doing their job. They must all be financially secure with the ability to retire tomorrow, if need be. And they probably don't use small private planes.

Funny that the military-industrial-congressional complex would allow them to speak thusly. Exposing GWB as a treasonous lying war criminal must now somehow serve the m-i-c complex in some way, huh?

-85% Jimmy

[Benhurst]

20. Maybe after watching Katie humiliate herself at CBS Evening News,

Matt has decided he's going to stop winging it as an aging pretty boy and try a little journalism for a change.

If so, it's a smart career move on his part.

[Cha]

23. KNR! What a great descriptive

scene you set up, LG..for those who didn't see it and for those who did!

I, for one, would much rather read your memory of it than actually having to look at the squatting squaderer.

Shocked that it was mat lauer who did the interview as described but am open for "wonders never ceasing".

[Leopolds Ghost]

46. I was just channel surfing but... they were standing so close

It looked like a dramatization of a tense scene from a Matt Lauer Hallmark Holiday Drama or something. Some kind of intervention.

Hell, the nervous way Bush was acting, pushing off of Matt and backing into his own office, I thought I was watching the oval ofice version of Scrooged, with Matt as one of the Three Ghosts.

Hmm, a remake of Scrooged set in the White House

Ghost 1: Nixon in chains. "I'm tellin' ya, George, don't make the mistakes I did. They don't have golf down here"

Ghost 2: Matt Lauer "Sure, you're a tough guy. But when you see what happened to them folks in Katrina... Niagara Falls, Georgie! Niagara Falls!"

Ghost 3: Katie Couric, the Ghost of Christmas Present
"Greetings, Mr. PRES (kicks Bush in crotch) ident! Wheeeeee!!!"

Ghost 4: Dick Cheney (silent)

BUSH: "You're not real. You're a hallucination brought on by Russian vodka poisoned by Chernobyl!"

[elehhhhna]

69. Leo stop! You're killing me!

PS I loved your book. lol

[Cha]

76. :)

Hysterical! cheney just had his teeth freshly sharpened razor fine and couldn't risk opening his mouth.

"They don't have golf down there." :rofl:

[dogday]

31. I expected Bush to put his finger right into Lauer's shoulder

he looked like he was going to shove him... I swear he was going to shove him with that finger he was pointing at Lauer the whole interview....

Bush is such a Liar, now he is a lunatic liar...

[lonestarnot]

32. Damn! I missed that one.

Is it up anywhere?

[Tellurian]

34. Did you notice when..

Lauer mentioned the torture of Khalid Sheik Mohammed -- Bush remarked, "I'm not going to discuss it." Lauer came right back at him again with the "water-boarding" rumors. Bush was taken off guard, in fact he did a quick double take, amazed, Lauer was privy to the details enough to even have a discussion with him...

Good on ya, Matt-
TG, you've gotten rid of that gummy, huggy, albatross, whats her name!

[trekbiker]

96. Lauer even got in a detailed description of "waterboarding"

during the interview. I was shocked and amazed to actually see a reporter doing follow up questions and pressing a point home. Very refreshing. I'm starting to think that maybe KO is shaming his fellow journalists into a little professional responsibility. They have to be just a little bit jealous of KO. These people arent stupid and they can see what KO is doing, standing up to power and basically creating his own place in journalism history. Not just whoring and taking the money and run like most of the MSM.

[snappyturtle]

35. Who would have guessed that all this camera stuff

is going on in an interview? Dah...not me. Thanks for the lesson! Unfortunately, I usually can't visually pay attention to shrub....just hearing him speak is bad enough. Maybe now I'll actually watch! K&R

[garthranzz]

36. I took an anti-nausea pill and watched

Before reading about camera angles - very interesting and useful information - I saw why Bush has mezmerized the masses. I don't have a TV and only see clips from here or C&L. Shrub comes across confident, in-charge, approachable, knowledgeable - much better than in the debates with Kerry, in fact, when he seemed completely out of his element. BUT then he began repeating himself - and repeating himself - and repeating himself. As a teacher, I know that's a sign of a) a liar b) someone who is trying to fake me out c) someone trying to overpower (win points) by domination rather than reason, by emotional wind (charm/personality/bs) rather than moral force or "clarity." I had to stop watching at the end because Shrub kept repeating a mantra (I'm protecting) as if that itself was a reason or supporting evidence. Bad logic. And avoids the question. Most people, unless they've been trained in critical thinking, will miss this - the slip of the facade that reveals there is no substance behind the mask, no real argument (claim, reason, evidence) only assumption (primal belief or the con artist equivalent thereof.)

My anti-nausea pill wore off.

[Leopolds Ghost]

56. People talk all the time about how "shallow" this or that Repub

But Bush comes off as genuinely shallow and empty-headed whenever someone attempts to engage him in debate. It becomes obvious he relies on other people to form his opinions.

It's too bad the media tries to frame it as "homespun and not some hoity toity debate club dork like Kerry" as opposed to "he can't debate Kerry or anyone else because he's so full of shit his eyes are brown" which is an equally homespun way of putting it.

[WinkyDink]

72. Because he doesn't care about any of it, NONE, nothing about America,

except for his money.

And sending people to kill others and then die. THAT, he likes.

[quiet.american]

37. Bush comes off looking like Capone cornered by Ness

Matt's totally not buying Bush's simplistic, repeated platitudes -- go, Matt!

[GoldenOldie]

41. Bush's poking his finger at Lauer brought images to my mind

Comeon Matt, pull my finger, while he let go with one of his infamous farts to amuse himself.

[quiet.american]

44. :)

Yes, the way he was poking at Matt, and sniping "So what," made me think of a Law & Order episode where they bring the perp downtown for a little chat.

[Leopolds Ghost]

54. Law & Order

Det. Fontana:

"Are you QUESTIONING my authority as detective, Mr. PRES-I-DENT?

You see, I have a couple friends on RIKERS ISLAND who'd like to introduce you to the concept of how secret prisons are run...

Det. Green:

"Oh, HELL no! You are under arrest, boy. Don't try that New Orleans stuff here... this is New York City!"

Det. Fontana: "You have the right to remain silent Mr. PRESIDENT...
any other rights you like to be educated about? Take him away, boys!
Put him someplace dark and deep until his trial date."

Det. Briscoe: (turns to camera as Bush is led away)

"So much for killin' 'em over there. Looks like our perp decided to make a killin' over here."

Sgt. Whats-her-name: "(sigh) I just hope we have the goods on him this time"

DUM -- DUM!!!

[quiet.american]

59. Now there's an episode I wouldn't mind seeing. :) n/t

[WinkyDink]

73. Lenny WAS The Man. Now Keef IS The Man!

[elehhhhna]

80. NOOOOOOOOOO. At least Capone had manners in public.

[Marr]

45. Bush on secret prisons: "So what? Why is that not within the law?"

And then goes straight back into 'they're trying to KILL your kids so you better stop asking questions'. God, I can't stand these fascists.

[AlCzervik]

51. he looked like he was gonna start flinging poo.

[Nightjock]

53. That son of a bitch is so transparent!!!

I wanted to jump through my pc screen and yell to Matt POKE HIM BACK!

His house of cards is falling and he knows it.

[file83]

55. The problem with Bush is that he is so defensive instead of reassuring.

He never uses words like "I can understand that concern - and I understand the perception many people have of what it is they think we are doing as being illegal or torture, but...."

No, he just speaks to us disconnectedly, condescendingly. Who's going to believe someone with that attitude?

Then at the end he says something that was never up for question, "This (terrorist plotting) isn't make believe...". Oh really? Thanks for defending against an accusation that was never in question - now we know it's make believe.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

58. Great catch on the "make believe" remark! n/t

MKJ

[BootinUp]

75. This is what amazes me.

How his worshippers are too blind to see his demeanor and understand it. Instead they feel sorry for him like he is being beat up, this allows them to ignore the facts.

[NotGivingUp]

84. He's always had that attitude. I could never understand how anyone

could listen to him and not see it...or don't they mind being spoken to like that or having other people spoken to like that?

[file83]

85. I describe Bush like this: He thinks his problem is his poor communication

skills, but what he doesn't realize is that the real reason he's frustrated is because he's WRONG and he is DUMB. Add to that his poor communication skills, and you get Bush.

[elehhhhna]

61. BEST BUSH MOMENT: BIG SMILE as he says "THEY WANT TO KILL YOUR FAMILY!"

[donco6]

89. That "teeth-spread" smile makes me barf.

It's not really a smile - I don't even know if there is a word for what he does with his teeth. Baring? Grimacing? He's so trying to look earnest and truthful, but he's so obviously lying. Just the contradiction of it all makes me ralph.

[elehhhhna]

92. actually , his expression is so like my brother , aged 10, circa 1971,

lying his ass off, that it's ALMOST humorous.

[NightOwwl]

93. Rictus grin

As defined by allwords.com:

1. The gape of an open mouth, especially of a bird's beak.
2. An unnatural fixed grin or grimace.

Not sure which is worse; that awful forced fake smile, or his trademark smirk.

[gulliver]

98. That was a really revolting thing for Bush to say.

Bush lost it. He was a creepy nut. Bush conjured up an image of another man's family being killed right in front of him on national TV!

Lauer had a look of realization and revulsion.

[LuckyLib]

63. Let' be honest here. It doesn't matter the interview, the person

conducting it, the setting, the audience, or the topic. The Chimpster cannot process, focus, organize his thoughts, or contextualize anything. He could be standing in his bathing suit in a wading pool with a Lone Star in one hand and a weed-whacker in the other, and he wouldn't be able to clearly answer the question, "What day is it, George?" This is him. This is what we got.

[BootinUp]

74. I think Matt Lauer wanted both he and Bush in the picture

at the same time. Just a guess. But it allowed people to see the emotions of both while the tough questioning was going on instead of anything being left to the imagination of the viewer.

[goclark]

83. I like the way he positioned himself

Brian Williams did that too.
Someone must have said to stand toe to toe with the chimp.

[blue cat]

94. good point n/t

[Generic Brad]

95. NBC Unleashed

Yesterday I wondered if the corporate overlords of NBC and MSNBC decided to cast their lot with the Democrats in the midterms and let Lauer and Olbermann go wild. Everything happens for a reason and those two events felt choreographed to me. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed both.