FEATURE
Pundit Pap
for Sunday April 26th 1998
Part 1 of 2
CHICAGO -- Tuesday, April 28, 1998 -- With the entire editorial staff on the road over the weekend, we were able to catch only three of the Sunday chat shows this week: Fox News Sunday, Meet the Press and This Week. FNS did not disappoint; as for the latter two, well, see tomorrow's piece.
Fox News Sunday
Tony Snow: His best hair day yet? Read on... 
Today was the second anniversary of Fox News Sunday, and Tony Snow and the "posse" celebrated with a strong lineup of guests.
Tony Snow's first topic: Spotlight on Morality -- Is It DOA in the USA? His first guest -- former Joint Chiefs chairman Colin Powell, who is now heading a new organization, America's Promise.
It looked as if Powell's appearance -- the first of many on not only the Sunday shows but all three of the more human-interest Monday morning network news shows -- was going to be more a promotional puff piece for his conservative-connected organization, especially given the fact that the segment was taped in advance at the offices of America's Promise. And, on the surface, it flogged just the sort of culturally conservative topics Fox plays up on their News Channel: what it sees as "American" culture and values (read: conservative interpretation thereof) in crisis, and leaders (read: Bill Clinton) abrogating their moral authority (read: we want you to believe all of the allegations and probably a lot worse). However, the wide range of topics and Powell's frequent not-quite-party-line answers made it a fascinating segment.
Powell spoke briefly about America's Promise, describing it as an organization that unites nonprofits, foundations and religious organizations to "bring resources to children who are in need."
Tony's first question was more of a comment -- that "a lot of people expect a big increase in crime, a sort of baby boom in crime." Which people, Tony? And where's the catalyst -- is there anything on the horizon that can be compared to, say, the introduction of crack into the drug culture in the early 1980s? Come to think of it, why no mention of handguns, a crucial crime tool, being out of control?
Powell's answer was that his organization seeks to show kids a better way of life than drugs and crime on the streets and that "our top goal is consciousness." His answer contrasted strongly with the stark, pessimistic spin of Tony's question -- one gets the feeling that Powell is a tough-minded optimist in the face of complex social problems and ambitious goals.
One also gets the feeling that Powell is a true believer in his views who speaks sincerely and from the heart -- in contrast to the rigorously coached, slick, sound-bite-laced performances of Dan Quayle, John Ashcroft and William Bennett, three social conservatives and fake "virtue police" who only seem interested in spin, salesmanship and self-promotion.
Tony then asked a question clearly tailored to attack the President indirectly: "Are we electing performance over morality?" Like so many others in the beltway TV press, Tony doesn't miss a trick when it comes to another opportunity to find the President guilty before the facts are on the table, but his question is also a tacet admission that the public approves the President's performance in office and uses this as the primary criterion determining which lever they’re going to pull when they hit the voting booth .
Powell agreed, but said that Washington was not completely clueless and that Americans expect performance -- not exactly the answer we think Tony expected or the right wing of Powell’s party wants to hear. He then launched into criticism of both sides of the President's current controversies: he said that the President should "tell as much as he knows" about the allegations against him, but also that Starr should "wrap it up as fast as he can."
Tony's follow-up: how important are ethics? He cited a poll indicating the public said about 80% as the top criterion -- a number strangely at odds with Tony’s own acknowledgment of efficacy over ethics.
Powell said "it should be 100%" but that "some courtesies require little white lies" as it is part of human nature. His answer approached saying that the President's personal and professional practices should not be susceptible to investigative or public micromanagement, in other words, none of the public's business.
He then jokingly said "You look marvelous, Tony" -- an hilarious way to underscore his point.
By the way, Tony did look great -- and we'll tell you more at the end of this Pap review.
Powell also said that "children don't need authority, they need a reason to believe authority." He was not above blaming the media and "the Jerry Springerization of American TV" -- ironic that he should say this on the Fox network, many of whose affiliates carry Jerry and whose own prime-time lineup has long been a target of criticism for its raunchy, racy content.
Tony shifted gears: "Russia -- should we be afraid?"
Powell: Afraid of what?
Tony: Chaos.
Powell: Chaos, yes, but I don't see why any Russia would want to see a replay of the Cold War. We should encourage democratization and reform.
The program's second segment got straight down to brass pap with Defense Secretary William Cohen.
Tony's first question seemed skewed toward GOP big-defense-spenders and their supporters: with all the budget cuts, are American bases "going to seed?"
Cohen's answer shifted the perspective to the real issue: unless the Defense Department gets the savings it needs, they will have to question which new weapons systems and programs can be afforded over the next two decades. He also raised the serious spectre of across-the board civilian furloughs unless Congress authorizes "emergency" spending.
Cohen is backing the Clinton Administration line -- that Congress had best not throw gridlock in the way of urgently needed defense appropriations and had also better stop stalling on base closings.
These are stark truths that supporters of a "big military" seem to be having huge trouble with -- a bloated, bureaucratic military is incongruent with the disappearance of our biggest enemy and the emergence of smaller, more volatile threats to American interests and security. You have to get the feeling that there are a lot of people out there who, for whatever perverse reason, miss having an enemy like the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact.
Tony: "Some of your colleagues say... the President stabbed us in the back" about base closings -- will the President abide by any decisions on base closings with "no political deals?" (We need not mention that Tony's slams assume that you completely believe the President's critics, who themselves have a close-to-home corporate or military constituency threatened by base downsizing.)
Cohen is recommending two more base closings in 2001 and 2005, and did concede his view that Congress should be more assertive about base closings. Cohen said nothing about the fact that so many members of Congress have their own political interests to protect.
Tony and Cohen touched on many issues, including emergency Bosnia funding, Cohen pointed out that offsets are an issue, programs may have to be cut, and the appropriators understand the consequences. Left unsaid was the fact that this initiative -- which so many Republicans were predicting would be a disaster (some were cynically hoping for catastrophe in private) -- has been a major international peacekeeping success and a bargaining chip in our favor with our allies and fellow UN members.
Tony asked if inspectors in Iraq have found anything; Cohen said nothing had been found so far in the eight disputed "palace" locations, but that there's been an excess of attention paid to those particular sites -- a fact reflected but rarely if ever acknowledged in the news coverage of the last half-year. Cohen made no mention of questions about Iraqi allies allegedly storing WMDs for Saddam. Cohen did point out that UNSCOM inspectors have reported that Saddam has not fulfilled his obligations, including the latest, and that he must prove weapons and systems have been destroyed. Did Saddam "win round one?" Cohen replied that he's no better off than he was before -- and now he's being inspected again with a UN resolution threatening strong action.
A little later, Tony asked Cohen if Linda Tripp would lose her job; Cohen said there's no indication she should, and explained a little about her current arrangement to work at home. Tony also asked if making her personnel file public was illegal; Cohen said it was "unethical at best" (sort of the way we'd describe Linda Tripp's own behavior as an amateur recordist -- that is, if we were in a charitable mood). Tony then named names: "Did Clifford Burnell do it?" Cohen said yes, he did it in reply to a press request (which sounds far better to us than, say, a member of Ken Starr's grand jury leaking information to, say, Joe diGenova or Victoria Toensing without their asking and their dutifully calling their press contacts to plant a story).
Tony then replayed Juan Williams' one memorable prediction for 1998 made on 1997's final Fox News Sunday: "Bill Cohen's a winner in '98" and his speculation that he'd be a possible GOP Presidential contender.
We have to agree he'd make a stronger one than the current gang of idiots on the Beltway/New Hampshire circuit, especially such walking jokes as Dan Quayle, Alan Keyes, John Ashcroft and Tom DeLay.
Cohen: "I'm not a candidate... when it's over I'm returning to private life."
Believe us, it'll be the country's and GOP's loss.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the featured guest in the next segment, with Tony joined by Juan Williams, Mara Liasson and Tucker Carlson, the neoconservative writer beloved by the editorial staff at American Politics Journal for "baptizing" Grover Norquist.
There were no major surprises from Netanyahu; he is a master of cool in journalistic settings no matter how bad the situation, but also predictable in his use of the same standard sound-bites he is wont to deploy for the American press. His appearance on Fox News Sunday provided few surprises.
Juan started by quoting Madeleine Albright's comment of Thursday: "I have to tell you, in all honesty, we are coming towards the end of the road... We are concerned about the deterioration [in talks and relations between Israel and the Palestinians] and I have to say one of the options is... for us to walk away." Of course, part of what Albright was hinting was that both sides had better start to walk the talk as they have promised, but Juan pursued the more literal wording to put Netanyahu on the spot: "Is [intermediary Dennis Ross] exhibiting this kind of anger, frustration, that Ms. Albright is talking about?"
Netanyahu gave his first predictable reply: we are all frustrated, the Palestinians have not been living up to what they agreed to, and that Israel must be guaranteed "secure and defensible boundaries."
Tony: "You don't seriously think the US is going to walk away, do you?"
Netanyahu: "I don't think we walk away from each other... it's a special alliance of two kindred democracies." This must be the hundredth time or so that Netanyahu has reminded us on a sunday talk show that Israel is a democracy.
In response to a question by Mara on how much land Israel might return and whether he had sufficient coalition support at home to do so, Netanyahu first slipped out of the coalition question, asserted his position that land returns must be tied into security guarantees, then launched into a marginally related comment about recently visiting Auschwitz and Birkenau.
This comment was accompanied by not only footage of the visit as Netanyahu described the visit, but by solo violin "mood music."
Now, don’t get us wrong; Benjamin Netanyahu explained forcefully that one of the reasons Israel is so concerned about its survival and security is the Holocaust and its enemies, percieved and real, today. As with everything he says, he makes strong points and expresses rigorously defended positions which will stand or fall on their own merits.
But for the producers of Fox News Sunday to superimpose this obviously preplanned, planted footage with music during what is supposed to be a "spontaneous" interview debases the journalistic integrity of the program and makes us wonder if the producers are going beyond merely briefing guests on the areas which interviews will cover. In our opinion, it reduces Fox News Sunday to the level of Hard Copy.
Roger Ailes, Tony Snow, you should know better than to pull a stupid, calculated stunt like this. It debases a superb program that hits more talking heads with more issues than the three "big" network programs combined. Don't try this sort of stunt again. Period.
Netanyahu moved on to the next question, politely pointing out differences between the US and Israel, saying the view from the Potomac is certainly a different perspective that the view from the Jordan River.
On the possibility of the Palestinians declaring an independent state if talks do not move forward, Netanyahu decried the possibility of another "Iran or Iraq" on Israel's doorstep.
At the end of the segment, Netanyahu expressed his personal gratitude and that of Israel for the friendship and support of the United States throughout Israel's first fifty years.
Some fun moments from panel time --
Tucker on Paula Jones at the White House Correspondant's Dinner: "It was like Oscar night, it was amazing." Ha, ha, haha... and I guess Jones would've been the nominee for "Worst Supportin' Actress in a Political Charade."
Mara: "All of a sudden, movie stars get invited, Tom Selleck and Barbara Streisand." What's the surprise, Mara? Both are well-connected West Coast political heavyweights who seem to show up in DC pretty frequently.
Tony made reference to goofy Indiana congressman Dan Burton's use of an "unpleasant name" to describe the President. Tony brought out the Fox News Spinterpreter to translate Mike McCurry's reply:
McCurry: " I suggested that Chairman Burton's use of a two-syllable word was ambitious."
Spinterpreter: "Idiot has three syllables."
McCurry: "One of the things we cherish about our democracy is that you have the right to be as bizarre as you want to be."
Spinterpreter: "I can't believe I'm up here talking about this."
McCurry: "And Chairman Burton is providing ample evidence of the importance and strength of that democratic institution."
Spinterpreter: "And I can't believe Burton actually said what he said."
Tucker: "It damages the Republicans... He and Susan Carpenter McMillan exist to discredit Republicans." This was said only partially in jest; you get the feeling that even Carlson is embarrassed by the likes of Burton.
Tony: "Burton's office tells me he's been flooded by fan mail." Crikey!!! What ELSE do you think they’d say, Tony -- that they’re getting mail demanding his resignation?
There was a special segment at the end of the program commemorating the second anniversary of Fox News Sunday -- with some of the sound-bite highlights of the last year. The funniest: Charlton Heston saying "There are probably more Hollywood conservatives in the closet than homosexuals."
But the best moment was a time -compressed sequence of Tony Snow "head" shots, showing the evolution over the last two years of the best pundit hair in Washington (and the addition and removal of wire-rin glasses about a year ago). Tony's comment: "So much bad hair, so little time!"
Juan concluded the show concurring with Colin Powell -- and with us: "You look marvelous."
-- The Editors
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