Pundit Pap for Sunday, June 28st, 1998

FEATURE

Pundit Pap
for Sunday, June 28, 1998

Monday, June 29, 1998 --- New York (APJP) -- If our coverage of the Sunday pundit shows seems a bit more angry and jaundiced than usual, then you must have missed them. The corporate media spinmeisters took seemingly every opportunity to declare Clinton's trip to China, the hot topic of the week, a failure only two days into the event.

The other "talking point" of the weekend was the long-anticipated appearance of Linda Tripp before Kenneth Starr's grand jury, tentatively scheduled for Tuesday.

Fox News Sunday

FNS didn't rise to its usual fast-paced high-content standard this week; in fact, the entire show was a bit of a disappointment. And the entire affair seemed to degenerate into a more partisan attack on President Clinton than usual, with Tony Snow setting the tone at the top of the show with "China greets America with a slap in the face… Is the Administration kowtowing to China?"

This was the first of many repetitions of the word "kowtowing" -- obviously the anti-Clinton "theme" word of the week.

The first segment was surprisingly weak, considering the guests were Senators Bob Torricelli (D-NJ) and Fred Thompson (R-TN). Given the strongly anti-Clinton bent of FNS this week, Torricelli was actually a pretty shrewd choice -- Tony, Brit Hume and Torricelli himself made much of the fact that Torricelli finds himself defending a policy he voted against 23 times, namely launches of US satellites on Chinese missiles and transfers of dual-use technology to China.

And Thompson, looking more sallow and old than usual, used the opportunity to light into Clinton on a number of fronts -- accusing the President of "causing a security breach" by continuing the Reagan/Bush policy on technology sales to China. Thompson also implied that Clinton was some sort of dupe of the Chinese by appearing at the many events arranged by the Chinese: "it's all well scripted over there."

Yeah, Fred -- as if the White House doesn't script welcoming ceremonies, events and banquets for visiting heads of state.

Will someone let Thompson know that viewers of the Sunday political shows do know how to think? The only person the "Cowardly Lion" Senator from Oz made look like a fool was himself.

It's worth noting that during the exchanges with Torricelli and Thompson, there was no discussion of perhaps the single most important issue directly affecting China and the East Asian region -- the economic downturn. usually Tony and the posse hit all the major issues -- this time around they just plain dropped the ball.

The second segment turned the "focus" the "human rights," with ultra-right-winger Gary Bauer turning up yet again like a bad penny. Bauer heads something called the "Family Research Council," a tiny group which for some unknown reason seems to wield influence in the GOP -- at least among the religious and socially conservative zealots that inhabit the right wing of the party these days.

Bauer chose to discuss, among other thing, "forced abortions" in mainland China -- certainly a heinous violation of human rights. The twisted irony is that Bauer and his group vehemently oppose reproductive rights, itself an essential liberty upheld by the Supreme Court. The words "the pot calling the kettle black" leap to mind.

Bauer also railed against "elites of DC [who] have allowed China policy to be driven by commercial purposes." This was supposed to bolster charges of some sort of massive breach of national security -- but only served to underscore the fact that most of the companies that lobbied for export of dual-use technology gave far more heavily to the GOP than to Democrats, and Bauer is driving yet another wedge between the hard-righters and the moderates in the Republican party on matters of trade policy.

The third segment pitted Don Baer "against" Stuart "Odie Colognie" Taylor on the impending appearance of Linda Tripp before Ken Starr's grand jury on Tuesday. Taylor tried to defend Starr's timing -- which looks to be an attempt to intentionally embarrass the President -- by saying that Starr is moving on to the most important events in the investigation and "she [Tripp] is their most important witness to date."

Most important event? Only because Starr couldn't find anything in the entire phony Whitewater "scandal" except evidence that exculpated the Clintons. Now, all he's got is what looks to be an amateurishly rigged perjury trap involving illegal taping, scamming of a white House intern and "talking points" that smack of the possibility of criminal fraud on the part of Tripp and her confederated.

Baer pointed out that timing Tripp's appearance to coincide with Clinton's China trip raises questions of impropriety on not only Starr's part but a setup between Lucianne Goldberg and Linda Tripp to garner publicity for a book.

We think the stunt is about to backfire not only on the hapless Tripp but Starr himself. it's not outside of the realm of possibility to see Tripp and Starr appearing before a Maryland grand jury to answer a few pointed questions themselves.

Baer also thinks that Elise Ackerman, author of last week's U.S. News & World Report article on one of the notorious Tripp tapes released to the magazine, must have been listening to report the facts as she did: "If you look at the way they were characterizing comments, they were listening."

The roundtable concentrated on Clinton's China trip, with regular Juan Williams and Hume choosing off. Williams claimed "This is not to be written off… [it's] a success" and Hume claimed "the White House is lowballing expectations."

Ridiculous, Brit. There's a difference between "lowballing expectations" and not tipping your hand. See the advice I offered Thompson above.

The McLaughlin Group

John was feeling his oats on "Issue 1: The Islamic Bomb -- Will it be an issue in Bill Clinton's China talks? Will Pakistani 'deterrence' spread from Iran to Indonesia?" The video intro featured dire assessments from Henry Kissinger and Sen. Pat Moynihan (D-NY). And while there was healthy debate -- from Pat Buchanan's derisive "There is no Islamic Bomb" to David Gergen's "danger of loose nukes" comment, the big issue to emerge out of the segment was the announcement of impending nuptials between Mclaughlin groupie Jay Carney and NBC White House correspondent Claire Shipman.

Good for you, Jay -- she's a babe with brains, and the guys at American Politics Journal are all a bit envious.

When they finally got back on track, John declared the Islamic Bomb "alarmist at best, implausible at worst."

Talk then turned to China and North Korea -- and McLaughlin's assertion that the North Korean News Agency "dictating" a deal: North Korea will no longer export missiles or missile parts if the current embargo is lifted. Buchanan predictably said "I don't think we should submit to extortion," but Jay Carney predicted a deal soon. Eleanor Clift said she felt North Korea was reacting to the US reneging on an earlier deal.

Exit question: who gets "the bomb" next?

Pat: Iran if they don't already have one.
Eleanor: Iran.
David: Iran.
Jay: Iran.
John: Saudi Arabia. HUH??

The second half of the program touched on the Supreme Court striking down the Line-Item Veto, but the most interesting talk was of the (im-)possibility of a constitutional convention to create a line item veto (along with every other hot-button issue from school prayer to abortion), which John at one point jokingly suggested "is a part of the right-wing conspiracy."

Then talk turned to "Starr bursts" -- the Foster notes "sealed forever," Susan McDougal "free at last," and a "Tripp to court." Not McLaughlin at its best.

Meet the Press

From the outset, Meet the Press seemed intent on firing nothing but potshots across Clinton's bow. During the course of the opening segment, correspondent Claire Shipman (reporting from China) said in reply to a query from Tim Russert that "This summit is thin on substantive achievements."

Thin on substantive achievements? After less than two days? What sort of shortsighted nonsense is this? Most of Clinton's time had been taken up with welcoming ceremonies and shuttling from one location to another. Moreover, an announcement of an agreement on US-China "de-targeting" had already taken place -- certainly a gesture more symbolic than substantial, but a gesture that leads the way to pursuit of progress on more serious and complex issues.

The fact is that the public will not know how substantial the achievements of this summit will be until well after the event -- months or years from now. Claire Shipman's pronouncement of a summit "thin on substantive achievements" is not merely premature but both analytically and intellectually dishonest. Shipman should know better -- unless she has some sort of vested interest in putting down Clinton. Maybe Steven Brill's implication of Shipman as a possible Ken Starr "leak" conduit is true -- what other reason might there be for Shipman to make such ridiculously premature comments the Clinton summit?

The first guest on Meet the Press was National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, answering Russert's various queries from Beijing. Berger was on message with regard to "changes for the better" in China, but gingerly sidestepped Russert's query about the possibility of adding a meeting with Chinese political dissidents to his schedule -- as if Berger would actually come out and blurt an answer in the affirmative.

Russert also mentioned that the Chinese government had labeled accusations that they had tried to illegally contribute campaign funds to the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign absurd; Berger surprised with a surprisingly emphatic (and confident) assertion that the Justice Department will investigate the situation. On the possibility that Jiang Zemin might someday meet with the Dalai Lama, Berger did not merely rule in the possibility but hinted that there was indeed a possibility that it would happen.

The second segment of Meet the Press focused on Linda Tripp's tentative Tuesday date with Ken Starr's grand jury. The two guests could not have been from more opposite sides of the issue -- Jack Quinn, former White House counsel, and Barbara Olson. Last week, Steven Brill got on Tim Russert's case -- justifiably so -- on the issue of full disclosure. Since Babs did not bother, we'll give you the full skinny on the irksome Ms. Olson: she is no mere commentator on the alleged Lewinsky "scandal," but is in fact a participant.

Barbara Olson is a member of the Scaife-financed Independent Women's Forum (certainly not independent of Dick Scaife's largesse); her husband Theodore Olson is not only one of Starr's law partners but was an attorney for David Hale while hale was "cooperating" with Congressional Whitewater probes. Ted is also on the board of fringe reactionary magazine American Spectator and was reportedly behind the magazine's firing of former Spectator publisher Ron Burr when Burr attempted an audit of their "Arkansas Project" to dig dirt on Clinton. Barbara and Ted are reportedly close social friends of Ken Starr.

In other words, this pundit looks to be a not-so-stealth mouthpiece for Ken Starr.

Barbara's opening comment --- that the grand jury "will gauge her credibility… This is the witness that ties everything together" reeked of cynical irony. Gauge her credibility? Are they going to take a rigorous look at the leading nature of her comments to Lewinsky -- questions that goad her to implicate Bill Clinton in anything that can be construed as illegal or immoral? Are they going to gauge the credibility of the controversial "talking points," which are looking more and more like a sham cooked up by the President's enemies than an intern trying to cover up matters which should remain private and personal in the first place?

Quinn cut to the other facts that impugn her credibility: the fact that illegal taping took place (illegal or unethically released tapes seem to be a favorite gambit of today's GOP), that she was a go-between for Ken Starr and attorneys for paula Jones, that there is clear evidence she and her compatriots were trying to set a perjury trap, and that she cannot corroborate Lewinsky's "facts" as stated on the tapes. Quinn also dropped a hint as to what the White House may know about the "talking points," saying that he didn't think they came from the White House. When Olson said the points "appear" to have come from a lawyer, Quinn pointed out that Lewinsky knew more than enough legalese from preparing an affidavit.

But neither Olson nor Quinn pointed out that "talking points" are in fact a way of life in dog-eat-dog DC.

Quinn also commented that "Ken Starr should be ashamed of himself for calling Linda Tripp now" while the President is in China -- "he's got a political tin ear." Barbara Olson's reply -- "I can't believe this wasn't planned a long time ago" -- had us rolling on the floor. Of course he planned this a long time ago, to occur at a time when he thought it would most embarrass the President, when in fact it merely winds up making him look more conspicuously vindictive. Of course, we're talking about the same Independent Counsel who hires the hapless and disheveled Charles Bakaly as his spokesman, so this sort of "strategic" planning should come as no surprise!

Olson also dropped a not-so-veiled hint to the Lewinsky defense team when she implied that Lewinsky's "credibility is damaged." Quinn, grinning ear-to-ear, told Olson that if Lewinsky testified against the President, Olson would say she has great credibility. All Olson could do was smile uncomfortably.

The roundtable was tiresome. The one moment to get our attention: William Safire, a Meet the Press regular for reasons we still can't fathom (maybe it's out of some sort of misplaced pity) parroted Clinton-Bashing Theme of the Week No. 2: in China, "Zemin is running the show" and "Clinton was passive." I guess he didn't catch Clinton's diplomatic but pointed comments to Zemin about human and political rights late Saturday night, which put the lie to Safire's sophomoric solipsism.

This Week

We missed This Weak due to the local ABC affiliate's cancellation of This Week in order to carry live World Cup coverage. Thank Heaven for small miracles.

-- The Editors

Search American Politics

Provided by Hot Bot

Searchfor