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Jan. 16, 2000 -- NEW YORK (AmpolNS) -- Although our Pundit Pap team was again shorthanded, we managed to get a look at all of the talk shows that count -- and a good chunk of a significant C-SPAN guest.
Fox News Sunday
The Three Stooges!
We checked in on the first segment of Fox News Sunday as the upbeat Tony Snow and the ever-dour-looking Brit Hume interviewed the "bottom" three GOP presidential candidates, Gary Bauer, Alan Keyes and Orrin Hatch.
Tony asked Bauer about the possibility that the three bottom candidates would be out after Iowa, and Bauer -- sounding delusional -- acted as if he was in it to the end. Bauer even said that he looked forward to debating Al Gore.
In his dreams. He's in this race to boost his name recognition and his speaking fees.
Hume asked Keyes a similar question, and Keyes -- a total madman but a gifted rhetorician -- lit into Hume for not citing "phony polls" which show him to be running third!
Okay, so his point was that the press uses polls selectively to their own biased ends, but Keyes could not avoid sounding nutty.
Orrin Hatch spent most of his time declaring the Clinton Administration criminal, corrupt and morally indecent. He sounded like he'd really gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.
Bauer lit into Hatch's claim that Hatch was the only man with "experience," citing his experience in the Reagan Administration.
Right, Gary, as a second-tier advisor trying to sneak prayer back into school and neglecting educational standards.
Keyes observed that people who watch the debates have made up their mind as to who is outstanding -- and subtly slammed Bush for his shaky performances. He through in a shot against what he characterizes as the "homosexual agenda."
Good Lord, Reverend Keyes... what agenda? An agenda that tries to stop people from being killed because of the way they were born?
Regrettably, this segment was far too short -- only about ten minutes -- and the following segment dealt with the politics of Elian Gonzalez.
We tuned back in for a little of Tony's discussion of the week's big news in business, including the AOL-Time Warner merger. Fox's business analyst, Jim Cramer, had clearly had way too much coffee -- he made the usually fast-paced Tony seem like Mr. Mellow -- not an easy thing to do. But Cramer made an interesting prediction re. Microsoft -- Steve Ballmer will be facing more problems with DOJ. And he said that Alan Greenspan was placed as Fed chairman at the right time -- and deserves credit for much of today's prosperity.
Cramer also advised buying a variety of Net stocks rather than just one -- just as Microsoft rocketed as other software players took a bath, the Web and 'Net winners will make you "ten times" what you'll lose on the also-rans.
Can you say "bullish but sensible?"
Tony recommended more of "Jim's low-key analysis" on Fox News Channel.
Following a break, Tony welcomed Des Moines Register political reporter David Yepsen. Tony focused on McCain's "all hat and no cattle" comment to Bush -- a soundbite which would appear all over pundit TV this weekend. Yepsen called McCain the winner on that colloquy. That was a real stretch -- not.
But Yepsen said that the issue of the national debt was getting a little play -- and Bush looks best on the issue.
Yepsen's prediction: Bush and Forbes first and second, third too tough to call, and forget Orrin Hatch. That's a shame -- Hatch actually did pretty well in the debates. Yepsen said that Keyes has bumped up a bit, and the polls, he believes, are pretty accurate.
Yepsen also observed that "nobody got hot" during yesterday's debate
Is it possible for McCain to finish third? Possible, but not probable, said Yepsen -- and the feedback he was hearing was that McCain was too laid back and even looked tired.
This would be given the lie a little later in the morning...
Washington Journal
Joe Conason -- happy at last!
While Tony Snow was talking Elian Gonzalez, we checked out Washington Journal on C-SPAN.
The guest was Joe Conason, whose article in today's issue of Harper's details many financial dealings involving George W. Bush -- and does raise a few questions concerning Bush's business success.
Every time we have caught Conason on a political interview show, his demeanor is serious, his focus on the facts, and his debating style tough, terse, fast and to-the-point. Conason is one of the best no-nonsense journalists covering politics, and his all-too-rare appearances make for consistent "must-see" TV (to steal one networks' slogan) for politics junkies.
So what accounts for that smile? Read on...
One caller asked Conason if he thought Bush did anything illegal, and Conason said no, that the article focuses on Bush's rise in the financial world.
Conason and the moderator discussed one transaction in which, as Conason emphasized, Bush was cleared of wrongdoing in the matter of his divestiture of Harken Energy stock just before things between the US and Saddam Hussein got nasty.
One caller brought up the issue of Bush's National Guard service -- and wanted to see it investigated. Conason mentioned that when he was in Texas researching the Harper's article, there were many questions about how strings may have been pulled for prominent Texans, including Bush. The moderator asked if Conason would be covering it, and Conason said if there were new material, someone might well cover it.
Another caller brought up allegations concerning Bush Sr. supplying arms to Cuban insurgents around the time of the Bay of Pigs. Conason and the moderator talked a little bit about Prescott Bush and his success on Wall Street.
The moderator also flashed a chart from the Conason article that maps out Bush's friends and business relations as he asked about a few of the players in the article -- particularly Richard Rainwater and Thomas Hicks.
A surprisingly disproportionate number of callers -- including many of those on the Republican lines -- had very kind words for Conason. Even Conason expressed surprised. But we did catch one Republican caller who accused Conason of outright character assassination and claimed that Conason is untrustworthy and biased. "Everything in your article is innuendo... [Bush's success is] the American Dream." Conason's reply about innuendo: "The article is full of facts... I did not find that he committed any crime... there is no innuendo of wrongdoing." Conason even brought up an article in American Spectator that raised questions about Bush's business dealings.
When we tuned back in a little later, Conason was talking with a caller about the book False Profits, concerning BCCI -- and people involved with both the Bushes and Clintons. Conason did not deal with BCCI in his article, he said, because it is so complex and tangential to both Bush and Clinton.
Toward the end, a caller asked about the new book The Hunting of the President -- and C-SPAN flashed a cover of the galley! The whole Pundit Pap staff was salivating -- and envious of C-SPAN. The caller asked about the Toobin book, and Conason said that the subject matter in the two books is quite different, and there are a few things that he and co-author Gene Lyons disagree with Toobin about.
We can't wait for The Hunting of the President -- and are glad at least one caller did mention it. Make no mistake -- this book is making a number of individuals tied to the effort to get Bill and Hillary very nervous.
Another very sarcastic caller tried to put words in Conason's mouth about supposedly demanding that Bush admit to "causing" abortions, and accused Conason falsely of calling for Johnny Chung to face Chinese justice. The caller clearly hated Conason -- and lied in a pathetic attenpt to make his point.
Conason fired back with his specific statements within their broader context -- the first being that private conduct has become a de facto issue and every pro-choice candidate should answer that question, and the Chung quote was a satirical critique. We read that latter piece -- and Conason is right.
One of the final callers compared Conason to Joe Friday, saying he came across as a "just the facts" guy. Conason -- much to our surprise -- cracked a rare smile at that compliment.
The McLaughIn Group
Pope John the Nutcase demands Hastert, Armey repent!!
Issue one -- "The Heartbreak Kid!"
We expected it to be John McLaugh-In himself, heartbroken over the assassination of Arkan, a reputed "enforcer" for his favorite European leader Slobodan Milosevic. Turns out that John was referring to Elian Gonzalez.
John accused Janet Reno of "shunting aside" Judge Rosa Rodriguez's decision that Elian Gonzalez can stay in the custody of American relatives. Of course, it turns out the judge may have had no standing to make the ruling and has ties to anti-Castro politicos in Miami, facts Mclaugh-In ignored.
John's question: would Elian still be in the US if his MOM were alive in Cuba and dad died at sea? Huh? Michael Barone said yes -- Cuban-Americans don't want Cubans returned. He then made a foolish and inflammatory comparison to the World War II-era ship Saint Louis, which carried Jewish refugees, that was turned away from the US. Eleanor Clift pointed out that the US was turning away Haitian refugees.
John then played a video bite of -- Ambassador Alan Keyes! He had brought up the issue of the importance of the father. Tony Blankley pointed out that with the Cold War over, Cuba is not regarded with the same degree of ire by the US. Rod Dreher of the Murdoch-owned neo-fascist New York Post said that Janet Reno was "for once" doing the right thing by "protecting the father-son bond." And Eleanor agreed with John that anti-Castro Cuban-Americans are playing into Cuba's hand. Barone said the mistake by our government was not made by Reno who "was, alas, right."
There was screaming over "coercion of Cubans," with John saying to Barone, "you have lost your way," followed by speculation as to when Elian would be returned.
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Will there be retribution against the GOP by Catholics because of this, Pope John bellowed? To our surprise, Tony said that Catholics will make this an issue -- but then said that there was a lobbying effort on behalf of this priest. John pointed out that there was lobbying on behalf of other candidates. A lot of pap on "pastoral counseling" led to Eleanor saying that the man was selected for his "connections on the prayer breakfast circuit." His Holiness John -- sounding sane again -- pointed out that there is the issue of ties between the GOP and the Christian Right (i.e. evangelicals, not Catholics). But then Insane John surfaced as he started "lobbying" for the priest in question by rattling off his "qualifications"!
There then ensued another round of McLaugh-In Encounter Group shouting and yelling. One of our editor's wives shook her head and said "Ay-yi-yi -- shut up!"
The panel consensus was that the issue was handled stupidly. John "pushed" for a full House vote before asking how big a blunder the situation was for the GOP.
Barone: 1
Eleanor: 7, but with the impact of .5 on the public
Tony: 6.5
Rod: 6 -- Dems will hammer on it
John: 6.
Issue three: "Hillary the hilarious" -- John bored us with his somewhat complimentary but ultimately dismissive segment concerning Hillary Clinton's appearance on Late Night.
Predictions on the Iowa Caucuses: who would be the top three?
Eleanor: Bush, Forbes, Bauer
Rod: Bush, Forbes, McCain
Barone: Bush, Forbes, Bauer
Tony: Bush, Forbes, McCain
His Holiness: Bush, Forbes, McCain
Eat the Press
Tim Russert sours relations with Cuba, fails to ambush McCain, stays smug as Carville plugs
Tim Russert welcomed Ricardo Alarcon, president of the Cuban National Assembly , who demanded the return of Elian Gonzalez.
Russert pressed Alarcon about emigration -- why doesn't Cuba open up its borders? It was a question designed to make Alarcon look like a totalitarian Commie tool -- but Alarcon turned the tables by asking how prepared America would be to open their borders!
Tim asked Alarcon about Elian's father saying he wanted to "bring a rifle" to America -- then asked whether our citizens, diplomats and property were in danger. Alarcon instead talked about Elian coming back to his father -- "this is a classical case of kidnapping."
Is the Elian case tied up in presidential politics, asked Tim? Alarcon said that he hopes not -- and hopes that "Doctor Reno's" approach to resolving the dispute would be followed.
Guest two: John McCain. Question one: Cuba. McCain essentially mocked "our Cuban friend... what does [he] think? That [Elian and his mom] were going on a pleasure cruise?"
Gee, JJ -- Fidel isn't gonna like that! "They don't know how to make a toilet that can flush, but they can sure organize a 'spontaneous' demonstration?" Ouch! McCain spent a couple of minutes on Elian, living under oppression, freedom, and family. Tim asked whether Elian's father should he be subpoenaed by Congress if he comes to the US.
Crikey -- what's going on here? Wa Tim trying to push Dan Burton's agenda? Or was he giving McCain an opportunity to trash the idea? McCain, unfortunately, deflected to other details of the issue.
After a break, Russert and McCain focused on tax and campaign reforms. Then Tim turned to a "controversy" -- the Confederate flag -- trying to make McCain look as if he misspoke and waffled on the issue of whether the flag is a symbol of "slavery" or "heritage," popping a sequence of three quotes on the screen. The first two, while different, were not mutually exclusive. McCain set Tom's latest ambush straight, first by saying that the third quote Russert cited was inaccurate -- which only goes to show you that Tim (shades of Matt Drudge) doesn't like to "vet" his ambush material.
McCain spoke bluntly but eloquently about both sides of the issue -- but it sounded to much like he was trying to appease both sides of the issue.
Tim then played edited comments of Donald Trump calling McCain a "hypocrite" and "abuser."
"Hypocrite and abuser, Senator," parroted the porcine pundit. McCain smiled, saying he would not respond to Trump. Good for JJ! Tim then said that McCain could be labeled a hypocrite for calling for campaign reform while taking corporate contributions. McCain said that all candidates -- including himself -- are tainted by campaign money.
Tim the turned to the AOL-Time Warner merger, and JJ expressed concern about mergers in general -- and increasing costs of media and cable. He is also worried about the possibility of other mergers. Will he conduct hearings? McCain was noncommittal but concerned. We think he will.
Tim then tried to paint McCain as a hypocrite for complaining about being kept off the ballot in New York when he has helped to keep candidates off Arizona GOP ballots. McCain said that he is qualified and viable, unlike the candidates he quashed in 1988 who were just not credible.
Tim tried to make McCain look unviable with another question . McCain's reply: Tim's been talking to the Bush campaign too much! We roared!
McCain was in good humor and feisty throughout the segment -- Tim's innuendo, digs and ambushes rolled off the man one after another.
Next up -- the fake "odd couple" James Carville and Mary Matalin. Carville was plugging his new book Stickin' -- a book about stickin' by your principles and stickin' it to the opposition. Tim let Carville rattle off the first paragraph of his book -- about all the names he's been called! Mary said it's the only book of his that she's read -- and that her friends were reading. She likes it! She then said that his political energies are misguided but he's a helluva family guy.
Tim was asking questions with all the incisive toughness of Oprah -- until it was time for his mandatory Clinton-bashing segment. First Tim replayed a little of Hillary's appearance on Late Night, then held up a Clinton-hater editorial from a Boston paper claiming that "the fix was in" on an obviously satirical "pop quiz" David Letterman gave Hillary -- well, no kidding, Russert, it's called show business, Late Show is not Nightline. Tim called Hillary's appearance a "sideshow." Of course, Carville pointed out that Giuliani has been on Late Show a lot.
Tim then claimed, based on polling information that does not gibe with a much more extensive poll Ampol has been made privy to, that Mrs. Clinton is not doing well among New York's white women, giving Mary a chance to dis Hill -- and Carville a chance to say it's too early and to dis the polls.
We will tell you right now -- Hillary will clock Rudy among white women in New York.
There was an exchange of cheap shots between Mary and James about which presidential campaign had the most bigoted, evil, rotten staff members. Mary called Donna Brazile a racist.
Good Lord, when will these two opportunistic media loudmouth whores shut up, go home and take care of the kids? Enough already -- even if we do like Carville's politics a little!
The segment was inane, but what the heck -- we'll buy Ol' Serpenthead Carville's book.
Lame Edition
Blitzer snags the GOP front-runner
We usually avoid Lame Edition -- but this week Wolf Blitzer and CNN scored a coup in the form of a pre-recorded, one-on-one interview with George W. Bush, so we stuck around for the first half hour of the interview.
The first half of the interview dealt with international issues, as Wolf "checked off" a list of hot global spots and issues for Bush to spin.
Issue one -- Elian Gonzalez. Bush had questions about simply returning Elian -- and the father's demands for his returns made in the context of coming from "a totalitarian state." He talked about the opportunity for Elian to live in freedom and -- catch this -- "receive a great education."
You heard it right -- Dubya has admitted that we have a great educational system in the US. Let's hope that Gore and Bradley glom onto this sound bite!
Wolf and Bush exchanged pap about Cuba, entrepreneurship and trade, claiming that trade with Cuba does not benefit the "entrepreneurial class." This, of course, is wrong -- it gives those controlling trade in Cuba a bit more power to push for change -- and they want more, fast.
Bush was also off the mark when he "imagined" what would happen if the Internet "takes hold in China." He predicted freedom. We predict greater monitoring --- add political monitoring to the very sort of "dossier" gathering corporations are doing on you right now.
Bush said that he intends and expects to work with "temporary" Vladimir Putin to dismantle "nuke-yuh-lur" warheads and that he wants to renegotiate the ABM Treaty to deploy theater antimissiles. Wolf said it "sounds like you don't have a whole lot of confidence" in Putin -- and Bush gave a "non-committal" answer that basically said Wolf was right.
On the matter of Middle East peace and other hot-spots, Bush actually complimented Clinton for doing a good job, notably in Northern Ireland.
Wolf asked what Bush would do concerning weapons inspectors in Iraq, and Bush took the tough line -- essentially the same as Clinton's -- and emphasized that they are in violation of agreements already.
After the break, Wolf turned to the campaign and domestic issues. Wolf played part of a McCain spot in which he said his tax plan would not squander surpluses on tax cuts. bush said he would have expected to hear that from Bradley or Gore. There was talk about tax cuts and social security -- Bush emphasized the words "fair tax code," words that are guaranteed to make Steve Forbes and Alan Keyes, who want to scrap the code, bristle. Bush added that "the surest way to make sure budgets are not bloated is to give the people their money back." Wolf punctured that notion, pointing out that Bush could veto appropriations bills.
Bush also tried to differentiate himself from McCain by saying that in the area of taxes, McCain "is taking a Washington perspective." We say this won't fly, because McCain has already cast himself as the maverick in the GOP race.
Might Bush raise taxes to cover others that drop? Bush was noncommittal, talking only about a tax cut.
Wolf then pressed Bush on reproductive rights, and Bush shifted into "rights of the unborn" rhetoric, saying that he would ban "partial Birth" abortions and also supported parental notification. He said he was not familiar with a GOP plank that supports an amendment extending 14th amendment protection to the unborn, but Wolf got him to say he'd support it. Wolf also pressed Bush on a "litmus test" for judges, and Bush again went back to old and misleading rhetoric about not naming judges who "legislate from the bench."
You mean like the five hard-righters on the Supreme Court who are legislating states rights that are neither implicit nor explicit in the Constitution, George? Bush's position on abortion is also poised to damage his standing with most women in the general election.
There was a little talk about gays in the military, and Bush said that he'd support "don't ask, don't tell." Wolf asked if there was an analogy to Truman's integration of the military, and Bush said he supports "don't ask, don't tell."
Wolf then turned to Bush's stand on the Confederate flag -- what does he say to Blacks? Bush said he's not waffling, but "that's not what's in my heart." What's in his heart? Bush slipped not so slickly into education issues.
But who can blame Bush for running away from the Dixie flag issue in a panic? He knows it's radioactive -- and will hurt him not only with Blacks but other racial minorities nationwide.
Wolf asked Bush about John Rocker, the baseball player whose intolerant remarks have been turned into a media circus. Bush answered sensibly -- saying that he felt that the Atlanta Braves handled the situation well, and he hopes the message kids get is that Rocker's behavior is unacceptable.
Bravo, Dubya, for far and away the best answer we've heard from any politician to this high-profile, perhaps even overhyped, story. We don't think you went far enough -- but Bush Jr. seemed genuinely passionate in his answer, perhaps because he has been in the pro sports franchise business, and understands how a Rocker incident can negatively impact not only a team but an entire sport.
The interview continued after the break, touching on religion and Bush's "Jesus moment," polling numbers,
Overall, Bush was noticeably relying on rehearsed answers and stump speech bites, but he looked far more relaxed and came across with greater spontaneity than he does in debates. He also seems to have that smirk a little bit under control.
We tuned back in for a little of the roundtable. Tucker Carlson feels that Bradley "is toast" -- especially in light of his polling numbers and the amount of money he spent in Iowa. Susan Page noted Bush's difficulty with answering Wolf's question about a specific abortion plank, calling it a stumble. Tucker agreed with Bush on how he would handle John Rocker -- and probably had all the PC viewers bristling when he said that Rocker said some pretty nasty things, "so what?"
On Hillary's Late Night appearance, Mr. Cokie Roberts dissed Hillary as "frosty," and Tucker complimented her -- but couldn't resist mentioning that she loathes the press.
Well, gosh, Tucker, you don't think it has to do with biased reporting or passing on rumors and outright lies as news, now, do you? The New York Times won't even retract or correct the documented errors in their initial Whitewater "reporting." Can you honestly blame the lady?
As for Wolf -- is it just us, or is his hair getting darker??
