Every time I watch Meet the Press I'm reminded of the magnitude of the loss of Tim Russert. Yesterday's program only reinforced that as an unprepared Tom Brokaw allowed Karl Rove's claim that it was not the policy of the Bush administration to use Iraqi oil revenues to offset the cost of the war to go unchallenged: Here's the exchange:
Brokaw's next statement was, "Well, let's talk about the insurgency."
Here's what Russert would have done. He would have been ready for Rove'slies spin with this quote from the Washington Post by Bush's deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz:
"The oil revenue of that country could bring between 50 and 100 billion dollars over the course of the next two or three years. We're dealing with a country that could really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon."
And the video of that quote from the Daily Show in March of 2005 (Wolfowitz at about the 3:00 mark):
Russert would have been ready with this, from Ari Fleischer's press briefing in February of 2003:
"Well, the reconstruction costs remain a very -- an issue for the future. And Iraq, unlike Afghanistan, is a rather wealthy country. Iraq has tremendous resources that belong to the Iraqi people. And so there are a variety of means that Iraq has to be able to shoulder much of the burden for their own reconstruction."
Maybe NBC should consider making Jon Stewart the permanent host of Meet the Press.
Brokaw's next statement was, "Well, let's talk about the insurgency."
Here's what Russert would have done. He would have been ready for Rove's
"The oil revenue of that country could bring between 50 and 100 billion dollars over the course of the next two or three years. We're dealing with a country that could really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon."
And the video of that quote from the Daily Show in March of 2005 (Wolfowitz at about the 3:00 mark):
Russert would have been ready with this, from Ari Fleischer's press briefing in February of 2003:
"Well, the reconstruction costs remain a very -- an issue for the future. And Iraq, unlike Afghanistan, is a rather wealthy country. Iraq has tremendous resources that belong to the Iraqi people. And so there are a variety of means that Iraq has to be able to shoulder much of the burden for their own reconstruction."
Maybe NBC should consider making Jon Stewart the permanent host of Meet the Press.
I agree with bubbabobcat - PDiddie needs to stick around as well!
Guys (in the gender neutral application of the word) I recommend you research his comments as PDid suggested. He has the green Tom Delay avatar on the chron.
Give it a second chance on the hurricane, Puff Dad.
You can't stand the heat ?
Why quit?
cat, I'm thinking instead I will just quit The Daily Hurricane.
Thanks for the intervention.
Pdid; maybe the problem is that the Dramamine is damaging way too many of your brain cells. Just going by your comment I suspect you need an intervention.
Delezzia:
Click on my name and inform yourself about what I do and don't know.
yeah, Tim Russert was cool...you could watch him 'report' news and current trends and not require a sedative to forestall turning red with rage.
Who's supposed to be checking ID's at the door??
I kinda liked his "About Face the Nation".
Cargy, Uninformed people who cannot comprehend Sunday political round table discussions should really not be commenting and making bad tasteless jokes. All it really does is exemplify their lack of intelligence and thought process. I doubt Mr. P even recalls who Tim Russert is. Likely he never reads the NYT or WSJ either. He thinks Bush is still president.
You know, the Sunday political shows aren't FOR everybody.
PDid, you do not sound so intelligent.
"Oh, how I miss Tim Russert."
I agree.
I think David Gregory has been doing a pretty fair job though. But Brokaw was obviously out of his element. He is a newscaster. He reads the news. Don't get me wrong, he is very talented. But he was NOT prepared for this "at bat."
One has to give Rove credit for being such a snake. I think HE deserves to be included in the "Axis of Evil", Cheney, Rove and Limbaugh.
Tom struggled to correct him but Rove is a master. Yes, Tim Russert would have smiled and thrown out those clips. I was pretty shocked that Rove was so bold on a MSM show. I mean it was like, "the sun rises in the east? The sky is blue? Whales live in the ocean? (pick your fact) Well, we'll just have to disagree on that one Tom". Seriously? Rove couldn't have been more arrogant.
I don't miss Tim Russert one bit, but then I don't watch "Press the Meat" at all any more. It requires a week's worth of Dramamine for me to just to get through "About-Face the Nation" and "This Weak".