Day: 12/3/2008

Chris Wallace Defends His Hero George Bush

Posted by on December 3, 2008 at 12:58 pm. 4 Comments :

At a Washington screening of Ron Howard’s new movie, Frost/Nixon, Howard slipped into a bit of uncharacteristic politicking. The Washington Times reports that…

Mr. Howard was the first to comment about the film’s connection to Mr. Bush, saying that he had told friends in 1977 that an abuse of power similar to Mr. Nixon’s would “never happen again.”

“So that led to some frustrations that I’ve experienced over the last few years,” said Mr. Howard, an Oscar-winning director.

That blistering and treasonous assault on America’s reluctant hero, George Bush, could not go unchallenged. And thankfully, Fox News anchor Chris Wallace was on the scene to protect the honor of the Decider. Wallace, in the tradition of fairness and balance for which his kind is known, leaped into action from his perch in the audience to save the day:

“Richard Nixon’s crimes were committed purely in the interest of his own political gain. I think to compare what Nixon did, and the abuses of power for pure political self-preservation, to George W. Bush trying to protect this country — even if you disagree with rendition or waterboarding — it seems to me is both a gross misreading of history both then and now.”

Wallace may want to reconsider raising the question of how Bush compares to Nixon. After all, both were presidents who brazenly broke the law. Both believed in their own political supremacy. Both waged illegal wars against third world countries that never presented a threat to the U.S. Both packed government agencies with loyal but unqualified cronies. Both abused their offices for partisan purposes. Both obstructed investigations, invoked executive privilege, and ignored subpoenas. Both worked to advance the interests of corporations and the wealthy at the expense of workers and the middle class. And both oversaw a parade of underlings and associates marching from the White House to the Big House.

I could go on, but I think I should pause to illuminate an important difference. Nixon was not an imbecile who considered himself ordained by God to lead the world.

But Wallace’s key premise was also wrong. Bush’s crimes were as motivated by self-interest as anything Nixon did. The assertion that Bush was acting only to protect the country is nonsense. Invading a nation that posed no threat is not protecting the country. Neither is sanctioning torture; or revealing the identity of a covert CIA operative as political payback; or firing U.S. attorneys for partisan reasons; or allowing thousands to drown in New Orleans while praising the former horse pageant lawyer you installed to head FEMA; or presiding over an era of deregulation that sent our economy into a tailspin.

If anyone is misreading history it is Wallace. For him to go out of his way to recast Bush as a hero is above and beyond the call of even a Fox News toady. It also should obliterate any facade of impartiality Wallace hopes to maintain. Not that he hadn’t already brought that curtain down.

Karl Rove’s Backup Dancer To Host Meet The Press

Posted by on December 3, 2008 at 1:59 am. NO Comments :

The official announcement may not come until Sunday, but it appears that David Gregory has been tapped to permanently replace Tim Russert on Meet The Press.

Gregory is currently the host of MSNBC’s “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” a dreary collection of monotonous pundits that barely registers a blip in the ratings. Gregory is probably best known for agreeing to embarrass himself by pretending to be one of Karl Rove’s Pips in a performance that has been immortalized on YouTube.

But I wouldn’t worry too much about whether he has what it takes to fill the fabled shoes of Tim Russert. Mainly because the fable has exaggerated the girth of Russert’s footwear. For the most part, Russert simply stole from Jon Stewart the device of juxtaposing his subject’s recent contradiction with his previous lie. Except it was funnier when Stewart did it.

I, however, will never forget the role Russert played in advancing the goals of the Bush White House as described by former Cheney communications director, Cathie Martin (wife of soon-to-be ex-FCC chief Kevin Martin) when she testified at the trial of Scooter Libby. Her testimony included the following:

Option 1: “MTP-VP”, she wrote, then listed the pros and cons of a vice presidential appearance on the Sunday show. Under “pro,” she wrote: “control message.”

“I suggested we put the vice president on ‘Meet the Press,’ which was a tactic we often used,” Martin testified. “It’s our best format.”

In other words, it was a PR song and dance. Come to think of it, Gregory may be the perfect successor to Russert. So long as he can suppress the urge to shake his booty when presidential advisors are in the guest’s chair.