Look What's Missing
Reported by Eleanor - August 30, 2004 -
Special Report with Brit Hume (Aug. 30, 6:00 p.m.) bombarded the viewers with Bush news and views. Most of the commentary is included here in summary form. It's 90% republican slanted and stays completely away from real issues.
Jim Angle:
- 9/11 was the watershed for Bush.
- Bush said he needs another 4 years to fight the War on Terror, but doesn't think it can be won.
- We can't put a definite end to Al Qaeda.
- Question: How can Sharon be a man of peace? Bush: He's defending his country against terrorist attack.
Chris Wallace:
- The theme is courage of the nation that went through a tough time after 9/11. The president led the way.
- McCain is praising Bush....comparing him to Churchill.
Hume: Bush's record on the War on Terror is his biggest advantage over John Kerry.
Major Garrett:
- SB vets continue the ad campaign. Mention of the swift boat book.
- New ad about anti-war activities.
- John Edwards says the vet ads are intended to bring down a veteran.
- McCain said Kerry's anti-war past is fair game. (So he won't object if the games continue?)
- Ad asks if voters can trust a man who renounced his country's symbols.
Brit Hume:
- Leslie "Butch" Borphal, another vet, came forward today saying there was no enemy fire as the SB vets said.
- 1986 Silver Star replacement citation is different from the original. John Lehman, who awarded it, is not sure why.
Carl Cameron:
- Edwards accuses Bush of mismanaging the War in Iraq, and a blistering indictment of Bush's foreign policy.
- Bush said that the War on Terror can't be won militarily, and it's worldwide.
- Quoting Edwards: We think the War on Terror is winnable. Bush's statement that we can't win gives comfort to the enemy.
- Daschle is associating himself with the president in the latest ad. He's "cozying up" to the president and supporting the troops by voting for the $87 billion.
Todd Connor on Protests:
Protesters are venting anger. The march was a success. They stayed in line.Tempers flared after someone set fire to a paper dragon. 9 arrested. Some were carrying anti-Bush signs with smoke bombs inside the tubes. A total of 530 arrested with 1,000 predicted. None today. Protest was limited. The worst is yet to come. 18 blocks are cordoned off. Tuesday is civil disobedience day.
Larry Sabato Interview:
Hume: Really nice people. Peaceful. What a nice protest.
Sabato: Lots of obscenity hurled at republicans. It was much worse on the other networks. They showed nice people not representative of the demonstrators.
Hume: What is the threat?
Sabato: Protesters will dominate the story - not like the democratic convention. The Tuesday violence will drown out the message. The networks won't cover the convention.
Hume: A judge won't allow restrictions.
Sabato: 250,000 thousand in NYC is not an impressive number.
Hume: Some say 120 - 500 thousand to a million. You compared Bush to Harry Truman. Now the race is closer.
Sabato: Bush is doing better after the swift boat story....see Kerry flaws.
Hume: Kerry's convention speech was the best he has given, but didn't go over well with the public.
Sabato: Who is John Kerry? Not his four months in Viet Nam, but twenty years in the Senate.
Hume: Effect of the ads in the media?
Sabato: People get their news on the Internet. That's how the story spread.
Hume: Where does a story get its power?
Sabato: It has to be true..Cambodia...the first purple heart...Senate testimony, not true.
Hume (after this interview) mentioned local businesses in NYC that don't welcome republicans with signs like "republicans need not apply" and "vampiric regime." Michael Moore comments about "deserting your post and attacking a wounded vet." Also, "the president knows how to pull strings." Hume also mentioned that Moore is a columnist for USA Today covering the convention.
The panel discussion of Bush's comments about the War on Terror being unwinnable.
Hume: You might not expect the president to say that. He said we can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable.
Hume: What is the president talking about?
Fred Barnes: Terrorists cannot officially surrender..they are not a country. It's not a good idea to say that. It's a mistake. He has to explain himself. When Kerry said "a sensitive war" it came across as "touchy, feely." That's not what he meant.
Mara Liasson: Kerry knew what he meant. Bush is not clear. It's mystifying. We'll never eradicate terror?
Mort Kondracke: It's Edwards opportunity to come back hard. Kerry resolved to win the war on terror.
Hume: Will that statement overshadow what's said tonight?
Kondracke: McCain and Guliani will correct the record. We'll run down Al Qaeda country by country.
Liasson: It will overshadow what's said tonight.
Hume: How much good can Monday night speakers do?
Kondracke: They're stars. Depends on what they say. McCain doesn't attack Kerry directly. Guliani is tougher.
Barnes: They'll praise Bush. Guliani on 9/11 and McCain on Iraq.
The last few minutes of this panel discussion is spent on the protesters.
Kondracke:The NY Times, for once, talked about the crowd being raucous, bitter, and theater goers were harassed." The Washington Post treated it like a children's party with no reference to the obscenities.
Liasson: Violence will hurt the democrats.
Barnes: It's not a national protest - 80% are local residents. Not mainstream, but hard left. 60% are against the war in Afghanistan. Hundreds of people were interviewed.
Hume: The big protest will be Wednesday. NYPD know what to do.
Kondracke: Police are well trained and incredibly polite.
Hume: It's a respite for Kerry on the swift boat story. The updated medal citation won't be on public view.
Kondracke: A new ad is out showing Kerry with long hair and a funny accent.
Liasson: That's what this story is about. The testimony is on video without two versions of the story. It will continue.
Barnes: It's not going away. The swift boat vets have lots more money saying Kerry exploited his own combat to tarnish other vets.
Comment: I see nothing here, or on anything I have seen lately, that really affects people's lives. But it reflects the republican's current message, and we hear it like a constant drumbeat. Many of the protesters' signs were about real issues. When we begin to hear talk about health care; the environment; education; poverty; energy; the judiciary; nuclear proliferation; the deficit; the economy; taxes; Social Security, etc., the real campaign will have begun. It will be interesting to look and listen this week for ANYTHING other than "Bush has provided strong leadership in the War on Terror." (That he now admits is unwinnable.) What's missing in Bush's war is that 9/11 was on his watch; Afghanistan is a mess; Iraq is a total disaster; and we're in this alone. Where's the leadership? I see no other topic here except Viet Nam, and that's not in Bush's favor either, if you consider that all the official records support Kerry's story, not that of the SB vets; and his testimony in 1971 represented the views of the people who forced the nation's leaders to stop that unwinnable war. Maybe after November 2, Kerry can do it again.
Maybe Bush's speech will lead the nation and the media toward a different discussion next week. We can only hope.
