Kerry According to Cameron
Reported by Melanie - September 21, 2004 -
Carl Cameron gave a long report from the Kerry campaign today (September 21, 2004) on Dayside w/Linda Vester.
Cameron started out by saying that the Kerry campaign doesn't see how the CBS story can hurt them. He said the campaign claims it got a call from the media (CBS), and "they can't be faulted" for taking the call.
Cameron said several months ago Bill Burkett, the source for the documents given to CBS, gave some information to Max Cleland who then forwarded that information on to the Kerry camp.
Vester asked about Kerry's appearance on Letterman last night and said "clearly there's a plan behind that. What is the plan?" Cameron said that making appearances on shows like Letterman was "developed and perfected" during Clinton's l992 campaign, when it was "under fire" so they could go "around the national media," didn't have to hold news conferences, could appear only on local media and occasionally do "warm and fuzzy" big celebrity interviews. Cameron said that last weekend Kerry taped an interview to be aired on Dr. Phil (without mentioning that George and Laura have done so too) and that "all of this is meant to skirt some of the tough questions from those of us in the media and the fourth estate that follow Senator Kerry and understand the nuances of everything he says." Cameron said Kerry refers "to the nuance of his rhetoric as a positive," saying he understands the complexities "between what he derides as the Bush black and white view, the overly simplistic approach" to domestic and international issues.
Cameron reminded viewers that last night Kerry said he would not vote to go into Iraq if he knew then what he knows now, and that for Republicans this "is the mother of all flip flops" because for the last two years Kerry has defended his vote. Cameron said Kerry was more hawkish during the primaries in order to defeat Howard Dean, and those positions are "coming back to haunt him" as Kerry "begins to take the Dean position and say that he's out and out against the war beginning to end."
Vester asked if Kerry's honed his message yet and Cameron said, "Not yet. They're working on it." Cameron said Kerry brought in new staffers from the Clinton campaign who say they're "clawing back." Cameron said the staffers said they needed yesterday's speech at NYU at which Kerry criticized the president "yet again," and argued that everything the President has done vis a vis Iraq has been a mistake, in order "to refine it," but they haven't got it down to a "bumper sticker sized slogan yet."
COMMENT: Wow. So Kerry's campaign had contact with Bill Burkett months ago through Max Cleland so must have been involved in the CBS thing; Kerry's appearing on TV shows in order to skirt tough media questions; what Kerry says is "rhetoric;" he's still flip flopping and he hasn't got a message. If this is "fair and balanced" coverage, I hate to think what biased coverage would be like.
