Village Voice: Remembering Tim Russert

[babylonsister]

by Ward Harkavy |
Remembering Tim Russert
Posted by Harkavy at 6:19 PM, June 13, 2008


. . . as one who at a crucial time in '02 lobbed softballs to Dick Cheney.

It's tragic that Tim Russert unexpectedly died, leaving behind family and friends who loved him.

That said, let's try to keep this in perspective — and not the perspective offered up this afternoon by the Washington Post, which called him "the Democratic operative turned NBC commentator who revolutionized Sunday morning television and infused journalism with his passion for politics."

He did not revolutionize anything. He was a news reader, a media celebrity, not a soldier dying in a futile war.

As our body count in Iraq keeps right on climbing, I'll recall Russert's classic '02 interview of Dick Cheney on Meet the Press as a true exemplar of recent American journalism.

I don't mean that in a nice way.

The exact date was September 8, 2002, as Cheney and his frontman, George W. Bush, were lobbying Americans and members of Congress on the urgent necessity of invading Iraq. This was before the key Senate vote.

We now know they were lying, but many of us were thinking that back in '02. Drowning out the dissenters were most of the U.S. media outlets — not all, but most.

And media celebs such as Russert were playing their roles as wing men for schnooks such as Cheney.

more...

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/bushbeat/archives/2008/06/remembering_tim.php

[midnight]

1. I agree.

media celebs such as Russert were playing their roles as wing men for schnooks such as Cheney

[Captain Hilts]

2. The White House saw MTP as a safe harbor. nt

[mzmolly]

3. I also saw Russert reflect on that time in history and express regret.

He indicated that the media was afraid to question due to the 'post 911 climate' etc. He said that he regretted not being tougher on the administration and suggested a lesson be learned.

I can't think of one voice in the main stream media that asked tough questions prior to the war? Perhaps someone will refresh my memory?

[babylonsister]

4. Moyers' 'Buying The War' was very revealing, and you're right, there

weren't many.

Bob Simon and Knight-Ridder journalists were struggling with the truth.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/btw/watch.html

snip//

In "Buying the War" Bill Moyers and producer Kathleen Hughes document the reporting of Walcott, Landay and Strobel, the Knight Ridder team that burrowed deep into the intelligence agencies to try and determine whether there was any evidence for the Bush Administration's case for war. "Many of the things that were said about Iraq didn't make sense," says Walcott. "And that really prompts you to ask, 'Wait a minute. Is this true? Does everyone agree that this is true? Does anyone think this is not true?'"

In the run-up to war, skepticism was a rarity among journalists inside the Beltway. Journalist Bob Simon of 60 MINUTES, who was based in the Middle East, questioned the reporting he was seeing and reading. "I mean we knew things or suspected things that perhaps the Washington press corps could not suspect. For example, the absurdity of putting up a connection between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda," he tells Moyers. "Saddam...was a total control freak. To introduce a wild card like Al Qaeda in any sense was just something he would not do. So I just didn't believe it for an instant."

[mzmolly]

5. I must read that book.

Thanks.

I do feel badly about the "Russert didn't question" mantra as no one really did. Not even Keith Olbermann questioned this administration early on.

[babylonsister]

6. I don't know if it was a book; it was a documentary Moyers did

on PBS. I think you can watch it at his site.

[mzmolly]

7. I think I have seen the doco.

I'll look for it just in case.

[Demit]

9. You mean anyone who questioned was either canceled (Donahue) or drummed out of a job (Shinseki)

It's not hard to imagine that there were others who tried to present another point of view to their producers, who never seemed to quite get on the air.

[mzmolly]

12. I don't recall Donahue blaming Russert.

eom.

[Demit]

13. Huh? My post was about who was questioning the administration. You said no one was.

[mzmolly]

14. A perfect example of

what happened to those who did.

"And it's already well-documented that The New York Times was repeatedly snowed by its flawed Iraqi sources, who ginned up yarns about Hussein's supposed WMDs, many of which wound up on page one and drove the national news. But many examples are far less known. MSNBC fired Phil Donahue, one of its talk show hosts, because the network didn't like the fact that he was refusing to toe the Bush prewar line; as one leaked memo pointed out, Donahue was "a difficult public face for NBC in a time of war...He seems to delight in presenting guests who are anti-war, anti-Bush and skeptical of the administration's motives." Donahue later told Bill Moyers, during a 2007 PBS documentary, that he had been routinely instructed by networks execs to book two conservatives for every liberal."
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/americandebate/19386344.html

It's difficult for me to hold Russert responsible for policy at GE.

[Demit]

15. Is there something wrong with your eyes? That's one of the examples I posted.

I don't know what you think you are responding to, but your posts make no sense as responses to my posts.

[mzmolly]

16. Your right.

Sorry, I confused your posts with others. My apologies.

[live love laugh]

8. Russert is as responsible for Iraq as BushCo. In fact, he was part of BushCo. nt

[BridgeTheGap]

10. Russert was keenly aware of how the game was played

He knew what he could get away with and what lines couldn't be crossed. That said, it was extremely suprising to me that he asked both Bush and Kerry about their membership in skull & bones and how that might impact the policy/decision making. The fact that both Bush & Kerry hedged on this, pointing out the secret nature of their membership, took Russert right to the line he was not willing to cross - calling them both out on their answers. No President or candidate would admit to being under the influence of a secretive, non-governmental organization. By not answering: "This group HAS NO INFLUENCE whatsoever over decisions I make (or would make)."
The answers both gave were a slap in the face to any one who gives a shit about transparency in government. But Russert would push no further. He knew where the lines were drawn.

[Phred42]

11. Integrity?