MTP transcript with Clark Nov 16

[joshan361]

http://www.msnbc.com/news/994273.asp

[HFishbine]

1. Clark did a pretty good job but

this bothered me. Not as a comment on his fitness for office, but as evidence of his inexperience as a campaigner.
-----------------

GEN. CLARK: ...I think it’s the responsibility of people who are running for office to say what they know and to say what they think and to stand up for it. And that’s what I’m doing.
MR. RUSSERT: But there’s no evidence the White House tried to get you removed from CNN as an analyst?
GEN. CLARK: Well, I haven’t presented any evidence, because were I to present that evidence, people would be in trouble. So...
MR. RUSSERT: There is evidence?
GEN. CLARK: Well, I mean, there’s what I know and the person that told me about it. But I’m under no obligation to present that evidence. I know what happened, and if I hadn’t been confident that that had happened, I wouldn’t have said it.
-----------------

[Skwmom]

2. You want him to out the person who told him what CNN

was doing so CNN can fire that person?

[HFishbine]

4. That's up to him

My point is that you don't speak against a certain behavior and then, in the same discussion, two sentences later, contradict yourself by doing the very thing you just criticized.

I dind't scour the transcript for Clark inconsistances, I did a double take when I heard Clark speak these contradictory answers. People hear these self-contradictions and it lessens credibility.

[Mz Pip]

6. This is hardly an issue of

foreign policy. This was a personal problem that he doesn't feel the need to take any further. If Clark doesn't want to push the issue that's fine. THere are more important things to talk about than his CNN job.

MzPip
:dem:

[Donna Zen]

12. Ask Timmy

...to put Novak through that same routine. Timmy would be the first to protect Novak's treason with the ol' just-protecting-sources. Well, protecting ones friends from losing their jobs over a trival as opposed to a treasonous issue needs to be accepted.

In the case of Novak, blood is on that man's hands and still CNN cuts the checks.

[Kahuna]

15. Bull. It's no different than Bush and Rove NAMING..

the reporters they tried to get to out Wilson's wife. Same thing. You don't out your sources.

[HFishbine]

21. Except

that Bush and Rove haven't named any reporters.

[SahaleArm]

22. Fighting fire with fire.

If they're going to slander you, don't give in. This interview had right-wing finger prints all over it.

[Dr Fate]

5. Thank you Clark- DEMS need to start exposing Bush/media NOW

Actaully, DEMS should have started exposing Bush/media YESTERDAY, but better late than never.

That's right Wes- call these bastards on their RW bias!!! I'm sick of DEMS playing patty-cake patty-pake Baker's Man w/ the media-

Clark did the right thing by calling this like he sees it...

[Catshrink]

3. The show will be repeated on CNBC

8pm MST, which should be 10pm EST.

[BigLed]

7. Russert oughta be on fair and balanced

this is outrageous and I'm surprised I didn't see any mention on the other thread on the show. At the very end Russert plays Sandberg tape and another:
MR. RUSSERT: And we are back. Throughout our nation’s history, 12 military generals have served as president of the United States, but only one in this century, Dwight D. Eisenhower, from 1953 to 1961. Do military men make good presidents? Differing opinions from poet Carl Sandburg in 1957, and Army Chief of Staff General J. Lawton Collins in 1951:
(Videotape, October 27, 1957):
MR. MARQUIS CHILDS (St. Louis Post-Dispatch): We’ve had two professional military men as president, Grant and Eisenhower. What do you think about the military man in politics?
MR. CARL SANDBURG (Poet): It’s a hindrance. It’s a hindrance. Of course, Grant had the advantage of having had life as a civilian for a number of years before he went into the war and right after the war. But Ike had 15 years in the Philippines, comes back to this country and almost immediately sent over to Europe. All sorts of things about the plain people of this country that he doesn’t know, even though he did work in a creamery in...
MR. CHILDS: Abilene.
MR. SANDBURG: ...Abilene.
MR. CHILDS: In other words, you think it’s hard for a man who lives within this caste system to maintain a hold on the people?
MR. SANDBURG: Yes. Let the military men stay with the military.
(End videotape)
(Videotape, December 23, 1951):
MRS. MAY CRAIG (Portland Press-Herald): Now, you’ve been a military man all your life, and you’re a general. Do you think the general ought to be president, or do you think the president ought to be a civilian?
GENERAL J. LAWTON COLLINS (Army Chief of Staff): I would say that any military man, to be a good president, must be a man who has very broad capacities. I think that, as a general proposition, it’s wiser that a civilian be the president of the United States. But I don’t, by any manner of means, feel that a military man should be ruled out of being president if he has the broad qualities to make a good president.
(End videotape)
MR. RUSSERT: And we’ll be right back.
(Announcements)
MR. RUSSERT: If it’s Sunday, it’s MEET THE PRESS. Go, Bills!

On edit: And no chance for Clark to respond? Or is the transcript incomplete?

[Tatiana]

9. Outrageous.

It was a set-up, of course. But Clark handled things very well.

[joshan361]

11. no chance to respond.

that was all part of Russert's attack plan. on paper it all looked very good for him. the way it played out was a far different story.

to watch that show is to love it. Russert was i a word "befuddled". towrads the end of the interview he was actually showing signs of anger.
as already said here , the show will repeat tonight on CNBC, its well worth the watch.

[grubstreet]

17. I don't think he did get the chance

to respond. If he did I missed it. I thought that whole clip was *very* odd. Why trot out Carl Sandburg, of all people?

I liked Clark. He handled himself well. I still haven't made up my mind about which Dem to support, but Clark looked good this morning.

Comparing Clark's performance to the transcript of Bush's interview with Frost (over at salon.com) just makes you want to cry....
--grub

[newyawker99]

29. Hi grubstreet!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[SahaleArm]

19. Very Bizarre.

It was difficult to decipher what Sandberg was saying on tape.

[Donna Zen]

24. If I only had an "R"

Just Imagine: If Clark had an "R" instead of a "D" after his name, Russert's ending would have been a full seven minutes of heroic clips of Eisenhower. Larry King would sacrifice two fulls nights a week of Laci Peterson blathering to interview anyone living who was related to or even slightly knew Eisenhower. CNN would air: Generally Perfect. A documentary covering the lives of generals who had successfully entered politics. Special attention would be given to famous people who were reared by widowed mothers.

Russert can stick it. I turned the tube off when I saw what was coming....why should I clutter my beautiful mind.

[Tatiana]

8. Thanks joshan361 and Catshrink for the info!

Clark did well, in my opinion.

As far as the CNN analyst thing... I agree with whoever said it was a personal issue. He's under no obligation to get into that.

[Dr Fate]

10. Apparently Bush/media is "misunderestimating" the good General

They keep forgetting he is a scholar from the top of his class- Old time "journalism" "tricks" to get him to screw up just arent quite working on him, now are they Timmy???

Clark probably even knows you have a Bush pin behind your lapel- his internet savy staff reads DU!!!!

[moz4prez]

13. the best kept secret on the net

MTP interview can be found ovah heuh!!!!

113 MB, not for "the faint of bandwidth"

[VolcanoJen]

14. Thanks, Moz!!!

:D

[Spazito]

30. Thanks for the link!

General Clark did a great job!

[RandomUser]

32. Cool

The broadbanders could definitely use it. Thanks for posting this.

[MIMStigator]

18. NONE of Timmy's attacks worked.

n't

[zoeybug]

33. It's nice to hear somebody speak that doesn't talk in sound bites

I thought Clark did very well.

I like him, but don't know how his rather complicated answers will play in the general election. People are used to hearing concise sound bites and slogans.

Will he seem too intellectual or too wishy-washy to the general public?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

16. I'd give him a B+.

He did very well.

However, I wish there could have been a little attention paid to the domestic side of his candidacy. Couple of dicey spots with the RW-loving quotes, but a good job overall.

[SahaleArm]

20. Russert drove the interview

With two objectives, (1) to talk about Iraq foreign policy, and (2) trying to discredit Clark by using out of context information. Russert spent most of the interview talking about Shelton, the Arkansas fundraiser speech, and the New Yorker piece on the Balkans. Clark spent most of the interview discrediting right-wing garbage. There was no intention on Russert's part to allow Clark to talk about his economic or healthcare agenda.

[SahaleArm]

23. How To Beat Tim Russert

Get inside his head and shake vigorously: http://slate.msn.com/id/2085153/

[joshan361]

25. good article

thanks

[Dr Fate]

26. Wow- Are the candidates reading this????

They need to...

[joshan361]

27. Clark didnt need it

:D

[Dr Fate]

28. I think Clark's staff reads a lot of internet news...

Perhaps it is wishful thinking, but I have a feeling Clark, more than the others, knows what he is up against...

I have to wonder whether some DEMS are so insulated that they still think the fairness doctrine is in place or somthing...

Clark has done good at nipping Bush/media orchestrated smears in the bud- other DEMS need to take a look...

[BigLed]

31. nice discover

I haven't seen the interview with Clark yet but a perusal of the transcript leads one to believe Clark studied the Jack Shafer article. He used most every technique discussed:

1) Prepare for a Hostile Interrogation
2) Anticipate Russert's Research
3) Put Russert on the Defensive
4) If That Doesn't Work, Concede the Point. Then Make Yours
5) Interrupt Him. Interrupt Again. And Again.

I haven't watched Meet the Press in years, certainly not with Russert at the helm but Shafer sure had the formula nailed for the show today. An interesting read, thanks again.

[Kat45]

34. I thought he did well, and I loved his response when

Russert read something Clark had said in an article, and Clark called him on it (taking something out of context) and said something like, well if you go on with the article you'll see that I said (then he stated what else was in the article). I loved it!

[RandomUser]

35. Yeah, he really put Russert in his place

Clark, rather than Russert, seemed to be in control of the interview.

[ScreamingMeemie]

36. Kick