Spoke w/Today Folk re: Matt Lauer ("He was being sarcastic!")

[IdaBriggs]

Uh, no -- he was lying!!!

For those who weren't watching this morning, Kitty Kelley reminded Matt Lauer he "knows how charming and personable" #41 can be because he's been golfing with him, which Matt IMMEDIATELY denied: "I've never been golfing with him!" Within moments, pictures of Matt and #41 golfing were found via the internet.

I called to complain about this, and was told by the person who answered the phone that "he was being sarcastic because everyone knows he loves golfing!" I politely said, no, he was lying, because he was trying to attack Kitty Kelley's credibility about his having a personal relationship with Bush Sr. The woman told me Matt doesn't HAVE a personal relationship with Bush Sr., and I told her that since most of American HASN'T gone golfing with Bush Sr, he does indeed have a more personal relationship than the rest of us do, and it is showing by Matt's losing journalistic credibility.

Here is the phone number if anyone else wants to share:
Today Show Producers: [phone]
NBC: [phone]
E-Mail: [e-mail] <[e-mail] >

For the record, the woman was polite, but obviously not happy.

[cthrumatrix]

1. they don't like being exposed...great call....Matt was "outed"

the photo's are quite clear...and so was his denial.

He has less credibility than Kitty Kelly

[liberal_in_GA]

2. I'll send an email

thanks for doing this!:kick:

[mhr]

3. I Called As Well - No Unhappiness From Call Taker

Listened very patiently as I listed problems with interview.

[Chelsea Patriot]

48. I just called as well!

I told the person on the other end that Lauer had no credibility and couldn't even lie well, as I was looking at a photo of him golfing with GHW Bush!

And I didn't even use foul language!

Thank you so much for posting that phone number!

[LisaLynne]

4. I sent email already.

[Mistress Quickly]

5. the pictures

of Lauer and Bush golfing, does anyone know where to find them? I really really could use those. I googled a plethera of words and phrases but can't come up with the pictures.


on edit:

found it:

img src=

img src=

link: http://www.fieldturf.com/index.cfm?pageView=readFeature&featureID=11

[KurtNYC]

9. Here are three pics

Story and more pics:
http://www.fieldturf.com/index.cfm?pageView=readFeature&featureID=11

Sample of Lauer "sarcastically" golfing with Bush Sr.

[spooky3]

15. Guys, does anyone have a problem with the following?

If the only time that Matt Lauer has been "golfing" with 41 was when he was doing an interview for the Today show (which is what is shown on the linked site) then I don't think Lauer was lying when he said he has not been golfing with 41, and if that's the only basis for claiming a personal relationship, I agree Lauer does not have such a relationship. Lots of "ifs" in here I realize. But interviews for work don't suffice. Does anyone have more evidence of a personal relationship?

Just to be clear, I am NOT disputing Lauer's bias and variation in levels of professionalism depending on who the interviewee is. I've seen enough evidence of that first-hand myself.

[beaconess]

21. This is, in my view, parsing . . .

Sort of like "I didn't have sexual relations with that woman" and "Kenny Boy was a friend of Ann Richards."

Kitty Kelley's point was that Lauer is cozy with the former President and has seen his "softer" side as a result of his special access to him. While this golfing or putting or whatever you call it (not being a golfer, I don't know any better than to think that when guys are standing around on grass swinging golf clubs at little white balls, that they're golfing) may have been done in the context of an "interview" those kinds of "interviews" represent exactly the cozy, butt-kissing "journalism" that Matt Lauer and his ilk engage in. Most real journalists don't hang around putting with their subjects. And most Americans don't have the opportunity to engage in that kind of interaction with their leaders.

Kitty Kelley made her point and made it well. And Lauer, in an effort to wiggle out of her dead-on zap at him, said something that, while perhaps technically true, was a complete representation.

Nail him!

[alarcojon]

22. I'm with you

Few people who don't already see Lauer as the tool he is will be swayed by Lauer interviewing Poppy on the putting green at his Kennebunkport home. As it stands, this is preaching to the choir.

[LoZoccolo]

26. No, he flat-out lied!

And now it's being used on NewsMax to discredit the Kitty Kelley book plus he used this in an attempt to discredit Kitty Kelley!

[Gman]

27. why care about the "truth"

they damn sure don't.

[IdaBriggs]

28. Actually, Matt does have a "personal" relationship --

He knows first hand how "personable and charming" #41 is because he's interacted with him. Business (and by definition professional) relationships are built by interacting. The Family was happy with Matt's interview with #41 and he was "rewarded" with an opportunity for a private "one on one" with #43. (Remember the "we can't win the war on terra" scandal the week of the convention?) Also, showing Matt golfing with #41 was a way for the Today folks to prove they had access to the power structure. Most of America can't get that level of one-on-one time; Matt's "personal" relationship got him the second interview, and (like most people) Matt is going to do whatever it takes to "protect" people he likes (or who help him in his career).

Matt proved Kitty Kelley does her research, and thus she has journalistic credibility. His first instinct when caught was "denial" but that didn't make what she said untrue. He owes her an apology. Will he give one? Tune in tomorrow!!!

[Misunderestimator]

45. Nope... I saw the interview, and he was CLEARLY claiming that he had

NEVER been golfing with Bush. He was trying to discredit her in every question and every interruption. She absolutely skewered him with that one. No matter if the golfing happened during an interview. Maybe she was exaggerating his "personal relationship" with Bush, but it was then HIS obligation to set the record straight and say that it was only because of an interview with him. Instead he LIED.

Do you think that Matt wouldn't have labeled HER a liar in a similar situation? After all, he has pretty much framed EVERY question in the past two interviews with her as if she is lying about everything. It was fair play, in my opinion for her to mention the personal relationship, and it's fair for us to call him a LIAR now.

[mbali]

47. Hypothetical . . .

Sharon Bush implied yesterday that her publicist corroborates Kitty Kelley's version of her conversation with Bush because he and Kelley have some kind of a "relationship."

Suppose Bush had offered as proof of this relationship the claim that Kelley and the publicist had even been seen golfing together.

Do you think that if Kelley claimed that she had never been golfing with this guy, and then videos surfaced of the two of them putting away in his backyard, Lauer would have let her off the hook after she claimed "We weren't golfing. We were putting. And it was in connection with a business meeting, nothing else."

Right.

[Chelsea Patriot]

49. Spooky3! Please!

He's holding a golf club and hitting a golf ball with the Old Bastard!

Why do people continually make excuses for the Media's lies and complicity?

[KurtNYC]

6. The war on reality

They really think they can lie about everything, absolutely everything.

I recently repeated Katie Couric's denial of NBC bias: "We're not drinking the KoolAid here" to which a fellow DUer quickly added "They ARE the KoolAid!"

[UTUSN]

7. Thanks for the Phone #s. Already sent e-mail. n/t

[cybildisobedience]

8. Just called...

she did hear me out, and said she's recording comments -- so please call, please be polite and speak at a normal level -- no screaming, please!! She's been screamed at all morning, she says, with calls from the other side.
And she repeated the golf, sarcatic, everyone knows it was a joke thing, and I said, hey, nice try, but we all know what's going on....

[dweller]

10. journalistic cred? He's just an entertainer!

It's not news. It's all entertainment anymore.

3-4 minutes of someone reading the headlines with a serious face and tone once or so an hour , and the rest is yuk-yukking it up like they are sitting in an airport lounge somewhere dishing up the latest on fashion trends or who's ahead in the latest 'reality TV show'.

that ain't news. It's tripe. And Americans grow the more ignorant daily from it.
dp

/rant. I guess i'd better not call, i wouldn't be polite.

[cthrumatrix]

14. bingo... they should be called an "infotainment show" and cut the serious

look..becuase they LIE and mislead people with "picking and choosing" what to say is FACT...when it's not.

[oldtime dfl_er]

46. YES

This needs to be remembered constantly. These people are not journalists, they are entertainers and their job is to make sure people don't change the channel. They are moneymakers for themselves and the network. They are not journalists.

[krkaufman]

11. It's simple than that.

Matt's lie was an attempt to break-down Kitty Kelly's credibility.

Kitty said Matt's golfed with HW/41; Matt declares that he is not. Therefore, Kitty Kelly cannot be trusted.

Matt needs to correct himself.

[myrna minx]

12. What business does a journalist have being "sarcastic"

while interviewing a guest? Sheesh. Even if he wasn't lying as per their excuse, it is still extremely unprofessional. Could you imagine Cronkite being "sarcastic" while interviewing McNamara? Gawd...these people SUCK!

[spooky3]

13. You are GOOD on your feet (or on the phone!)! Thanks!

[beaconess]

16. I called and they gave me a different explanation . . .

Said that he had NOT golfed with former President Bush, but that this was simply an interview.

I expressed my unhappiness with the overall interview - Lauer's hostile tone, his complaints that the book offers no "positive" stories about Bush and his insistence that she offer conclusive proof that Bush failed to serve (as if it's her responsibility to prove a negative). The young woman with whom I spoke was polite, but when I got to the golf issue, she became very defensive. I told her that her explanation just doesn't hold water. She said that Lauer would set the record straight tomorrow - and then hung up on me.

They're obviously getting a lot of calls about this.

I think it's important for people calling in to note other problems with the interview, not just the golf issue since they're going to try to wiggle out of that one. The problems with the interview go beyond the golf lie and we should call them on the hostility, defensiveness and obvious water-carrying demonstrated by Lauer's unprofessional treatment of Kelley.

[gratuitous]

17. They'll set the record straight . . . tomorrow

Why not just forgo the lie in the first place, sarcastic, joking, playful or whatever?

I hope the ghost of Dave Garroway visits Lauer in the dark night of his soul, and Lauer begins screaming and never stops.

[Rose Siding]

19. He should have begun *yesterday's* interview with a disclaimer

Whether it was an interview with Bush or not, he should have fessed up that he's been present in a social atmosphere with him, at least.

Kelley's good!

[elehhhhna]

25. "I did NOT have golf with that ex-President!" It depends on what the

meaning of "golf" is.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

[beaconess]

30. Right on!

[spooky3]

35. I agree that the broader/deeper issue is as you say--thanks for

calling them.

[krkaufman]

18. Call placed. Today operator said "he's already planning" to clarify

I made the call to the "producers" number above, and expressed my opinion that Matt's denial was an attempt to break-down Kitty Kelly's credibility* -- when all she was trying to do was relate to Matt on the issue of Bush Sr being "personable and charming."

I stated that Matt *has* golfed with Bush Sr, even if it wasn't 18 holes, and that he should clarify the issue. The operator responded that "he's already planning to do that." (We'll see tomorrow, on 'Today', eh?)

I then closed by suggesting that Matt apologize to Ms Kelly for his statement, and to commend her for knowing her subjects so very well.

Thanks for the phone number.


* On second thought, he may have mostly been trying to just protect his own minimal "appearance" of impartiality.

[beaconess]

24. I think your second thought it dead on

[wicket]

20. Did this happen today?

http://www.mediamatters.org would probably be interested in this...

[Renew Deal]

34. Yes

[canuckybee]

23. spooky3 , I completely agree

Playing golf with someone is vastly different from being invited to try a new putting green after an interview. For one thing, 18 holes of golf is a social or business occasion. You spend 4 or 5 hours together, you chat between holes, lunch together, and have drinks afterward together. As much as I would like to see Lauer made a fool of, I think people are wasting valuable time and energy chasing this one down. It is going to be just one more case of people watching us chase our tails over irrelevant minutiae. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but this one is not going to fly with anyone but DUers.

[beaconess]

29. This is a distinction w/o difference to anyone not familiar with golf

and would sound awfully elitist if they tried to explain it this way.

"Oh, no, Biff. It's not REALLY golf unless we spend four or five hours playing 18 holes in a social or business setting and then bob back up to the club for lunch and drinks with the girls. Standing around the putting green swinging golf clubs at little white balls in the backyard of Mummy and Daddy's summer home is PUTTING not, GOLFING, you silly goose!"

Maybe amongst a certain group of people, the distinction matters, but to most of us in the real world, what Lauer and Bush were doing was golfing.

[spooky3]

39. A comparable situation is one in which Katie is "taught" by

an Olympic athlete to do a long jump as part of a feature on that athlete. Was Katie "long jumping" with Marion Jones? Are they personal friends? I don't think a person has to be a track and field aficionado to know that they aren't really having a serious workout. Lauer you might reply is a golfer. OK, so what if Katie is a serious runner and does an interview with Pres Clinton as he recuperates, followed by a short easy 2 block jog as part of his therapy? Does that in and of itself provide proof positive of her bias or that she is lying if she says she has never been jogging with Clinton? I don't think so.

I'm not a golfer either. I just can't believe that most Americans who go to the site and see that these photos were taken during a Today show interview will believe that they are buddies playing a round a golf. "Golfing" means you call up your personal friend and set aside time, with no Today show crew nearby, for the fun of it. Or, you set up a full round to make a business deal but you really play.

Going back to my Katie-Marion Jones example, they may be personal friends, but not on the basis of photos taken during that particular little feature. If Marion gave Katie the interview but not other journalists based on a friendship or the feeling that Katie would only talk about positives with her, that should be disclosed too, if there are important political implications in it. I am not disputing the bias of Lauer or that his personal connections or willingness to puffball Bush interviews whereas he attacks a person sharing truthful negative information about the Bush family is a problem. It is.


edited to add more comments

[beaconess]

44. Kelley's point was not that they are personal friends

but that Lauer had an opportunity to see the softer, more "positive" side of former President Bush - and, in fact, had broadcast it to the world.

She wasn't accusing them of being close friends - she was simply noting that he had seen the other side of him and that there's nothing wrong with her presenting another perspective.

It's not about whether he golfed or putted or just hung out with him in Kennebunkport - either as a friend, a journalist or a hack - but that he is completely familiar with other facets of the Bush myth.

[LuminousX]

37. Did Bush and Matt hit a golf ball with a golf club?

Then that is golf.

If I take my tennis racket and volley back and forth with a partner for 30 minutes, I still claim I played tennis. If I go to the lake and tread water for 10 minutes, I claim I went swimming. If I take a basketball to the court and horse around with friends, I claim I played basketball. Shagging a few flies at the park is still baseball.

What Matt was doing was dissembling.

[spooky3]

41. not when you are doing any of those things for a few minutes

with a Today show microphone in your hand and camera crew all around, for the express purpose of interviewing the other person. Rallying on the tennis court for 30 minutes with someone of your own choosing, on your own unpaid time, is tennis.

[GOPAgainstGW]

31. * * RESPONSE ALERT – URGENT DU ACTION REQUESTED! * *

Please help in getting this important email alert circulated, Thanks – N.K.R

===========
Email Recd – 09.14.04 - 7:46 EST

ALERT: ALL INTERESTED PARTIES SHOULD SENT MATT LAUER AT THE TODAY SHOW AN EMAIL ON HOW MUCH YOU LOVED KITTY'S "THE FAMILY" BOOK, THE STORY ON THE BUSH FAMILY NEEDED TO BE FINALLY TOLD, THANK GOODNESS MS. KELLEY HAD THE COURAGE TO TELL THE REAL STORY, ETC.

PRO REPUBLICAN/VERY PRO BUSH FAMILY, MATT LAUER HAS A NUMBER OF VERY NEGATIVE FREE REPUBLIC/GOP OPS EMAILS ON KELLEY'S BOOK HE IS GOING TO SLAM KELLEY WITH TOMORROW (WED-9/15/04) ON THE TODAY SHOW.

WE NEED A COUNTER RESPONSE ASAP, EVEN THROUGH THE BOOK ONLY CAME OUT TODAY (9/14/04)!

WE HAVE HAD A COPY OF MS. KELLEY'S BOOK "THE FAMILY" FOR TWO WEEKS AND HAVE READ IT THOROUGHLY. THE BOOK IS VERY GOOD, FOR THIS TYPE OF PUBLICATION, AND RAISES A NUMBER OF SIGNIFICANT ISSUES THAT NEED FORMAL AND/OR LEGAL INVESTIGATION, ALONG WITH SPECIFIC AND CONCISE PUBLIC RESOLUTION BY THE BUSH FAMILY, PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, AND RELATED BUSINESS PARTIES.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT FOR THE BETTER GOOD - J.A.L.

The Today Show
Homepage: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633/?ta=y
About The Today Show: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3079108/
Email: [e-mail]
Today Show Producers: [phone]

The Today Show - Polly Powell, Senior Broadcast Producer
30 Rockefeller Plaza, Rm. 374E
New York, NY 10112
Tele: [phone]
Fax: No General Fax Number
NBC-Main #: [phone]

"The Today Show" Staff:
TOM TOUCHET, Executive Producer
POLLY POWELL, Senior Broadcast Producer
Don Nash, Betsy Alexander, Tom Mazzarelli, Senior Producers
KATIE COURIC, Co-Anchor
MATT LAUER, Co-Anchor
ANN CURRY, News Anchor
AL ROKER, Weather and Feature Reporter
GENE SHALIT, Arts Editor and Critic
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BOB DOTSON, National Correspondent
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----
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----
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===============

ADD’L COMMENTS – NKR: Kitty Kelley will be on Hardball tonight with Chris Matthews and The Today Show again tomorrow, among other TV shows we have previously posted at:

Kitty Kelley “The Family” - Book Details & Current Information
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=795121&mesg_id=795121

I/we look forward to meeting Kitty when she comes to Texas next week to promote her book, in all major Texas cities. - NKR

Kitty Kelley Videos (9/13-9/15/04) - "Today Show with Matt Lauer":
http://video.msn.com/video/p.htm
- Go to Home and Living, then NBC Today
OR
Day One Interviews with Kitty and Sharon Bush
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5989684/

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"Insider’s News”, Vol 1 - Kerry-Edwards Campaign Doing Well
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x748458
“Insider’s News” Vol 1.1 - Great Anti-Bush Sites
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x756409
Kitty Kelley “The Family” - Book Details & Current Information
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=795121&mesg_id=795121

Public Sites we are Involved
Democratic Underground: http://www.democraticunderground.com
Media Matters for America: http://mediamatters.org
Kerry-Edwards OnLine Forum: http://forum.johnkerry.com
* Kerry-Edwards Rapid Response Center
.....Official Press Releases on SBVT: http://blog.johnkerry.com/rapidresponse

[GOPAgainstGW]

32. Thanks For the Heads Up Post on the Golf Picture of Mutt & the Prez!!!!!!

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Beltway and Texas Republicans Against Bush-Cheney ’04, Inc.
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"Insider’s News”, Vol 1 - Kerry-Edwards Campaign Doing Well
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x748458
“Insider’s News” Vol 1.1 - Great Anti-Bush Sites
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x756409
Kitty Kelley “The Family” - Book Details & Current Information
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=795121&mesg_id=795121

Public Sites we are Involved
Democratic Underground: http://www.democraticunderground.com
Media Matters for America: http://mediamatters.org
Kerry-Edwards OnLine Forum: http://forum.johnkerry.com
* Kerry-Edwards Rapid Response Center
.....Official Press Releases on SBVT: http://blog.johnkerry.com/rapidresponse

[Renew Deal]

33. I got hung up on.

She was saying "he did not" and "it was during an interview"

[seabeyond]

36. she hung up on me. twice

lol lol and i was nice, quiet and respectful. so left a message, talking about the hang ups on a customer. dont know many businesses that allow the hanging up on a customer

[Clinton Crusader]

42. Im in NY and called

and was told "he did NOT play golf, it was an INTERVIEW' Emphasis theirs. I continued or tried to say

"he's is not a reporter in the true sense of the word, looking for the story, asking questions, letting the person answer, he badgered her, tried to make her look like a liar and foolish, why didnt he attack and badger the SBL, because as I see it..."

click.

They must be deluged with calls and emails
:kick:

[Paradise]

38. thanks, i emailed him. n/t

[dumpster_baby]

40. Lying Lauer went on "golf vacation with Rush Limbaugh

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/930024/posts

[cybildisobedience]

43. EXCELLENT catch

you should post this separately somewhere...