Posted on 02/18/2006 4:31:49 AM PST by frankjr
It's been a rough and tumble week in the White House press room over the Cheney hunting story. Many viewers have written me with praise and plenty of criticism about my questioning of press secretary Scott McClellan.
Let me say at the outset that I was wrong to lose my temper at Scott McClellan. I've worked well with Scott since we first met during the 2000 campaign. Monday, he suggested my aggressive questioning about the disclosure of the hunting accident was a stunt for the cameras. He said this during a morning OFF CAMERA briefing, which undercut his point. Furthermore, I considered it a cheap shot. I said, "Don't be a jerk to me personally, just answer the question." I regret saying that because it's never appropriate to speak that way and because it created a distraction from the issues at hand.
Putting that aside, I do not apologize for asking tough questions about this story. I'm in the business of getting information -- as much of it as possible....I have not made any judgments about the facts of this story as it pertains to what happened on the Armstrong ranch....Mr. Cheney, in my view, acted as if he had something to hide.
Yet the debate playing out in the blogosphere, cable airwaves and on talk radio pits the Vice President against an allegedly left-wing, overly cynical, prissy White House press corps in a tizzy because it wasn't the first to know and angry because it hates the President and Vice President anyway. This is nonsense....Have you Googled transcripts from the Clinton administration at the height of the Lewinsky scandal?
(Excerpt) Read more at dailynightly.msnbc.com ...
Now, I ask myself why Gregory feels the need to explain himself. This can't be the first time that he has received lots of e-mails for being a jerk...the show-off episode where he questioned Chirac in French in order to make President Bush look stupid comes to mind...but I digress.
Since this isn't the first time he has received a lot of e-mail from angry viewers, something else has caused him to justify himself in print. What would that be?
Well, I doubt that the White House leaned on NBC, since they tolerate other evil morons in the press corps, (Helen Thomas and Terry Moran come to mind)and had the White House complained, THAT would be in the story. So, it isn't the White House that has made Mr. Gregory nervous.
NBC is in big trouble. They are losing viewers and, what's more, THE OLYMPICS ARE NOT PROVING TO BE THE MONEYMAKERS THEY THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE. I heard that for some evenings they are going to have to offer advertisers free time. They are also not letting any networks use video from the Games, which indicates to me they are trying to force viewers onto their channels for the news.
So, Mr. Gregory happened to make a public jerk of himself at the very time that the bean counters are looking for any way to staunch the red ink, and has unfortunately (for him) come under scrutiny from the higher-ups, whose bonuses, if not jobs, depend on showing some profitability. Hmmm.
I bet if we pay extra attention to Mr. Gregory over the next few weeks, we will see that he has suddenly discovered manners and respect for the President. HA!!
WoW GOPJ - you just gave me a flashback with your correct total recall. That is just how it happened. Of course, there were whispers among them but no way were they going to tarnish that Kennedy "mystique".
It's shocking to me he could be conceited enough to even *try* to make that comparison. It's somewhat on par with Saddam Hussein's "I was tough, but fair" defense, for audacity.
LOL! Love your home page, can't decide which issue is my favorite - I think the one with Ann. LOL!
I would love to see Bush call on Gregory, listen to his question, then call on someone else. Wouldn't that be fun?
lmao.. do you have a link to the Hissy Dave/chirak interview? a video maybe? lmao
Petulant dweeb homo pulls hissy fit as his panties curl up!
That about it????
Yes - reading them. Maybe we should hold an annual awards program for the biggest crybaby in the msm (so many crybabies - so little time). Gregory is off to a running err... crying start.
That's the real key: their egos.
These people have a self image that's damn near bullet-proof.
They think they're smarter than the average person, and they think people who are undeniably smarter than they are can't see "the big picture."
Either way, they aren't going to question themselves as long as their egos are unblemished.
Or maybe Rove could throw a GOP fundraiser raffle where the winners get to be "Press Secretary for a Day".
Not a fair comparison. The height of the Lewinski scandal occurred over a year after the story was first broke by Matt Drudge. At the beginning of the story, there were no members of the Whitehouse press corps demanding answers. It would be a full seven months before the President would address then, and then only to wag his finger and lie to the American people in front of the cameras. And even then, he didn't take any questions from the press. Gregory's blatant double-standard is monumental.
I was about to post the same thing. Good job!
Gregory is caught in a lie seen by millions!
Don't fall into that trap. Often, a reporter will waive their right to vote as a token gesture to fairness as they use their professional position to influence elections in the direction they want, anyway.
Gregory looks like a wax mannequin.
Thanks. I forgot about the "mystique" thing... Good catch. The stenographers for the democrats, (MSM reporters) would say "mystique" with a kind of "ouuu and ahhh" sound. Like even the word was a Kennedy alter to worship at -- they were shameless.
The old Kennedy clips should be given to David Gregory. He needs to know how "hard" questions are asked. Then Gregory can report: "The Cheney family, meeting at the family compound, where a touch football game had been played, are unable to comment. The family, dealing with yet another tragedy, has gathered around Rose, the family matriarch for comfort. The family's privacy must be respected." Reporters were given tea in the garden where they were allowed to swear eternal gratitude for being allowed to be in the presence of those so much more wonderful than they could even imagine being... One reporter was removed for kissing the feet of a dog at the compound that wasn't a Kennedy (Cheney) dog. And yes, the mystique lives on...
Not directly; they just gave the Cheney interview to Fox.
I'm sure NBC got the point, and as you infer from the Gregory piece, it may at last be dawning on the higher-ups at NBC that there is a connection between the public face of their business, i.e., the reporters, and the size of their audience.
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.
Great graphic! ;-D
Gregory pretty much summed himself up! lol!
Thank you very much for the idea and the address!!
I am going to send him a box of Depends that were given to me as a joke gift.
David Gregory
NBC News Booth
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave
Washington DC 20500
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