Betsy's page - Lorie Byrd absolutely nails the atmosphere at the White House briefing. Terry Moran and David Gregory were egregiously rude and misleading. They are ready to convict Karl Rove even though they acknowledge that he probably (sadly) did not break the law. The main thing upsetting them is that they think that Karl Rove and Scott McClellan were Clintonesque in how they worded their denials that Karl Rove was the leaker. Lorie makes the astute point that the White House is at fault for not pointing out the lies that Joe Wilson told. The way they're acting now is as if Rove is guilty. They have to do better than that."
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Big Tough Guys With Perfectly Coifed Hair
Polipundit
A reader told me that I simply MUST see Hardball Monday night. I missed the first showing, but caught the late night replay due to his tip. Sitting through the show was worth it to see the performance by David Gregory in today’s White House briefing. I later saw a similar performance by Terry Moran of ABC News.
I don’t even know how to describe the journalists’ questions in the briefing. I guess I could say they were disrespectful and disgraceful, but that does not quite do it justice. When I was watching, I just could not even get terribly angry about it because I was laughing too hard. Here are these blow-dried reporters who have spent years focusing their reports on whatever points the Democrat leaders tell them are important, rather than correctly framing and reporting the stories they cover, getting all nasty and going off on Scott McClellan over Karl Rove.
I can think of so many other times and other issues that they should have gotten excited about, but obviously Karl Rove is just too juicy a Democrat target for these partisans to resist. They sounded a bit like playground bullies, but ones with too meticulously styled hair and a little too much whine in their voices and prissy shoulder and hand motions to come across as exactly tough guys. If I find a video link I will post it, but here is an excerpt from the transcript in the meanwhile:
Q Scott, can I ask you this; did Karl Rove commit a crime?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, David, this is a question relating to an ongoing investigation, and you have my response related to the investigation. And I don’t think you should read anything into it other than we’re going to continue not to comment on it while it’s ongoing.
Q Do you stand by your statement from the fall of 2003 when you were asked specifically about Karl and Elliott Abrams and Scooter Libby, and you said, “I’ve gone to each of those gentlemen, and they have told me they are not involved in this” – do you stand by that statement?
MR. McCLELLAN: And if you will recall, I said that as part of helping the investigators move forward on the investigation we’re not going to get into commenting on it. That was something I stated back near that time, as well.
Q Scott, I mean, just – I mean, this is ridiculous. The notion that you’re going to stand before us after having commented with that level of detail and tell people watching this that somehow you decided not to talk. You’ve got a public record out there. Do you stand by your remarks from that podium, or not?
MR. McCLELLAN: And again, David, I’m well aware, like you, of what was previously said, and I will be glad to talk about it at the appropriate time. The appropriate time is when the investigation –
Q Why are you choosing when it’s appropriate and when it’s inappropriate?
MR. McCLELLAN: If you’ll let me finish –
Q No, you’re not finishing – you’re not saying anything. You stood at that podium and said that Karl Rove was not involved. And now we find out that he spoke out about Joseph Wilson’s wife. So don’t you owe the American public a fuller explanation? Was he involved, or was he not? Because, contrary to what you told the American people, he did, indeed, talk about his wife, didn’t he? MR. McCLELLAN: David, there will be a time to talk about this, but now is not the time to talk about it.
Q Do you think people will accept that, what you’re saying today?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I’ve responded to the question.
I say this questioning is disgraceful not because reporters beat Scott McClellan about the head over past statements. That is fair enough. What is disgraceful is today’s performance in the context of their past reporting on this matter, which has not accurately told the full story. Terry Moran took his embarrassing journalistic shortcomings one step further, with the following inaccurate statement in the briefing.
Go ahead, Terry.
Q Well, you’re in a bad spot here, Scott, because after the investigation began, after the criminal investigation was underway, you said – October 10th, 2003, “I spoke with those individuals, Rove, Abrams and Libby, as I pointed out, those individuals assured me they were not involved in this.” From that podium. That’s after the criminal investigation began. Now that Rove has essentially been caught red-handed peddling this information, all of a sudden you have respect for the sanctity of the criminal investigation?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, that’s not a correct characterization Terry, and I think you are well aware of that. We know each other very well, and it was after that period that the investigators had requested that we not get into commenting on an ongoing criminal investigation. And we want to be helpful so that they can get to the bottom of this, because no one wants to get to the bottom of it more than the President of the United States. I am well aware of what was said previously. I remember well what was said previously. And at some point, I look forward to talking about it. But until the investigation is complete, I’m just not going to do that.
Read the Newsweek story. Consider the facts. The revelation of Karl Rove’s contact with Matt Cooper is not sufficient to result in the feeding frenzy (to put it mildly) that erupted today. What the partisan David Gregory and Terry Moran were reacting to was not the contents of Matt Cooper’s notes and email, but to the very name of Karl Rove.
I think McClellan and the White House make a mistake by giving the impression that they are distancing themselves from Rove. If what the Newsweek story says is correct, Rove did not name Plame, and was not engaging in any retribution, but was rather correcting the bogus, false story that Joe Wilson was peddling.
I think that when the White House made their biggest mistake, though, was by not attacking Joe Wilson’s and Democrats’ lies earlier on. This was the beginning of the “Bush lied” mantra by the Democrats and it never should have been allowed. Democrats want to cry that Wilson was attacked by the White House, but by simply saying the guy misrepresented what was in his report and saying that he was not qualified in the first place and was only sent on the mission because his wife got him the job is not exactly hardball. If the Republicans ever grew a spine and decided to play hardball with the Democrats, even their buddies in the media could not save them from themselves.
UPDATE: I am not the only one to notice the whiny, prissy tone of the questioning. Michelle Malkin has an excellent roundup and analysis of the briefing with an apt title, “Who Let The Dogs Out?“
UPDATE II: Welcome Ldotters and thanks to Lucianne for making this today’s “BlogTruth.” I have been a Lucianne.com fan for many, many years and know enough about Lucianne readers to know that the comments section will definitely be busy today.
-- Lorie Byrd
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