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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (73229)	9/26/2004 12:55:09 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 794157

Matthews treats O'Neil decently and David Corn can't stand it. Matthews Lets O'Neill Escape Without a Scratch I'm reeling. I just watched Chris Matthews interview Swift Vets capo John O'Neill on Hardball, and it was a softball bonanza. Now I like Matthews and consider him one of the best interviewers out there. His face-off with Zell Miller during the GOP convention will forever be a TV-news classic. That's why I'm puzzled by this segment. I will have to check the transcript tomorrow, but Matthews asked O'Neill more than once to explain what impact his book, Unfit For Command, has had on the election. Why has it been so popular? Matthews inquired. And he essentially gave O'Neill an open mike to repeat his latest beef against Kerry--that Kerry met with Viet Cong representatives in Paris during the war. Matthews didn't challenge O'Neill on this. He did not note that the Swift Vets' latest ad says this was a "secret" meeting, even though Kerry talked about it during his very public testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Matthews did not explain that at the time the Viet Cong reps were in negotiations with the South Vietnamese government. Nor did he note that Kerry camp claims the subject of this meeting was POW-related issues. O'Neill repeated the false charge that Kerry called all Vietnam vets criminals, and Matthews did not press him on that. It's not what Kerry said. (When I was on the show last year--and it's always a treat to appear on Hardball--Matthews pounded Ann Coulter when she totally mischaracterized the reason that George C. Scott turned down the Oscar he won for Patton.) Matthews also did not question O'Neill about his claim that Kerry has lied about the combat episodes that earned Kerry his Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts--a claim that has been much undermined--or disproved--by eyewitnesses and official military records, as noted in various media reports (including articles by yours truly; see here and here). What happened, Chris? Since I cannot get O'Neill in the witness chair, I was counting on you to ask the tough questions. Sure, give O'Neill the chance to make his case, but then grill him and let the audience see if he can withstand the incoming. O'Neill, though, faced no fire and escaped without a scratch. davidcorn.com