Couric fails to challenge "scary smart," " 'girly' and fun" Rice on a host of issues
SUMMARY: During a profile of "scary smart," " 'girly' and fun" Condoleezza Rice, broadcast on 60 Minutes, Katie Couric let Rice make, without challenge, a series of false and misleading statements about the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq and its use of prewar intelligence, as well as the war's effect on global instability. Couric tossed Rice softball questions, such as, "Is it hard for you to have a social life?" "[H]ow does one go about asking the secretary of state out on a date?"
In a profile of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, broadcast during the September 24 edition of CBS' 60 Minutes, CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric offered Rice a platform to make a series of false and misleading statements about the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq and its use of prewar intelligence, as well as the war's effect on global instability. During the interview, Rice asserted that the "world is safer because we're finally confronting these terrorists," and claimed that "the administration was using the best available intelligence [during the lead-up to the Iraq war], and so, everybody thought that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction," despite abundant evidence contradicting those claims. During the rest of the interview, Couric repeatedly lauded "true believer" Rice, tossing her softball questions, such as, "Do you ever doubt yourself or your ideology?" "Is it hard for you to have a social life?" "[H]ow does one go about asking the secretary of state out on a date?" and "Would you like to get married one day?"
Moreover, in a September 22 post on the CBS News weblog Couric & Co., Couric previewed her profile of Rice, describing her as "scary smart" and "much warmer, more 'girly' and fun than the disciplined, controlled stateswoman you see on the world stage." Couric concluded the post by asserting that Rice "doesn't like to muck anything up."
As if validating that assertion, during her interview on 60 Minutes, Couric failed to challenge Rice's misleading answers on a variety of issues and did not press Rice on others.
Bin Laden still at large
During the interview, Rice asserted that the Bush administration's foreign policy has made the "world ... safer because we're finally confronting these terrorists," and stated that "we've done a great deal to ... begin to lay that foundation" for a "democratic and prosperous and ... truly stable" Middle East. At no point, however, did Couric mention Osama bin Laden, Al Qeada, or any of Bush's specific counterterrorism policies.
Couric failed to question Rice about Bush's reported failure to capture bin Laden in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan after the post-9-11 U.S. invasion. As Media Matters for America has noted, in his recent book, The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11 (Simon & Schuster, June 2006), investigative journalist Ron Suskind wrote that the CIA had warned Bush specifically that the Pakistani and Afghan forces, who, along with CIA special forces, had cornered bin Laden at Tora Bora, were "definitely not" equipped to capture him themselves. The CIA officer overseeing the agency's hunt for bin Laden in Afghanistan personally warned Bush that the United States risked "los[ing] our prey" if more U.S. troops were not sent to help in the effort. The troops were not sent, and bin Laden escaped the area.
Couric further failed to press Rice on the fact that bin Laden is still at large and, according to counterterrorism officials cited in a September 9 Washington Post article, that leads on bin Laden's location are "stone cold":
The clandestine U.S. commandos whose job is to capture or kill Osama bin Laden have not received a credible lead in more than two years. Nothing from the vast U.S. intelligence world -- no tips from informants, no snippets from electronic intercepts, no points on any satellite image -- has led them anywhere near the al-Qaeda leader, according to U.S. and Pakistani officials.
"The handful of assets we have have given us nothing close to real-time intelligence" that could have led to his capture, said one counterterrorism official, who said the trail, despite the most extensive manhunt in U.S. history, has gone "stone cold."
Finally, Couric did not note any of the myriad contradictory statements Bush has made on the priority his administration places on capturing bin Laden.
Bush's contradictory statements on sending troops to Pakistan to capture bin Laden
In addition to not asking Rice about bin Laden, Couric also failed to ask her about Bush's recent contradictory statements on whether he would consider ordering U.S. troops into Pakistan to apprehend or kill bin Laden. Bush asserted, during a September 20 interview on CNN's The Situation Room, that he would "[a]bsolutely" order U.S. military forces into Pakistan to capture or kill bin Laden if intelligence revealed he was there, despite having stated, during a September 15 press conference, that Pakistan is a "sovereign nation" into which the United States would have to be "invited."
Prewar intelligence
Regarding the administration's use of prewar intelligence in building the case for war, Couric stated that Rice used her "credibility to rally the American people behind" the war, and then asked: "Now it turns out there were no weapons of mass destruction. Do you regret using that [argument]?" Rice replied: "The idea that, somehow, because the intelligence was wrong, we were misleading the American people -- I really resent that." Couric then said, "Really? Because that's what ... so many people think." Rice responded that "the administration was using the best available intelligence, and so, everybody thought that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction." At no point did Couric challenge Rice with reports that she knowingly made false statements, in both her current capacity as secretary of state and previous position as national security adviser, concerning intelligence over Iraq's purported WMDs and the administration's use of that intelligence in building the case for war.
In The New York Times' large-scale investigation of the intelligence regarding Iraq's purchase of aluminum tubes, the paper reported on October 3, 2004, that Rice misrepresented the state of intelligence on the tubes and had reason to know she was doing so. Prior to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the White House and parts of the intelligence community had promoted the purchase as crucial evidence that Saddam Hussein had restarted his nuclear weapons program. From the article:
The tubes were "only really suited for nuclear weapons programs," Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security adviser, explained on CNN on Sept. 8, 2002. "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."
But almost a year before, Ms. Rice's staff had been told that the government's foremost nuclear experts seriously doubted that the tubes were for nuclear weapons, according to four officials at the Central Intelligence Agency and two senior administration officials, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity. The experts, at the Energy Department, believed the tubes were likely intended for small artillery rockets.
In addition, the Center for American Progress published an analysis of a dozen false claims Rice has made regarding the administration's pre-9-11 counterterrorism intelligence, the purported link between Iraq and the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks during the buildup to war, and the administration's response to 9-11, including:
CLAIM: "Not a single National Security Council principal at [Bush's Camp David meeting with his war cabinet on September 15, 2001] recommended to the president going after Iraq. The president thought about it. The next day he told me Iraq is to the side." -- National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, 3/22/04
FACT: According to the Washington Post, "six days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President Bush signed a 2-and-a-half-page document marked 'TOP SECRET' " that "directed the Pentagon to begin planning military options for an invasion of Iraq." This is corroborated by a CBS News [story], which reported on 9/4/02 that five hours after the 9/11 attacks, "Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was telling his aides to come up with plans for striking Iraq." [Source: Washington Post, 1/12/03. CBS News, 9/4/02]
[...]
CLAIM: "It's not as if anybody believes that Saddam Hussein was without weapons of mass destruction." -- National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, 3/18/04
FACT: The Bush Administration's top weapons inspector David Kay "resigned his post in January, saying he did not believe banned stockpiles existed before the invasion" and has urged the Bush Administration to "come clean" about misleading America about the WMD threat. [Source: Chicago Tribune, 3/24/04; UK Guardian, 3/3/04]
[...]
CLAIM: "The president returned to the White House [following the Camp David meeting] and called me in and said, I've learned from George Tenet that there is no evidence of a link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11." -- National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, [NBC's Today] 3/22/04
FACT: If this is true, then why did the President and Vice President repeatedly claim Saddam Hussein was directly connected to 9/11? President Bush sent a letter to Congress on 3/19/03 saying that the Iraq war was permitted specifically under legislation that authorized force against "nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11." Similarly, Vice President Cheney said on 9/14/03 that "It is not surprising that people make that connection" between Iraq and the 9/11 attacks, and said "we don't know" if there is a connection. [Source: BBC, 9/14/03]
From the September 24 broadcast of CBS' 60 Minutes:
COURIC: As national security adviser and now secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice is one of the chief architects of American foreign policy, a foreign policy as bold and far-reaching as any in recent times. She's become the central figure at the president's side in defending the war in Iraq and the war on terror, and she's not just towing the line. Condi Rice is a true believer. What we learned in a series of interviews is that this smart, tough, deeply religious woman sees the struggle against the enemies of the United States as a fight of good versus evil -- a lot like the struggle she experienced as a child growing up in segregated Birmingham, Alabama.
RICE: I probably have, at one level, a better understanding or -- or perhaps, let me say, a more personal understanding of what the dark side of human beings can look like. I remember very well in 1963, when Birmingham was so violent, when it acquired the name "Bomb-ingham," that even with my wonderfully protective family, you had to wonder: Why are they doing this to us? And on the other hand, I have a great faith in the ability of people to triumph over the dark side of -- of human beings.
[...]
RICE: And so, when I look around the world and I hear people say, "Well, you know, they're just not ready for democracy," it really does resonate, or I hear echoes of, "Well, you know, blacks are kind of childlike. They really can't handle the vote" or "They really can't take care of themselves." It -- it really does roil me. It makes me so angry because I think there are those echoes of what people once thought about black Americans.
COURIC [voiceover]: It's the same argument she uses to defend the difficult war in Iraq and the Bush administration's goal of spreading democracy around the world.
You're such a true believer, Secretary Rice. Do you ever doubt yourself or your ideology?
RICE: I just believe in the power of these values, and I know how tough it is. And I know what Americans see on their -- on their screens. But in all great times of testing, in all great times of challenge, there are doubts. And these challenges are going to be overcome.
COURIC [voiceover]: She is said to be closer to the president than any secretary of state in more than 50 years and is legendary for her loyalty.
BUSH [video clip]: All right.
COURIC [voiceover]: When Mr. Bush appeared on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and the message was "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq --
RICE [video clip]: Isn't it terrific? Hey! I'm never going to take it off.
COURIC [voiceover]: Condi Rice was there, ever the loyal soldier.
You used your credibility to rally the American people behind this. Now it turns out there were no weapons of mass destruction. Do you regret using that?
RICE: I don't regret at all overthrowing Saddam Hussein.
COURIC: But that's not the question.
RICE: Am I -- well -- on my -- do I wish the intelligence had been better? Absolutely. I've wished every day since we learned. The idea that, somehow, because the intelligence was wrong, we were misleading the American people -- I really resent that.
COURIC: Really? Because that's what --
RICE: I really resent it.
COURIC: -- so many people think.
RICE: No. I resent it because the administration was using the best available intelligence, and so, everybody thought that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. He'd used them, for goodness' sakes.
COURIC: You have conceded that lots of mistakes have been made in Iraq. Vice President Cheney says, if he had to do it again, he'd do it the same way. Do you agree?
RICE: Well, I would certainly do it again and --
COURIC: But do it the same way?
RICE: Well, you -- nobody can go back and -- and reinvent the past. We can't do it, Katie.
COURIC: But you can learn from your mistakes.
RICE: I'm enough of an historian to know that things that look like brilliant policies at the time turn out to have been really stupid, and things that looked like mistakes at the time turn out to have been brilliant policies. I'll let history judge those things.
COURIC [voiceover]: In the time we spent with the Secretary, this was one of the few moments we found her alone. She works out six days a week, starting at 5 a.m., often to the music of Led Zeppelin or Cream.
But this is the music that really moves her. As often as she can, she gathers a group of four friends for an afternoon of Schumann or Brahms, and -- no surprise -- every piece is followed by a debriefing.
[begin video clip]
RICE: Yeah, OK. What did you think? I thought it was hectic, actually.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: A little sluggish, if anything.
COURIC: How often are you able to get together to play?
RICE: We were --
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Depends on the world situation.
RICE: Shall we play the recapitulation?
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: All right.
RICE: All right.
[end video clip]
RICE: [voiceover] It's hard to imagine my life without music. I certainly find it as a way to completely transport into another world. I've been asked, but, you know, "Is it relaxing?" and I say, "Well, it's not exactly relaxing, struggling with Brahms, but it is transporting." You're just in another world. Life is much fuller when I've got my music.
Rice [video clip]: Good morning.
COURIC [voiceover]: Life is very full for this 51-year-old overachiever, a woman who graduated from college Phi Beta Kappa at 19. She's treated like a rock star, and everything from her sense of style to her possible suitors is the subject of endless gossip. Esquire readers voted her the woman they'd most like to take to dinner.
COURIC: Is it hard for you to have a social life? It must be impossible. First of all, when do you find the time?
RICE: Yeah.
COURIC: Second of all, how does one go about asking the secretary of state out on a date? "Hi, Madam Secretary? Listen --"
RICE: Well, I won't even go there on the second question. But I've -- I've got great friends and people that I see.
COURIC: Would you like to get married one day?
RICE: Oh, wouldn't we all love to find somebody that you'd want to live the rest of your life with? Sure. But I've never thought you wanted to get married in the abstract. You want to get married to someone, and so, I've just never particularly wanted to get married to someone. But who knows? Maybe one of these days.
COURIC [voiceover]: But these days, she's consumed by waging war and promoting democracy, and when she defends her position, this former Stanford professor can, at times, sound like she's lecturing a class.
RICE: I'm a true believer in the process of democratization as a way to overcome old wounds, and I believe that if we don't do that, then people who've had their differences, people who've resolved their differences by violence or by repression are never going to find a way to live peacefully together.
COURIC: Is it really priority number one, in terms of philosophically and pragmatically, for the United States to be spreading democracy around the world?
RICE: Well, first of all, the United States is not spreading democracy; the United States is standing with those who want a democratic future.
COURIC [voiceover]: And the future is what she focuses on. A passionate student of history, Condi Rice believes turmoil often precedes periods of peace and stability, and she rejects the notion that the U.S. is a bully imposing its values on the world.
RICE: What's wrong with assistance so that people can have their full and complete right to the very liberties and freedoms that we enjoy?
COURIC: To quote my daughter, "Who made us the boss of them?"
RICE: Well, it's not a matter of being the boss of them; it's speaking for people who are voiceless.
COURIC: You have said that your goal was, quote, "to leave the world not just safer, but better." Right now, Iraq doesn't seem safer. Iran and North Korea have not fallen into line. Do you honestly believe that the world is safer now?
RICE: The world is safer because we're finally confronting these terrorists. We're finally confronting this challenge. And so I think we are safer. We're not yet safe. And I know that I'm not going to see the final outcome of the Middle East that we describe as democratic and prosperous and -- and, in that way, truly stable, but all that I can do on my watch is to try to lay a foundation so that that will become the Middle East of the future, and I think we've done a great deal to -- to begin to lay that foundation.
do you think people such as katie and matt get all these wonderful exclusives from condi and bush? because they know that they will ask some general questions that seem to actually ask something, but are really nothing but a chance to just repeat some administration talking point. gee, condi, are we really safer? yes, katie, and we're working hard every second. when a real question would be, how come you said those tubes only had a nuclear use when our scientists were saying otherwise.
Another good question Katie could have asked Rice would have been whether the federal government should have used force on Alabama to get them to obey the US Constitution.
The networks and corporate news sources will tell us that it is 'market pressure' that helped put an arrogant dolt like Couric into the highchair at CBS... I think it's a deliberate, continual push toward offering us less and less useful information. The so-called 'news' in the US is a joke.
I do believe Couric thinks she's a talented 'journalist' who earned this 'honor, however... hence, her indignance and arrogance when challenged (very Bush-like, if you ask me)... It's all very sad.
All she's missing is the cheerleader suit and the pom-poms.
but does this sound familiar? an aide to new hampshire republican u.s. representative charles bass has been let go because, get this, he was going on websites and urging supporters of bass' opponent to put their time and money elsewhere because the race was no longer competitive. among his names, indynh and indienh.
Several Things...
- The True Believer thing, as if she is so heroic for sticking with the BushieCo empirical worldplan. And for perky Katie and CBS to go along with it as if we're all happy warriors in Condi's army is scarily propagandic...especially the repeating of "True Believer" ad naseum.
- Comparing the struggle of African Americans to the Iraqi "lovers of democracy" (by the tip of the bayonet) is ridiculous considering BushieCo's popularity rating with AAs currently. A good follow-up would have been, "then why is your administration so unpopular with AAs today?
- The obsession of BushieCo and Condi with history's assessment. There will be enough pro and con books on history when this blather of an administration gets back to "clearing brush" that Condi may never be satisfied.
- Katie's best Today Show perky smile when watching Condi play the pianer. Isn't she just wonderful?
Ed Murrow's coffin is on permanent spin cycle.
we talkin' about the same person who got her BBB handed to her in a platter when practically moments after calling Clinton a liar a document called "Strategy for Eliminating the Threat from the Jihadist Networks of al-Qida: Status and Prospects." proved her wrong? That Codpiece?
It's gonna take a lot more than this to revoke Katie's solid credentials of liberal bias. Her record of liberal bias is very well established ("Meet the Real katie Couric").
"Scary smart," "girly," and "fun" labels on a conservative = "conservative misinformation"? Couric tried to press her ("But that's not the question."), but the 60 Minutes piece was a profile of Rice, not a full-on foreign policy/political interview. It was not a Sunday morning show.
My 2 cents. Thank you.
The media research center - oy vay, what a respectable group of whiteys! From Wikipedia:
The Media Research Center (MRC) was founded in 1987 by L. Brent Bozell III. According to its website, its mission is "to bring balance and responsibility to the news media. On October 1, 1987, a group of young determined conservatives set out to not only prove — through sound scientific research — that liberal bias in the media does exist and undermines traditional American values, but also to neutralize its impact on the American political scene."
The same group that falsely claimed the WWF murdere 4 children and got their butts sued off. The same group that has taken so much money from Exxon that they should be renamed the media research and drilling center.
I love how the MRC seemed to think Coric has "liberal bias" because of a few pro-feminist quotations. Next thing I know, they'll be calling her a "n*gg**-lover" for interviewing Rice.
>>"Her record of liberal bias is very well established"<<
Someday (when you're not busy with your "Franken Lies" joke of a web page) you can maybe stoop down to our lowly level here and enlighten everyone with your vast library of superior knowledge. So far, however, all you've got is a link to Brent Bozell's laughably inept Media Research Carnival-er, Center, a discredited, dishonest, right-wingnut web rag with zero credibility.
Here's your two cents back - we feel sorry for you.
Last Thursday we were talking about the MRC, and you cut and run from the conversation. Considering your obvious inability to defend your source, it's highly contemptible that you continue to use them.
Katie has had to change her tone to get the access she needs to pedal her interviews. Condi wants to appear more friendly to Liberal Women so she appeared with Katie to get access to her audience.
They both got what they wanted from the interview and the public got nothing.
Couric threw total softballs at a war criminal. That's not liberal, that's collaborationist.
would want to have a pro-Constitution bias.
I know criminals help ratings, but they should at least refrain from rooting for them.
Labeling people is just another form of ad hominem attack as far as I am concerned.
I don't care if she is the Dalai Lama, if what she said/did was silly or promotes conservative misinformation in the end, does it really matter what label this or that group has assigned to her?
This interview was'nt just a "Soft-Pitch Interview," it was a "Soft Porn Political Add" for Condi for Pres.
This would be the sick irony; the pretty face, and putty little butt that waddled her story around the world about Iraqi Nukes and WMD"s, proclaiming some sick rationale of historical context with the administration's carefree attitude about Bin Laden in the first 8 months of 2001, would end up the aire apparent to the thrown of the new King George.
I wonder will America allow this? President Condi Rice ? whom would be her V.P. ? or would she be the V.P. with maybe of a sellout-maverick from Arizona??
We could scrape the barrell, but I dare say would could hardly do worse. A continuation of the Republican hold on power usurps democracy and allows the most radical in their party to put a strangle hold on power.
An American Fascism is the result of a Republican victory in the coming election, it is that simple. American Democracy is at stake this November!
Happy Thoughts;
Dan Grady
I believe that Karl Rove is grooming Condi for a run in 2008, in case Hillary is the nominee for the Democrats. Condi trumps the feminist card as well as the race card. Never mind that Condi is a proven liar; honesty is apparently not an issue with the "family values" bunch, as long as the liar is on their side.
The real question is whether the Southern Troglodyte vote will turn out in great numbers for a black woman. Can they pull the lever for Condi without making their heads explode? It will certainly be a true test of Karl's skills, but I think he can pull it off, unless we get lucky and he's in prison by that time.
is that people actually think of Katie Couric as a journalist. Let's face it, this was a condi infomercial hosted by a robot!
EVERYONE at 60 Minutes to have to put up with that grinning idiot. My God but I can just imagine the Grand old masters of 60 Minutes getting drunk wondering what the hell happened to the credibility of their show.
Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, and the others are probably hoping that Grinning Idiot Katie gets hit by a large Mack truck going at least 100 mph just to make sure.
That was embarrassing to have to watch; painfull even. I can imagine 60 Minutes numbers dropping like a rock because of this grinning idiot.
Katie has taken j0urnalism back decades. Or hell to a place it doesn't even exist.
Thats exactly what Katie Couric is. She is not 22 years old any more. She looks ridiculous.
Do the "news" networks think that if they put a pretty face on the screen, nobody will notice what's being said? Have you noticed that all the sports networks now have a beautiful "sidelines babe" to comment on football and baseball games? Not that I mind looking, but what's up with all the eye candy?
Have you noticed that all the sports networks now have a beautiful "sidelines babe" to comment on football and baseball games?
I was just noticing that the other day. I think FOX Sports started the trend. Difference is, their sideline reporter is really, really good. The other networks just seem to be playing copycat with attractive women who aren't nearly as capable as FOX Sports'. (If only they could spread some of that competence to their news division.)
Men are more likely to submit their attention to a pretty girl than a man. Want to sell more hype? Stick some tart in with it and turn on the camera.
I want to take it the next logical step and start a Hooters-type news channel. Combine quality content with cleavage. It'd be the ratings leader in a day!
Anna Nicole Smith can be anchor. She's of as much substance as Katie Colic.
NAKED NEWS.
[link to www.cbsnews.com]
the "idea" was a roaring success, revealing (pun intended) that news reporting is only a little about the news, and is more popular if sex is injected ... as if we NEEDED proof.
Real bang up journalism there, Katie. I think America can sleep safer knowing you're out there asking our politicians the tough questions.
I turned 60 Minutes off when I saw the teaser for this story. Neither Rice nor Couric interest me any longer. They have both been shown to be stooges doing work for the big corporate behemoth that hands them a paycheck. Sad to see 60 minutes reputation swirling toward the drain.
I remember when Walter Cronkite described Henry Kissinger as "delightfully boyish" with "the cutest little German accent you ever heard."
CBS News, what has become of you?
katie...what is going on with your interviews. these sideshows doesn't make even a little bit of sense. i have never seen you ask anything but baby questions, and now that i think back, i cant remember ever hearing a rebuttal from you even on issue statements you knew were false. of all the important questions you could have ask rice, you ask, do you find it hard to have a social life? come on...are we trying to establish a fox news reputation? is this a news show or a campaign platform? guy p. fraser cola. sc. 29053
Perhaps it makes me sound like a meanie, but I have to say it anyway:
I have no idea whether or not the Secretary is "scary smart", but I've always found her to be "scary looking"...
..."scary looking" like in the movies, where they do make-up and all, to make the actors and actresses look like vampires and flesh-eaters.
Truly, that's what I see... If they'd had a part in "Rosemary's Baby", for a nanny or an aunt, I'd either expect they'd make up an actress to look like condi, or just have cast condi herself.
Remember a few years ago when Baba Wawa became an anchor? Yep, she's the one who was a celebrity interviewer-- "What's it like to be a movie star, Kitty?"--who ostensibly became a "news" reporter. I've talked with a few Democratic women who thing Katie Colic's "promotion" is a plus for feminism. I respectfully disagreed with them.
Exposed at last: Katie is nothing more than a PR flack for Condosleeza!
Sleeza is a true believer? How nice. So was Heinrich Himmler.
"Deeply religious"? Well, remember Nuremburg? People who were deeply religious true believers were executed for crimes against humanity. That Sleeza is doing Dubya's dirty work because she believes in it puts her in the war criminals category. And Katie Colic praises her for it.
And that's not to mention that the "deeply religious" people I know don't advocate slaughter in a country that was never a threat to us.
CBS is as bad as the rest of 'em.
How about we just turn over the news to Entertainment Tonight. Katie Couric is just the network Mary Hart.
But since the established investigators lost their heart and Katie Couric snuck in the back door, you might as well watch Sesame Street. At least Oscar is still a grouch. Remember that Katie is essentially a giddy little airhead disguised as a journalist. Her softball interviewing style is right at home on the Today Show when people have her on mostly for background noise as they rush out the door to work or school Remember she's the same person that thinks "Navy Seals rock!!" Can you imagine Edward R. Murrow or Walter Cronkite saying that? I'm not convinced she is biased right or left. She just has an unfortunate tendancy to act like a lovesick schoolkid anytime she sees a celebrity. She gets paid to be "cute", say adorable things. Good creditials for the Home Shopping Network but hardly an anchor chair.
What was the point of that bizarre Katie Couric, Condoleeza Rice presentation? Would you have had the same type of interview if Colon Powell were in the chair as Secretary of State? The interview does both of them a disservice.
Couric has one of the most powerful people in the world from one of the most controversial administrations in history, that is involved in a war which is arguably deceitful, corrupt and illegal sitting in front of her and she asks about dating? It was as if she were interviewing the Secretary Of State of the United States for a second rate fashion magazine. No probative questions, no answers challenged, just rehashed political rhetoric and pabulum.
Just what does CBS think of its viewers? What I learned is that Condi Rice is a really nice girl who, unfortunately, is a “true believer” in the worst administration the U.S. has seen since President James Buchanan. Please help to resurrect the Fourth Estate. Honest citizens and politicians need it.