Reporting on McCain's Late Show appearance, MSNBC's Hall omitted Letterman's reference to Liddy-McCain link
SUMMARY: MSNBC's Tamron Hall aired a clip of Sen. John McCain apologizing on CBS' Late Show for having canceled an earlier planned appearance and reported on McCain's attack on Sen. Barack Obama for his association with William Ayers. But Hall failed to note that Late Show host David Letterman questioned McCain on his association with G. Gordon Liddy.
During the October 17 edition of MSNBC Live, host Tamron Hall aired a clip of Sen. John McCain apologizing on CBS' Late Show for having canceled an earlier planned appearance and immediately afterwards reported on McCain's attack on Sen. Barack Obama for his association with former Weather Underground member William Ayers. But at no point did Hall note that Late Show host David Letterman questioned McCain on his association with G. Gordon Liddy, even though Letterman at one point asked McCain: "But you understand that the same case could be made of your relationship with him [Liddy] as is being made with William Ayers?"
As Media Matters for America has noted, Liddy served four and a half years in prison in connection with his conviction for his role in the Watergate break-in and the break-in at the office of the psychiatrist of Daniel Ellsberg, the military analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers. Liddy has acknowledged preparing to kill someone during the Ellsberg break-in "if necessary"; plotting to kill journalist Jack Anderson; plotting with a "gangland figure" to kill Howard Hunt to stop him from cooperating with investigators; plotting to firebomb the Brookings Institution; and plotting to kidnap "leftist guerillas" at the 1972 Republican National Convention -- a plan he outlined to the Nixon administration using terminology borrowed from the Nazis. (The murder, firebombing, and kidnapping plots were never carried out; the break-ins were.) During the 1990s, Liddy reportedly instructed his radio audience on multiple occasions on how to shoot Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents and also reportedly said he had named his shooting targets after Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Liddy has donated $5,000 to McCain's campaigns since 1998, including $1,000 in February 2008. In addition, McCain has appeared on Liddy's radio show during the presidential campaign, including as recently as May. Additionally, in 1998, Liddy reportedly held a fundraiser at his home for McCain. Liddy was reportedly scheduled to speak at another fundraiser for McCain in 2000, but the speech was reportedly canceled due to bad weather.
Hall reported that McCain "got grilled by David Letterman just hours earlier for famously canceling his appearance back in late September. Well, Letterman brought it up, night after night, forcing, some say, Senator McCain to show up and take the heat in person." She then aired a clip of McCain and Letterman discussing his cancellation. Immediately after airing the clip, Hall said: "Well, don't be fooled into thinking either Obama or McCain would let humor get in the way of this tough campaign. McCain pushed Obama to explain his ties to '60s radical Bill Ayers back in the debate. Well, now, the McCain campaign is keeping the pressure on by placing robocalls like this one to voters in targeted states. Take a listen." She then aired the following segment of the robocall: "Hello. I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist, Bill Ayers."
However, Hall did not note that after questioning McCain about his campaign's attacks on Obama for his association with Ayers, Letterman asked: "Did you not have a relationship with Gordon Liddy?" Later, McCain stated: "You say I know Gordon Liddy. I -- he paid his debt. He went to prison. He paid his debt as people do. I'm not in any way embarrassed to know Gordon Liddy, and his son who is also a good friend and supporter of mine." Letterman responded: "But you understand that the same case could be made of your relationship with him as is being made with William Ayers?" To which McCain replied: "I -- everything about any relationship that I've ever had I will make completely open and give a complete accounting of."
During a later segment in the 9 a.m. ET hour of MSNBC Live, before airing other portions of McCain's Late Show appearance, Hall said to stand-up comic Chuck Nice, "Give [McCain] props. He went on there despite the fact that he'd been skewered by Letterman leading up to it." Again, Hall did not note Letterman's inquiry regarding McCain's association with Liddy.
From the October 16 edition of CBS' Late Show with David Letterman:
LETTERMAN: Now, she's also -- I think she's the one who says that Barack Obama pals around with terrorists. Has she in fact said that at rallies and stuff?
McCAIN: I don't -- yes -- and he did, and --
LETTERMAN: To terrorists -- like who did she --
McCAIN: -- and refused --
LETTERMAN: -- who did he --
McCAIN: -- and refused to acknowledge the fact --
LETTERMAN: Who did he pal around with other than --
McCAIN: William Ayers, who said on 9-11 that he wished he had bombed more, OK. His wife was on the top 10 of the most -- FBI most wanted list.
LETTERMAN: Right, but this all took place when he was an active --
McCAIN: It didn't -- in 2000 --
LETTERMAN: -- with the Weathermen, when Barack Obama was 8 years old, isn't it?
McCAIN: Eight years old, and Mr. Ayres on 2001 -- September 11, 2001 -- said I wish I had bombed more. OK.
LETTERMAN: But what is the --
McCAIN: It's an unrepentant --
LETTERMAN: -- what is their relationship, John? What is their relationship?
McCAIN: That's what -- that's all we need to know.
LETTERMAN: No, no. But it --
McCAIN: That's what so -- Senator Clinton said. We need to know about the relationship. First he said he was just a guy in the neighborhood. And so, it's a matter of trusting the word of someone.
LETTERMAN: I know --
McCAIN: That's all.
LETTERMAN: -- but you will also admit that we cannot really control who we interact with in our lives 100 percent. I mean, you have -- you have --
McCAIN: For how long we interact with them and how we interact with them.
LETTERMAN: But you have --
McCAIN: But the point is -- the point in this campaign is --
LETTERMAN: You had a --
McCAIN: -- the economy, and the economy, and the economy.
LETTERMAN: Did you not have a relationship with Gordon Liddy?
McCAIN: I've met him. You know, I mean, I never --
LETTERMAN: Did you attend a fundraiser at his house?
McCAIN: Gordon Liddy's?
PAUL SHAFFER (band leader): I object, your honor.
LETTERMAN: We'll be right back here --
McCAIN: I know Gordon Liddy --
LETTERMAN: -- with Senator McCain [inaudible].
McCAIN: -- and his son -- and his son.
[commercial break]
LETTERMAN: How about that Tina Fey?
McCAIN: You say I know Gordon Liddy. I -- he paid his debt. He went to prison. He paid his debt, as people do. I'm not in any way embarrassed to know Gordon Liddy, and his son who is also a good friend and supporter of mine.
LETTERMAN: But you understand that the same case could be made of your relationship with him as is being made with William Ayers?
McCAIN: I -- everything about any relationship that I've ever had I will make completely open and give a complete accounting of.
LETTERMAN: Does she --
McCAIN: Senator Obama said he was a guy that lived in the neighborhood. OK. It was more than that. We all know that. Just like ACORN --
LETTERMAN: They served on a committee at one point.
McCAIN: Yeah, that gave $230,000 to ACORN, which is now involved in what may be --
LETTERMAN: Yes, from -- and what Republican President Reagan's -- yes.
McCAIN: -- one of the great -- one of the greatest voter frauds in history. It could be. We need to know.
LETTERMAN: Are they --
McCAIN: The FBI announced there's an investigation today.
LETTERMAN: Well, are they double-dating? Are they going to dinner? What are they doing? Are they driving cross-country?
McCAIN: Maybe going to Denny's? Who knows?
LETTERMAN: Denny's.
McCAIN: The Grand Slam.
LETTERMAN: The Grand Slam.
McCAIN: There you go.
LETTERMAN: Now, she said "pals around with terrorists." OK, so, that's -- let's say, all right, we'll give her William Ayers. They palled around -- he was 8 and William Ayers was 29, but they palled around.
McCAIN: Look, there's millions of words said in a campaign.
LETTERMAN: Yeah, well, but --
McCAIN: Come on, now. Come on, there's millions of words --
LETTERMAN: -- but that's where we live in politics, isn't it?
McCAIN: -- there's millions of words -- yes, indeed.
LETTERMAN: Let's --
McCAIN: And Senator -- look --
LETTERMAN: Let's talk about Tina Fey. Tremendous, tremendous talent.
From the October 17 edition of MSNBC Live:
HALL: For McCain, it may have been a bit of a break. He got grilled by David Letterman just hours earlier for famously canceling his appearance back in late September. Well, Letterman brought it up night after night, forcing, some say, Senator McCain to show up and take the heat in person.
[begin video clip]
McCAIN: I screwed up. What can I say?
[...]
LETTERMAN: Well --
McCAIN: That's all --
LETTERMAN: I'm willing to put --
McCAIN: -- donk.
LETTERMAN: -- this behind us.
McCAIN: Thank you.
LETTERMAN: Yeah.
McCAIN: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.
[end video clip]
HALL: Well, don't be fooled into thinking either Obama or McCain would let humor get in the way of this tough campaign. McCain pushed Obama to explain his ties to '60s radical Bill Ayers back in the debate. Well, now, the McCain campaign is keeping the pressure on by placing robocalls like this one to voters in targeted states. Take a listen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE [audio clip]: Hello. I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist, Bill Ayers.
HALL: So, let's talk about that with our NBC News deputy political director Mark Murray for today's First Read. Mark, we'd planned to talk about the red states, and we'll get to that, but let's talk about these robocalls and what we're hearing about that tactic.
[...]
HALL: Let's talk about John McCain. He was on Late Night with David Letterman.
NICE: Yes.
HALL: Give him props. He went on there despite the fact that he'd been skewered --
NICE: Yes.
HALL: -- by Letterman leading up to it. We've got that moment. Take a listen.
[begin video clip]
LETTERMAN: Can you stay?
McCAIN: Yes, sir. Depends on how bad it gets.
[...]
McCAIN: It's been a tough campaign --
LETTERMAN: Sure.
McCAIN: -- and I'm sure the next 19 days will be even tougher.
LETTERMAN: It's pretty close now --
McCAIN: But think about all the material that it gives you --
LETTERMAN: What about the --
McCAIN: -- for the next 19 days. There's going to be kind of a --
LETTERMAN: Tell me about --
McCAIN: -- sad feeling around here when the election finally takes place.
LETTERMAN: Oh, we're going off the air, John.
[...]
McCAIN: Look, now's not the time to raise anybody's taxes except yours, and I guarantee you, when I'm president, I'll do it.
[end video clip]
HALL: Before he went on, I said there's no way I would have gone on there. But he handled it well.
NICE: I've got to tell you, I give McCain props. You know, he actually took it in stride, and Letterman has been roasting him.
HALL: Oh, he has been the best --
NICE: Yeah.
HALL: -- the best about just bringing in the campaign with his show, which it makes a great -- great comedian.
NICE: I think the funniest thing he said was, "I haven't had this much fun since my last interrogation." That kind of brings it all together. That lets you know that John McCain is -- actually has a sense of humor.
HALL: Well, that is true.
NICE: You know, you spend many years in a tiger cage --
HALL: And you can joke about it.
NICE: -- and then you can still joke about it, you're an OK guy.
HALL: Yeah. You know, let's talk about Saturday Night Live.
I watched McCain on Letterman last night. It was painful. McCain screwed up. He once again allowed himself to get rattled and became combative, trying to turn what should have been a jovial interview into another whine-fest. He should have come out, taken his lumps and moved on. Letterman, like Jon Stewart, is a master of challenging folks in a comprehensible disciplined fashion while still being funny. McCain should have known better.
I also switched over to Leno to see the Biden interview. What a contrast. Biden didn't use the opportunity to make another stump speech. He was cordial, warm and humble. A perfect talk show appearance.
A person not paying any attention to the campaign, could by simply watching those two interviews understand completely the value of the two presidential campaign. Obama/Biden exude controlled, disciplined confidence, while McCain/Palin are defensive, combative and appealing to our basest fears.
or just a bimbo
That type of anti female language is just not necessary. You do not know Ms Hall and I do not think she has an agenda. Calling her a "bimbo" is disrespectful and childish.
He didn't call her a bimbo. He asked if she was a bimbo. The question is left open.
Exactly. Besides, with material like this we don't need to make up our own stuff!
Bush Administration Contacts Obama, McCain, Biden On Iraq Troop Deal — But Snubs Palin»
This week, Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Barack Obama (D-IL), and Joe Biden (D-DE) all were contacted by Defense Secretary Robert Gates or Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice regarding the Iraq security agreement.
In today’s White House press briefing, spokesman Dana Perino explained that the adminstration contacted the candidates “to keep them equitably informed.” “One of them is going to win the election, and they will be taking over and having to deal with these issues,” Perino explained. But nobody called Gov. Sarah Palin. In today’s State Department briefing, reporters got a chuckle out of Palin being left out:
I guess PalinTwit was too busy visiting a "Pro America" part of the country. What a stupid woman.
I love that line. The "pro-America" parts of the country. Maybe we could get her to map out which parts are which for us, so we can proceed with invasions of the "anti-America" parts. Why does America hate America?
It could have to do with the fact that Palin has been tough on BIG OIL and has even ridiculed BIG OIL's monopoly on energy in the past. Maybe Bush don't like Palin because he worships BIG OIL.
I don't think she's been too tough considering she refuses to sign on to legislation to ensure alaska oil is only used in the US. Why does she hate 'merika?
She has ties to secessionists who believe Alaska should be seperated from 'merika.
She tied the knot with one.
See, now I could totally go for that idea: drill in Alaska but ONLY use that oil for the United States. Ofcourse my first choice would be to never screw-up Alaska and keep the oil companies out. It's the last frontier damn it! See, some of my ideas are liberal :)
Geeeeeeeezzzzzalpeeete, man. Too funny, Given the stiff arm by ol' Dumya.
Wake up and smell the brimstone, how unworthy a GOP candidate do you have to be to get snubbed by the loserest GOP president ever?
Contemplatively visualize that raft of toilet driftwood, Dick Cheney. As human beings go, the Cheney horizon is a dang low threshold for mizz Sarah to prove herself less than able to surmount.
The lady is a loser to these guys. Not even Bush wants to associate himself with such a low brow commoner. You see, for as much as the typical Republican likes to talk about people like Joe, the plumber, tell them what to do and what to think, they rarely want them around when it comes time to make decisions.
Do you think McCain really wants her around, throwing all those jingo-fascist hootenannies that she likes to call political rallies, whooping up throes of religio-nationalist bloddlust in the hearts of her listeners? McCain thinks they're all agents of intolerance anyway. She's below him, understand? She's not of the same royalist stock as John W. McCain or George S. Bush. She's one of those people. She's like one of those people in New Orleans from whom, our dearest, Barbara Bush, could but narrowly conceal her contempt when once she was sent to view their suffering.
Nuh-uh, friend. They want a servile underclass to manipulate and scorn with stories of material wealth and an unbounded consumer freedom to lavish yourself with the opulent things in life that nobody els can afford. Things like healthcare and education. Food and heat. Gasoline and retirement. What it means to aspire to the Republican way of life, is to simply be talented at being a capitalist, put a price tag on everything and mock the poor suckwads who can't afford to be like you.
Doris, I agree 100%. There is no room for this type of language toward a woman. Well, except if she's a Republican VP nominee, then the gloves come off, right?
I'm sure you'll speak out against anyone who defames Mrs. Palin though, after all, it's only fair.
Strange concept coming from you. Fair? There are several issues with Ms Palin. Can you give an example of when the noise machine told you something bad about a democrat, and you didn't immediatly agree?
You forgot to mention that he did or planned these things in order to protect a crooked president and he's unrepentant about it.
How sad is it that some of the toughest questions McCain will ever see during this campaign came from a late-night entertainer?
A big kudos to Dave for confronting McCain on the crap his campaign has been flinging.
Individuals who make their living as comedians and/or actors are mistakenly taken for light-weight minds. Making us laugh seems to be suspect. Isn't it kinda weird that David Letterman has the balls to conduct a biting and relentless interview with John McCain where paid "journalists" have failed? Dave could take over for the tired and slovenly hacks we have to endure in the MSM. How refreshing that would be. If Letterman had been given another ten minutes with John...
Ayres is relevent, Liddy isn't?