Where Have You Gone, Mike Wallace
As you may or may not know, my Patriots win against San Diego Crybabies interrupted my watching 60 Minutes yesterday. After the win, I had to change channels to watch the post-game interviews and the like. I just couldn’t bring myself to spoil my mood by watching the Bush interview on the Old Lady of all news programs. And, boy, would it ever!
After having just watched online the interview by Scott Pelley of the President from yesterday’s “60 Minutes, I have one, overriding question. Who is Scott Pelley and what have they done with Mike Wallace and my “60 Minutes“?
The advantage of having a one-on-one interview is that the interviewer should have the ability for proper follow-up questions when the interviewee starts spouting nonsense. Such was,too often, not the case with Scott Pelley last night.
Granted, the President and his minions staged the interview in a way to get the interviewer wowed and wooed by his access and the accouterments of the President’s office, from a ride on Presidential airway to a look at the inside of Camp David. Pelley practically “Oooed” at the view of the phallic Washington Monument as the Presidential helicopter flew by it.
That’s not to say he was a complete suck-up. He did ask some questions that could be seen as tough, but they weren’t new (of the “have you made mistakes?” variety) and the President was well rehearsed in his replies.
This interview was right out of the White House talking points
About the most interesting detail is that the President is reading, on the recommendation of Henry Kissinger, a book on the Algerian v. French war, which the French eventually, after 8 years, lost. My guess is that it is this book, “A Savage War of Peace” by Alistair Horne, which has been making the rounds in the U.S. military for years. Too bad he didn’t read it 5 years ago. In the book, the French had the numbers, including most Algerians, and still lost.
I wish I could do a more detached kind of critique of both the interviewer and the interviewee, but every time I see that smug face I just want to scream, and any chance of being objective goes out the window. I am never sure if he is a criminal liar or just a delusional idiot. I suppose, to people who have lost so much because of his actions,it just doesn’t matter.
Transcript here.
January 15th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
I know the feeling. When you’ve been calling attention to someone’s misdeeds for four years, it feels like endless repetition that shouldn’t be necessary. Once Congress starts conducting serious investigations, little will be new to me, but I think many - who refused to listen 4 years ago - will be jawdropping at how effed up a guy Bush really is.
I don’t think him stupid, just incurious. Goes with the gut too much, and his gut’s guided by a twisted psyche. Criminal liar, yes. And not even aware there’s anything wrong with that. Not so much stupid or inept, ’sociopathic’ describes him best.
January 16th, 2007 at 10:30 am
The Reverend Hojo Nixon…
……
January 16th, 2007 at 10:44 am
[…] Where have you gone, Mike Wallace? […]