McSame's MTP appearance: it didn't go well

Wow - I have to give credit where credit is due - Tom Brokaw certainly asked some very pointed, tough questions of McCain on Meet the Press on Sunday. To be clear, I think that tough questions should be asked of all the candidates; questions like these and the answers that candidates give are in short supply during most elections.

McCain has given some pretty "out there" answers to some questions over the course of the campaign, but having said that, this interview stands out so much, it's hard to know where to begin.

First, let's begin with the very end of the clip, when McCain says, with a straight face, "I'd be glad to review the Reagan record, but the Reagan record was one that reigned in spending..." [Emphasis Mine] Now I know the video cuts off, but regardless of context, saying something inherently inaccurate like that is pretty breathtaking. The "Reagan record" is anything but one of "reigning in spending" - far from it.

I got a pretty big kick out of McCain's deer in the headlights look after Brokaw showed the clips from 2004 and 2000 that demonstrate McCain's very, very uneven record (and I'm being kind) regarding taxes. I have to confess, as I look at the 2000 footage of McCain talking about taxes, I do so with a bit of longing. I really very well might have voted for that version of McCain, but this version? Never.

Anyway, I think what we can conclude is obvious - McCain's current stance on taxes is borne out of his desire to be president, and to appeal to the GOP "cut taxes at all costs camp - consequences be damned.

Even more telling is McCain's babbling response after Brokaw plays the video - something about flat taxes and different brackets - I really had no idea what he was saying. Like a record that skips, he even calls Brokaw "my friend," which at this point is starting to sound like a punchline.

Even better - during the interview he can't remember the names of the five secretaries of state who have supposedly endorsed him - take a listen...

Just wondering how many more "senior moments" McCain will have if he's elected to lead this country for four years, much less eight? It's not a comforting thought, especially considering his selection as Sarah Palin as his running mate. (Note: I'll have a whole lot more about McCain's age, and his lack of transparency regarding his medical records, a bit later tonight or tomorrow.)

I firmly believe that endorsements don't make too much of a difference in whom one decides to vote for, and I'm not really convinced that Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama will make all that much of a difference, but it does give Obama's foreign policy positions more credibility - this coming from a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Secretary of State and General. By the way, it's always pathetic and sad to hear Limbaugh's race baiting, no matter how many times I listen to it.

And those former secretaries of state? Big deal - all from Republican administrations. And Obama has a few of his own, including Warren Christopher, Madeline Albright, and of course, Colin Powell - and not all Democrats, either.

Funny to hear McCain mention Kissinger, who recently said about America's talking to Iran: "Any direct talks between the U.S. and Iran on issues such as the nuclear dispute would be most likely to succeed if they first involved only diplomatic staff and progressed to the level of secretary of state before the heads of state meet." Oops! That was and is an embarrassment to McCain, who has been babbling about Obama's "meeting without preconditions" statement for months. And don't look now, but even the Bush administration, an administration that has a startlingly low appreciation for diplomacy, has begun low-level talks with the Iranians.

It's a safe bet to say that McCain did himself no favors on Meet the Press this past Sunday.

Brokaw's MTP disgrace with Gore

When I heard Al Gore's interview today on Meet the Press, I got hotter than the California wildfires. My first thought was, "And people wonder why Al Gore declined to run for president again in '04 and this year."

The questions and bias in Tom Brokaw's interview were so blatant and rankly partisan that for a moment I thought I'd tuned into the Faux News Channel. But, nope, it was NBC's Meet the Press, and institution that's going to sink fast if this is what we can expect from Brokaw the rest of the way until election day. I find myself missing Tim Russert more and more with each passing Sunday.

And my second thought after hearing the interview was that Al Gore is a bigger man than me. Here are a few excerpts:

Let me ask you about your attitude towards [sic] politics these days. I was a little surprised. You're a man who was in politics at the highest level in this country: in the House of Representatives; in the Senate; Vice President for eight years and yet you said recently, "What politics has become requires a level of tolerance for triviality and artifice and nonsense that I have found in short supply." Is that the right kind of signal to send to the young people of this country who more than any time in recent memory are deeply involved in the political decisions that we're making this year? And young people who want to get into the political arena look to Al Gore and he said "it's all about trivia and nonsense."

Congratulations to Brokaw for making Al Gore seem like he's trashing our political system - a sort of Karl Rove on the left. What a joke.

However, Brokaw was only getting warmed up. The worst was yet to come. (By the way, I'd expect a professional broadcaster like Brokaw to use the more grammatically favorable toward, but I guess that's being a little nit picky for a man who's been in broadcasting longer than I've been alive.)

Brokaw then proceeded to wade into the GOP talking-points pool with this whopper:

With all due respect, Mr. Vice President, I can already hear your critics and I don't do Rush Limbaugh, so I will not attempt to. But I can hear him saying on radio, "Well there's Prince Albert. There he was, 25 years hanging out with lobbyists, raising big money, then he lost and now he's above the process, calling it trivial and nonsense."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I will never run for political office. Because had that been me sitting in Al Gore's chair, I would have unleashed a verbal dressing down that would have made a sailor blush, and I would have gotten up, tossed my mic at Brokaw, interview over.

But, like I said, Gore's a bigger man than me, and he's used to stupid questions, and blatant, partisan, leading questions at that. I really do take measure of Gore for sitting through it all calmly and coolly and answering like he'd expected the question all along.

Pretty funny that Brokaw said, "I don't do Rush Limbaugh," and then he launches into a Limbaugh-like, childish rant that in so many words called Gore a sore loser.

I would really have liked it if Gore had said to Brokaw, "Remember what you just asked me moments ago, something about 'Is that the right kind of signal to send to the young people of this country who more than any time in recent memory are deeply involved in the political decisions that we're making this year?' and it all being about 'trivia and nonsense?' Thanks for making my point, Brokaw."

People who are getting heavily involved in politics need to hear just how trivial, moronic and dirty (mostly because of money) that our politics has become, and it's absurd that Brokaw takes umbrage with Gore over saying it, because Brokaw of all people should know just how true it is.

Oh, and if I were Gore, I would have definitely let Brokaw know that while the courts might have ruled he lost, the American people didn't see it that way, to the tune of about 500,000 votes. I know, Gore has undoubtedly let it go, and I should, too, but like I said, Gore's the bigger man.

In fairness, the interview wasn't a complete disaster, however. Of all people, oil tycoon T. Boone Pickins announced last week his plan for a major shift from oil to wind power in Texas. As much as I despise Pickins for what he did to John Kerry in 2004, he deserves credit for pouring $1 billion of his money into this venture and giving it the recognition it deserves. It really is an illustration, as Gore said, that global warming makes for strange political bedfellows.

One thing that was lacking from Gore's speech last Thursday was mass transit, and the important role it will play in helping move America into the 21st Century and away from fossil fuels. And I'm yet to hear Barack Obama mention mass transit as much as I would like, either. But, an effective, energy efficient and environmentally friendly rail system is a must as part of the solution to oil. More on mass transit in the coming days, including some letters I've been meaning to write to some prominent politicians urging them to adopt aggressive strategies and funding for mass transit.