March 18, 2010 08:30 AM
Countdown: Bret Baier Interrupts Obama During Fox News Interview
The Huffington Post definitely got this headline right. Obama Fox News Interview: Bret Baier Interrupts Obama.
MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell said that he could not recall a reporter ever questioning or interrupting an American president in such an aggressive way. Certainly, O'Donnell argued, Fox News never took that approach with former President George W. Bush.
Countdown did a nice job with the mash up of the interview showing just how many times he was interrupted. The Nation's Chris Hayes weighed in and I agree with him. The problem is not someone doing an aggressive interview. The problem is with the amount of propaganda they were pushing while doing it. I'm not sure either just what the President thought he gained by going on there.
probably (R)ahm's idea. being made an ass by fox on the suggestion of a clinton operative. did Obama think for a second that fox would not treat him like a black man?
they are the motherfuckers who founded the tea party!
Some stuff you can't make up!
Fox "News" did not found the tea party. They helped swell its ranks, but the tea party dipshits have been around since the 80s. As a progressive, inaccurate lefty memes like this get under my skin even more than inaccurate righty memes. After all, truth & accuracy are supposed to be our metier.
I looked it up. Yay, new words!
I'm just superstitious enough to hedge my bets.
And French, to boot. The righties will be all over BDM for not using good old All-American words. What is he trying to do, Balkanize our language?
[snip]
The moment that launched the Tea Party came a shortly after Obama took office. On cable business channel CNBC, on February 19, host Rick Santelli launched into an impromptu tirade from his regular slot at the Chicago Board of Trade against plans to help struggling homeowners. Santelli proposed a tea party in Chicago in July to protest government bailouts.
This was a reference to the Boston Tea Party, an act of protest against the British government over taxation in 1773, a moment that has resonated throughout American history.
"The Rant," as Santelli's monologue has become known, struck a chord with conservatives.
(from HERE)
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
Amazing how those websites were found to have come from a Republican astroturf organization before the rant aired or were created shortly after the rant aired. The rant was planned in advance pure and simple. The teabaggers are indeed a Republican front group. They chose that name for themselves from and the slogan teabag the liberal dems before they teabag you from Fox News. Fox promoted them and even inflated the numbers of teabaggers.
It's nonsense that they are grassroots or date prior to Obama.
Lookie here.
Once again, the pedant in me has to speak up. Both sites, old and recent, resort to bad history to explain the teabagger genesis.
The Boston Tea Party was NOT about taxes; it was a protest from disgruntled Boston merchants over fire-sale tea being shipped in to the North American colonies from the British East India Company, effectively undercutting American tea profitability. It was also an excuse to irritate Lord North and Parliament.
We should be throwing the right-wingnut lack of historical knowledge in their faces every time we encounter this fallacious description. We should NOT be perpetuating the error.
doesn't support your conclusion.
the only link I could find. As I state below, there were other, more supportive links at the Wikipedia entry, but they have been scrubbed. The tea party movement as it is now, grew from the traditional anti-tax protests that occurred each year, usually around April 15th. The roots of this organazition go back to the 1980s. The Ron Paul presidential campaign breathed new life into it, then later, Glenn Beck and Dick Armey transformed it into what it is today, which is essentially a racist astroturf outfit.
And TexasReed is right. The original tea protest was about corporate wellfare, not taxes.
"Taxpayers should show their displeasure by sending Smith teabags..."
Boca Raton News, July 14, 1983
(from HERE)
Strangely, a few weeks ago the Wikipedia entry for "Tea Party Movement" included history dating back to the 1980s, but that entry has been edited and editing is now closed.
It might include the same ideas, but it's not the same movement or group of people involved.
has been usurped by Dick Armey, et al.
vocabulary star!
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
was founded by Dick Armey and it's astroturf. Many of the nuts in it have been running around since the '80s (mostly Ron Paultards) but the actual current organization was founded by Dick Armey with a bunch of corporate money. You are substatntially wrong, BDM.
"the tea party dipshits have been around since the 80s."
Yeah, but Ron Paul really helped them come into their current incarnation, before Fox and the GOP co-opted the entire racket, destroying any shred of independent thought.
you kind of set yourself up for that.
I seem to recall when the oaf in chief GW Bush was president, FOX and it's legion of white 'end of timers' followers demanded people obey and respect Bush, as in the words of some right wingers, 'Pres Bush is guided by the hand of Jesus'. When interviewing Bush or his puppetmasters Cheney or Rove they always threw softball questions.
The moment Pres Obama took office, FOX's whole purpose has been to tear the presidency down- They resent the fact he's black man sitting in the WHITE house, he's articulate (which offends the right wing anti-intellectuals), and he's trying to reach accross the aisle....
The hatred they have at FOX fro Pres Obama is the kind of hatred racist whites show to articulate black people. They are the kind of white supremacists who think black people should avert their gaze when looking at white people...
Pres Obama needs to accept that he will NEVER gain the support of the radical right wingers on FOX.
Pres Obama should NOT seek their respect or approval- All thepresident is doing is giving legitimacy to what was at one time the far fringes of the Republican Party, but what has now become their mainstream.
their ass..to the people that might be reasonable watching that fake network...There are many who have no time and do not make an effort to see anything but soundbites..bet some were swayed by the classless interviewer and-not many people,regardless of view, like to be interrupted or to have their President disrespected that way!
Bright lights cure disease!--there are people out there who will see this as it is...Propaganda and rude classless distraction!
Obama won once again!
I don't have a problem with pushing and asking tough questions, but in the clip I saw, the guy was just flat out rude. I saw Fox do interviews with Bush. They were practically on their knees whispering their questions in deference to their annointed leader. It was kind of sickening. What this guy did was disrespectful, and intentionally so.
don't fawn, don't get on your knees, but, jesus, at least be polite. you can ask probing questions without being a dick. it is possible.
it is possible.
Apparently, not for Faux Noise.
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
Dicks are actually good at probing...
remember to tip your server
:)
I LOVE a man with a sense of humor (you ARE a man, aren't you?)
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
Yes. Yes I am!
and shooting!
In my opinion the reporter had the demeanor of a high school newspaper reporter. He was rude and condescending. To the president of the country! Fucking prick. And then these Fox assholes have the nerve to wonder why this administration holds them in contempt?
and they don't care. They wear that contempt as a badge.
We would be better off if they wore that contempt as a chastity belt.
Or, a ball gag!
... the ones that get all hot and sweaty thinking about torture might actually enjoy this ...
that would pretty well include the entire Regressive Party. They have wet dreams about torture. Their idea of Heaven is now cages of chain link, instead of streets of gold. No more Pearly Gates, now it's razor wire and snarling, drooling guard dogs. Harps and angel wings have been replaced with tazers and waterboards.
!
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
I would have loved if Pres. Obama had sat there quietly after Bret asked a question and when Bret said "aren't you going to answer?" Pres. Obama could have said "I'll be happy to when you are ready to listen and not interupt"
.
It just goes to show how low the partisan hacks really are.
They always said "respect the office not the man" when Bush was in office.
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
Obama even went on Fox "News" was to facilitate the liberal vs conservative charade.
More French words, BDM? Why do you hate America?
.
That only applies to the WHITE man.
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
I stand corrected.
:)
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
... he's a secret illegal Muslim socialist born in Kenya, so he can't be president, therefore he's not holding the office, really, and so we don't have to give the N1663r any respect.
Obama talked about the reform bill while Baier oddly, pointlessly spoke of nothing but parliamentary procedure.
The Concern Troll in me says Baier wasted his opportunity. So sad.
he got what he wanted. He made the President look ineffectual and defensive in front of the entire country.......just what ALL Rethuglicans and Faux Noise personnel want.
Mission Accomplished.
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
was obvious to anyone. He had something HE wanted to say and he was going to say it even if it didn't make sense to the topic at hand.
It's called Baierette's Syndrome
"in front of the
entire countryFox News audience"A few million watchers ain't much.
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
How many trips to Wonderland will it take before it dawns on Obama that facts, reason and logic aren't the local currency?
... his Apostles that if a community rejected them, shake the dust of that place from your sandals, and move on.
Biggest understatement EVER!
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
Incidentally, that wasn't an apology from Baier at the end, it was a rip on the president. Did anyone else notice that? He was essentially complaining that Obama was not giving him what he needed for the interview, and that his interruptions were justified for that reason.
That was NOT and apology.
I missed that. What a douche bag!
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
Of course they interrupted the President. It's what they do -- interrupt and talk over. Guess the President has never watched Fox News.
ignore post it didn't go out as a reply as intended.
By going on the show, Obama showed that (a) he's not afraid to face his critics, and (b) that he has the facts on his side, while his interviewer has only rudeness and bluster.
He probably didn't convert many Fox viewers, but at least they were finally able to hear him speak for himself (as opposed to the usual 5 words taken out of context, followed by 3 minutes of Obama-bashing).
Obama held his own but I think Obama and company should just ignore these assholes , don't give them credibility by acknowledging them . I'm sure this jackass is a right wing hero today .
over at Huffington Post, the rabble have gathered to toast their hero. They are cheering his triumph at besting the idiot Obama. Cretins!
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
Perhaps Obama did the interview because they're gathering evidence to arrest Rupert Murdoch as an enemy combatant.
I think I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so.....
when he was on our local CBS affiliate here in Raleigh.
Since he jumped to Faux, he's lost all journalistic decorum and credibility.
nasty gene before letting them go on the air.
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
made Brett what he is today.. that should be a warning to us all
Obama would dress these assholes down when they act like this. Ask them if they were raised in a barn, or where there mothers are today. Or perhaps a snappy slapdown like this:
...while you may be mistaking this for your monthly meeting of the Ignorant Tight-ass Club, in this building, when the President stands, nobody sits. -- President Josiah Bartlett, The West Wing
Why is it America elects such awesome Presidents in fiction but never in fact?
There's always free cheddar in the mousetrap, baby. - Tom Waits
But then, he's a Fux employee.
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
Chris Hayes said he thought this was a fair exchange -
I think the President should be held to a high standard, and certainly tough questions should be asked. If the President refuses to ask a question, repeating it may be necessary.
But Chris, being rude to the President is not ok, and Baier was rude.
The standard on the right, if asking a question, is don't allow an answer and then complain about the lack of an answer. If asked a question, start by complaining that the questioner is not allowing you to answer.
Nothing wrong with an agressive interview. However, interrupting the President to insert your network's talking points was rude and completely unprofessional.
to knock a bunch of wind out of their sails. And he did. He showed that the process isn't irregular, that it's been used many times before, and that the hype about the process is just that, hype. And hype with a shitty agenda.
This interview reminded me of that time George W. Bush gave that interview to MSNBC and Keith Olbermann nailed him... oh, wait... that never happened.
I half expected The President to tell Baier to stop interrupting or the interview would be over. I suppose that wouldn't have been a wise thing to do as Faux would just turn around and say that The President couldn't stand the heat. At any rate, I found Baier to be completely disrespectful and condescending. As it was pointed out further up the thread and observed by many in the past, if Cheney/Bush had been subjected to the same disrespect from the Dems and/or the media that Obama now suffers from the GOP and their tea-parying astrobaggers...bloody murder would have been screamed and the lawyers called. They feel justified because Faux as with the GOP, views President Obama as being an illegitimate President who is black AND a Democrat on top of it. They simply will not accept it. I'm hoping the next President is not only black, but also a woman. Wouldn't that be just special?
I think it would serve 'No-Drama-Obama' well if he started getting a little dramatic every now and then. Especially where the RepubliKKKans and the media are concerned.
Government + the Federal Reserve = organized crime
...but I certainly wanted journalists to question Bush more aggressively. That shouldn't mean being rude, but I don't want any president to be able to hide behind the office. Presidents have a way of droning on about whatever subject they are on. I did't find the clip outrageous. Baier should have been more polite, but he didn't need to be any more deferential to the office or man.
Obama handled Baier very well and doesn't need us whining about how he was treated. Obama may be dreaming if he thinks reason can reach many or even any Fox News readers, but I have no objection to his trying. In general, when Obama is challenged (especially when people are rude or disrespectful) his style is so measured and effective that he invariably comes out looking much better than his questioner.
I made the above comments before I heard Chris Hayes' take. I agree with him. Also, I hadn't heard the final clip of Baier's interruptions when I commented. Now that I have...Baier is an ass. If he thinks that is an effective interview style, he needs to find another line of work. I imagine there is a sense at Fox News that if someone ever gets a chance to interview the president, the interviewer is obligated to give the president (Obama, that is) a hard time. Then, after the interview is over, everyone can slap him on the back, like a bunch of twelve-year-olds, and tell him what a great job he did. Being forceful is one thing. Asking follow-up questions and refusing to allow the president to avoid giving direct answers to questions is important. What Baier did is both ineffective and rude, but if that's how he wants to spend his time with the president, I guess it's his choice. On the other hand, I see no reason why Obama should agree to an interview with Baier again. Obama (or any president) should try to make the most of such appearances and constantly having to ask the interviewer to let you finish an answer is a waste of everyone's time.
Baier had his chance. Even he realizes how much he was interrupting Obama. I don't think the interruptions were because Obama wasn't answering; I think they were because Baier wasn't getting the answers he wanted. That's tough. I don't think Baier should expect another chance with this president. Maybe, if a Republican is elected in 2012 (or '16), Baier can sit down and play footsie while tossing softballs at the president and nodding inanely as the president lies or babbles about nothing.
" Baier speaks without manners or direction! Like an unruly child, eager to be acknowledged in the room. Pathetic, really. Just another Yankee "TWIT"! Uneducated and without foundation or structure. President Obama's patience is applauded. "Baier is an embarrasment to his entire organization. Or,shall we say, a reflection of their intellectual deficiency and self-inflicted retardation".
...but this idea of royal deference to politicians and presidents is ridiculous. If news people were a little ruder to our American Royalty, maybe we wouldn't be in 2 wars now.
They're supposed to break their balls, for chrissake.
Faux Noise demonstrates every minute, of every day, who and what they are. Biased, dishonest, rascist. The Dems should have totally boycotted them years ago, but NO, they have to be bi-partisan.
Maybe they will learn from this massacre.
was the equivalent of an agnostic person trying to make reasonable calm arguments about their position about god in the middle of a church on Sunday morning. It was IDIOTIC for Obama to go on Fox. I don't know what he's been smoking but as a citizen I'm offended that the guy I voted for is doing interviews on Fox. He needs to go have his head examined. Look out your window. The first person you see will be more qualified to give him an interview than anyone on that misinforming propaganda station. He legitimizes their bullshit while simultaneously elevating morons to a level they could not attain without his help. All so they can belittle him delegitamize him. He basically went up to an enemy of reality and said, "here's my baseball bat, now hit me in the face with it." At this point I'm questioning if he's even dumber than the people on that network because even they wouldn't do that.
but I don't think the prez is dumb.
He just seems to have a penchant for being rolled and kicked in the teeth by the right while ignoring and showing disdain for the left.
Is it that whole broken home syndrome? Try to make the abusive parent like you while treating the supportive parent the same way the abusive parent treats you?
That sounds kind of gobbly-gooky, but, gall darn it, that's how it appears when he puts up - no, invites - this kind of shit from his enemies who want only to destroy him.
And, no, he doesn't appear the bigger man to those who watch fox. They've cut their teeth on O'Reilly, Hannity and Beck and seeing the uppity black man put in his place probably turns them on.
Just as Mike Deaver was happy with Reagan being slagged as long as it was over a picture of him with an American flag waving behind him, Obama doesn't get that Fox didn't have him on to discuss his ideas. They had him on so that one of their people could disrespect him in front of their audience.
This isn't about content. Its about image. And Fox just made Obama look like just another politician. And in doing so, they are giving their audience permission and encouragement to follow suit.
Obama is a fool if he thinks ideas will win over the Fox audience.
Serve Obama right - what'd he think the guy would do. I hope he wasn't expecting anything else, it'd be a shame if he was disappointed.
*
For UN-American activities!
The truth will set you free but can you handle the truth?
Comments are closed on this entry