Fri, October 12, 2007
Lynne Cheney on The Daily Show—4:46 PM
I wanted to post about this after I watched it last night. I didn't get around to it at first, but then a post on my friend's Liberadio! blog got me started.
I love [The Daily Show] and I agree with his views, but I was a little disappointed with Jon. (Just a little.) Ambushing her with questions about the Iraq war as a proxy for her husband doesn't make much sense. There's no chance she'll give a straightforward answer, and it's not really Jon's responsibility to hassle her just because she's there. Coupled with the frenzy of Pavlovian applause from the audience, it alienates the controversial guests, which makes them less likely to appear in the future. It's preferable to make guests with conflicting views feel welcome, then ask questions that will result in real insight rather than practiced sound bites.
It was fun to see her trip over her specious connection between Bush/Cheney's tactics and the interruption of major terrorist attacks on American soil, but the interview would've felt more substantive if he'd stuck to her book. Clearly he read it; he could've asked more questions about Dick's values and her relationship with him. I loved the question about whether he's as secretive and stubborn at home as his public persona suggests. Why not more like that? It's something Lynne could actually speak to, as opposed to whether or not we were lied into the war. (Which everyone knows we were, and everyone knows she has a responsibility to deny.) Turning her into a punching bag for the visceral thrill of a bloodthirsty audience is just mean, and as much as I personally enjoy the idea of Lynne Cheney's feelings being hurt, it's not productive and it undercuts Jon's argument. It's the kind of thing our side would castigate Sean Hannity for doing.
"kotc" — Sun, 10/14/07 12:33pm
"...whether or not we were lied into the war. (Which everyone knows we were, and everyone knows she has a responsibility to deny.)"
Everyone? hmmm. I think a very large portion of the country would disagree with you... (On the other hand, you may have meant "everyone" that reads your blog... probably close to correct on that one).
Bee Boy — Sun, 10/14/07 1:13pm
No I just think there are a lot of people who know it and deny it. Some of them basically have to (Bush, Cheney, their respective wives) and some do it because that's more comfortable than realizing they were wrong or they overreacted to the specter of terrorism after 9/11.