Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Irish reporter notes the Emperor's lack of clothes
On the eve of his journey abroad, TeamBush allowed Carole Coleman of the Irish RTE network to pose a few questions to King George before he touched down in Shannon. In contrast to the deferrential softball treatment given to him by US journalists like Tim Russert, Coleman pressed Bush repeatedly for deeper answers than the boilerplate talking points he prefers to profess.
TeamBush was outraged by the treatment Bush received, as John Nichols' article recounts. To punish RTE TeamBush abruptly cancelled a planned interview with First Librarian Laura Bush, supposedly when they learned the interviewer was to be Ms Coleman.
Was Coleman out of line? I guess a bit of this is culture. Anyone who has ever watched Prime Minister's Minutes on C-SPAN knows that a PM like Tony Blair must be a fast thinker, good parrier, and quick wit as they field a battery of questions hurled at them rapid fire from both sides of the aisle. And these are their fellow House members posing questions, not a member of the fourth estate.
RTE doesn't seem too chided by the TeamBush admonishment--it has posted the interview on its website, www.rte.ie. I plan on taking Nichols up on his challenge to view the interview before making any decision. Of course, so many people worldwide are obviously interested in seeing Bush with his pants down, that the server is full every time I try to view it. But don't worry, I'll keep pluggin'.
On the eve of his journey abroad, TeamBush allowed Carole Coleman of the Irish RTE network to pose a few questions to King George before he touched down in Shannon. In contrast to the deferrential softball treatment given to him by US journalists like Tim Russert, Coleman pressed Bush repeatedly for deeper answers than the boilerplate talking points he prefers to profess.
TeamBush was outraged by the treatment Bush received, as John Nichols' article recounts. To punish RTE TeamBush abruptly cancelled a planned interview with First Librarian Laura Bush, supposedly when they learned the interviewer was to be Ms Coleman.
Was Coleman out of line? I guess a bit of this is culture. Anyone who has ever watched Prime Minister's Minutes on C-SPAN knows that a PM like Tony Blair must be a fast thinker, good parrier, and quick wit as they field a battery of questions hurled at them rapid fire from both sides of the aisle. And these are their fellow House members posing questions, not a member of the fourth estate.
RTE doesn't seem too chided by the TeamBush admonishment--it has posted the interview on its website, www.rte.ie. I plan on taking Nichols up on his challenge to view the interview before making any decision. Of course, so many people worldwide are obviously interested in seeing Bush with his pants down, that the server is full every time I try to view it. But don't worry, I'll keep pluggin'.
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