11 p.m. EST/10 p.m. CST
It could be anticlimactic- Rick Santorum was (other than his wide eyed insane babbling about the role of government being to teach virtue), but since TDS was one of the biggest “Give 'em Hell!” shows on TV when McClellan was the head dancing monkey of the regime it has the potential to be memorable. Here’s hoping…
I am now convinced all books-on-tape should be read by that guy from The B-52s with the funny voice.
sets Tivo
It could have been better, but i thought that Jon Stewart actually did a pretty good job of pushing him, especially in the first segment when they were discussing the question of culpability.
I think that Stewart could have pressed McClellan more on the nature of the book itself, on the fact that McClellan spent so long shilling for the administration and now decides that he wants to profit from turning on it. Especially given that McClellan himself, when he was press secretary, criticized Richard Clarke for exactly the same thing, asking why Clarke didn’t raise his concerns when he was in the administration, and implying that Clarke was turning on the White House just to sell books.
I remain convinced that McClellan is nothing but a self-serving asshole, no better out of the White House than he was in it.
Stewart did ask him about it, McClellan said he was wrong to criticize Clarke and that he had apologized to him in person. Not sure what else you think he should do.
But his apology to Clarke still doesn’t change the fact that McClellan went along with all that shit for ages, was quite happy to be complicit in everything the Bush White House did, and now seeks to profit from his complicity. Stewart could have asked him why he didn’t get out earlier, why he didn’t say something earlier, etc.
Yeah, he could’ve gone all Oprah on his day late/dollar short ass. That would have been fun. As it was, it was the first time I’d seen Scotty not stuttering his way through a cognitive-dissonance synaptic breakdown.
I would find that comment very offensive if I didn’t agree with it completely.
All told I thought Stewart took it relatively easy on him (it makes me wonder if, since it is an entertainment show, there were some holds-barred for him to come on the show, though it benefits both parties to have him on there). He didn’t give him the “hot stone foot massage” (Stewart’s own term) I’ve seen him give others of both parties (Kerry, Santorum, Zell Miller) but he did at least not let him get away with spinning the Admin’s outright lies into some sort of well intentioned but misguided misleading.
So I wonder who is going to be the person to eviscerate McClellan. Has he been on or is he scheduled to go on any of the Fox News family anytime soon? I’d love for some program on some network (don’t care which one- Fox is absolutely fine for these purposes) to hire Tony Snow for a “one night only” interview with him.
ETA: Unfortunately, I just checked to see who Snow is batting for these days and it seems that he’s sick again.
Yeah, Stewart is best at skewering people in their absence. Some of the critiques of media and political bullshit during the early segments of the show are excellent.
But he does seem to throw the softballs during interviews. It’s not clear to me whether this is a sort of quid pro quo arrangement (“I’ll come on your show is you don’t go too hard on me”), or whether Stewart just isn’t so good at confronting people face to face. Even when he pushed McClellan a bit tonight, he looked and sounded uncomfortable doing it.
I wonder if the reticence is necessary for the politico book-hawkers. They have to do interviews to pimp the book and if their publisher thinks they will sell an extra 100 copies courtesy of a DS appearance, by god, they will go for their Stewart spanking and thank him profusely afterwards for the privilege.
My thought, for tonight’s interview, was that Stewart was holding back because he was hoping to massage some real behind-the-scenes information from McClellan. Go at him full-throttle and he might clam up. After all, look at how much McClellan hemmed and hawed over admitting whether the administration intentionally lied to the public; if he felt he were under attack, he probably would’ve swallowed his tongue.
But yeah, a self-serving weasel who cares less about telling the truth than he does getting some air time to sell his book.
[foil hat on]I’ve actually wondered if somehow the Bush Admin. is behind McClellan’s book. They’ve squawked a little, but generally taking it way too calmly. Could it be a diversion that, by admitting they did X, Y, Q, and R on the sneaky, takes attention away from the far more damning S, T, U, V, and Z affairs? Or even an attempt to help McCain get elected by…
Well, anyway, he’s sleazy either way.
I think you’re overcomplicating things. Stewart impresses me as the kind of guy who likes to get a jab of humor in, but doesn’t really want to hurt someone especially to make some political point. In other words, he’s just plain decent.
No, I disagree that’s an overcomplication; that’s what a good host does. He adapts to whomever’s on the show because not everyone will react the same way. Now, my suggestion may not be what Stewart was doing in this particular instance, but it’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility for him. He’s a saavy interviewer when he wants to be. (And occasionally cut-throat–by dint of being relentless and direct–as seen by his appearance on Crossfire a few years back.)
Also, there’s nothing indecent or harmful about pressing a guest for more details about what he wrote in his book. Nor does it have to be politically motivated to say, “You intimated this. Now, give us the full story.”
Eh? Didn’t McClellan already put all that in a book?
I haven’t read the book, so I couldn’t say; however, based on his answers last night and his reluctance to admit the administration lied, I wouldn’t be surprised if his book was filled with a lot of dodges.
I enjoyed the program last night. I thought Jon had a lot of fun with the show and interview. He actually seem to ask harder questions than the NPR interview I heard.
I was a little sad McClellan got cut off from the one point he seem to want to make that the business as usual for press relations the last 15 years need to be left behind for the more honest discourse that the two candidates appear to be pushing for. (I am sure he meant McCain & Obama, which was good to hear from an ex-Bush Toady)
The B-52 gag was great. I would not mind watching this show again.
Jim
That was my chosen technique for covering up lies when I was a kid. Maybe I was destined for the Bush White House??
Naahhh… I found a thing called ethics along the way-- I never would have made it there.