Last week, Jon Stewart (The Daily Show on comedy central) had the VP’s wife on. She has written a book about her childhood, but the focus of her interview was Jon’s treatment of Dick and other things. At the end of the interview, she says something that the audience gasps and boos at. See here:
What was the response in UK (if any)? If I were a Brit, I’d be pissed (at least mildly) at what she says re “American interests”. Jon does a nice job of gently slamming her (in his own way). Thoughts?
Not sure if this belongs in IMHO, here or GQ. Sorry.
“We’re talking about American interests” occupied a second at most of an otherwise unremarkable appearance. Nothing you wouldn’t expect from Lynne Cheney, who’s really just a huge nobody anyway.
Yes, and that one line draws a marked audience response. I’m asking UK Dopers if they saw this show, noted this, or was it told to them in any way. Is your point you don’t think it merits new of any kind?
I think few Brits would be surprised by a Cheny coming out with a comment like that. It doesn’t come across as newsworthy, and it’s the first I’d heard about it (and I’d watched the first half of that show :smack: )
Not heard about this before. I wonder if the clip was cut short? I have no problems with her remarks as shown whatsoever. Her whole statement was about the lack of successful terrorist activity within the USA. America’s government is supposed to look after America.
I must also, though, thank Mr Stewart for reminding people about the terrorist attacks against other countries.
She states that the war in Iraq is justified because there have not been any terrorist attacks in the US following the 9/11 attacks - presumably she is trying to somehow say that the war in Iraq has prevented terrorist attacks in the US -, she compares this period to the years following the first attack on WTC when there were attacks on US interests around the world but during this earlier period there were no ME terrorist attacks in the US either.
She also states that Iraq was maybe 6 months or weeks away from launching an attack on the US, which is complete rubbish.
I can’t imagine we would want this rubbish being spouted on UK tv, because we have to keep up the myth of US benevolence to its allies and also becaouse our own people are well capable of spouting such nonsense, its not like we have a deficiency of wankers in the UK to fill up our air time.
I’ll have to paraphrase for those of you following along at home.
Cheney says that there were no terrorist attacks after 9/11 and that Bush and Dick need to be credited for that fact.
Jon then points out that there was 8 years between attacks on the World Trade Centers, plus the anthrax (which she --oddly enough-ignores), and the London and Spanish bombings.
Cheney then says she says “we were talking about American interests, American lives.”
The audience collectively murmurs a message of dismayand disapproval–spontaneously.
Jon checks out the audience, sort of nods to them to settle them and then says, “well, those attacks were on our allies.”
Cheney says, “yes, our allies, but not Americans.”
This does not go down well with the audience either, but the interview ends there.
I know I have not got the words exact. Sorry.
I knew it wasn’t all that newsworthy(or unexpected for her to say), but I wanted to know if UK Dopers had seen that and what their response was. I was curious.
(of course her POV makes no sense–there was no link between terrorists and Iraq when 9/11 occurred etc. As an American, I was offended by her lack of compassion towards our allies. I think that’s what made the audience respond the way they did).
I think it stretches the definition of “broadcast”. And people watching the Daily Show know to expect unfamiliar American cultural references. If the interview had been shown on Panorama you might have a point.
Ummmm, free-to-view television signals broadcast through standard means stretches the definition how? Does watching BBC News 24, or a new Simpsons episode on Sky One, stretch the definition?
I don’t get this. If she was interviewed on Panorama, or for a more likely case Newsnight, would she not be introduced something along the lines of ‘wife of Vice President Dick Cheney’? Just as on the Daily Show?
I don’t understand how the wife of the VP of the USA is an unfamiliar cultural reference. We know your royals, your PM (and his wife-sort of. New PM and all that).
I doubt most Americans could pick Mrs Cheney out in a crowd, but her name and position are well known. (in fact, that’s kind of her only identity–wife of Veep. Hillary got into trouble when she did more than what traditional First Ladies did and didn’t remain just wife of Mr President).
Thank you,** davidm**. I ended up going with YouTube because I couldn’t get the comedycentral video to load (it froze my puter and I had to do a hard boot).
Her remarks were mentioned on BBC Radio 4 news, and the reaction largely was a big fat “Meh. What do you expect?”
Really, eleanorigby, the cynicism about the current US administration and their friends is higher over here than you could possibly imagine. They appear have a nasty habit of going for the jugular to attack the messenger rather than the message when one of their allies even remotely disagrees with them. QV the right-wing talking head attitude to how the British forces handled the Iranian hostage crisis. Hell, a couple of years ago they even banned our Conservative Party from the White House after Michael Howard, the leader at the time, said that if he’d known that the casus belli were faulty, he wouldn’t have gone into Iraq - a not-unreasonable statement, IMO.
So, of course the wife of the Veep of the most vitriolic administration the US has ever had is going to dismiss her allies as unimportant - it’s what they do.
I know, I know,** jjimm**. I feel the same over here. But sometimes the sheer affrontery takes my breath away (like Lynne’s did). So, your responses weren’t unexpected, I was just curious.
I do hope there is a way out of this quagmire–and I don’t just mean Iraq. Somehow we all have to learn (some more than others) to play nice and get along. But that’s another thread.
What was the gist of it?