Hotline After Dark -- Bush’s Media Offensive Continues
CBS' Couric spoke with Pres. Bush:
Bush: "My biggest fear is somebody will come in and slip in this country and kill Americans. And I can't tell you how. Obviously there would be the spectacular. That would be the use of some kind of biological weapon or weapon of mass destruction. ... And, you know, one way to look at it is we have to be right 100 percent of the time in order to protect this country, and they gotta be right once. And it's just a fact of life. We're facing an enemy ... that just doesn't care about innocent life. I mean, they really are evil people."
More: "I do think Iraq is a central front in the war on terror and so does Osama bin Laden."
Couric: "You have said we can't cut and run on more than one occasion. We have to stay until we win. Otherwise, we'll be fighting the terrorists here at home, on our own streets. So what do you mean exactly by that, Mr. President?"
Bush: "Well, I mean that a defeat in Iraq will embolden the enemy and will provide the enemy more opportunity to train, plan, to attack us. That's what I mean. You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror. I believe it. As I told you, Osama bin Laden believes it. But the American people have gotta understand that a defeat in Iraq -- in other words, if this government there fails, the terrorists will be emboldened, the radicals will topple moderate governments. I truly believe this is the ideological struggle of the 21st century. And the consequences for not achieving success are dire."
Couric: "When you look back on the last five years, President Bush, is there anything that you wish you had done differently?"
Bush: "Yeah. I mean, I wish, for example, Abu Ghraib didn't happen. That was a stain on our nation's character, and it sent a signal about who we're not to a lot of people around the world. I probably could have watched my language a little better, you know?. ... 'Bring it on,'" for example. Sometimes I try to explain myself in plain terms. And sometimes the terms are too plain" (9/6).
POLITICS 101
MSNBC was in full political mode yesterday so here are some highlights from their candidate interviews:
NY SEN candidate KT McFarland (R), on Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY): "She's a big spender. She's a big taxer. So is the Republican I'm running against for the primary. So I can hold her to account on those issues. And finally, on the war in Iraq and on all the national security issues, she won't take a position" ("Tucker," MSNBC, 9/6).
Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA), on illegal immigration: "The best weapon is enforcing the law" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 9/6).
Challenger Francine Busby (D): "We have a real situation here. In San Diego this is not some theoretical issue. We have people crossing the border here. We have people living here. We have people working here. We have people in our health clinics and our hospital and in our schools, and we need to address every aspect of that, and Mr. Bilbray only talks about enforcement and that's not going to solve our problems in San Diego" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 9/6).
MO SEN candidate Claire McCaskill (D), on the Gitmo prisoners: "Frankly, this is a place that I think the senators should defer to Senator McCain. He understands this isn't just about how we treat these terrorists, but how our men and women will be treated in prisons across the world if they're captured. We need to provide an example to the rest of the world. Obviously, we have to go after these guys. But as a prosecutor, I understand. We do our best work under a framework of rules" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 9/6).
But politics isn't exclusive to MSNBC:
CNN's Crowley, on the '06 election: "Republicans are not aiming for hardened voters. They know those are Democratic votes. What Republican contenders need to do is get their own voters out of the doldrums and into the voting booth" ("Situation Room," 9/6).
FNC's Garrett, on the Dem strategy: "Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid knew his party's bid to win a Senate call to oust Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld would go nowhere on the Senate floor. No matter, the defense secretary isn't the real target. In the run-up to the mid-term elections, the debate over Rumsfeld's fate is a proxy for what the Democrats seek in November, a referendum on the administration's conduct on the Iraq war" ("Special Report," 9/6).
CNN's Bash: "That resolution is being debated as we speak. We expect it to die within the next couple of hours, without even getting a vote. But that's just fine with Democrats because their main goal here was to push an Iraq debate zeroing in on the man they think symbolizes all that has gone wrong with the Iraq war and that is, of course, Donald Rumsfeld" ("Lou Dobbs Tonight," 9/6).
And Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) was on the "O'Reilly Factor" to discuss his decision not to provide protection for former Iranian Pres. Mohammed Khatami when he visits Harvard.
Romney: "What I say is that on that September 10th and September 11th, on the fifth anniversary of an extraordinary tragedy in America, you don't welcome a person to Harvard with open arms who has preached the destruction of Israel, who has developed nuclear technology, contrary to what he had said, who has jailed dissident students in his country, who has praised Hezbollah. This is a person who's words are worth nothing" (FNC, 9/6). [EMILY GOODIN]
