Hotline After Dark -- A Shoe-In

April 8, 2009 8:46 AM | Permalink |

"World News," "Evening News" and "Nightly News" each led with Pres. Obama's surprise visit to Iraq. "Evening News" also featured a taped interview with AG Eric Holder.

The big news of the evening was Obama wrapping up his overseas trip with an unannounced four-hour stop in Iraq.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, asked if it was a good idea for Obama to go to Iraq: "Yes. The president was close by. He would always take the opportunity to pay his respects to our troops. ... It was important for him to get some ground truth about speaking with the leadership of Iraq and, of course, speaking with our military leadership there, as well" ("LKL," CNN, 4/7).

FNC's O'Reilly: "The Iraq stop was necessary to bolster his credibility among the military and those who support him back home. It was a logical step" ("O'Reilly Factor," 4/7).

Washington Post's Robinson: "It's a picture, an image, that I think is important both for the president's relationship with the military, both in terms of reminding everyone that we still have tens of thousands of our forces in Iraq ... and sending a message, I think, to the country, again, Barack Obama as commander-in-chief, not as candidate" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 4/7).

CNN's Yellin: "The last time a U.S. president was in Iraq, he got a shoe thrown at him. Very different reception today" ("No Bias, No Bull," 4/7).

More after the jump, including interviews with Defense Sec. Robert Gates, Holder and VP Biden.

(KATHERINE LEHR)

New America Foundation's Steve Clemons: "I think it was a sign of real presidential maturity on Barack Obama's part. There are a lot of the people who put him into the White House who think that he ought to cast scorn on everything the Bush administration did. But he sees we are on a railroad track and he's redirecting that track. ... I think he's saying, we are transferring responsibility back now and our exit is beginning. And his presence there is somewhat of a very, very important punctuation point in that story" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 4/7).

CNN's Henry: "The idea of an unscheduled stop was not a total surprise, though speculation here in Turkey focused on it being Afghanistan since much of Mr. Obama's European tour focused on rallying support for his new strategy there. Aides said the president chose Iraq because the flight from Istanbul to Baghdad was just over two hours aboard Air Force One, and he wanted to express his gratitude in person" ("Situation Room," 4/7).

Ex-Speaker Newt Gingrich (R): "The big question I have is whether he's going to learn anything from this trip. ... President Obama gave the Europeans every emotional goody they could ask for, and they gave him nothing back. ... And in the U.N. Security Council, in response to the North Korean missile launch, the Russians said no. The Chinese said no. ... I'm not quite sure, in practical, real terms, what President Obama got out of this. And I'll be curious to see if he learned anything from the inability of nice words and gestures to move people to do anything for America" ("On the Record," FNC, 4/7).

HOPE FLOATS

Gates spoke about Obama's Iraq visit with PBS' Woodruff on "NewsHour."

Gates: "His message to our troops is one of appreciation and gratitude for their dedication and their service. I think his message to the Iraqis is, almost certainly, keep on doing what you're doing; keep on resolving problems politically; keep on working at reconciliation; get ready for your elections. We are going to keep our side of the bargain in terms of the agreement, in terms of draw-downs of troops and you have to step up to your responsibilities now, too."

Gates, on what he hopes Obama takes away from his visit: "I hope that he will be successful in encouraging the Iraqi leadership to continue working together. ... I am confident that he will come home impressed by the caliber of our men and women in uniform out there."

Woodruff: "The violence has been escalating recently. In fact, there was a car bomb today. ... If this violence were to step up considerably, is there a contingency plan?"

Gates: "While there are some of these spectacular attacks, overall, the level of violence continues to be quite low. ... I think what we're seeing is al Qaeda trying sort of as a last gasp to try and reverse the progress that's been made through these attacks. But these car-bomb attacks generally are the signature kind of thing that al Qaeda in Iraq does."

Woodruff, on the budget Gates unveiled 4/6: "The United States is in the middle of two wars and a serious recession. Is this the right time to haul out a major, dramatic overhaul of not only defense spending, but military strategy?"

Gates: "The reality is, this is nothing new. I've been talking about this for 18 months; it is the heart of the national defense strategy that was issued last fall in the Bush administration that I issued and it's really more about simply recognizing the enduring requirement for the capabilities to fight these irregular or hybrid conflicts than it is a major strategic shift."

More Gates: "I know that there's a lot of focus on cuts because of four or five major programs. But it's really a rebalancing: How do we sustain the capability not only to fight the wars we are in, but also, how we preserve the hedge to fight any future conflict" (PBS, 4/7).

DO KNOW MUCH ABOUT HISTORY

Meanwhile, CBS' Couric sat down with Holder to talk about the case involving ex-Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK).

Holder, on the criminal contempt investigation into prosecutors: "I'm obviously troubled by the findings and the statements that Judge Sullivan has made. But we'll cooperate fully with the investigation that has been ordered. Judge Sullivan is an old colleague of mine. We served together on the bench here in the DC superior court. So we'll provide the documents and make people available as is needed."

Couric: "But isn't this a pretty stunning vote of no confidence in the justice department's ability to investigate itself?"

Holder: "No, I don't think so. ... I think we are fully capable of looking at ourselves, if that was necessary."

Holder, asked if these prosecutors were politically motivated: "No, I don't think so."

Holder, asked what he would say to Stevens today: "I would tell Senator Stevens, and I would tell the American people that I look at this case as quickly as I could. I was disturbed by what I saw. And I took action as quickly as I could with regard to what I thought the appropriate thing for the justice department to do."

Couric: "What about the next time your department has to prosecute a high ranking public official? Why should Americans feel confident that your prosecutors will be fair and ethical?"

Holder: "Because history has shown that the people who work in this department are good lawyers. They're fair lawyers. They follow the rules. We're not gonna be timid. People should not take from this episode any indication that we're going to be intimidated into enforcing the laws, going after those who break our laws, especially those who are entrusted with great political positions. That is gonna be a focus of this department under me. We're gonna go after white collar criminals."

Holder, asked what he will do to restore the integrity of the department: "Well, you lead by example. And what I think I did in the Stevens case -- a great pain was to tell the world, 'This is not the way in which this justice department will conduct itself'" ("Evening News," 4/7).

LIFE'S A PITCH

And during an interview with CNN's Borger and Blitzer, Biden was asked about ex-VP Cheney saying Obama's actions have made the U.S. less safe.

Biden, on whether Cheney was out of line: "I don't think he's out of line, but he's dead wrong. ... The last administration left us in a weaker posture than we've been any time since World War II, less regarded in the world, stretched more thinly than we ever had been in the past, two wars under way, virtually no respect in entire parts of the world. And so we've been about the business of repairing and strengthening us. I guarantee you we are safer today."

More Biden: "We are more safe. We're more secure. Our interests are more secure, not just at home, but around the world. We're rebuilding about America's ability to lead."