Saturday, June 14, 2008

The Passing of a Giant

As I write this I am still in shock over the fact that tomorrow morning, Sunday, when I get up, Tim Russert will not be hosting Meet The Press. I wake up Sunday mornings, slowly, with coffee brewing and Tim on tv, verbally goosing some gas bag politico into giving an answer that was not full of double speak.

Yesterday afternoon, my brother left a voicemail on my cell telling me of Russert's sudden death. He of all people knows what a news nerd I am. Seriously, I watch more news in a week than most people watch in ten years.

All of my life I have been a political junkie. And because of that, I sometimes detested politics because I knew personally how hypocritical politicians could be. Years before I pimped office products, during my college years I worked in politics (I know, a surprise to many of you who just know me for the paying gig). So more than once I got an up front seat to politicians, or their handelers, changing their minds on issues mid stream. Or I saw how political campaigns thrived or died on gossip or innuendo. It was a freaky thing.

Although I am no longer active in working any campaigns, I watch politics now from a different standpoint. I've enjoyed watching this years Democratic primary process. And to hear Russert explain it, well, it made it even more enjoyable. Politics is serious but Russert showed us we could still enjoy it.

What makes this even sadder, and not just because he leaves a wife and a son, is that our press, who is responsible for pushing politicians into answering the tough questions, has lost one of the few real unbiased members of the MSM. A majority of news show hosts, quite frankly, are gas bags. But Russert, in his inexpensive suites and somewhat disheveled look, could care less about appearence. What he cared about was finding out the answers for the everyday person who was working hard to make ends meet. Like most of us, he came from a working class background and thankfully he never forgot his roots; he never forgot his Catholic background.

My heart goes out to his family (no man should have to bury his son) and his coworkers. And I hope all journalists take a look at how he always demanded answers and kept pressing politicians until he got them.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

An Apology From Andrea

Remember the bulletin I posted last week concerning MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell and her comments on Southwest Virginia? Well, Andrea has apologized.

We now have an end to the crisis!!!

Thus, fair being fair, I wanted to make sure that everyone knew. By the way, how awesome was it that so many people wrote, emailed, called NBC from the "Fighting 9th?" Below is the story from Media Matters:

"On the June 9 edition of MSNBC Live, anchor Andrea Mitchell apologized for comments she made on June 5 regarding Sen. Barack Obama's appearance that day in Bristol, Virginia. As Media Matters for America and the Huffington Post noted, on June 5, Mitchell described the area as "real redneck, sort of, bordering on Appalachia country." From the 1 p.m.ET hour of the June 9 edition of MSNBC Live:MITCHELL: And now, a point of personal privilege. I owe an apology to the good people of Bristol, Virginia, for something stupid that I said last week. I was trying to explain, based on reporting from Democratic strategists, why Barack Obama was campaigning in southwest Virginia, but without attribution or explanation, I used a term strategists often use to demean an entire community. No excuses, I'm really sorry. As they say, when I make a mistake, it's a beaut."

Here is the link: http://mediamatters. org/items/200806090004?lid=354855&rid=9279711

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Unfortunate Comments About Southwest Virginia

Normally I believe Andrea Mitchell's (of NBC/MSNBC) reporting is spot on, even if she is slightly elitist. Well...she let her elitism get in the way of reporting on Democratic Presidential Nominee Barak Obama's visit to Bristol, Virginia today. Below is a reprint of what Mitchell said live today on MSNBC during MSNBC live:

MSNBC's Mitchell: Southwest Virginia "is real redneck, sort of, bordering on Appalachia country"http://mediamatters.org/items/200806050005?f=h_latest
On the June 5 edition of MSNBC Live, anchor Andrea Mitchell noted Sen. Barack Obama's appearance that day in Bristol, Virginia, with former Virginia governor and Democratic Senate candidate Mark Warner and asserted, "Interesting images today. Barak Obama, Mark Warner in southwest Virginia. This is real redneck, sort of, bordering on Appalachia country. This is not the Northern Virginia, you know, sort of high-tech corridor. And these are voters that he would not logically be, you know, gravitating to. This is the beginning of a pivot."

The link is above so you can view it yourself. You will notice the big time "red neck" Rick Boucher behind Senator Obama. For those of you not from our beautiful neck of the woods (pun intended), Rick is far from a redneck.

We have two Starbucks in Bristol now! How can we be rednecks? :-)