Curb Your Enthusiasm, Tim Russert

Did you watch Meet the Press this morning?

Tim Russert was absolutely giddy.

He doesn't have the champagne chilling. He's already popped the cork.

Russert's guests were National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Sen. Elizabeth Dole, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Chuck Schumer, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Rep. Rahm Emanuel, and National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Rep. Tom Reynolds.

As usual, the partisan Russert would occasionally toss a jab at the Dems, but for the most part, he was attacking the Republicans.

While I watched most of the program, I didn't give it my undivided attention.

But to the best of my knowledge, Russert did not challenge Schumer on his DSCC's dirty and illegal use of Michael Steele's social security number to fraudulently obtain his credit report.

Read about the Schumer DSCC scandal that the lib media barely noticed here and here.

The AP quickly jumped on a comment made by Dole and splashed it.

WASHINGTON -- The head of the GOP Senate campaigns on Sunday sought to deflect growing criticism about the war in Iraq, saying her party will prevail in Tuesday's elections partly because "Democrats appear to be content with losing."

Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., acknowledged that Republicans face a tight race to maintain control of the Senate, but that voters will focus more narrowly on local issues. Democrats need to take six seats to gain power in the 100-member Senate.

...On Iraq, she said: "We need to win the war, and it would be disastrous to lose."

"It's like they're content with losing. To pull out and withdraw is losing. The Democrats appear to be content with losing," she said.

The AP account doesn't give an adequate description of Dole's remarks.

Before Dole finished explaining her comment, the rude Russert interrupted her. She clearly hadn't concluded her statement.

He refused to let her speak, saying something to the effect that she had made a very strong comment and he had to let Emanuel respond immediately.

There was a lot of crosstalk, due to the fact that Russert was being so unfair in the way he was moderating the discussion.

Eventually, Russert raised his voice and said, "Time out, time out...," while playing ref and gesturing the time out hand signal.

Funny that Dems can make virtually any "strong" comment bashing Bush or Cheney or Rumsfeld and Russert never interrupts to allow a Republican to counter.

Of course, Dem cheerleader Russert never really gave Dole the opportunity to expound on her statement. He attacked and moved on, pulling a hit and run on cut and run.

Naturally, Russert failed to consider the validity of Dole's remark.

In reality, the Dem plan to "redeploy" is a plan for defeat. Redeploy, as Cardin said on Meet the Press last weekend, means redeploy the troops in Iraq to the United States, bring them home.

FACT: There is no question that bringing the troops home at this stage would be viewed by our enemies as a loss for America.

If the Dems want to retreat now, they most certainly appear to be content with losing, as Dole said.

The Dems' short-sightedness may work for them politically this Tuesday, but it will be devastating for our country in the long run.
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Read about Russert's sleazy attempt to attribute a "Rumsfeld must go" editorial running in military newspapers to members of the military here.

Mark Finkelstein of NewsBusters writes:

[RNCC Chairman Tom] Reynolds exposed those so-called "military newspapers" as nothing more than cogs in the Gannett chain, a member-in-good-standing of the MSM whose flagship paper is the reliably-liberal USA Today.

Russert flashed the panel of the editorial shown here, and asked Reynolds:



"Do you believe it would be helpful [to have] a change at the top of the Pentagon?"

That's when Reynolds unleashed this salvo:

"First of all, the Army Times editorial is written by its Gannett-owned newspaper, which is well-positioned [on the 'anti' side] in other editorial comment relative to the war. And so the editorial writers may be coming from Virginia rather from the military, particularly because it's owned by Gannett."

Russert really has lost it.

I think he's letting his loathing for Bush and especially Rumsfeld diminish his integrity as a journalist.

I doubt that he cares.