US Elections 2004: The Ugly Face of Power




from The Guardian:

Every once in a while, ordinary voters get a chance to peek behind the curtain that hides the real face of power. Such a moment happened last weekend, during an interview with the secretary of state, Colin Powell, on America's most watched Sunday political talk show, Meet the Press.

The veteran interviewer Tim Russert was asking his last question of Powell, who was joining him via satellite from Jordan, when the camera suddenly swung away and viewers heard the voice of a State Department media minder off camera declare: "You're off."

The argument that ensued between Powell, the press aide and Russert was rebroadcast in its entirety and was more revealing of this administration's can-do-no-wrong attitude than any public campaign exchange.

Powell, who could still hear NBC's Russert in his ear, responded, "I am not off. He's still asking the questions." "He was going to go on for another five minutes," retorted the unrelenting staffer.

At this point Russert chimed in: "I would hope they would put you back on camera... I think that was one of your staff... I don't think that's appropriate." Powell finally shut down his aide, Emily Miller: "Emily, get out of the way. Bring back the camera please."

Russert got the chance to ask his last question of Powell, on how he felt now about all the bogus intelligence he was given to present as fact to the UN in the month before the war. But a much larger point had already been made: with the possible exception of Colin Powell, this administration believes itself to be beyond criticism.

The article goes on to make apt comparisons between the Bush and Nixon administrations, and recalls the campaign 2000 incident when candidate Bush called a reporter an asshole when he didn't think he was on tape.

Posted: Sun - May 23, 2004 at 12:10 AM          

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