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(The incredible C&L video archives comes through again. Via a post from 02/08/07 The Guide: How Dick Cheney uses "Meet the Press" to control the message )

In ‘01, Cheney said this on MTP:

CHENEY: It‘s been pretty well confirmed that he did go to Prague and he did meet with a senior official of the Iraqi intelligence service in Czechoslovakia last April.

on 6/19/04 CNBC, he said:

GLORIA BORGER, TV SHOW HOST: You have said in the past that it was, quote, “pretty well confirmed.”

CHENEY: No, I never said that. BORGER: OK.

CHENEY: I never said that. BORGER: I think that is…

CHENEY: Absolutely not.

It's not like we haven't seen this tale before. Cheney is getting ready to go on a Sunday Talk Show to discuss important issues, a big article appears that tries to completely justify his positions almost at the same time he's about to take the center stage. Wow. What a shock. One of Cheney's first victims and allies was the NY Times. Judy Miller was used as a a willing pawn when Cheney needed cover right before he was going on Meet the Press to help push the country into war with Iraq in 2002.

Cheney's team admitted during the Scooter Libby trial that using Meet the Press allowed them to control the message which was a major embarrassment for Tim Russert.

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BILL MOYERS: Was it just a coincidence in your mind that Cheney came on your show and others went on the other Sunday shows, the very morning that that story appeared?

TIM RUSSERT: I don't know. The NEW YORK TIMES is a better judge of that than I am.

BILL MOYERS: No one tipped you that it was going to happen?

TIM RUSSERT: No, no. I mean-

BILL MOYERS: The Cheney office didn't leak to you that there's gonna be a big story?

TIM RUSSERT: No. No. I mean, I don't have the-- This is, you know-- on MEET THE PRESS, people come on and th4ere are no ground rules. We can ask any question we want. I did not know about the aluminum tubes story until I read it in the NEW YORK TIMES.

BILL MOYERS: Critics point to September eight, 2002 and to your show in particular, as the classic case of how the press and the government became inseparable. Someone in the Administration plants a dramatic story in the NEW YORK TIMES And then the Vice President comes on your show and points to the NEW YORK TIMES. It's a circular, self-confirming leak.

TIM RUSSERT: I don't know how Judith Miller and Michael Gordon reported that story, who their sources were. It was a front-page story of the NEW YORK TIMES. When Secretary Rice and Vice President Cheney and others came up that Sunday morning on all the Sunday shows, they did exactly that.

My concern was, is that there were concerns expressed by other government officials. And to this day, I wish my phone had rung, or I had access to them.

Now the Washington Post has taken the job since Miller isn't around to pass along Bush talking points. I understand that at times anonymous sources play a role in breaking news, but this piece which is rife with anonymous sources is clearly there to provide cover for Cheney as he takes up his cause of justifying his horrific torture regime once again to the American people, but this time with a brand spanking new piece of propaganda from the elite media. The Sunday shows will have a field day with this...

Glenn Greenwald has more: 'The Washington Post's Cheney-ite defense of torture.'

If anyone ever tells you that they don't understand what is meant by "stenography journalism" -- or ever insists that America is plagued by a Liberal Media -- you can show them this article from today's Washington Post and, by itself, it should clear up everything. The article's headline is "How a Detainee Became An Asset -- Sept. 11 Plotter Cooperated After Waterboarding" -- though an equally appropriate headline would be: "The Joys and Virtues of Torture -- how Dick Cheney Kept Us Safe." I defy anyone to identify a single way the article would be different if The Post had let Dick Cheney write it himself...read on

The untruths that were told by the some of the Republican candidates during the Florida debate was astounding to me. McCain might have been the worst offender, but I'd like to know where the heck Tim Russert was? Oh, that's right---it was a Republican debate. Never mind, He can't be bothered with follow ups. He's only confrontational in Democratic debates.

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McCain: “I know of no military leader, including General Petraeus, who says we can’t sustain our effort in Iraq.”

Larry Johnson:

Well, maybe Senator McCain was taking a nap last month, but Army Chief of Staff, General Casey disagrees. The Christian Science Monitor’s Gordon Lubold reported the following last Christmas Eve:

“We’re deploying at unsustainable rates,” General Casey said three weeks ago during remarks to an audience at the Brookings Institution in Washington. The Army agreed to a buildup of troops a year ago with the understanding that it was temporary, he said. “We can’t sustain that. We have to come off of that, and we’re working that very hard.

CBS:

During the debate, moderator Tim Russert quoted McCain claiming not to be an expert on the economy and McCain responded, “I don’t know where you got that quote from.” Today, McCain explained that he was actually speaking in general terms.

And we believe you Sen. McCain. Keith Olberman and our pal, Sam Seder try to dissect some of this...Here's a transcript of the debate...

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It was Ron Paul's turn to face Tim Russert this morning, and he certainly came out less bruised than past guests Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. I don't think that Dick Cheney's go to guy is a big believer in the libertarian ideals that Paul espouses, so I have to wonder if he just thought that Paul wasn't worth the effort. Certainly, Russert offers no follow up on any of Paul's assertions here that he would abolish income tax and cut spending. For example, aside from pulling the military from overseas assignments, where else would Paul cut spending? It's a valid question that may color what otherwise sounds sensible after seven years of ridiculous spending on war-mongering. If Paul had said that the next program to go was Medicare or Social Security, would it have the same appeal?

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As this second clip shows, Russert's entire M.O. appears to be dredging up every single thing a politician does or says in his entire career to find some evidence of flip-flopping, as if that fairly juvenile game of "gotcha" is the only way to be hard-hitting. Here Russert points out that as much as Paul complains about spending, he has no problem inserting earmarks to benefit his district, even though as Paul says, he votes against them every time. Personally, that's a little convoluted way to hold up your ideology, but expecting Russert to approach it in any other way than a bemused "you're a flip-flopper" tone is apparently unrealistic.

(Photo of a tasty looking cafe au lait and oj in Quebec City via Bill on Capitol Hill.)

The Sunday Talking Head thread is up and ready for the reading. It's quite an interesting mix this morning, with everything from Iraq to infrastructure and a lot in between on the topics menu.

Perhaps it is just me, but I think the subject of Harold Ford's loss last year and this op-ed that Kos and SusanG penned for the WaPo yesterday might come up in passing on Meet the Press. Here's hoping that Markos gets an opportunity to ask Mr. Russert why it is that he even bothered booking the politically tone deaf, irrelevent, self-promoting Ford in the first place, and why Russert still masquerades as a news man now that all of us know that Dick Cheney owns him. What, you don't remember that Cathie Martin classic?

-- MTP (putting VP on MTP), plus a pro and con of putting VP on MTP Pros: best format, we control the message

Could make for some fun viewing this morning. Here's hoping, anyway. Plus, there is likely to be quite a bit of discussion on the "buy yourself some voters, promise them a buffet and stick 'em on a bus day" Iowa GOP straw poll. And of course, Bob Geiger has his regular cartoons.  So, what's on your mind, catching your eye in the news or on the blogs this morning?

Make Them Accountable:  From the liberal perspective, there is an extended litany of priorities more important than women's rights. And for conservatives, every priority is more important.

Fix the Pumps:  Bombshell coverage:  The Army Corps of Engineers still sees problems with NOLA's drainage pumps.

Skippy the Bush Kangaroo:  advice for contributing to Democratic candidates (and check Skippy's sidebar for a poll on more and better songs for Hillary's campaign).

Ice Station Tango:  Colin Powell went on Meet the Press, and SURPRISE--the press wasn't there. He met Tim Russert instead. That happens to everyone who goes on that show.

Tom Dispatch:  How permanent are those Iraqi bases?  Iraq has always been "South Korea" for Bushco.  (h/t The Whole American Hog)

Guest round-up by Blue Gal.  Bluegalsblog AT gmail DOT com.

(Photo of some yummy looking cafe con leche y Napolitana via Prioggie.)

The Sunday Talking Head line-up is ready for reading this morning.

I can tell you what I will not be watching -- Meet the Press. I can't think of a show less worth viewing with that line-up: Matalin, Carville, Shrum and Murphy. Lordy. They should start calling it "Meet My Cronies." If Mary Matalin opens her mouth and says "no underlying crime" or "he's a good, good man" like she always does and there is no pushback from her husband (ha!) or Bob Shrum (HA!) about the fact that a multiple felony conviction on a matter of national security is not only serious but ought to be punished to the fullest extent of the law for an officer of the court who ought to have known better...I'd say Russert ought to call her on it, but he's owned by Dick Cheney.

So, what is catching your eye this morning on the blogs or in the news? If you missed Bob Geiger's political cartoon round-up, do go take a peek. Great stuff this week.

From the notes of Lady MacCheney...

FDL:

It has legs. The story's not going away. We need to address Wilson motivation. The President should wave his wand. "Call Tim," Mary Matalin, he hates Chris, he needs to know it all. Underneath, Mr Libby's notes, Wilson's a snake. As a result, he calls Tim Russert. The fact that he would write that down goes to state of mind. Govt was interested in responding on the merits...

A source of mine told me that Matthews has been mad as hell for the longest time because he's not asked to guest host "Meet the Press." He feels that's his rightful place. This kinda clears up the reason he gets passed over when Russert takes time off.

Alternet.

On Meet the Press, Tim Russert points out a stunning press release from the White House Communications Office. The release, titled Setting The Record Straight, endorses an LA Times Op-Ed that calls for Israel to attack Syria:

"It's time to let the Israelis take off the gloves…. Israel needs to hit the [Syrian] Assad regime. Hard."

It's difficult to not interpret this as the White Communications Office officially endorsing an Israeli attack on Syria.

They have the video posted.

Could Tim Russert suck up to Karl Rove anymore than he did on MTP Sunday? He sure hit him with an actual population map of the USA. That was really nasty! Where's that bulldog interviewer we so fondly remember; you know the one that attacked Edwards just weeks before the election? We don't have a problem with his style, just keep it even. Where was that scathing attack on Condi Rice? What about Rudi? Giuliani blames the troops for the missing explosives and Russert allows him to skate!

I wonder if Russert will quiz Rudy Giuliani and all his Christian guests about this highly held principle in the bible? When it comes election time I'm sure they will turn a blind eye to it. Joe Scarborough is a divorced man who constantly steps into Dobson territory.