November 1, 2004
Make Your Own Decision
Walter Cronkite appeared on Larry King Live to discuss the implications of Bin Laden's latest tape release (Bin Laden Releases New Videotape). The transcript makes interesting reading, but this quote jumps out:
CRONKITE: What we just heard. So now the question is basically right now, how will this affect the election? And I have a feeling that it could tilt the election a bit. In fact, I'm a little inclined to think that Karl Rove, the political manager at the White House, who is a very clever man, he probably set up bin Laden to this thing. The advantage to the Republican side is to get rid of, as a principal subject of the campaigns right now, get rid of the whole problem of the al Qaqaa explosive dump. Right now, that, the last couple of days, has, I think, upset the Republican campaign.
Amazingly, King doesn't followup on this though the issue of Bin Laden and the tape's impact on the election continues.
I can think of about 30 things that I would ask. The first would be: W"hen you say "set up bin Laden to this thing" what exactly do you mean?"
This interview certainly places the following quotes in perspective.
"We want people to think 'terrorism' for the last four days," said a Bush-Cheney campaign official. "And anything that raises the issue in people's minds is good for us."Posted by rowan at November 1, 2004 12:33 PM | TrackBack | [eMail this article!] |A senior GOP strategist added, "anything that makes people nervous about their personal safety helps Bush." (Bin Laden Speaks and Bush Crows)
From the book "Means Without End" by Giorgio Agamben: "... because power no longer has today any form of legitimization other than emergency, and because power everywhere and continuously refers and appeals to emergency as well as laboring secretly to produce it. (How could we not think that a system that can no longer function at all except on the basis of emergency would not also be interested in preserving such an emergency at any price?)" (6)
Larry King asked no further because he is not only at least partially succumbing to the fear, but also because--I would argue--he is part of the system of power of that fear. The media has an option on what it presents (we know better than to think ANY media can be unbiased), and King has chosen the glitz of power rather than the idealism of inquiry.
I have lots of questions about the Bin Laden tape. He choses NOW, 4 days before an election, to reveal that he is indisputably the engineer of 9/11 ... how convenient. Three years after the fact, and he's just now coming clean. Hmmmm.
I just hope most of America took Cronkite's road of intellectual inquiry and questioned the mechanisms and importance of the Bin Laden tape.
Posted by: Pamela at November 1, 2004 12:55 PMLarry King is a hack, plain and simple...I perhaps should be more diplomatic, but I have had it ! Larry King is probably the poorest exuse for what is referred to as journalism. Where is I.F. Stone when we need him ? Or anybody like him ! The only hard hitting newspeople are on indie news Amy Goodman, remember her and East Timor, when nobody would even acknowledge it existed, including President Carter???!!!! The Watergate boys are now part of the elite crowd, ...there is a real opportunity if somebody has the courage to come forward and do some real reporting, hard facts, no fluff, reporting similar to what you saw in CONTROL ROOM, and for those of you who haven't rented Control Room....Do it now before it is removed from shelves.
Finally this just in....according to The Onion, Republicans have turned out to help minorites, women, vote and are encouraging all liberals to be sure and vote on November 3!!!!!!!!!
It is ironic how much the Bush administration NEEDS bin laden to stay in power !
Posted by: Bill at November 1, 2004 2:13 PM