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Powell interview!! Hilarious!
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| MisterOpus1 |
Powell's Press Aide has an interesting past:
| quote: | Powell staffer who stopped interview had defended Republican protesters during Florida recount "melee"
Emily J. Miller, described on May 18 by The Washington Post as "the controversial press aide" who "ordered a cameraman to stop filming an interview with" Secretary of State Colin Powell from Jordan on NBC's Meet the Press with Tim Russert on May 16, worked as a spokesperson for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) during the 2000 Florida presidential election recount.
DeLay's office served as "a switchboard of sorts for volunteers looking to sign up" to help oversee or protest the recounts, according to a November 28, 2000, New York Times article. As the Times reported on November 24, 2000, young Republicans "tried to rush the doors outside the office of the Miami-Dade supervisor of elections." Responding to Democrats' characterizations of the November 22 protest as "intimidation" by "out-of-state, paid political operatives," as reported in the November 28 Times, Miller defended the protesters' actions: "This was not a threatening band of armed thugs; They were idealistic, enthusiastic young Republicans who felt they were being shut out, that this was an unfair decision [to recount the ballots]."
However, as the Times reported on November 24, the November 22 demonstration -- by the protesters whom Miller called "idealistic, enthusiastic young Republicans" -- "turned violent ... after the canvassers had decided to close the recount to the public." As the Times further reported in the November 24 article:
Joe Geller, chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, was escorted to safety by the police after a crowd chased him down and accused him of stealing a ballot. Upstairs in the Clark center, several people were trampled, punched or kicked when protesters tried to rush the doors outside the office of the Miami-Dade supervisor of elections. Sheriff's deputies restored order.
According to a December 4, 2000, Time magazine article by Tim Padgett, titled "Mob Scene in Miami":
What the world watched was a G.O.P. melee. When Geller walked out of the room with a sample ballot, the crowd accused him of stealing a real one and responded as if he had just nabbed a baby for its organs. Geller says he was pushed by two dozen protesters screaming, "I'm gonna take you down!" Luis Rosero, a Democratic observer, claims he was punched and kicked. Republicans dispute the charges, but video cameras caught scenes of activism that had morphed into menace.
In perhaps further tension with Miller's characterization of the protesters as "idealistic" and "enthusiastic," The New York Times reported on November 28, 2000: "Many of the protesters, who stayed at Hilton hotels and received paid breakfast and lunch, according to Brad Blakeman, a New York lawyer who helped organize them, roamed between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach, depending on where the largest crowd was needed on a given day." In addition, the Times reported, "[A] large number of Republican lobbyists, consultants and elected officials also paid for their own trips to Florida."
As the Associated Press reported on May 17, during Secretary of State Powell's May 16 interview with Russert on Meet the Press, "Powell abruptly disappear[ed] from view. Briefly seen [were] swaying palm trees and the water, backdrops for the interview." The Washington Post's "Reliable Source" columnist Richard Leiby confirmed on May 18 that "controversial press aide" Emily J. Miller "ordered a cameraman to stop filming" the interview. The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz detailed the exchange between Powell and Miller, during which Powell was heard to say, "Emily, get out of the way," and then, "Bring the camera back please." The AP also reported that Meet the Press executive producer Betsy Fischer said that "Miller called right after the taping to 'express her displeasure' that the interview ran long," while "Powell called Russert a few hours later to apologize." While remarking that "to his credit" Powell handled the situation effectively, Russert -- discussing the incident on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer -- said, "Now, this [aide Emily Miller] is someone paid by the U.S. taxpayers, trying to cut off an interview with an American journalist and the American secretary of state." Russert said further, "I've been in countries where staffers pull the plug on people. This is the United States of America. It really is unacceptable."
The transcript from the May 16 edition of Meet the Press:
Russert: Finally, Mr. Secretary, in February of 2003, you placed your enormous personal credibility before the United Nations and laid out a case against Saddam Hussein citing...
Powell: Not off.
Emily: No. They can't use it. They're editing it. They (unintelligible).
Powell: He's still asking me questions. Tim.
Emily: He was not...
Powell: Tim, I'm sorry, I lost you.
Russert: I'm right here, Mr. Secretary. I would hope they would put you back on camera. I don't know who did that.
Powell: We really...
Russert: I think that was one of your staff, Mr. Secretary. I don't think that's appropriate.
Powell: Emily, get out of the way.
Emily: OK.
Powell: Bring the camera back, please. I think we're back on, Tim. Go ahead with your last question.
— A.S.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200405190002 |
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| Shakka |
| Yet one more reason why I have utmost respect for Colin Powell. It's a shame a man of his character has no interest in the office of President. |
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| DjSway |
| Yeah too bad, unbelievable how the most powerful nation in the world has only two candidates, each worthless, even combined together. :sadgreen: |
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| Shakka |
| I liked it when you could hear Powell off camera saying, "Get out of the way! Bring the camera back over here." (OK, those aren't direct quotes, but close to it!) |
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| MisterOpus1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Shakka
I liked it when you could hear Powell off camera saying, "Get out of the way! Bring the camera back over here." (OK, those aren't direct quotes, but close to it!) |
Actually I thought the best part of that Meet The Press episode Sunday was when Russert interviewed Sen. Joe Biden and Sen. McCain. He asked McCain whether or not he would consider running as VP for Kerry, and McCain replied something like, "I'd like to have the camera move over to the palm tree, please."
Damn, the thought of actually having a Dem. and a Rep. in the office together is just too good to be true. |
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| Shakka |
| They could serve as Co-presidents. Each day they'd wake up, beat the out of eachother, and the winner would get to sit in the leather chair for the day. |
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| MisterOpus1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Shakka
They could serve as Co-presidents. Each day they'd wake up, beat the out of eachother, and the winner would get to sit in the leather chair for the day. |
Kinda like a daily Festivus ritual?
Me like! |
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| Shakka |
| Festivus for the rest of us! |
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| Yoepus |
I never liked Tim Russert:mad:
Not that I think Emily is pimp or anything... Actually this is the exact reason why I'd never hire a women press secretary - they'll get emotionally whack on you.
...not that I really need a press secretary or something, just saying...
:) |
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| MisterOpus1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Yoepus
I never liked Tim Russert:mad:
Not that I think Emily is pimp or anything... Actually this is the exact reason why I'd never hire a women press secretary - they'll get emotionally whack on you.
...not that I really need a press secretary or something, just saying...
:) |
You mean you didn't like him when he grilled Howard Dean to a pulp?
Come to think of it, someone else probably would have done it sooner or later..... |
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