Worst Debate Commentary: NPR's Mara Liasson's "The war's going swimmingly?"

Can there be any doubt about NPR's continuing decline to mediawhoredom when tonight, on Weekend Edition Sunday, Mara Liasson who is, get this, National Political Correspondent, plugged the Dean unelectability line with the comment on Iraq that "the war is going swimmingly..." This comment could only be made by someone so stunningly out of touch with reality as perceived by I would think most Americans that one can only wonder at the judgement of NPR to broadcast their analysis of anything.  Listen for yourself at npr.org and if you, like me, intend to contact them regarding this particular outrage (on so many levels), their email is [e-mail]  

•  NPR's Mara Liasson's

  Please give me something so I can rate you.  NPR's war coverage has made me sick for a solid year (and I wasn't happy with their post 2000 election coverage either).

  They never addressed my prewar concerns.  But the worst (that I let myself remember anyway) was:

  An interview with a US Military officer who was assuring the NPR Reporter (I don't remember who) that we would win the war.  Why was he so sure?

  Because since Aug. 2002 the army had been conducting a role playing exercise.  With some officers assigned the roles of US officers & others assigned the roles of Iraqi officers.

  And in these role-playing exercises, the US always won.

  The reporter thanked the officer for his assurances and that was how the interview ended.

  After that it was no real surprise to me to hear them report last April & May, weekly it seemed, that WMP had been found, that Saddam was on the verge of capture, etc.

  Whatever they were fed, they reported without question.  They've been stunningly out of touch for a long time.

  by katiebird on Sun Jan 04, 2004 at 10:29:57 PM PDT

•  Re: Worst Debate Commentary: Mara Liasson

  I didn't hear Liasson this afternoon, but she's almost as bad as Cookie, who comes on with her right-leaning CW every Monday morning. I always forget on Mondays that I just shouldn't turn the damn radio on.

  by Dan Perreten on Sun Jan 04, 2004 at 10:40:20 PM PDT

•  Re: Worst Debate Commentary: NPR's Mara Liasson's

  Daniel Schorr often repeatedly drives me nuts as well.  The odd thing is my best friend, a dyed-in-the-wool Republican and conservative, thinks NPR is far to the left.  

  Excellent Diary.  Regrettably, Ms. Liasson herself doesn't have an NPR email listed so yes, send an email to [e-mail]

  Thanks Leisler!

  by Soj on Sun Jan 04, 2004 at 10:51:06 PM PDT

  •  Re: Worst Debate Commentary: NPR's Mara Liasson's

    I love Daniel Schorr.  Overall his commentaries are usually stinging rebukes of Bush foreign policy, although I haven't listened in a while.  A lot of his commentaries that have been critical ran while the remainder of the press is kissing Bush's ass so I always gave him points for that.  Unfortunately I don't think he has too many reporting years left.

    by seamus on Mon Jan 05, 2004 at 12:35:16 AM PDT

•  Re: Worst Debate Commentary: NPR's Mara Liasson

  On the other hand, I heard on NPR a week or so back an NPR reporter [whose name I cannot remember, driving me nuts, must be a senior moment] over in Iraq who gave a very pessimistic POV.  When the program host in Washington (or actually, it was a call-in questioner) tried to express a more optimistic view of events in Iraq, she quickly shut him down, essentially saying "you don't know what you're talking about!"  Too bad they don't feature her more often.  Not all of them buy into the right-wing line of BS.

  by DenfromWisc on Sun Jan 04, 2004 at 11:41:54 PM PDT

•  Re: Worst Debate Commentary: NPR's Mara Liasson's

  Oh, come on.  She's all that bad.  :-)  She's looks like a possible friend of Richard Scaife.

  </sarcasm>

  by Viktor on Sun Jan 04, 2004 at 11:47:17 PM PDT