I woke up this morning in a sweat, the hot passionate images of Katie still filling my brain. Was it a dream? Or was it a blissful memory, suppressed but oh-so-real, just now bubbling to the surface of my consciousness?
I rushed to the computer to write it down before it all faded away. There she was, right at the end of the CBS Evening News, the heir to Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow; and she was saying something important ...
Finally tonight, a personal note.
A reporter doesn't have much to go on. We don't hold the reins of power or push the levers of industry. Mostly, we get by with nothing more than curiosity and a big megaphone. But the one thing we hold most dear is our credibility, our honesty; if I say something on the air, you can believe it.
I have not endorsed any candidate in this election, nor will I. That's why it was more than disappointing this week when John McCain began to use my face and my voice in his campaign commercials. Sexism is a problem in our society; I have denounced it before and will do so again, when it's appropriate. But let me be clear: I found nothing in Barack Obama's recent statements to be sexist.
What John McCain did was to take a statement that I made months ago, during Hillary Clinton's campaign, rip it out of context, and make it seem as though I was making the same comment about more recent events. In other words, John McCain used my face and my voice to tell a lie about my views. This is beyond disappointing; it is dishonorable and despicable.
John McCain approved that message, but I didn't, and I don't. I asked him to pull the ad, but he hasn't. For a man who has based his entire campaign on personal honor, this is frankly incomprehensible.
I'm sorry it's come to this; I'm sorry I've had to use my big megaphone to tell you than an honorable man has done a dishonorable thing, but that's the way it is. And before anyone makes a demand for equal time, let me say that the only equal time I will give is to John McCain himself, and only if it includes the public apology that I deserve.
I'm Katie Kouric. Good night, and good luck.
Sitting here typing, I think I have it right, just the way she said it -- in my dream.