Brokaw Pontificates: Time for the Parents to Say 'Time Out' on Hot Talk, Slams Palin
Former NBC Nighty News anchor Tom Brokaw visited the Today show set, on Thursday, to play referee, or more specifically daddy, in the debate surrounding the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords as he pontificated that it was "time for the parents to say time out" on the heated political rhetoric. However he then went on to question how Sarah Palin could dare to respond to all the personal attacks on her, many by some of Brokaw's colleagues on MSNBC, as he opined: "I was surprised that she waded back into it frankly."
On to discuss Barack Obama's performance at a memorial service for victims of the Tuscon shooting, Brokaw told Today co-anchor Meredith Vieira, that even though the service, as Vieira herself noticed, seemed more like a "pep rally" at times, Obama was simply doing his best to "Keep the mood of the crowd ebullient." Brokaw then scolded: "I would think that on the political, what I call the political poles, on both ends, it's probably time for the parents to say time out. You know let's, let's take a break here for a couple of days and reflect on what we've been through and where we need to go."
Later on in the segment Vieira prompted Brokaw to weigh-in on the temerity of Sarah Palin, to dare to defend herself as she asked: "Talking about pointing fingers...your views on Sarah Palin and her accusing the journalists of blood libel for blaming political rhetoric on what happened?" Brokaw responded: "I was surprised that she waded back into it frankly...I was surprised that she got back into it in the way that she did. I think we gotta move beyond that."
The following is the full segment with Brokaw as it was aired on the January 13 Today show:
MEREDITH VIEIRA: Now let's welcome in NBC's Tom Brokaw. Tom, good morning to you.
TOM BROKAW: Good morning.
[On screen headline: "Defining Moment? President Obama Moves Crowd In Tucson"]
VIEIRA: I want to talk about last night's memorial service where the President spoke. There's been so much finger-pointing, since this shooting, about civility in this country and whether harsh political rhetoric somehow motivated that attack in Tuscon. How did the President do in addressing that debate?
BROKAW: Right. He said flatly, last night, this was not the result of the absence of civil discourse and political talk. But then he said, in a challenge to this country, but it is that civil discourse and talk that we need to face the challenges ahead of us, in a way that will make the victims of this shooting proud. And what he did, by saying that, it seems to me, is to say we honor their memory if we all begin to change our ways here. Most of us this absence of civil discourse is taking place on the extremes, left and right. In the vast middle of the country, where I spent a lot of time in the last year-and-a-half, people long for folks to get together again. And these are reminders that for all of the size of this country and its power we can be reduced to one family on Main Street. And I think that's what happened in Tucson.
VIEIRA: And yet there was some criticism last night, in the way he addressed the crowd. At times it felt more like a pep rally than it did a memorial service. You saw the crowd standing, standing ovation several times.
BROKAW: Well that wasn't his fault. I mean, you know, we've seen this before. When Paul Wellstone died in Minnesota there was a rally around him, among his supporters, as well. I think it was a tricky piece for the President. Because he was trying to keep the mood of the crowd ebullient, because she opened her eyes, but at the same time he had an important message that he wanted to convey. I would think that on the political, what I call the political poles, on both ends, it's probably time for the parents to say time out. You know let's, let's take a break here for a couple of days and reflect on what we've been through and where we need to go. Because there are enormous challenges out there, across the board, that really don't have as much of a political ideology attached to them as some would suggest.
VIEIRA: Do you think his message will continue to play out in the State of the Union Address?
BROKAW: Oh I'm sure it will.
VIEIRA: Yeah.
BROKAW: I'm sure, I'm sure it will be an extension of that. And with or without the shooting this is a discussion we needed to have in this country. We do have profound issues before us, not just here at home. But we're at war, the longest wars in America's history. China is suddenly showing a very robust side in terms of its military ambitions. There are a lot of issues that we need to deal with and we're spending and wasting a lot of our time by just pointing fingers at each other.
[On screen headline: "Defining Moment? Sarah Palin Breaks Silence On Tucson Tragedy"]
VIEIRA: Meanwhile, talking about pointing fingers, your, your views on Sarah Palin and her accusing the journalists of blood libel for blaming political rhetoric on what happened.
BROKAW: I was surprised that she waded back into it frankly. And I had a friend in Washington, many years ago, during Watergate, who said that journalists have glass jaws. They throw the punches all day long, but when somebody swings back, they go down, whimpering all the way. You see this on both sides, frankly. So I was surprised that she got back into it in the way that she did. I think we gotta move beyond that.
VIEIRA: Why do you think she did?
BROKAW: Why did she do it?
VIEIRA: Yeah.
BROKAW: You have to talk to her advisers, talk to her about it. I don't, I don't have a pipe there. And she does it in a way, that no one can examine it. You know she sits here in Alaska. This is what they've decided is in her best interests. And we'll see how it plays out. But I was surprised.
—Geoffrey Dickens is the Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here
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Comments
Why Should We Care What Brokaw Thinks?
Submitted by gruyere cheese on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 12:55pm.
Brokaw needs to retire already. He is like Bill Clinton, their narcissistic personalities do not allow them to sit in the background and away from the cameras.
Same goes for the tired old crew at GMA; Lauer, Viera, the weather man, and that kook Pat Buchanan who is always on that lousy Morning Joke show on MSNBC.
Time for new faces with fresh, objective, non bias, educational commentaris on Cable TV.
Ay Caramba!!
Parents?
Submitted by StarAZ on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 1:03pm.
What parents would those be, Tom? The so-called "grown ups" in the White House with their 30-yr-old speechwriters? Oh, yes, we are just unruly little brats with our opinions, our bombast, our passion, our boldness, even recklessness, our willingness to stand in the sun for hours or brave winter winds at rallies. We need parents like you in your safe gazillion-buck retirement, or the president who has made plenty of mean, stupid remarks, or the New York Times which never tires of dining out on the bones of Gov Palin, to set us straight.
It's no surprise that Brokaw would use . . .
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 2:13pm.
. . . the "parent" metaphor, as if he and his ilk weren't part of the situation.Waded back into it?
Submitted by Model850 on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 12:57pm.
Sarah Palin didn't "wade back into it" as Tom suggests; she was pulled into the fray by his cronies who can't go one single day without mentioning SP. So why is he "surprised" by her defending herself?
And that bit about journalists having glass jaws? When did SP ever declare herself to be a journalist? You're the so-called journalist, Brokaw. Are you saying you and your cohorts swung and swung on SP and now that she has swung back you're down, whimpering? Yep. Thought so.
The Point is
Submitted by hbnolikeee on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 3:07pm.
Palin has more BALLS than all of the LSM, so they need to throw their hissy fits.
Agreed.
Submitted by almostacowboy on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 1:24pm.
Mrs. Palin "waded back into it" much in the same way a harpooned whale boards a ship.
LOL, I watched teh video she
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 12:57pm.
LOL, I watched teh video she did and it seemed to me, right wing wacko that I am, to be very measured and reasoned. I guess they want us to just lie there and take our just beating.
That's right Tom, all been
Submitted by KornKing on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 1:04pm.
That's right Tom, all been refudiated, so...Move on folks, nothing to see here
The "narrative" has been established
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 2:07pm.
By getting ahead of the facts, the Left and its MSM mouthpiece practiced "setting the narrative," by which the leadership establishes the context for an event regardless of the facts.
Brokaw's diatribe is a classic example. The Left has been pummeled on the air and at the polls by angry voters, and now it wants to intimidate them into silence by imposing an irrelevent guilt-trip on its voices.
It's equivalent to using a parking violation as the inspiration for a national dialogue on drunk driving and the legal age for alcohol.
Think of what the Left would be saying if, after Hinckley shot Reagan, or Fromm shot at Ford in the name of "saving the giant sequoias," the Right had declared that it was high time we tempered criticism of the President and Republicans.
It's already been mentioned
Submitted by Quasi-socialist on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 2:12pm.
that when in the 9/11 aftermath (3,000 dead) Bush's call to "watch what you say" was taken as tyranny in action. You know just a little reminder from the "bully pulpit", not like legislation or anything.
The American left has a bad track record of behavior on about everything.
Brokaw is the 'go to' man....
Submitted by Willis_Leon_Johnson on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 1:55pm.
Little tommie has 2 (count 'em) TWO living brain cells bouncing around in a vacuum unequaled anyplace else on any planet with gravity.
That gives him twice the intelligence of any other liberal.
I hope this helps explain the 'why go to this fool' questions that may arise.
End 'gun violence in America' - Require training and MANDATORY "Shall Carry" by every Citizen.
If harry reid is the best person to lead the senate, what does that say about the other 99 senators?
What they don't see
Submitted by Quasi-socialist on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 2:05pm.
(or blithely ignore) is the issue that's a variation of what they've always argued with pornography. If we agree that the people on the "far end" need to be quiet, then all it takes to get up a head of steam they can get public censure to stop the anybody simply by making the argument that "X is too far right".
We have to look at the history here. This is a country with only one wing: the right-wing. Very very few people are ever considered "left-wing"--definitely in the mainstream media. We could get embroiled into a conversation about "What's too far right?"
Plenty of people will make the argument that Rush Limbaugh is. While I don't agree with Limbaugh on everything--or that he should say everything he says--saying that he's too far right is laughable. Same thing with Beck, who has pleaded with his listeners (sometimes, I find a tad insultingiy so) not to lose hope and turn violent. The left is simply going to assume that for the sake of civility we simply agree with their sense of outrage as who is too offensive to be on the air.
Meanwhile, offense will play no role in anything else--especially not decency. You'll just have to get over what offends you, live in the 21st century, and the like.
This is disingenuousness or extreme self-delusion on the left. They felt that they could cajole and beg and plead with Bush Sr. for days on the floor to be "responsible" and pass a bill with a tax in it--because there were "deep" cuts in it too. But they ducked and laughed when he took friendly fire from his constituency. The then jumped right in and claimed that they knew that he couldn't hold to his campaign promise, to beat him up from the left.
If Proggie parents take a
Submitted by TCinAZ on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 6:03pm.
If Proggie parents take a "time out" and tell their up to 27-year-old "Kids" (according to ObamaCare) to do the same, Tom, well then there goes his Base. And then who'll be left to attack to Michelle Bachmann, and Sarah Palin, and Mark Levin, and Rush, and Sean and...?
I think somebody needs a nap.
I really thought Brokaw was
Submitted by mostlymoderate on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 6:40pm.
I really thought Brokaw was already dead. Didn't know he was still around.
Go Away
Submitted by grammajane on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 9:46pm.
Used to have respect for Brokaw but, no more, Thought he and his side-kick Rather retired??? Maybe the two of them could go hunting.........oh, forgot, Tom the big educated elite is afraid of guns. Well in that case, just go away as your news is extremely old and quite boring