Just a puny personal pronoun, yet one that perhaps spoke volumes about MSM attitudes toward religion. On the occasion of the Mass that Pope Benedict XVI will be celebrating later day at DC's Nationals Park, Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez interviewed Father Thomas Williams, a Roman Catholic priest who also serves as a CBS religion analyst.
For the liberal media, even a subject as seemingly innocuous as a nice spring day can suddenly turn into a PC minefield should it put an MSMer in the position of having to recognize God's work, as this exchange suggests.
View video here.
MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: Other church leaders are here as well: 14 cardinals, 250 bishops and 1,300 priests. One of them is our very own Father Thomas Williams, he's a CBS analyst as well as a papal scholar. Good to be here with you again this morning.
THOMAS WILLIAMS: Great to be here, very exciting.
RODRIGUEZ: Another beautiful spring day here in Washington, DC.
WILLIAMS: God is smiling down on Washington today.
Let's stop right there for a moment. Imagine that a priest has just remarked to you that "God is smiling down" today. You want to respond in an agreeable manner. What would 99% of people say? Surely something along the lines of "yes, He is." But did that pose a double dilemma for Rodriguez? Not only would she have had to acknowledge the existence of God, but in a manner that might suggest God is a He. Gadzooks! What's a good MSMer to do? Here's how Maggie dodged the divine bullet.
RODRIGUEZ: It really is.
"It"? Perhaps it was just a slip of the tongue. But as SNL's Church Lady used to say, isn't that conveni-e-e-e-nt?
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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Could she have maybe just
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 08:49 ET by JseitlerCould she have maybe just been choosing instead to respond to her own comment, "Another beautiful spring day here in Washington, DC.", with, "It really is", instead of acknowledging the Father Williams' remark? Its still a dodge, but maybe this one was taken out of context.
Just my initial observation.
Of course we can't know, but
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 08:50 ET by Mark FinkelsteinOf course we can't know, but if you haven't already please view the video. Father Williams emphatically mentions that God is smiling on Washington. Hard to imagine that Rodriguez didn't hear it. Maybe a slip of the tongue, but when the result is that a member of the liberal media thereby avoids expressing a belief in God, I for one can't help but suspect it was deliberate.
Hard to imagine that Rodriguez didn't hear it.
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 09:08 ET by YahooWatcherWhy? These MSM types are so self-absorbed and locked into their script that she probably didn't hear a word from Father Williams because she chose to tune him out.
Correct. That is why I said
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 09:17 ET by JseitlerCorrect. That is why I said that "Its still a dodge", but maybe she was referring to the "beautiful day" as "It", instead of God. I'm a Christian myself, and notice all of the time the anti-Christian bias the MSM practices. All that I am saying is that maybe she wasn't referring to God as an "It".
Actually, she's just Gollum in disguise...
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 10:16 ET by lotrPrecious yessss. It really smiles down upon usss, yes precious, It does. <gollum gollum>
What Its got in its nassty little pocketses??
I could give her the benefit
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 08:58 ET by marpelI could give her the benefit of the doubt and say she may have not been listening to the the priest because she was gearing up for her questions, but even that would be evidence she's an idiot.
I have to agree with you, Mark, she just didn't want to go there...afterall, what would her dinner party friends she tries to satisfy with her "craft" have thought of her?
You know that's what it's all about for most MSM reptiles.
Thanks, marpel. This is one
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 09:01 ET by Mark FinkelsteinThanks, marpel. This is one of those items where I anticipated criticism along the lines that I was reading too much into things. But of all the mistakes she might make, she just happens to make one that permits her to avoid expressing a religious belief.
Maggie wasn't paying attention
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 09:15 ET by nkviking75With respect, I'd guess that the theory marpel expresses in the first paragraph is the answer. I think Maggie was more concerned with the stuff she needed to say and really wasn't paying attention to what the priest said. That's a bad habit that goes with the job for a lot of broadcasters. If the father had said, "Yes, the sky is a lovely yellow," I suspect she wouldn't have caught it.
When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.
MSM
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 09:05 ET by BufordMark, don't you know the MSM is just squirming in their seats because of amount of coverage this man of God is getting. Rush said the other day "God has come to DC". The MSM knows it has to cover the Pope's visit but, that doesn't mean they have to LIKE it.
The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program...........Ronald Reagan
I'd have to give her some slack...
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 09:15 ET by Iowa Boy...about the pronoun. With nearly 27 years in radio, most of it on the air, I've done my share of interviews. Sometimes I'd get the interview pre-logged in my head so that the first comment leads to a predicted answer. For example "Thanks for joining us," followed by "Thanks for having me.". In fact, based on my experience, I doubt she even heard the good Father's reply because what she was expecting to hear was, "Yes. It is."
No bias. Just bad interviewing skills.
"I'd rather be governed by the first 2,000 people in the Boston
telephone directory than the 2,000 faculty at Hardvard Unversity." -
William F. Buckley Jr.
Mark, please know that I
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 09:20 ET by JseitlerMark, please know that I was not criticising you. See my reply to your reply of my first comment. :)
I was simply saying that I agree she was avoiding acknowledging God, but I think she did it in a different way than you may have taken it. I don't think she was labeling God as an "it".
Thanks. Understood, and in
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 09:27 ET by Mark FinkelsteinThanks. Understood, and in any case I appreciate that people are likely to have different takes on this. All I can say is that watching it live, and revieiwing it repeatedly, I concluded it was likely an intentional dodge on Maggie's part.
IT???!??
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 09:34 ET by sunandsteelThere will be rioting in the streets!!! The blood of the infidels will flow!!! We will, huh, we dont? Um ok, nevermind.
I guess we can safely say that Billy Graham will NOT be calling for Ms. Rodriguez to be beheaded for her bias and/or misstatement.
Just a little observation.
What doesn’t kill you, only makes you pissed off. -Children of Bodom
I just have to say, vereing
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 09:38 ET by marpelI just have to say, vereing off of Mark's message a little here: I guess the MSM's take on the Pope's visit and the elation Catholics and other religious leaders and the President feel is just evidence that we're all "clinging" to religion because we can't pay our bills....phooey...I pay my bills, I give money to my Catholic Church and I don't cling to a damn thing.
There, now I feel better...
I think it's a stretch...
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 10:37 ET by PrairieSkyto say that this is an example of MSM political correctness. Let's not nit pick...I don't think that Ms. Rodriguez was intentionally trying to be PC. My take is that her comment was a slip of the tongue, or just as likely, a continuation of what she had said about the weather-"...Another beautiful spring day here in Washington D.C....It really is." Far be it from me to ever defend the MSM, but in this case, I don't thing anything snarky was meant by her comment.
RODRIGUEZ: Another poll
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 11:36 ET by ThisnThatRODRIGUEZ: Another poll showing too many negative ads, one candidate's ad shows particular vile against the other candidate.
POLLSTER: Hillary personally created that ad yesterday.
RODRIGUEZ: Yes it did.
Think the MSM would take notice?
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