Barbara Walters Eager for Hypothetical Interview of Osama bin Laden

Photo of Matthew Balan.

NewsBusters.org - Media Research CenterAt the close of her interview on CNN’s "Larry King Live" on Monday evening, host Larry King asked ABC’s Barbara Walters "Have you had a major disappointing interview?... Someone you had looked forward to, didn't work out right." Walters named a few notables, and gave the following anecdote: "I have said, I'm very mellow. I'm not auditioning anymore. I'm not out to get the great get. And then one reporter said to me, and what if Osama bin Laden called? I said I'll pack." King, in agreement, replied, "You’re not kidding. Who wouldn't?" So, these two media celebrities would jump at the opportunity to interview the terrorist guru, despite any possible propaganda coup that may result, thus putting the advancement of their career over the national interest.

Almost immediately before this, a viewer asked Walters, "I was just wondering, who's your candidate for president this year?" Walters responded, "Well, you see, part of being in the news department, because I'm part of ABC News, is we do not give opinions. I don't mind writing in the book about my own life, but I don't give my opinions about political candidates." Walters must have forgotten about her colleague at ABC, David Wright, who is a well-known Obama cheerleader, as well as her own endorsement of Al Gore’s "An Inconvenient Truth" and Michael Moore’s "Sicko."

Story Continues Below Ad ↓

The transcript of this last portion of the Walters interview:

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, Barbara. I was just wondering, who's your candidate for president this year?

BARBARA WALTERS: Well, you see, part of being in the news department, because I'm part of ABC News, is we do not give opinions. I don't mind writing in the book about my own life, but I don't give my opinions about political candidates.

LARRY KING: What's your opinion of the way the race has gone?

WALTERS: It's one of the most fascinating races that we -- I mean, I've covered campaign after -- I've interviewed every president since Richard Nixon. I have never seen a campaign like this. Have you?

KING: No. I've interviewed every president since Richard Nixon. We're tied.

WALTERS: Between you and me, you know, we could --

KING: Do you think it's going to be a tremendous turnout in the fall?

WALTERS: I think the wonderful thing, if it continues, and I think it will, is the young people who are involved, and what the Internet has meant. It's changed history. It's changed all our ways of not just how you raise money, but how you reach out to people. It's an entirely new race.

KING: Have you had a major disappointing interview? We only have about 30 seconds. Someone you had looked forward to, didn't work out right.

WALTERS: Oh, I can't think of any now. People have asked me who I would like to interview who I haven't interviewed. The Queen of England has never done an interview. The Pope has never done an interview. And I have said, I'm very mellow. I'm not auditioning anymore. I'm not out to get the great get. And then one reporter said to me, and what if Osama bin Laden called? I said I'll pack.

KING: You’re not kidding. Who wouldn't?

WALTERS: Who wouldn't?

Earlier in the program, King asked Walters about her relationship with Rosie O’Donnell. Walters explained that "[i]t was her decision not to come back. I was sorry. I thought that Rosie -- I mean, she -- she had some feuds. She had the Donald Trump feud, which I got in the middle of -- didn't want to be, but was. She had her own very strong opinions. But Rosie and the network could not come to agreement. She only had a one-year contract, and she decided not to come back." Rosie, however, left "The View" a month before her contract expired.

King then followed-up by asking, "Were you ticked over what Donald said about you?" The ABC host answered, "Well, I didn't know how I got in the middle of it. You know, and suddenly, there I was. Donald had been my friend. I went to Donald and Melania's wedding. So suddenly, I was in the middle of this mess. I mean, when Rosie started to pick on Donald, I was off on a friend's boat." Of course, the reason that Walters ended up "in the middle of it" was the fact that she personally hired O’Donnell in the first place.

—Matthew Balan is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.


Comments Policy

All comments are owned by whoever posted them and are subject to our terms of use. They should not be assumed to represent the views of NewsBusters.

Viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

Terrorists

Maybe she's missing the terrorists notch on the headboard of her bed. She seems to have a lot of other professions. Is Osama married so he will qualify?  Supposed to be a smiley face here.

Old, Retired and glad of it.

If Bin Laden called would

If Bin Laden called would you send a Hellfire Missle to his front door? George Bush would.

Baba Wawa

The only reason bin Laden would call Barbara Walters is because he heard she is easy and doesn't respect marriage vows.

What a tired old tool! That's my VIEW!

Jeff Lebowski

Old Fool

This man killed THOUSANDS of innocent Americans and you want to interview him.

She's an Idiot. I lost

She's an Idiot. I lost respect for her and the other news people a long time ago. I don't knw what wrong with these journalists and some entertainers they seem so out of touch with people. I think if they ever interviewed osama, the public would be so mad at them. They might not be able to show their faces.

Walters responded, "Well,

Walters responded, "Well, you see, part of being in the news department, because I'm part of ABC News, is we do not give opinions.

Walters later laughed hysterically for a full 10 minutes after that knee-slapper.

“There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” - Ronald Reagan (1964 Republican Convention)

Barbara's hard hitting interview

Barbara: Osama, if you were a cave, what kind of cave would you be?

 

Do you love me now? - - John McCain, imitating the Verizon guy, at a future meeting with the press.

And after Walters interviews

And after Walters interviews him, bin Laden can go on Hollywood Tonite and be interviewed by AJ Hammer, then it's off to Comedy Central and the Daily Show and the Colbert Report - whee, this will be fun! 

Osama won't be done until

Osama won't be done until he's done the Top Ten List with David Lettermen. It'd probably be something like, "Top Ten Reasons I Bombed Thousands of Americans To Death!"

Hilarious!

Who cares

why in the world would anyone watch King interview Walters?  The proverbial case of paint drying.

And then one reporter

And then one reporter said to me, and what if Osama bin Laden called? I said I'll pack." King, in agreement, replied, "You’re not kidding. Who wouldn't?"

Umm, how about any journalist that knew Daniel Pearl.

The hubristic effrontery of these two old windbags is mind-boggling, made particularly more ironic in light of their religion by birth (Jewish) and the well documented violent behaviour by the proposed subject of their attention.

Somehow I don't think traveling to a cave somewhere along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to meet with the most bloodthirsty, Jew-hating people on Earth will end as well as Barbara and Larry believe.

What an incredibly vain and out of touch with reality comment from these two.

RRAM Tough!