While interviewing three generations of voters in one Florida family, "Good Morning America" host Diane Sawyer on Thursday pushed back when the mother of the household assailed Senator Joe Biden's claim that paying higher taxes is patriotic. After Marylee Gizzi described the "great offense" she took at Biden's remarks, Sawyer parroted Obama talking points and retorted, "He argues, you know, he's just going back to the Reagan tax cuts. It's not a penalty."
Continuing to defend the Democratic ticket's economic plan, she haltingly added, "He would argue disproportionately advantaged, the wealthy in this country, who have increased their share, more than the middle class has increased its share." After Gizzi lauded the "incredible" accomplishments of Sarah Palin, Sawyer looked for some kind of negative assessment: "There were a lot of people who brought a lot to the table. You must have a sense of whether you'd like her to be president, should something happen to him [McCain]." At no point did Sawyer attempt to grill the Obama-supporting daughter into saying something negative about her choice for president.
A transcript of the segment, which aired at 8:16am on October 30, follows:
DIANE SAWYER: There are battleground states. And there are battleground families who love each other a lot. But nonetheless divide on their voting, sometimes by generations. And I had a chance to go into a wonderful home and sit down with three women who are still talking it out. They welcomed us into the home. Three generations. Mother.
MARYLEE GIZZI (mother): Diane, I'm Mary Lee Gizzi.
SAWYER: Daughter and grandmother. So, you have 16 grand kids?
MARY LOU BURGESS (Grandmother): Yes, ma'am.
SAWYER: Two can vote.
BURGESS: Two can vote.
SAWYER: And how are they voting?
SHAINA ANDERSON (Daughter): Well, I'm a registered Democrat who is voting for Barack Obama.
SAWYER: And are you thinking, how did I go wrong?
BURGESS: No, I really don't. I believe that they can make up their own minds.
SAWYER: But you are voting-
BURGESS: I'm voting for McCain.
GIZZI: I'm voting for John McCain.
SAWYER: Now, what's the difference between the two of you and how you see the world that you're so sure you're for Obama? And you're so sure you're for McCain?
BURGESS: I think it's age, Diane.
SAWYER: But what part of age? What is-
BURGESS: I don't know. What is it, Shaina.
ANDERSON: I'm voting for Obama for my future. I think my grandmother is in a place where she's able to vote, yes, for her future. But I'm of the 18 to 24-year-old age bracket that has our entire lives ahead of us.
GIZZI: I'm a registered Democrat. I voted for Hillary Clinton in the primaries in the state of Florida. And we all know how that turned out. What I so liked about Hillary was the incredible coterie of women that she surrounded herself with.
SAWYER: Does this mean that Sarah Palin had brought you to John McCain?
GIZZI: No. No. I had definitely made up my mind about John McCain before Sarah Palin.
SAWYER: And how does she influence your decision?
GIZZI: She does not influence my decision. I am not going to ever disparage a working mother and a working woman. And a governor of such, you know- of a state of this country. I think she's incredible, what she's achieved. Was she the best choice that John McCain could have made? I don't know.
SAWYER: There were a lot of people who brought a lot to the table. You must have a sense of whether you'd like her to be president, should something happen to him.
GIZZI: I'm confident in John McCain's ability to create an environment of qualified advisers and cabinet members that will ease any transition she might experience, should anything happen to John McCain.
SAWYER: Marylee said a big factor, taxes.
GIZZI: When we hear Joe Biden make comments to the effect that he would consider it unpatriotic of Americans who made in excess of, I believe, it's $250,000, is his thing, he would consider them unpatriotic not to want to, really, pay more taxes and spread the wealth. I take great offense to that. I don't understand why one bracket of society needs to be penalized for working hard.
SAWYER: He argues, you know, he's just going back to the Reagan tax cuts. It's not a penalty. He would argue disproportionately advantaged, the wealthy in this country, who have increased their share, more than the middle class has increased its share.
GIZZI: But, Diane, I don't know anyone who is that wealthy. You know, we're not wealthy.
SAWYER: And something else. Marylee's father served in Vietnam. One of the most profound disagreements about the three women, across three generations, is the war in Iraq.
ANDERSON: I have friends who are married to military servicemen and who have served terms in Iraq. However, these women who are married to these servicemen, they support their husbands. But they do not support the war. And I can tell you that one of them I spoke to the other day, is voting Barack Obama. She wants her husband home.
GIZZI: I don't think McCain wants us to stay one day longer in Iraq than absolutely necessary.
ANDERSON: He does though.
GIZZI: I think he wants to leave with a completed job well done. And let's not just abandon the people in Iraq. And let's- let's leave with our heads held high.
ANDERSON: And that to you implies staying in until John McCain has tentatively set, 2013, when we will possibly have most of the men home.
GIZZI: Yeah, I don't think that's what he said.
ANDERSON: That's explicitly what he said.
GIZZI: No. I don't agree with that. I don't think that's his goal. We just need to find the best way- the best way to leave, where everyone- everyone has a chance at coming out with their heads held high here, Shaina.
SAWYER: Okay. [Laughs at the tension in the room.] And we're joined by their neighbor. A woman who says she's so undecided, she's kind of the swingest [sic] of the swing voters.
KIM DENBESTE: I actually went to the voting poll, to vote. Was standing in line. And could not cast my ballot.
SAWYER: She said she was going to watch Obama's paid 30-minute infomercial. We asked her if we could call. Was he speaking directly to her? Are you going to watch tonight?
DENBESTE: Yes.
SAWYER: Can we call you and see if you make up your mind tonight?
DENBESTE: All right. I'll see how I feel.
SAWYER: And we called her. We called her. Her name is Kim. She watched. She said she liked the half hour. But she needs one more day to make up her mind.
—Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center.
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hey Dianne
October 30, 2008 - 17:16 ET by political mavenso since you are even MORE advantaged, with your millions, how about VOLUNTEER to hand over another 20% just to show the rest of us the way
"advantaged" as if people with money dont actually work for it...I can;t belive how sick this is
and McClaim can't say this simple sentence that even a beer guzzling fool could understand "Someone making a million bucks is ALREADY paying 400,000 in taxes, is it fair to ask him for more?"
statements like the top 5% pay 35% of taxes is too hard to understand for millions of blue collar people...I'm telling you...I employ them.
I know lots of blue collar folks are quite bright, but many just dont read or understand. A simple examle of a single person is something they can relate to.
Spread the Wealth
October 30, 2008 - 17:58 ET by Emma GrumpHow about this - since Obama amassed 150 mil, which is a whole lot more than John McCain has, the only decent thing to do is to give McCain a chunk of it. That way he would set a fine example to all his fellow Americans of putting his philosophy into practice.
Oh, that's right - I forgot - spreading the wealth is okay, as long as it's not HIS wealth. Silly me!
Exhibit No.
October 30, 2008 - 17:24 ET by TEExhibit No. 1,000,000,000,001 that Obama political activist Dianne Sawyer is a leftist fool who doesn't know what the hell she is talking about: "[Obama is] just going back to the Reagan tax cuts. It's not a penalty." Reagan lowered the top tax rate to 28%!!!! Obama wants to RAISE the top tax rate to at least 38%. And Sawyer has the audacity/idiocy to call that "not a penalty"!!!!
I'm in the 18-24 bracket
October 30, 2008 - 18:24 ET by soulpileI'm in the 18-24 bracket and have my whole life ahead of me. I'm voting McCain!
What the hell does age have to do with this?! Barack for the future? How about vote Barack if you want no future. An entire life ahead of you getting nowhere because The Messiah says you don't deserve anything more than his handouts.
This age garbage really pisses me off!
Good evening soulpile
October 30, 2008 - 18:33 ET by cocodrieI'm at the other end, I'm 70. Welcome and thanks for being sensible.
Dishonest Reporting
October 30, 2008 - 18:40 ET by oilcanReagan's tax rates came on the heels of an astoundlingly high tax rate he inherited from the Carter administration. Clinton's rates were higher than Reagan's and it was not until Bush II came in where the rates were lowered even further below the lows of Reagan's rates.
It's so dishonest to do this comparison, but the MSM has their Obama presidency talking points in hand to rebuke any sane and realistic arguments.
And they constantly point
October 30, 2008 - 20:17 ET by motherbeltAnd they constantly point to the "prosperity" of the 90's as if those tax increases caused it.
Clinton was lucky enough (isn't he always???) to be in there at the time of the dotcom explosion bubble, which made things look great in spite of his tax increases, not because of.
BTW...I notice that Sawyer didn't explain what "disproportionately advantaged."
Exactly how much wealth is "proportional"?
mb... I don't care what
October 30, 2008 - 20:24 ET by Clear thinkermb...
I don't care what Obama promises concerning taxes (or anything else). When was the last time any Democrat told the truth about taxes? Bottom line for me is... I don't trust Obama for a second!
THIS IS WAR!
Making Fun of AGW http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/
Why didn't they just name
October 30, 2008 - 18:44 ET by SickofLibsWhy didn't they just name the segment "Old Fake Blonde Skeevozza Attempts To Start New Civil War Live As You Watch"?
millions
October 30, 2008 - 18:45 ET by LorraineFor me to have more equal income with Diane Sawyer, she would need to give me 99.9% of her income. How about that Diane?
Found this interesting post
October 30, 2008 - 18:45 ET by Rush FanFound this interesting post at the New York Post.
Glori wrote:
I received this on my email, but thought it was worth sharing. It was not signed, so thanks to the author.
Dear Fellow Business Owners
As a business owner who employs 30 people, I have resigned myself to the fact that Barack Obama will be our next president, and that my taxes and fees will go up in a BIG way.
To compensate for these increases, I figure that the Customer will have to see an increase in my fees to them of about 8-10%.
I will also have to lay off six of my employees. This really bothered me as I believe we are family here and didn't know how to choose who will have to go. So, this is what I did. I strolled thru the parking lot and found eight Obama bumper stickers on my employee's cars. I have decided these folks will be the first to be laid off.
I can't think of another fair way to approach this problem. If you have a better idea, let me know.
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"I'm reminded every single day, that I am not a perfect man. I will not be a perfect president." ~ Barack Obama
What fees are you talking about? Do you make a $250K profit?
October 31, 2008 - 09:38 ET by Simple1John McCain proposes taxing company provided health care benefits. Are you prepared for this? Are your employees?
From barackobama.com:
Ogama will directly cut taxes for small business and for firms that invest and create jobs in the United States, will relieve healthcare costs for all firms and will reward investments in innovation.
Barack Obama pro-business tax policies include:
Eliminating Capital Gains Taxes for Entrepreneurs and Investors in Small Business.
Cutting Corporate Tax Rates for Firms that Create Jobs in America. Barack Obama will repeal tax breaks and loopholes that reward corporations that retain their earnings overseas, and will use those savings to lower corporate tax rates for companies that expand or start operations in the United States.
Offering a Small Business Healthcare Tax Credit: To help small businesses compete in the global
economy while still providing quality health insurance, Barack Obama will offer a new refundable 50
percent health tax credit on employee premiums paid by employers.
Making the R&D Tax Credit Permanent. Barack Obama will make the Research and Development tax
credit permanent so that firms can rely on it when making decisions to invest in domestic R&D over multiyear
timeframes.
Simple1
October 31, 2008 - 11:52 ET by UphillWould you please explain to the rest of us how McCain plans on taxing health care benefits in a hundred words or less? Please don't copy and paste. And no big words, either. There are people reading this that are from Pennsylvania.
Ditzy Prom Queen
October 30, 2008 - 19:22 ET by allanfDoes it occur to this ditzy prom queen that "disproportionately advantaged" people may actually have worked hard for their money and contributed to the growth of the economy.
I invite Diane - who actually got where she is on looks and cow-towing- to take a pledge to not take any deductions on her tax returns.
ding, ding, ding - We have a winner
October 30, 2008 - 19:36 ET by mom_roxI've been waiting for a talking head to make this point which the Florida mother made so succinctly. I don't believe that McCain or Obama would make a decision in a vacuum - and the same holds true for Palin. (not sure about Biden ;)
The Axis of Taxes: Obama, Pelosi and Reid (source unknown)
Thanks mom_rox
October 30, 2008 - 20:06 ET by cocodrieI agree. And you're right about Biden, there is a vacuum inside his head.
A Question for Constitutional Scholar Diane Sawyer
October 31, 2008 - 09:14 ET by Wildcatter1980Where in the Constitution does it "guarantee" an equality of outcome for every citizen of the United States of America?
The answer is that the Constitution embodies the statements of the Declaration of Independence with:
being chief among them. Our founding fathers understood even then that the real danger was an increasingly empowered government. As such, any efforts on the part of government to guarantee an equality of outcome rather than equality of opportunity was among the real dangers to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Such concerns were among the reasons that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights was written to establish a limited government with enumerated protections of the citizens from government interference and intrusions.
Since the beginning of this great nation, the presence of a free marketplace with more or less the equality of opportunity has led to the growth of an overall prosperous middle class. This has been key to the stability we have had in our country.
It is only the elitists like Ms Sawyer who seem to have a problem with the Constitution and its provisions for an equality of opportunity. I suspect that she and her elitist peers are not trying to right wrongs in our society. Instead, they are attempting to assuage their own guilty feelings by trying to palm those feelings off onto the rest of the country.
Where they are wrong is that they should assuage their guilt by giving to or creating their own charities and not by trying to fundamentally change the nation because that, in reality, imposes the elitists' will on others with the (un)intended consequence of infringing on other people's rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is also hypocritical of the elitists because the elitists are more willing to spend other people's money than they appear to want to spend their own.
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Ignorance, our most costly commodity - paraphrased from Rush Limbaugh
Only brainwashed morons like tax increases
October 31, 2008 - 09:28 ET by Mary Louise TurnerI cannot believe that Americans actually like tax increases and class warfare, unless they've been brainwashed by morons in the MSM (Ms. Sawyer is typical) and in the public schools. Heaven help us!