Newsweek editor Jon Meacham appeared on Friday night’s edition of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, and acted like a great moderator in the debate over Barack Obama, that he was neither the "Indonesian sleeper agent" the right imagined, or the "Messiah" the left imagined, but just a "very, very hardball, hardcore practical politician" willing to commit "great sins" in war time.
Meacham also assailed what he called the "fundamental illogic" of Dick Cheney’s remarks, saying he isn’t fighting Obama so much as his old Bush colleagues.
Bill Maher was very upset the Democrats were such "pussies" on closing Guantanamo, and assailed that "dusty old dumbass" Harry Reid for enabling a 90-6 vote against funding a Gitmo closing until the White House has a plan for it. Meacham agreed that it was "insane." But then he added:
You have political reality that goes back to something you mentioned. Obama during the campaign was a screen on which a lot of people projected their hopes, their anxieties, their dreams for the country. A lot people saw in him what they wanted to see. The right saw an Indonesian sleeper agent who, you know, was going to turn us into a socialist country. President Bush did that in September.
But then the left, broadly put, you may know some of these people, occasionally saw the Messiah, a mixed metaphor in your terms [speaking to Maher]. And so the question is – You don’t get to be the president of the United States without being a very, very hardball, hardcore practical politician.
And he has made a decision, I think, that on these "worst of the worst" [terrorist suspect] things, it’s not worth fighting. And this, I think, preventive detention, as they call it, may go down like one of the things like the Japanese internment, like Lincoln suspending habeas corpus, as one of our great sins. But wartime presidents commit great sins, and I think he’s willing to do that.
Meacham didn’t sound disappointed by it. He wanted to play the realist, the "very hardball, hardcore" politico in the media. But it looks a little disjointed to paint George W. Bush as a "dictator" (as Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter did) and then turn around and suggest Obama’s merely a pragmatist. Newsweek projected the Obama campaign as an ongoing dream sequence, with gauzy cover stories and syrupy prose and visuals.
On Cheney, Meacham presented Cheney as an extremist who lost battles with more moderate elements on Team Bush, and he’s illogical to claim harsh interrogations that stopped kept on protecting the country:
Cheney is arguing in a way not with Obama, but with his former president. Because a lot of the issues he’s arguing about are in fact second-term Bush initiatives. He’s trying to, as the president said the other day, relitigate the second term of the Bush administration, when people like Stephen Hadley and Condi Rice and others were pulling him back from the more extreme elements that he now speaks of as if they were going on until the 19th of January, keeping us safe.
But you really can’t have it both ways. Many of these things stopped, oh-four/oh-five, and he’s now – which is one argument, and the other argument Cheney’s making is this kept us safe all the way through.So there’s a fundamental illogic, and it’s Cheney arguing with his former administration.
But isn’t Meacham bright enough to consider that if, from the Cheney perspective, waterboarding a Khalid Sheikh Muhammad kept thousands from dying in Los Angeles, that these saved Americans kept on "not being dead" long after the waterboarding stopped? Many of these "worst of the worst" measures – like Guantanamo – actually did stay in effect through January 20 and are still in effect.
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Obama is not a Messiah
May 25, 2009 - 09:22 ET by allanfMeacham is right. Liberals abhor religion, so Obama cannot be treated as a religious object. That doesn't mean Meacham won't worship him.
"But isn’t Meacham bright
May 25, 2009 - 09:46 ET by d1carter"But isn’t Meacham bright enough to consider"...
Don't give Meacham too much credit.
Dumb and dumber
May 25, 2009 - 09:57 ET by DontFeedTheTrollsBill Maher was very upset the Democrats were such "pussies" on closing
Guantanamo, and assailed that "dusty old dumbass" Harry Reid for
enabling a 90-6 vote against funding a Gitmo closing until the White
House has a plan for it. Meacham agreed that it was "insane."
These guys (and others) are insane. Fund the closing of Gitmo with no plan?? That's like buying supplies to build a house before you start looking for the land. Don't these people see how stupid this is?
Have a great Memorial Day all, and thanks, vets!
D
Keep the ILLEGALS out, join NumbersUSA to send free faxes to your reps.
Meacham's statement
May 25, 2009 - 10:26 ET by bobwhitejust a "very, very hardball, hardcore practical politician" willing to commit "great sins" in war time. I'm wondering if Meacham is referring to Obama's war on America.
Jon Meacham: facilitator of facilitator of corruption
May 25, 2009 - 10:29 ET by needleNewsweek editor Jon Meacham is a chauvinistic promoter for an affirmative-action air-head sock puppet President that has NO executive experience or credentials.
Meacham Tells Maher Obama's Not a Messiah, Just a 'Very, Very Hardball, Hardcore Practical Politician.’ That may be true as it pertains to working things out with Blagojevich over the sale of his vacated Senate seat, but that is about as far as it goes.
Here’s a real world situation: North Korea has just set off its second nuclear bomb. The world is “outraged” (CNN). The UN is to meet (Oh, Boy! Watch out!)
Enter President Barack Obama:
Who said on Monday that nuclear and missile tests conducted by North Korea were a "grave concern to all nations" and a legal violation that warranted action by the international community.
"North Korea's attempts to develop nuclear weapons, as well as its ballistic missile program, constitute a threat to international peace and security," Obama said in a statement after Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test and reportedly fired a short-range missile. (Reuters)
WOW! You go BO! What cr@p! Perfect grist for the UN – the facilitator of the worst governments in the worlds, with me-too BO swinging his wet noodles. Of course, thanks go mostly to Clinton, Madeline Albright, and Carter for screwing up the best chance we had to control this matter, and also to every damn Democrat, liberal, and leftist from the North Pole to the South Pole for doing everything they possibly could to handcuff and hobble Bush in any effort to recover the situation.
Meanwhile back at the Iranian ranch, Ahmadinejad is in a race to catch up with Kim Jong Il both as a rogue nuclear power and as the head of the worst government in the world.
So what is the 'Very, Very Hardball, Hardcore Practical Politician’ going to do about these Iranian problems? Treat them with benign neglect.
Only somebody like Jon Meacham – and, of course, the Degenerate Media is chockablock full of them – could so warmly embrace such a facilitator of corruption.
Impunitas semper ad deteriora invitat.
Who cares?
May 25, 2009 - 10:33 ET by StarAZThis Meacham and his neutered pamphlet that used to be Newsweek never met a camera they didn't love--I am sick of him and won't comment on his meanderings anymore. As much as Tweety or what's his name, the screaming sportscaster, Meacham stacked the deck to get this ruthless politician, Soros robot, or whatever he is in office. No fine-tuning it now.
Meacham
May 25, 2009 - 11:01 ET by svh83Agree. The guy is a weasel. And he is on the tube anywhere and everywhere in a desperate attempt to save the rotting and sinking SS Newsweek. Down with the ship, captain.
"I think you'd better call John, 'cause it don't look they're here to deliver...the mail". -NY
DID ANYONE JUST HEAR THIS SON OF A B
May 25, 2009 - 10:55 ET by DelsaI refer to him SOBama. just said? He read a statement regarding N Korea and the setting off of an underground explosion.
Naturally, he was reading words he did not write! He is absolutly clueless as is his entire admin.
The one said things like
this will not be tolerated and
the world will not like this. and
You are going to further isolate your country
blah, blah, blah
This is only the beginning of our trouble. This piece of crap is now standing at Arlington pretending to understand where he is.
The DEAD know who he is, God knows who and what he is, and I hope the American people figure it out before it is absolutly too late!
Delsa,
May 25, 2009 - 11:03 ET by R D HelmObama is going to screw around until either Seoul or Tel Aviv gets incinerated.
-Dave
R D
May 25, 2009 - 11:46 ET by Delsamy thought exactly.
This is no laughing matter. If the Dems and the Left wing were not in control, we could impeach the SOB for failure to carry out his duty under the Constitution and his failure to uphold the Oath of Office he swore to.
Yeah, I believe Obama said
May 25, 2009 - 11:08 ET by ThisnThatYeah, I believe Obama said "this is criminal -- it violates the law." Law my eye. The law has nothing to do with it. NKorea wants nukes to take over SKorea. Iran wants them to dominate the middle east, and to take our Israel. This is the concern of nations, not of lawyers. What does Obama think NKorea and Iran are going to do -- lawyer up, in preparation for the arrest warrents from Obama's justice dept? He's a total, blundering idiot, totally uprepared for this job.
___________________________________
Liberals constantly demand that we accept a glaring falsehood as truth; Obama's elimination of the word "terror" will make terrorist acts less terrifying
The Bamster Teleprompting
May 25, 2009 - 11:12 ET by slickwillie2001He can't give the most trivial of statements without teleprompting. Even when he introduces one of his choices for an appointment, he teleprompts. Could a Republican get away with so rarely using his own words as the Bamster does?
Twisted
May 25, 2009 - 11:12 ET by rammingspeedMeacham twists and rationalizes in ways that break new ground for twisters and rationalizers everywhere. Water boarding stopped very quickly after the US invaded Iraq, because it was no longer necessary. Three people had information that would lead to murdering thousands more Americans if it weren't discovered. Extracted. And they were, of course, water boarded. But after that we didn't need it anymore! As the situations of the war in Iraq changed, the tactics needed to fight it also changed. This is self-defense 101.
I do agree, however, that Obama is a hard headed, realistic politician. He's out to get what he wants and calcultates and manipulates in masterful ways. He's just wrong on the issues. Oh, I'm being too nice. He's idiotic on the issues.
Yes, some of these policies
May 25, 2009 - 11:22 ET by SnappyYes, some of these policies did stop in 05, 06... some continue today. However, When these policies stopped in 05, 06 a new administration did not walk in and start talking about criminal proceedings. This did not happen until 09. After which VP Cheney, rightfully so, felt the need to defend his and the administrations actions due to the inaccuracies if not directly propagated by, at the minimum perpetuated by and certainly not corrected by, the current administration.
Meacham over looked
May 25, 2009 - 11:39 ET by DelsaPRICK
Before anyone goes
May 25, 2009 - 11:51 ET by BlazerBefore anyone goes around claiming that Barack Obama is a hardcore politician, I think they should get Kim Jong Ill's take on this first.
"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious. "
- Ben Kenobi on Liberals, and the MSM.
" The Cake is a lie."
Meacham on Obama last November ... remember?
May 25, 2009 - 12:51 ET by metaphorsbwithuRemember last Novermber 5 on Charlie Rose?
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/9341
I almost fell off my chair.
John Meacham said (after almost two years of presidential campaigning) that he knew almost nothing about Obama, that he really didn’t know what to expect from him as President because he had no idea what motivates him.
Btw, Evan Thomas, reporter for Newsweek, referred to Obama’s “creepy cult of personality.”
I suppose he's finally got it all figured out over the last six months (after so many here predicted exactly what Obama would do).
Right!
metaphorsbwithu
For the life of me, I don't
May 25, 2009 - 17:58 ET by math4lifeFor the life of me, I don't understand the left's obsession with having the Gitmo detainees in the United States. They have more respect and care for people who would kill them than the people who would protect them.
Re for the life of me
May 25, 2009 - 20:23 ET by slickwillie2001Here's one more to drive the lefties bananas; the Bamster is continuing renditions, in many cases to countries that gleefully perform real torture, not frat-boy pranks. This allows him to retain his holier-than-thou nose-in-the-air attitude, while still getting information out of captured terrorists. Of course, the country we render to might not be so reliable in passing information back to us.
None Dare Call it Rendition: http://justoneminute.typepad.com
slick, I mentioned this
May 25, 2009 - 20:52 ET by Blazerslick, I mentioned this yesterday and put up a linky on another post. Democrats are totally fine with torture, as long as we're not the ones doing it.
Democrats love a good hit, they just want to do the wet-work.
"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious. "
- Ben Kenobi on Liberals, and the MSM.
" The Cake is a lie."
→ Oh, that Barry!
May 25, 2009 - 20:55 ET by Cool ArrowToo cute by half, isn't he?
Long as somebody else does the torture, his hands are clean.
Maher is a shallow thinker....
May 26, 2009 - 06:48 ET by adamsmithMaher and the rest of his ilk are shallow thinkers unable to reason their way through any argument. They can't possibly get to the next step in thinking on the Gitmo detainees, as in they get judged innocent because of classified material not being admissible evidence. The release of the detainees into the American populace, or even converting prisoners to radical Islam doesn't occur to them because they cannot think that far ahead. Unfortunately, Maher's ilk is in control of the Executive, Legislative, and soon the Judicial branches. America now has a great part of its citizenry incapable of common sense.....
Meacham
May 26, 2009 - 09:34 ET by east tennessee johnJon Meacham is simply a lying SOB. He wrote the cover article for the "What He Believes" issue of Newsweek. Not one mention of black liberation theology; not one qoute from Rev. Cone; not any mention whatsoever of the basics of BLT such as its racial anger, its Marxist class warfare and economic views, not one thing and the SOB has the nerve to make charcterizations based on pompous assed rhetoric sitting there with Maher, about the "right"? How big a condescending asshole can one be? Fortunately, his rag is going out of business, except within the echo chamber this low life lives in.