E-Book: Fox's Bret Baier Warned Juan Williams Newt Would Take Advantage of 'Food Stamp President' Question
Matt Lewis at The Daily Caller reports a new E-book by RealClearPolitics’ Washington editor Carl Cannon and executive editor Tom Bevan contains a juicy media tidbit. During preparation for the January 16 Myrtle Beach GOP debate, Fox News anchor Bret Baier and his producers voiced concern that if Juan Williams asked Newt Gingrich a question about black Americans demanding “jobs, not food stamps,” that Gingrich could hit back hard, “attempting to turn Williams into a prop, as he had done with both Chris Wallace and Baier in a debate in Ames, Iowa.”
But Williams persisted in his planned spin. “I need to ask it this way...because it’s offensive.”
Noel Sheppard captured what happened next: Newt didn't back down one iota.
JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS: Speaker Gingrich, the suggestion you made was about a lack of work ethic, and I gotta tell you my email account, my Twitter account has been inundated with people of all races, who are asking if your comments are not intended to belittle the poor and racial minorities. You saw some of this reaction during your visit to a black church in South Carolina. [Audience boos]
We saw some of this during your visit to a black church in South Carolina where a woman asked you why you refer to President Obama as The Food Stamp President. It sounds as if you are seeking to belittle people. [Audience boos]
NEWT GINGRICH: Well, first of all, Juan, the fact is that more people have been put on food stamps by Barack Obama than any president in American history. Now, I know among the politically correct you are not supposed to use facts that are uncomfortable. [Audience applause]
Second, you are the one who earlier raised a key point. There's a, the area on I-73 was called by Barack Obama a corridor of shame because of unemployment. Has it improved in three years? No. They haven't built the road, they haven't helped the people, they haven't done anything.
[Audience applause]
So, one last thing. So here's my point. I believe every American of every background has been endowed by their Creator with the right to pursue happiness, and if that makes liberals unhappy, I'm going to continue to find ways to help poor people learn how to get a job, learn how to get a better job, and learn some day to own the job.
The RCP book explains Fox didn't come back around to how Gingrich would spin the question:
The meeting adjourned with an agreement to construct a second question to help “redirect” Gingrich if he tried to spin the question back on Williams. Jon Huntsman’s exit from the race the morning of the debate left Baier’s crew scrambling to revise the script and reorder the questions, and they never got around to discussing Williams’s follow-up....
As Juan asked Gingrich the question, the book reports, a Fox News producer in the control booth yelled: “Juan, don’t do this!”
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Comments
Well, this is interesting
Submitted by CO2Maker on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 6:55am.
I can understand that the different panelists would coordinate their questions. But I didn't expect to read that they would plan how to use a follow-up question to "redirect" a candidate's reply that they felt was just spin.
Seems like a lot of the SUM can use pointers on how to ask pointed follow-ups to Obama and administration figures instead of serving up slow-hanging curves over the plate.
Props?
Submitted by HudsonRiverGirl on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 7:47am.
Wallace and Baier were interested only in ratings.
Actually eliciting important information from any of the candidates was never part of their agenda.
FNC succeeded in neither. Their debate was pathetic and we learned nothing of importance.
LOL HRG, most of us saw lots
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 12:19pm.
LOL HRG, most of us saw lots of useful information. Of course we viewed it without your lens.
And this is important...
Submitted by zenman1661 on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 8:03am.
because this was the exchange that propelled Gingrich forward strong enough to take over the lead of the primary and win the nomination. Or not. Juan is Liberal. Newt likes to beat up on the media.
food stamp
Submitted by kinijane on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 7:44am.
It's a fact, Obama is the food stamp president, and it isn't just race,
folks of all races are on food stamps, however Williams, Sharpton
and Jesse want to make it a black issue thats why they put black
people on the evening news looking for Obamas check. Question:
Did she ever get it? I can't see one thing that hes done to help the
folks that look just like him.
" because it's offensive "?
Submitted by almostacowboy on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 8:02am.
Juan was right. His question was offensive.
Whah??
Submitted by Annie Ashe Fields on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 8:11am.
Okay... I have Asperger's, which, in my house, means that "Mom" is really really smart... except about the stuff she isn't. Sometimes I miss stuff COMPLETELY. I've grown into this feature of my personality over the years such that I no longer fight it; I embrace it. I acknowledge it. This involves the ENORMOUS risk of looking really REALLY stupid... but...
What am I missing here?
Is this one my "misses" or am I not alone in seeing what the controversy is here? The moderators were just making observations of FACT and anticipating where it might go off the rails and planning a strategy to keep an even keel.
Not sure this is a bad thing.
So?
Good morning Annie
Submitted by cocodrie on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 8:28am.
I knew I liked you. My grandson has aspergers so I know how you home in on things. You seem like a really lovable person just like him.
You didn't miss anything you just zeroed in on certain aspects of it. I saw the main controversy here as Juan and his people tried to put Newt on the spot and make conservatives look like they have no concern for poor people.
Alton
Jesus Loves You so much He died for you
TY!
Submitted by Annie Ashe Fields on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 9:56am.
Nobody gets stuck on stupid like an Aspie, let me tell you.
Thanks for the kind words!
Eeeeyup.
Submitted by ghidorah15 on Wed, 06/06/2012 - 1:21pm.
Speaking as a fellow aspie, I hear you on that one, Miss Fields. Well said.
"Stupid" is not an adjective
Submitted by celator on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 10:02am.
"Stupid" is not an adjective that describes you at all. In fact, you are very bright. One of my sons has a slight case of Aspergers and he is by far the brightest person in the family and very successful. Does basic calculus in his head kind of bright. I always enjoy what you write here.
Annie ~
Submitted by GG_NB on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 10:01am.
I like you, too. It's also obvious you are really bright.
I have to say that I don't see this as big/controversial news. For me, it is about Juan being really insistent on asking Newt this. Maybe I'm being naive, but I think Juan probably was offended to some extent by Newt's fact-based food stamps statement -- I've seen Juan be rather quirky in various ways on what some conservatives say (at least, he seems quirky to me because his interpretations/conclusions don't connect for me).
So my take is that the FOX crew (in a friendship kind of way) didn't want to see an insistent Juan get embarrassed, so they were looking for a saving face way out for him if it backfired on him -- which is exactly what happened. I think it may have been more of a personal thing for them than professional, at least for some of them (like Bret). I don't think they thought it was a good question for him to ask at all but that they couldn't dissuade him.
That's just my take -- but I just don't see a big conspiracy here.
"If not us, who? If not now, when?"
~Ronald Reagan
*blush*
Submitted by Annie Ashe Fields on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 10:46am.
ty ;)
Annie Ashe Fields ---
Submitted by matthewdean on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 6:46pm.
I am late to the party, but I, too, really enjoy your posts.
Sharp lady, you are.
MD
Annie.....I agree completely with Matthew.
Submitted by Rush Fan on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 10:58pm.
.Add me to the least of those who enjoy your posts. I guess that means we enjoy YOU!
Question, who needs to be handled here Juan or Newt?
Submitted by CT on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 9:59am.
I did not find Juan Williams question offensive and Newt did not answer it. I am much less impressed with FOX's effort to manage Juan and the 'debate'. Juan is a predictable bleeding heart liberal to me, but not an Obama sycophant. If FOX expects their talking heads to speak from a script they would be no different than the crap we hear on other MSM outlets, hope that is not the case.
What question was that?
Submitted by CobraMan on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 12:41pm.
"I did not find Juan Williams question offensive."
He didn't ask a question, he made a statement.
"Newt did not answer it"
It's rather hard to answer a question that was never asked.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Well, that was Juan being Juan
Submitted by Blonde on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 11:08am.
At the time (remember, we had NB Debate Chats) we all thought it was a ridiculously biased question from Juan....feeding the mean conservative racist meme, *ahem* in spades.
Now we know that Bret Baier warned him off stupid, but Juan just couldn't help himself. (Did I hear the audience hiss this time around?)
I loved the way Newt answered the gross, liberally biased questions during the debate season, and I truly hope Mitt can use him in his own debate-prep to learn how to be a street fighter against the idiotic premises, and then segue into the facts and reasons for his own positions on any issue. Because the liberal bias and Obama protection will be epic during any debate this time around. Obama is down, and almost out (he's lost MoDo).....and the media is going to do everything they can to stand by their man.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
We need Newt debate skills
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 12:22pm.
We need Newt debate skills and style going up against Obama. Newt for VP?
Why are they asking Williams?
Submitted by CobraMan on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 3:37pm.
"Speaker Gingrich, the suggestion you made was about a lack of work ethic, and I gotta tell you my email account, my Twitter account has been inundated with people of all races, who are asking if your comments are not intended to belittle the poor and racial minorities"
Why are those people asking Williams? That's like asking a librarian as to why a book has a certain passage. It's nonsensical.
"I need to ask it this way..."
By the way, Juan, you never actually asked a question, you simply made a statement. You simply repeated what other people have said to you. How is that even remotely considered as a question?
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Cobra~
Submitted by GG_NB on Mon, 06/04/2012 - 3:49pm.
Good point. I just replayed the video. That turned out to be much more of an insinuation than a question.
"If not us, who? If not now, when?"
~Ronald Reagan