Katie's Friends Say Goodbye, And They're Mostly Liberals

By Geoffrey Dickens | May 31, 2006 | 09:59

Change font size: A | A

Well the final goodbye came this morning but Today has been drawing out Katie Couric's farewell for what seems like forever or at least the last few weeks. Starting back on May 15th Today as been running a regular Goodbye Katie segment featuring some fond adieus from Katie's buddies in the media, entertainment and political worlds. Below you can find a list of those who said goodbye and no surprise it's full of liberal politicians and celebrities. Republicans are few in number, only four to be exact. Some of the goodbyes were particularly syrupy, like this long-winded goodbye from Bill Clinton on yesterday's Today: Video: Windows Media or Real Player Plus MP3

"Katie for 15 years you've started the morning for millions of Americans you've started the morning for millions of Americans with your bright smile, serious reporting and playful sense of humor. Your ability to relate to your guests to convey their humanity and the importance of their stories is a unique quality which sets you apart in your field. You've got another unique quality too which politicians like me have come to respect. You can be so disarming right before you hit us with a zinger of a question we really don't want to answer but that too is part of your job. Your courageous and groundbreaking stories on colon cancer raised the consciousness of countless Americans and no doubt saved many lives. Hillary and I wish you the best of luck in this next step in your remarkable career. It's high time we got the news of the day from an accomplished woman. There's no one who deserves it more or who will do it better than you."

Overwhelmingly those who offered their well-wishes to Katie were liberal friends of her's. The closest the segments came to a conservative was Karen Hughes. In the interest of brevity the list is restricted to those of a political persuasion. The likes of Michelle Kwan, Paula Abdul and Miss Piggy were left off the list:

Liberal Politicians:

Al Gore

Madeleine Albright

Hillary Clinton

Bill Clinton

Liberal Reporters:

Tim Russert

Brian Williams

Stone Phillips

Barbara Walters

Tom Brokaw

Diane Sawyer