Where in the World Is Matt Lauer's Head?
Matt Lauer, apparently bored with the humdrum duties of hosting the Today Show, appears to be auditioning for a spot on Access Hollywood. Why else would he devote today’s broadcast to a cotton-candy review of recycled Sarah Palin gossip?
Without even a pretense of breaking a newsworthy addition to the denials we all have heard once, twice, ad infinitum on other news programs, Matt devoted the entirety of his interview to tossing softballs at Palin. Old softballs. Softballs she already has caught, spun, and tossed back.
What? No recipe for moose stew?
Governor Palin certainly deserves an opportunity to reply to GOP leaks about her wardrobe budget, basic misunderstanding of foreign policy, and lack of knowledge about the continent of Africa. But this is shopworn material for an in-depth interview. The real story behind the apparent attempt to discredit her is… why? What GOP operative would so vehemently attempt to cement her reputation as unready and unfit to serve, and how does this affect the party’s strategy for its uncertain future?
Katey Couric has come under frequent fire as a journalistic lightweight, but she is a powerhouse compared to Lauer’s coy, old-maidish style. When the Today Show occasionally covers sexually relevant topics, he feigns embarrassment by making “I’m not going there” remarks and assuming an aw-shucks body posture. Grow up, Matt… take a risk… explore those aspects of the Palin saga that are genuinely newsworthy. For example…
When the GOP decided to play Pygmalion by plucking Governor Palin from the Alaskan backwoods and teaching her how to dress and talk, were they stunned and caught offguard when she proved to be a person in her own right, with her own opinions, her own backbone and her own agenda?
Did she emphatically demonstrate to Rove and his acolytes that her beauty, poise and feminine charisma were not qualities they could manipulate as means to an end, but minor aspects of a complete human being who was empowered, fully capable of owning her future, and was, in short, nobody’s political blow-up doll?
In other words, did Governor Palin give the GOP a much-needed crash course in feminism?
Report on THAT, Matt Lauer… if you can retrieve your head from the dark place where you appear to have inserted it.
And by the way… we have a new first lady to be. Where in the world is HER in-depth interview?
posted by Yakpate at 8:43 AM
15 Comments:
I've stood next to Matt Lauer. He's a small, slight man. I bet he would fit into a locker. Maybe he was physically afraid of her? heh heh
Yak, I totally agree that The Today Show should be focusing on Jackie O ... I mean, Michelle O ... instead of Palin. Maybe Michelle's too busy. I wonder if she'll get a cabinet position. She's certainly qualified to handle foreign relations.
But jeeze louise, it's The Today Show! Who wants the tough questions as you're waking up? I think morning is a time for cartoons and fun holiday cupcake how-tos and the Jonas Bros live on the Plaza. There's plenty of hours in the day for downer BS.
9:52 AM
Love this post, Yak.
I have a theory about Palin. McCain picked her despite protest from the GOP -- it really was a mavericky, rogue move. But the GOP, once it realized the left had already spun her into a cartoon even better than they ever could, was determined to squash her once they lost this election.
The biggies of the GOP don't like McCain, but they hate Palin more. THe far right religious ideologues love her, but they aren't the party elite. Those in the GOP drivers seat hate anyone working class. Remember, they painted the Clintons as yokels --- despite the fact that they were more closely aligned with the intelligencia than with working class people in Arkansas.
Palin can NOT represent the GOP in their view because she is, to them, white trash the way they said Bill Clinton was white trash. She was a reformer who went against the GOP power structure in her home state. I've been following her for a while and she represented a dangerous reformer to her party. She backed Ron Paul before McCain tapped her for VP. And she garnered a huge following once on the national stage. THey have to make sure to keep her away from the scene -- lest she mess up their plans. Accountability? Democratic ideas and cabinet members? Oversight and transparancy? Rove and the neocons won't let go THAT easily. So, they ordered a hit job on her and... it worked.
As to Matt Lauer -- is he capable of hard hitting interviews? I always think of him from the Tom Cruise "you're glib" interview.
ANyway, love this, Yak.
10:37 AM
Incidentally, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Palin broke from the Republicans. She's been on record talking about the need for third parties and how much she admired Jesse Ventura and the idea of Independents. Anyone who has spent time in Alaska knows -- it's a different ideology up there.
10:41 AM
Ballbuster, you mentioned something I've been wondering about. Obama needs to use that brilliant wife of his for something other than picking out the White House Christmas decorations. I've always liked her more than I like him and think she is a real true-blue populist and social justice Democrat. I think she's amazing, actually, and I hope Obama uses her for something because she's so smart and qualified. I remember how cool it was that Clinton put Hillary in charge of something -- I know, the health care failed terribly, but the idea of an accomplished First Lady also being a part of the administration is a great thing, in my opinion.
The only thing I've seen about Michelle in the mainstream media is the "she's the next Jackie O" discussion of her designer wardrobe and her $10,000 diamond earrings worn to Obama's acceptance speech -- all by the same pundits who were screaming about Palin's RNC-bought designer wardrobe. It's hard to keep track of when something is a weapon and when it's a compliment when it comes to dissecting women's appearances in the public arena.
I'm glad Obama has Michelle. I think she's just great.
4:53 PM
LA - I heard something on the radio that implied that Michelle is not going to take the active role that Hillary took. I agree, that's not a good thing if she has skills that aren't being used. But it sounds like she may have made that choice. Maybe there needs to be a groundswell "demanding" that she get more involved.
5:20 PM
Michelle has said that her two daughters are her main concern, as if she has made a decision to dedicate her time exclusively to Motherhood. That might be a good idea until they're acclimated, because there is a LOT to being Presidential daughters that other children don't have to contend with...
I felt uncomfortable watching seven-year-old Piper spend so much time on stage with Mom. You could tell she didn't understand what was going on, and it seemed mildly exploitive to me, like she was a mascot instead of a daughter. But then... I noticed during the Matt Lauer interview today that little Piper was wearing VERY high heels, like 4-inchers, under her flare-leg jeans. Maybe she's already trying to be big like Mom!
5:54 PM
I suppose that one could argue that Piper isn't the only one that doesn't understand what's going on. ;-)
6:54 PM
Yak is on vacay, so I'll ask the rest of you: regarding Palin's bad mothering, are you saying mothers with young children shouldn't be in politics? That motherhood duties are just an unavoidable responsibility, and if you have a baby, you should plan on staying home for how long ... a year or so? I'm not judging, I go back and forth on career & children. But it seems like if she left her kids in Alaska for months on the campaign trail, people would say she's a bad mother, wouldn't they?
Not that Republicans aren't above parading children for political gain, but these continued 'bad mother' labels feel like dangerous ground to me, as a feminist.
When I see her with the little ones on stage, I wonder if they started to scream bloody murder when they were taken from mom's arms, and carrying them out there was just easier. Leaving them screaming wouldn't look good in the press. Working mothers are damned if they do and damned if they don't. If you got the opportunity of a lifetime, what would you do? Especially if ultimately, it would open big doors for your kids?
Laurie - did you see the Colbert Report last week in which one of the Obamas' former law office partners talked about them? (I believe the connection was the law office, tho he could have been a Harvard Law professor)
Anyway, he knows them from 'back in the day', and said two very interesting things: one, he always assumed they were Republicans, because they both had a reputation for being politically conservative; two, he always assumed SHE was the one with political aspirations.
They're both hella ambitious, I'll give them that.
7:51 PM
Yak, I don't think PARENTS of small children should be that active in politics. WHy does it always fall on the mothers? Everyone made a stink about Palin but nobody thought to question Barack -- who saw his daughters a couple of times a month in the last year. I liked that Palin took her kids with her everywhere, and from the stuff I saw on her last year before she was in the big public eye, she talked about their huge, extended Eskimo family of her husband's and the fact that Todd was mostly a stay-at-home-dad and I thought, I like this mother, she and her husband have figured it out and they have a village raising their family with them.
I made the choice to be a stay at home mom with my daughter because a) I had her when I was 40 and could easily take off 5 or so years from my freelance writing career and b) I have a saint for a husband who is 100% my co-partner and c) we've been lucky enough to be able to afford it. I've seen a lot of stay at home moms who are just phoning it in, and a lot of terrible nannies. I've also seen a lot of great moms, nannies, stay at home dads, grandparents who part time help raise the kids, etc. I don't think there is any one way to do it -- but I think mothers get all of the blame when things go wrong. Personally, I think preschool kids need someone around a lot that they can bond with. I'm lucky to be able to be that person for my child. I wish we had a culture who valued families and made it easier for PARENTS to raise them. I belong to MomsRising -- a great political group focused on these issues.
I have been saying all along I wondered why Obama wasn't a Republican so I'm not surprised by his colleague saying that. A center moderate but still veering Right, in my opinion. I think if he had been born half Asian or half Latino and in a different state, he might have gotten the backing of the GOP in his local political arena and he might have been more of a McCain, circa 2000. Center moderate with a lot more Friedmanite economics. Don't everybody jump on me for saying that.
Michelle, though, really strikes me as the true populist democrat. And I think she might have been the one who steered them toward Trinity -- because even though it gets heated with Wright's black liberation theology, it also is a bastion of social justice and outreach in Chicago.
I support her desire to be a full time mother. If I were in her shoes, I'd probably do the same thing even though I'd want a cabinet position. Those girls didn't ask for this life, and kudos to Michelle for trying to give them the extra support to get through the chaos of being the daughters of a president.
8:22 PM
Oops, it was ballbustr who asked that q, not Yak.
8:27 PM
I read somewhere that Michelle is considering heading some Work/Life Balance Commitee...I would appreciate that. I know a lot of companies are moving in this direction so a real national effort to promote that sort of balance for parents (especially single mom's like me) would be AWESOME!!! I hope what I saw is true. Most companies that I have been at the last few years seem to really try and acheive a good balance...well maybe it is the companies that I have seeked out...but I am hoping that more do. It is really bad in the Accounting field...due to the tax time crunch...but all a company has to do is hire a few more people to get the job done!!! At the firm I was like WHY do I have to come in on Saturday's?? Hire one more person and we are set---DUH!!!!!!!
4:41 PM
Maybe the new $3000 tax credit for companies to create new postiions in USA will help with that too.
4:42 PM
I am hoping when they start school I will be able to drop them off at 8:30 and pick them up at 3:20...NOW THAT IS THE KIND OF WORK/LIFE BALANCE I am looking for:):):):):):) Well, guess I'm off to buy some lottery tickets now...
4:45 PM
Nikki, I hear ya sister.
You might be interested in the group MomsRising, too. They are lobbying for a lot of the things that single mothers need -- as well as for stay at home moms who find it hard to re-enter the workforce when their kids are in school. Their goals are realistic and fair wages, more maternity AND paternity leave, flexible open work schedules, healthcare for all children, support for breastfeeding moms...
Their manifesto states that women should not be discriminated against because they are mothers. I am glad to see a wing of feminism address this stuff because so much of mainstream feminism is about glass ceilings and being competitive in career. Necessary, too, but not the whole picture of women's lives.
I'm dreaming of that 8:30 to 3:30 break. Jeez, we don't have anyone to help with childcare at all, not even for a few hours, and we're starting to feel like this is one of Dantes rings.
Anyway, if you want to look at MomsRising it's here.
http://www.momsrising.org/
4:52 PM
Work/Life balance in the USA? In our nation, in this darwinian world economy, the time for that may have passed for the masses.
YP, did "leave the country?" Didn't de elections go her way?
9:02 AM
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