Kitty Kelly Book

[Toro]

Any truth to it? Or should it be put in the same category as the Swift Boat malarkey, election year mud slinging.

[elwoodblues]

Like the swifties, there might be some truth to it.
Like the swifties, it's election year mudslinging.
Like the swifties, I don't give a good sh*t.

[ddollevoet]

Is there any truth to any Kitty Kelly book?

[Toro]

[ QUOTE ]
Is there any truth to any Kitty Kelly book?

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't read the book, obviously because it just came out and I most likely won't read it anyway. So I only saw snippets in the Boston Herald this AM.

One thing that rang true was the dirt on Bush senior. When he was running against Clinton, he was very muted regarding the Jennifer Flowers scandal. The rumor was that he had his own Jennifer that he was having an affair with.

Only in the United States would any of this stuff have any importance. It's like we're a country of a bunch of Puritans or something.

The thing about Laura selling drugs in College seems pretty far fetched as was W hiring goons to threaten someone.

[benfranklin]

[ QUOTE ]
Any truth to it? Or should it be put in the same category as the Swift Boat malarkey, election year mud slinging.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh good, another thread about a book no one has read. Does it have a gun on the cover? Did Ed Miller really write it? Is Kitty Kelly really that good?

[Toro]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Any truth to it? Or should it be put in the same category as the Swift Boat malarkey, election year mud slinging.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh good, another thread about a book no one has read. Does it have a gun on the cover? Did Ed Miller really write it? Is Kitty Kelly really that good?

[/ QUOTE ]

Now, now.

[Utah]

Well, its hard to put it in the same category as the Swifties.

On unbiased(snicker) NBC, Kelly gets three consecutive days on the heavily watched morning show. The swifties have gotten exactly zero minutes on NBC. Of course, the swifties are only decorated war veterans while Kelly is a gossip monger trying to destroy Bush - so I guess it makes sense.

[elwoodblues]

Lauer: "Let me ask you this: Do you think the level, your standards for making accusations for proof for sources needs to rise?"

Kelley: "Excuse — no — no — no I won't."

Lauer: "Wait — wait, excuse me. When you're dealing with the sitting president of the United States."

Kelley: "My standards are my standards. I write books the same way every good reporter writes books and that is to abide by the laws of libel and the laws of invasion of privacy. I only write about people who are alive. I only write about people who are powerful."

....

Lauer: "From what I understand Mr. Coasuonno has not — has said, 'I will not deny what I read in this book, the version — Kitty Kelley's version of this event.' Sharon Bush has categorically denied it. Let me put up what she said about this particular quote in the book.

She says, "I categorically deny that I ever told Kitty Kelley that George W. Bush used cocaine at Camp David or that I ever saw him use cocaine at Camp David. When Kitty Kelley raised drug use at Camp David I responded by saying something along the lines of, `Who would say such a thing?' Although there have been tensions between me and various members of the Bush family I cannot allow this falsehood to go unchallenged. I can only repeat that I never said what Ms. Kelley has written, I said, and I never saw activities that she describes."

Kelley: "I never said that she saw it, Matt. But she did confirm it over lunch. She did it front of Lou Colasuonno. The next day my editor, who's the vice-president of Random House, Peter Gethers, sat down with me and I went over the notes and I called her again. And I..."

Lauer: "Did you tape that conversation?"

Kelley: "No, I didn't tape it at lunch. I do have notes."

Lauer: "You did 988 interviews for this book."

Kelley: "That's right."

Lauer: "You told our producer you taped most of those?"

Kelley: "That's right. I have 10..."

Lauer: "Why would you go into a lunch with Sharon Bush, who is a, quote, unquote, "scorned woman," a major nasty divorce from the president's brother, and not tape record that conversation?"

Kelley: "It's a restaurant. I mean, it's really har — have you ever done that?"

Lauer: "But this is, someone like that is red meat for what you do."

Kelley: "Tell me something. What better than to have a witness that day, to have a witness the next day and then that afternoon I took her into William Morris and I had yet another witness."

Lauer: "OK, but when you confirmed these quotes with her on the phone the next day, knowing what you've got now, you've got confirmation, according to you, of a major allegation. Why wouldn't you tape record that conversation to eliminate all questions about it?"

Kelley: "I had Peter there. I had Lou Coasuonno there. I had my notes. What better than witnesses?"

Lauer: "But you're someone who tape records a lot of interviews?

Kelley: "I do tape record and I have 10,000 pages of transcripts."





Doesn't sound like the most flattering interview to me. Seems almost, what's the word I'm looking for...fair.

[Utah]

She got clubbed pretty good. Still - why 3 days of airtime for her and ZERO for the swifties?

There is speculation that NBC changed its approach after the CBS fiasco.

[MaxPower]

I saw this interview. Matt Lauer did everything except jump out of his chair and slap her. She is a sleaze no doubt, but Lauer was clearly giving her the O'Reilly treatment.

I only wish journalists were this critical of people's sources before the war in Iraq.

Apparently Lauer was under significant pressure from the White House and had talked to them about this interview.

[whiskeytown]

hard to say....lots of dirt on those guys that could be dug up, but I won't read the book.

I will say this though....when 4 teams of lawyers go thru it, it should be pretty factual...I don't see how she could tell a bald faced lie and not get sued -

RB

[nolanfan34]

[ QUOTE ]
On unbiased(snicker) NBC, Kelly gets three consecutive days on the heavily watched morning show. The swifties have gotten exactly zero minutes on NBC.

[/ QUOTE ]

What's funny about this, is that my wife said she saw a clip of Kelly on the local news, complaining about how Lauer is a huge Bush supporter, and wasn't fair in any way to her in the Today Show interviews. I usually view the Today Show as slightly liberal, but now they're being too conservative? Funny stuff.

When I worked in local news back in 2000, I remember we aired rallies from both Bush and Gore when they came into town. Each time we got a slew of calls from outraged people from the other party, complaining of either liberal or conservative bias. Ya just can't please anyone these days...

[Utah]

NBC is very liberal in my opinion.

Simply, how can the swifties be ignored. Even if they are partisan hacks they are a huge story. Give me any reason how you can put Kelly on and not the swifties.

This is not an isolated event for NBC.