McCain on MTP

Senator McCain came back to Meet the Press today for the first time in 9 months. And it was perhaps his worst showing, in his several dozen appearances on the program.

I haven't been watching MTP that regularly since Tim Russert died. Let's be honest: Tim Russert, like most Washington journalists, was a douchebag much of the time. His basic approach was to set up a series of "gotcha" moments, finding newspaper clips or video (far more often the former) of politicans from past years, contrasting their words then with their actions now, to create the appearance of hypocrisy, and even corruption.

Now, many politicians are hypocrites, and some are actually corrupt. But they are human beings; moreover, they are allowed to change their minds on issues, and the fact that they've done so does not mean that they are hypocrites, or corrupt. In some cases, they might even change their positions on issues to better reflect the will of their electorate. This is hardly definitively a bad thing.

In any case, Russert's approach was the same for every politician on his show, so you knew what you were getting into. And you'd hear the rise in his voice as he laid out the case, brought up the old newspaper clipping, and then went in for the kill. The rhythm of it all was very familiar.

By contrast, Tom Brokaw, who's filling in through the election, has a very flat upper Midwestern accent, and the rhythm and flow of his prosecutorial style are not nearly so predictable. And some of his questions are downright odd, like the first one:

I don't have the most encouraging news for you today from the NBC News/Mason Dixon poll. Here in Iowa, it now shows that Obama has a lead of 11 points, 51 to 40 points--percent. Four years ago, as you know, George Bush won this state. It's been determined a battleground state. But the lead has been widening for Senator Obama right along the way. I know you're a film buff, so let me begin with a film metaphor. Do you feel more like Kevin Costner in the "Field of Dreams," or like George Clooney at the--at the tiller of the ship in "A Perfect Storm"?

This, understandably, send McCain into a flurry of blinking and fast-thinking, leading to the inevitable "I would be the Gipper in the Knute Rockne picture" response. Honestly, Brokaw might as well have asked, "Are you Che Guavara in The Motorcycle Diaries, or Ray Cohn in Angels in America?"

The most brutal twist came near the end. Brokaw spent several minutes retelling McCain's POW story (as today is the 41st anniversary of him getting shot down over Hanoi), and reading a letter his mother wrote to LBJ supporting the president, even though he was from the other party. McCain must have thought Brokaw was gonna lob a softball. Instead, a very nasty changeup:

MR. BROKAW: For all the obvious reasons, that experience was a defining moment in your life, and you said it changed your attitude toward you are your country's from then on, not your own man. How has this campaign changed you?

SEN. McCAIN: It hasn't changed me. It's made me humble and grateful and aware of the trust and faith and confidence that so many people have in me that it motives me to continue to want to serve my country. But I think it also validates service to country and putting your country first. We're going to do well in this campaign, my friend. We're going to win it, and it's going to be tight, and we're going to be up late; but it will be because there's so many Americans who believe that I can give them the future for themselves and their children and their grandchildren that we all aspire to. And I'm deeply honored.

So Palin isn't the only one who doesn't read The New York Times.

All in all, Brokaw more than redeemed himself for the disastrous job he did moderating the 2nd debate. And, despite all my qualms about a continuous climate of "gotcha" journalism (which becomes a bit silly when the stakes are smaller than they are this year), there's something wonderfully tense and clarifying about getting a politician in the chair on live TV and making them answer questions for 20 minutes solid without a commercial break.

There's a very telling exchange from the interview as well, which I'll post separately.