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fleur-de-lisa

(14,624 posts)
Tue Oct 2, 2012, 04:02 PM Oct 2012

What the idiots at faux news are writing about Martin Bashir today:

MSNBC host questions Romney's mental health, By Ken Shepherd, FoxNews.com, October 02, 2012,


"Distorting an interview Ann Romney gave to a Nevada media outlet last week, MSNBC daytime anchor (and onetime co-anchor of ABC’s Nightline) Martin Bashir tried to impugn the mental health of GOP candidate Mitt Romney on his Monday program.

Bashir was seizing on comments Mrs. Romney made to Reno’s KTVN on Thursday in which she said her chief concern, if her husband was elected, would be his “mental well-being,” even as she praised her husband’s capabilities: “I have all the confidence in the world in his ability, in his decisiveness and his leadership skills, in his understanding of the economy, in his understanding of what's missing right now in the economy – you know, pieces that are missing to get this jumpstarted. So for me I think it would just be the emotional part of it.”

While Mrs. Romney demonstrated her support for her spouse and an understanding of the rigors of the presidency in the interview, to Bashir, it was a golden opportunity to run a segment strongly suggesting that Gov. Romney may not be mentally fit for duty as president.

Bashir called the segment "Being Willard Romney." He directed his first question to liberal pundit and Guardian columnist Ana Marie Cox. The MSNBC host first asked: “Mrs. Romney has expressed concerns about her husband's mental well-being, but do you get the feeling that perhaps there's more to this than she's saying?”

Cox seemed a bit taken aback by Bashir's query: “Well, Martin, I actually think this is sort of one area where I'm hesitant to mock too much. I think that the relationship between Mitt and Ann…”

Interrupting Cox, Bashir shot back that he was dead serious:

“I'm not asking you to mock, Ana Marie, I'm asking you a serious question. No, I'm not asking you to mock. His wife has said, and volunteered, that her number one concern for her husband is his mental health and mental well-being. I'm asking you do you think that she knows things about him that provoke that kind of concern?”

Rather than attack Bashir for taking Romney out of context or for hitting below-the-belt with a nakedly-partisan cheap shot, Cox then gave a diplomatic response where she noted that Romney seems to handle campaign stress pretty well and that he certainly handled well the incredible stress of the world of private equity finance. Cox held out that Romney "seems like the kind of guy who's really hard on himself, so, maybe she is concerned for him."

Bashir then moved on to his other guest, Washington Post editorial writer and MSNBC contributor Jonathan Capehart, asking another version of the same question: “Jonathan, as this campaign has progressed, I've noticed that Mr. Romney has become increasingly impatient and testy, particularly when asked polite questions by the media. Is it therefore fair to assume that Mr. Romney does have difficulties when the pressure on him increases, ’cause we've heard David Axelrod describe [the] presidential campaign as an MRI for the soul.”

"I don't fault him for being testy," the liberal Post writer answered, chalking up Romney's demeanor to troublesome polling data."




http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/10/02/msnbc-distorts-ann-romney-caring-comments/#ixzz28AouSmm4

8 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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What the idiots at faux news are writing about Martin Bashir today: (Original Post) fleur-de-lisa Oct 2012 OP
I'm looking forward to Bashir's indirect commentaries on this! nt flamingdem Oct 2012 #1
Funniest line bongbong Oct 2012 #2
Bashir is quick - loved that line! polichick Oct 2012 #7
Bashir has grown on me NCLefty Oct 2012 #3
I watched that segment LoisB Oct 2012 #4
+100 Auntie Bush Oct 2012 #5
Ann is no new comer to the world of politics and therefore-- Grammy23 Oct 2012 #6
I shudder to think what would happen . . . fleur-de-lisa Oct 2012 #8
 

bongbong

(5,436 posts)
2. Funniest line
Tue Oct 2, 2012, 04:11 PM
Oct 2012

> he certainly handled well the incredible stress of the world of private equity finance.

Yeah, it's awfully hard to call up your rich buddies, get favors, have meetings with other executives, and end up destroying American industry to get personally rich.

LoisB

(7,206 posts)
4. I watched that segment
Tue Oct 2, 2012, 04:38 PM
Oct 2012

Mrs. Romney is the one who brought up Mitt's emotional well-being and his mental health. I think if she is concerned, we should be too. Bashir was not hitting below the belt.

Grammy23

(5,810 posts)
6. Ann is no new comer to the world of politics and therefore--
Tue Oct 2, 2012, 04:50 PM
Oct 2012

should have known she was opening the door to questions about why she would make such a statement. A political newbie might make such a mistake without realizing that at the level she and Mitt are traveling EVERY SINGLE WORD THEY UTTER is scrutinized and analyzed endlessly.

Martin didn't pull this out of context. Ann Romney was asked a simple, direct question about her chief concern if her husband was elected. SHE WAS THE ONE who chose to frame it in terms of his "mental well being". And later used the term "emotional" to describe her area of concern. Anna Marie Cox did appear to be surprised by the question but Martin in no way was hinting to her that she was expected to mock Ann. I think he was genuinely asking her what she thought of the comment.

If the Romneys don't know by now that they need to weigh every word carefully, they are not ready to occupy the White House.

fleur-de-lisa

(14,624 posts)
8. I shudder to think what would happen . . .
Tue Oct 2, 2012, 04:53 PM
Oct 2012

if the repukes steal the election and that moron gets the 3:00 am call. World War III?

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