Obama to Appear on ‘Fox News Sunday’

[MADem]

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/obama-to-appear-on-fox-news-sunday/

...“We had been trying very quietly for the intervening two years to try to get him to come on,” he said. “Eventually I came to the feeling that we were being played. They were saying ‘we are going to do it,’ ‘we absolutely intend to do it,’ and they weren’t doing it.”

So Fox found a visible way to push for an interview: an “Obama Watch” graphic, complete with the tick-tock sound and split-screen effect used on the Fox counterterrorism drama “24.” It debuted on March 16 at “730 days, 13 hours, 53 minutes, and 18 seconds.” Every week since, he has reminded the audience of the standing invitation to Mr. Obama.

So did it have an effect? Mr. Wallace said the conversations about an interview became more serious after the “Obama Watch” started, but he added:
“In the end, they don’t do it for us. They do it for themselves. I think his defeats in Ohio and Pennsylvania have convinced them that he needs to reach out to blue collar, moderate and conservative Democratic voters, and ‘Fox News Sunday’ is a good place to reach them.”

Mr. Wallace will tape the interview with Mr. Obama in Indiana Saturday afternoon. He promised a “tough, probing but fair interview.”
“Fox News Sunday” is shown on Fox broadcast affiliates on Sunday mornings and repeated on the cable channel in the evening. Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared on the broadcast in February and John McCain appeared earlier this month.

[rodeodance]

1. Obama fans now will have to diss Obama for appearing on Fox??

[MADem]

2. Well, he went on Hannity before..... after he "froze them out"

He needed a platform to discuss that Wright business. He had someone OTHER than Hannity do the interviewing, though...

:shrug:

The old "freeze" has a way of thawing when one has to reach voters. It's why Clinton spoke to that newspaper editorial board at that Scaife paper in PA.

But see, what's good for the gander isn't always regarded as good for that goose, for some reason.

[rodeodance]

8. yes, BHO fans here on DU thought that appearance was just dandy!!

[MADem]

17. I know.

The silence here IS deafening. The ten foot poles are out in force!

Why, if Hillary Clinton was going on Fox News this Sunday, it would be "proof, PROOF, I tell you" that she's a "Closet Republican Who Is About To Invade Iran."

Of course, when Obama does the very same thing, even after deliberately "freezing out" Fox until he needed them after the Wright fiasco, it's defined as "reaching out to new voters, expanding his base" .... because, well, ya know, he's, uh, "inspirational" and uh, "transcendant" and er, ya know "transformational!! Yeah, transformational!!"

Yeah... :sarcasm: not the same thing AT ALL!

:rofl:

[WillyToad]

3. Crickets

Funny, the silence. When Hillary went on FOX Obama supporters went into meltdown mode.

[MADem]

7. Indeed.

It's only "bad" if she does it, I guess.

[rodeodance]

9. yes, the silence on this thread is telling.

[Yes We Did]

18. Okay, I'll bite. I don't think he should do it, and I think he is making a mistake.

How's that?

Now, let's see any of you admit when Hillary makes a mistake.

That's when we really see the crickets.

[formernaderite]

23. I think it s pretty stupid for anyone to refuse to go on

You might not convince or recruit any new democrats but you certainly want to offer a voice of reason over there. You can never be sure"who" is watching and who's eyes you could open.

[Yes We Did]

25. I just don't believe in giving them ANY credibility.

Not ANY. They don't deserve it.

[MADem]

24. I don't have trouble doing that, at all.

I never liked Penn, and I was overjoyed when he stepped in it and had to step aside. The guy was "unhelpful" at best.

Clinton supporters tend to look at their candidate realistically, not idealistically. And still, we like her.

[Yes We Did]

27. I don't look at Obama idealistically.

When he make mistakes, I call him on it. I'm not a sheep. I think for myself, and don't use talking points.

There are many on here that follow blindly, on both sides. I'm just not one of them, and have been ridiculed for not being one of them.

So just know that about me, if nothing else.

[SammyWinstonJack]

28. But it's okay if Obama does it. He can do no wrong, ever.

And if by chance he does wrong, it's Hillary's fault! :evilgrin:

[SeaLyons]

14. we better not hold our breath waiting to hear

them diss BO for going on Fox....no dissing the Mesiah!! :rofl:

[Catchawave]

4. Must admit, fox had the best PA primary night coverage....

I couldn't believe I was watching it, but their analysis was very "fair and balanced" that night. Clearly, they weren't pushing one candidate over another.

Chris Wallace won't be lobbing softballs, that's for sure. Obama needs to study the Wallace-Bill Clinton interview to learn how to bitch-slap back :D

[MadBadger]

11. Yea, they have Republicans and Hillary Supporters...that is fine for you.

[Catchawave]

12. There were Obama supporters

Nobody was tearing each other apart either. Yes, that's fine with me.

[tekisui]

5. I hate fux.

I wish no Democratic Candidate would go near it. THey are Reich Wing Propaganda, designed o hurt Dems. Obama should continue to decline.

But, I wish him luck for giving it a try. At least wallace can shut the fuck up about Obama not appearing. It's going to be pre-recorded, so they will slice and dice it.

[C_U_L8R]

6. Good.

Let them try to smear him to his face.
Obama can dish it right back.

[Catherina]

10. There he goes. Cutting into Hillary's turf again. How uppity n/t

[Cheap_Trick]

13. Big difference is

Obama is using FOX, while FOX is using Hillary to keep the party divided.

[McCamy Taylor]

34. That is some brave spin you have going there.

[Cheap_Trick]

35. Coming from a master of spin, thanks. n/t

[backscatter712]

15. He's a brave man, going into the lion's den.

I hope his lawyers and staffers negotiated a contract for his appearance on FAUX Noise that forbids them from pulling another ambush...

[anonymous171]

16. Trying to court Hillary's base.

[2rth2pwr]

19. Obama's been a hypocrite since day one.

[anonymous171]

20. How else is he going to appeal to Hillary's base?

[tishaLA]

21. He apparently is going to go after Fox

Like many progressives, I believe what TPM says most of the time:

The senior Obama adviser insists that Obama is under no illusions about Fox and what it represents, and that this isn't about courtship at all, and vows a confrontational approach on Sunday.

Here is what the adviser IM-ed me about this today:

We are clear-eyed about Fox’'s role in the dissemination and amplification of Republican talking points this election. They have been the tip of the spear when it comes to repeatedly broadcasting some of the most specious of rumors about Obama. He is going on their Sunday show to take Fox on, not because we have any illusion about their motives or politics in this election.

The Obama adviser declined to detail how he'd be taking on Fox. But if Obama does this, it could end up playing to his advantage. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

[2rth2pwr]

22. Take on Fox? Doesn't he feel that talking and finding out what their

grievances are is the first step?

[GarbagemanLB]

29. You mean their concerns that he loves America enough and isn't secretly a racist Muslim?

[2rth2pwr]

31. Whatever. He has stated that he will meet America's enemies so we can

work on peace and understanding, I assume that would be his intention here as well.

[tishaLA]

32. Fox has exposed their Obama hate repeatedly

Maybe you haven't caught the Robert Greenwald shorts called "Fox Attacks!" but I have. I know what their modus operandi as well as Sen Obama.

[MADem]

26. That would be stupid. I think that little leak was a sop to the hard lefties who don't get how the

system works. As noted in that piece:

Obama's decision to go on Fox News has prompted a lot of discussion about the Illinois Senator's relationship with Rupert Murdoch and whether Obama is trying to "court" the media mogul in advance of the general election.

It's also been met with some dismay in the blogosphere, where folks had worked hard to push Dems to boycott Fox as a way of snuffing out whatever is left of the network's credibility.

[tishaLA]

30. Of course, you are working from conjecture

and positioning yourself as Cassandra, while I am working from what the Obama camp itself says.

[MADem]

33. No, I'm simply giving a plain old opinion, not "positioning myself as Cassandra."

No prophesies from me, thanks, anyway. What, one can't offer an OPINION on a discussion forum now?

:eyes:

We'll just have to wait and see what he does come Sunday. That TPM article was not definitive, and seemed to suggest it could go either way.

The Obama staffers using phrases like "take Fox ON!" might simply be playing a little trick to generate interest and enthusiasm for the appearance--no one tunes in for a wonkish political discussion, but hey, fireworks? Gosh, that's Must-See tee vee! Who doesn't love a good "fight?"

Campaigns don't always tell the truth, the whole truth and nothng but. Spin is always part and parcel of what they put out.

Time will tell.