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02/17/2003 'Outrage' would like to applaud CNN's Aaron Brown for having the courage to pry the lid off that can of worms during an interview with Gore Vidal. Vidal appeared on NewNight, February 6, to promote his new book, 'Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Cheney-Bush Junta'.
Vidal: "I will answer with words more beautiful than mine. I have a short sentence from President John Quincy Adams. In the 1820s, he was asked, would the United States join with some European powers in getting the Turks to free the Greeks. He said no. And the reason he gave is, one of the colonels asked me, 'Where is this guy coming from?' when I said I was against the war. This is President Adams: 'The United States goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is a well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own. If the United States took up all foreign affairs, it would become entangled in all the wars of interest and intrigue, which assume the colors and usurp the standard of freedom. She might become the dictatress of the world. She would be no longer the ruler of her own soul.' And that is where I'm coming from." That's a whole lot of incoherent rambling, but Brown didn't give up. Brown: "I'm not sure, honestly - I don't want to fight with you much…But I'm not sure you really answered the question. So, don't answer it historically. Just tell me why the liberal position - a sort of honest liberal position here is not: You have this country, people who are oppressed, who are tortured, killed. We don't even argue about those things. We all agree on, this is a bad regime. Why not free those people?" Vidal: "Well, what business is it of ours? We have such a mess here. We're in the midst of a depression. We have one million people looking for work - who have stopped looking for work, rather, and are not registered. We're in a terrible state and we haven't got the money for the war, just to start with that…" There you have it: the mean-spirited, arrogant, condescending liberal at work. His excuses are based on anti-Bush talking points. The most important thing for Vidal and his fellow travelers is to defeat President Bush in '04. Protecting the downtrodden just doesn't fit with that agenda. Will you join me in thanking Aaron Brown for insisting on a real answer to his question? Below is the contact information. CNN Phone (404) 827-1500 When you feel your personal media bias tolerance gauge rising into the red zone, don't throw stuff at the TV screen! Send your suggestion to outrage@fairpress.org! Each week, one hideous example of media bias will be selected for closer examination. Hmmmmmm . . .
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Brown: "Let me try this. Why is it not in fact a great liberal position to take that the people of Iraq live in an incredibly oppressive state, under an incredibly vicious dictator, and that, in fact, the great liberal position would be, in the interest of their human rights, to liberate them?"