Couric on Bailout Defeat: 'What in the World Are You People Doing?'
Do the media sometimes take a different tone with Republicans compared to Democrats? “CBS Evening News” anchor Katie Couric does.
Couric interviewed House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, on the Sept. 30 “Evening News.” She cited liberal billionaire investor Warren Buffett and referred to Congress as “you people” in criticizing the governing body for rejecting the proposed $700 billion bailout of the financial sector.
“Congressman Boehner,
What Couric failed to point out prior to her overstated question was Boehner, against the majority of his party, supported the bailout.
“Well, Katie, I was there on the floor today urging members to support this bill,” Boehner said. “But you have to understand that you’ve got members on both sides of the aisle who are getting thousands of calls from their constituents saying, ‘Don’t ever vote for this.’”
Boehner explained to Couric his reasoning for supporting the bailout package.
“Now, I believe that it’s in the best interest of our country to pass this bill, and I’ve worked overtime over the last 10 days to try to find a way to protect taxpayers and to have this package passed because I think the risk to the American people, to our economy, is so important that we cannot fail to act, like we did today,” Boehner added.
Couric was a little more polite with Boehner’s counterpart. Compare Couric’s tone with Leader Boehner to the one she took in a one-on-one interview with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Nov. 8, 2006.
“A lot has been made of the fact that you, if elected, and it appears that you will be, that you will be the first woman Speaker of the House and the highest ranking woman in the United States government,” a smiling Couric said in her last interview with Pelosi on “CBS Evening News.”
Pelosi had 95 members of her caucus – 40 percent of Democrats – vote against the bailout also. One House Democrat blasted the bill on the grounds of its $700 billion price tag.
“If there was a button that said ‘Hell, no,’ I’d push it,” Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., said. “I hate to use a cliché, but this falls into the category of throwing money at a problem and hope it works.”
