NBC Commiserates with 'Hard Realities' Obama 'Up Against' --1/8/2009

1. NBC Commiserates with 'Hard Realities' Obama 'Up Against'
Prompted by the CBO's forecast of a $1.2 trillion annual federal budget deficit, the NBC Nightly News on Wednesday commiserated with the challenge ahead for the incoming President. "On our broadcast tonight, facing facts," Brian Williams teased, "President-elect Obama confronts the hard realities he's up against, deficits as far as the eye can see." A dire Williams proceeded to lead with how Obama will take over "during one of the most challenging times in the modern history of the United States." From the White House lawn, Chuck Todd piled on: "You know, it's becoming a cliche to say that the problems Obama is inheriting are among the worst ever, but I tell you, the realities of the situation on the economy hit home hard today. As Obama took the podium, he was greeted by the dire news that before he spends one dollar to stimulate the economy, he'll be adding to a deficit that is now 13 digits long..." Do you think Ronald Reagan got such empathetic treatment in January of 1981 when he was about to assume office at a time of soaring interest rates, raging inflation (12%), high unemployment (7.5%) and a declining GDP? Or, just maybe the media were more concerned about his proposed "tax cuts for the rich"?

2. On Today, Coulter Takes Matt Lauer and Brian Williams to Task
After reports that Ann Coulter had been banned from NBC News, her return to the Today show set on Wednesday morning was, as expected, a fiery one with co-host Matt Lauer. The conservative author put Lauer on the defensive on her being bumped for the likes of Rachel Maddow and Perez Hilton, his colleague Brian Williams' softball questions to Barack Obama, and Lauer's charges that Coulter's takes on single motherhood and Obama's middle name were "outrageous," and "venomous."

3. Coulter Spars with Gifford and Kotb About Her 'Venom'
Ann Coulter made a second appearance during the 10am Eastern hour of Wednesday's Today show, and hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb continued the discussion about the apparent "venom" in her books. Kotb asked if Coulter's style was "kind of like shock jock, shake the cage, freak everyone out, wake everybody up," and later stated that she felt the tone of the conservative's writing was "dripping with venom." The two hosts focused Coulter's take on single motherhood in her new book, as Matt Lauer had done in her earlier appearance on the NBC program.

4. ABC Series Searches for 'Ugly Americans'; Anti-Immigrant Bigotry
ABC aired an incredibly insulting and condescending hidden camera news show on Tuesday that purported to probe the hidden racism of Americans. It also featured actors hired by the network to go to France and portray "ugly Americans," complete with a "Bush '08" t-shirt that was derided by one German woman as similar to saying "I like Hitler." The first of a "What Would You Do?" series of Prime Time programs attempted to see how real people would react to racism or over-the-top behavior. As part of the experiment, host John Quinones introduced "Bob" and "Bonnie," actors sent to Paris to represent obnoxious U.S. citizens. Quinones began the segment by cheerfully explaining, "They're the ugly Americans. And for more than a century, they've been fixtures in American literature and film."

NBC Commiserates with 'Hard Realities'
Obama 'Up Against'

Prompted by the CBO's forecast of a $1.2 trillion annual federal budget deficit, the NBC Nightly News on Wednesday commiserated with the challenge ahead for the incoming President. "On our broadcast tonight, facing facts," Brian Williams teased, "President-elect Obama confronts the hard realities he's up against, deficits as far as the eye can see." A dire Williams proceeded to lead with how Obama will take over "during one of the most challenging times in the modern history of the United States."

From the White House lawn, Chuck Todd piled on: "You know, it's becoming a cliche to say that the problems Obama is inheriting are among the worst ever, but I tell you, the realities of the situation on the economy hit home hard today. As Obama took the podium, he was greeted by the dire news that before he spends one dollar to stimulate the economy, he'll be adding to a deficit that is now 13 digits long..."

Do you think Ronald Reagan got such empathetic treatment in January of 1981 when he was about to assume office at a time of soaring interest rates, raging inflation (12%), high unemployment (7.5%) and a declining GDP? Or, just maybe the media were more concerned about his proposed "tax cuts for the rich"?

[This item, by the MRC's Brent Baker, was posted Wednesday night on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

NBC's theme was echoed, though less dramatically, on ABC and CBS. After reporting on the White House gathering of all the living Presidents and Obama, ABC anchor Charles Gibson asked: "What did they talk about? Well, most certainly, the economy. Probably just as certain, none of the others envies the President-elect, who is about to confront a stagnant economy and the largest budget deficit in history, over one trillion dollars."

Over on the CBS Evening News, Katie Couric set up a full story: "Barack Obama is already dealing with the biggest problem he'll face as President, the deepening recession. A new report today says employers cut nearly700,000 jobs last month, far more than economists were expecting. And then there's the federal deficit. The Congressional Budget Office predicted today it will reach a record $1.2 trillion this year."

From the Wednesday, January 7 NBC Nightly News:

TEASE FROM BRIAN WILLIAMS: On our broadcast tonight, facing facts. President-elect Obama confronts the hard realities he's up against, deficits as far as the eye can see, while also watching that new war in the Middle East...

WILLIAMS, WITH "TROUBLE AHEAD" ON SCREEN, PICKING UP AFTER VIDEO OF THE PRESIDENTS IN THE OVAL OFFICE: Barack Obama, will take over, of course, during one of the most challenging times in the modern history of the United States. He made clear again today the numbers are worsening on the economy, the task is getting more serious. That's where we'll begin tonight with our chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd at the White House. Chuck, good evening.
CHUCK TODD: Good evening, Brian. You know, it's becoming a cliche to say that the problems Obama is inheriting are among the worst ever, but I tell you, the realities of the situation on the economy hit home hard today. As Obama took the podium, he was greeted by the dire news that before he spends one dollar to stimulate the economy, he'll be adding to a deficit that is now 13 digits long...

On Today, Coulter Takes Matt Lauer and
Brian Williams to Task

After reports that Ann Coulter had been banned from NBC News, her return to the Today show set on Wednesday morning was, as expected, a fiery one with co-host Matt Lauer. The conservative author put Lauer on the defensive on her being bumped for the likes of Rachel Maddow and Perez Hilton, his colleague Brian Williams' softball questions to Barack Obama, and Lauer's charges that Coulter's takes on single motherhood and Obama's middle name were "outrageous," and "venomous."

[This item, by the MRC's Geoffrey Dickens, was posted Wednesday morning on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

First up, Coulter stuck it to Lauer on his, rather lame excuse for her being bumped from Tuesday's Today show:

MATT LAUER: Let me just get to this little controversy. You've been all over the blogs in the last day or so. We cancelled your appearance here on Tuesday. And from what I've been reading you thought you were banned for life from the show. Did, were you behind that report?
ANN COULTER: No, I didn't say that. That was from a reliable news report that, by the way, had never, has never had to retract a report on exploding GM trucks. But I do know that, like NBC. Um, it apparently took-
LAUER: So we're either dead or you weren't banned.
COULTER: It apparently took eight hours for the Today show to remember that there was a Wednesday show that I could be invited back to. It took the Drudge Report posting that, for the Wednesday invitation to appear.
LAUER: You, you-
COULTER: But I'm very happy to be here Matt Lauer.
LAUER: You said all kinds of things. That, that one of the reasons you weren't on the show is because the mainstream liberal media hates conservatives. I mean you do know that we-
COULTER: I didn't say that.
LAUER: Yeah you did.
COULTER: Where did you say that?
LAUER: On, I think it was on Hannity & Colmes or something like that.
COULTER: That the mainstream media hates conservatives? I didn't say that.
LAUER: Yeah. You, you know that we've had every major conservative-
COULTER: I have much more colorful language. I mean you're capturing the thought, that's just not my language.
LAUER: Do, do, do you think though that much was made of this and maybe you helped fan the fire here a little bit to (holds up book) make a controversy to sell the book?
COULTER: No I don't think I'd be sitting here now if it hadn't been a headline on Drudge. But let's get to the book-
LAUER: Really?
COULTER: -because I do want to talk about the book.
LAUER: But we've had you on so many times in the past. After every book you've always been invited back. Why would you, all of a sudden, be banned?
COULTER: Well I was, well I don't know. I mean that's not for me to answer what your motives are.
LAUER: We made it, we traded you out for Tony Blair yesterday. And I think that's a pretty good switch.
COULTER: Well yeah, more than Tony Blair on for four hours.
LAUER: Yeah right.
COULTER: It's a four hour show.
LAUER: But you were, in your slot where you were supposed to be yesterday morning was Tony Blair.
COULTER: Um, and Rachel Maddow, and various gossip columnists-
LAUER: Afterward.
COULTER: -and a bear.
LAUER: Afterward.
COULTER: The point is I was cancelled twice and it wasn't until the Drudge Report ran a headline, on its own reporting, and the Drudge Report has never had to retract a report-
LAUER: You know-
COULTER: -the way NBC News has.
LAUER: You know, you know what that expression is? Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean you don't have enemies.

Then a little later in the segment, Coulter took the liberal media and specifically, Lauer's colleague, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, to task for giving Obama a free ride during the campaign:

LAUER: We've just come through an election cycle where it seemed to me and maybe I'm completely wrong because apparently, according to you, I'm wrong about most things, but that, that people have decided it's time to address the issues that face this country. The economy clearly one. Unemployment. Things like that. And to maybe concentrate less on what divides us. Did you not get that sense from this? I mean I'm just asking is-
COULTER: No.
LAUER: You didn't get that sense from this election?
COULTER: No, to the contrary and as I detail, at great length in this book, we didn't, I mean to say we want to concentrate on the issues, then why wasn't B. Hussein Obama asked about the issues? He was asked, as I describe over and over in my book, you know the tough "gotcha" questions he'd get from the media were things like, "How did you feel tonight? You must have been thinking about your parents."
LAUER: Do you, do you not get a sense though-
COULTER: That's from Brian Williams.
LAUER: -that people want-
COULTER: Meanwhile Sarah Palin is memorizing the last seven kings of Swaziland.
LAUER: Do you not get a sense that people want a different tone? That they want a different attitude? That they want, maybe, to start to pull together?
COULTER: No I think liberals want conservatives to stop talking so that you can keep telling us how marvelous B. Hussein Obama is. You were not asking him about the issues during the campaign, which is why, well the next four years, I think, are gonna be a surprise for all of us because he can't keep voting, "present."

The following is the complete transcript of Coulter's segment as it was aired in the 7am half hour of the January 7, "Today" show:

MATT LAUER: Conservative commentator Ann Coulter is a bestselling author and syndicated columnist. Her latest book is Guilty: Liberal Victims and Their Assault On America. Ann, good morning. Nice to have you here.

[On screen headline: "Conservative Queen, Coulter's Assault On Liberal America"]

ANN COULTER: Good morning, it's great to be here.
LAUER: I want to talk about [Roland] Burris in a second, but let, let me just get to this little controversy. You've been all over the blogs in the last day or so. We cancelled your appearance here on Tuesday. And from what I've been reading you thought you were banned for life from the show. Did, were you behind that report?
COULTER: No, I didn't say that. That was from a reliable news report that, by the way, had never, has never had to retract a report on exploding GM trucks. But I do know that, like NBC. Um, it apparently took-
LAUER: So we're either dead or you weren't banned.
COULTER: It apparently took eight hours for the "Today" show to remember that there was a Wednesday show that I could be invited back to. It took the Drudge Report posting that, for the Wednesday invitation to appear.
LAUER: You, you-
COULTER: But I'm very happy to be here Matt Lauer.
LAUER: You said all kinds of things. That, that one of the reasons you weren't on the show is because the mainstream liberal media hates conservatives. I mean you do know that we-
COULTER: I didn't say that.
LAUER: Yeah you did.
COULTER: Where did you say that?
LAUER: On, I think it was on "Hannity & Colmes" or something like that.
COULTER: That the mainstream media hates conservatives? I didn't say that.
LAUER: Yeah. You, you know that we've had every major conservative-
COULTER: I have much more colorful language. I mean you're capturing the thought, that's just not my language.
LAUER: Do, do, do you think though that much was made of this and maybe you helped fan the fire here a little bit to (holds up book) make a controversy to sell the book?
COULTER: No I don't think I'd be sitting here now if it hadn't been a headline on Drudge. But let's get to the book-
LAUER: Really?
COULTER: -because I do want to talk about the book.
LAUER: But we've had you on so many times in the past. After every book you've always been invited back. Why would you, all of a sudden, be banned?
COULTER: Well I was, well I don't know. I mean that's not for me to answer what your motives are.
LAUER: We made it, we traded you out for Tony Blair yesterday. And I think that's a pretty good switch.
COULTER: Well yeah, more than Tony Blair on for four hours.
LAUER: Yeah right.
COULTER: It's a four hour show.
LAUER: But you were, in your slot where you were supposed to be yesterday morning was Tony Blair.
COULTER: Um, and Rachel Maddow, and various gossip columnists-
LAUER: Afterward.
COULTER: -and a bear.
LAUER: Afterward.
COULTER: The point is I was cancelled twice and it wasn't until the Drudge Report ran a headline, on its own reporting, and the Drudge Report has never had to retract a report-
LAUER: You know-
COULTER: -the way NBC News has.
LAUER: You know, you know what that expression is? Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean you don't have enemies. But anyway. Let, let's get to-
COULTER: Let's get to the reason I wanted to be here.
LAUER: Let me get to Roland Burris first. Let me get to Roland Burris first. What's going on here? Has Rod Blagojevich pulled a fast one on the Democratic leadership here?
COULTER: I am like Roland Burris. I was turned away but I'm back.
LAUER: But I mean has he pulled one over on the Democrats here?
COULTER: Look I haven't been following this. I have a brand new book out. I'm very happy about it. All I can say is they're all Democrats so I don't really care what happens. But I do know, I have read the Constitution, and the Senate cannot turn away an appointed senator by a sitting governor. They can't do it.
LAUER: In, in the, in the book you say that liberals play victims all the time, and then they use that victimization to go on the attack.
COULTER: Right.
LAUER: You also say that the liberal media and Democrats are out to accomplish the same thing, they want to destroy America. So I mean, go ahead, why, why do liberals and the media want to destroy America?
COULTER: Oh why? Their motives? Well I'd have to be their confessor or psychologist to understand that. I'm, I'm describing the results. And one beautiful example of this my, my chapter two of the book, is the exultation of single motherhood. It, it's promoted in the New York Times and all the glossy women's magazines and Hollywood movies. And we now know, after 30 years of promoting single motherhood, of the courts destroying the institute of marriage, that children raised without fathers are filling up the prisons, are 70 percent of the teenage runaways, of, of teenage pregnancies, of rapists.
LAUER: Hasn't the mainstream media also done extensive reporting on the problem of the disintegration of the American family?
COULTER: Not so much.
LAUER: And talked about the responsibility that needs to be held by men and fathers and all that sort of thing?
COULTER: No, not so much actually. I mean I think I document that pretty well. You have Barbara Ehrenreich, who used to be a regular reporter for Time magazine and the New York Times, and she is constantly denouncing the nuclear family. National Organization for Women has a bumper sticker, "One Nuclear Family Can Destroy Your Whole Life."
LAUER: But there are a lot of other voices, there are a lot of other voices that say, "Hey we need fathers and mothers to raise children together." The, the point I want to make with this, is you, you say it and I don't have time to read the whole excerpt from the book and if people want to buy it they should go off and do that. But you say it in a fairly outrageous way. The last sentence of which and I need my glasses now. The last sentence of which is, "Countless studies on the subject make clear, look at almost any societal problem and you'll find it is really a problem of single mothers."
COULTER: Yes.
LAUER: And I think Harry Smith, I think did a, tried to raise this point with you yesterday. When you make outrageous comments-
COULTER: That isn't outrageous. That's a fact.
LAUER: When, when you, when you make outrageous comments and you use that kind of venomous tone, in some ways do you cut your own credibility off and take away from the real viable points you make in some of this?
COULTER: Okay, can I answer now?
LAUER: Sure.
COULTER: It'll be more than half a sentence. No, I mean on one hand you just said, "Look the mainstream media we're, we're totally standing up for the, for the nuclear family," and then you turn around and say that, the statement you just quoted, is an outrageous statement to make.
LAUER: No the tone of it.
COULTER: This, that-
LAUER: The tone of it.
COULTER: I said there would be more than one-
LAUER: The tone of it.
COULTER: It would be more than half a sentence. What I just said there is absolutely true. look at any societal problem, it is a problem of single motherhood. I quote Charles Murray saying basically the same thing. That you could solve-
LAUER: Well let me just clear you up, you, you said, "almost any." I mean if you want to say, "any societal problem is a result of single motherhood," that would be crazy. "Any." You said, "almost." Even in your book you say, "almost."
COULTER: Wait! Oh, okay but I'm speaking extemporaneously. You're gonna, take out the "almost."
LAUER: Okay, I'm just saying do think every societal problem-
COULTER: No.
LAUER: Okay.
COULTER: I describe what they are in the book in great detail and with enormous numbers of statistics. I mean it's not a static problem, because new illegitimate babies are being born every year, being raised without fathers. New runaways, teenage runaways, new murders are occurring everyday. So every, you know, it changes. But study after study, for years, have shown that 70 percent of the prison population -- children of unwed mothers. 70, 60 to 70 percent of teenage runaways, teenage pregnancies, teenage murderers, teenage rapists. In fact there's a liberal institute, the Progressive Policy Institute, that says if you take out the factor of illegitimacy the difference in black/white crime rates completely disappears.
LAUER: I'm not saying-
COULTER: This is a massive problem. And no, the mainstream media does not discuss it.
LAUER: Let me-
COULTER: In fact your shocked by this line of mine and unfortunately Republicans-
LAUER: No, no I only read one line. The, the section in the book goes on in some other directions that I think are over the line. That's the reason I made the point.

COULTER: Well quote that sentence to me then!
LAUER: Let, let, let me do this. Let me ask you this other thing. In the book, throughout the book, you refer to the President-elect Barack Obama as "B. Hussein Obama."
COULTER: Not throughout the book.
LAUER: Well in a lot of places.
COULTER: I sometimes call him the Angel Obama.
LAUER: In a lot of places.
COULTER: The Sheriff Obama.
LAUER: You don't refer to President Bush as "G. Walker Bush." Why would you, if not for the reason of appealing to the extreme readers of your book who still believe--despite all the information and despite the fact that it's simply untrue--that he's Muslim.
COULTER: It's not untrue that, that's what his middle name is. This is the first time-
LAUER: But why would you refer to him
COULTER: -in history-
LAUER: -in that way, when no one else refers to him in that way?
COULTER: He refers to himself that way!
LAUER: As B. Hussein Obama?
COULTER: We now know that he likes his middle name.
LAUER: But as B. Hussein Obama?
COULTER: He's announced, he's announced that he is going to use his middle name now. So-
LAUER: Well so I think George Walker Bush-
COULTER: You act like this is a hate crime-
LAUER: George Walker Bush enjoys his middle name too-
COULTER: -to use his middle name.
LAUER: -but he doesn't call himself G. Walker Bush. I'm just saying you don't refer to any one else in that way.
COULTER: Okay I think it's insane-
LAUER: But by highlighting Hussein-
COULTER: -to act like using someone's actual middle name is some sort of vicious hate crime -- point one. Point two, if Republicans-
LAUER: Why take his first name out of the mix?
COULTER: Because, because we just went, I mean it is funny Matt Lauer. I'm not going to deny that there is something ironic about having just gone to war with an enemy named Hussein and they're running a guy whose middle name is Hussein. This would be like Republicans. I'm going to finish this sentence no matter what you do.
LAUER: Go, go! I didn't say a word.
COULTER: Oh you were getting ready. In 1948 running, running instead of Thomas Dewey, you know if it were, Thomas Hitler Dewey. If that were his middle name I think it would have come out. If we were running candidates named, named, you know-
LAUER: Would we have called him, T. Hitler Dewey?
COULTER: I think it would have been mentioned.
LAUER: We've just come through an election cycle where it seemed to me and maybe I'm completely wrong because apparently, according to you, I'm wrong about most things, but that, that people have decided it's time to address the issues that face this country. The economy clearly one. Unemployment. Things like that. And to maybe concentrate less on what divides us. Did you not get that sense from this? I mean I'm just asking is-
COULTER: No.
LAUER: You didn't get that sense from this election?
COULTER: No, to the contrary and as I detail, at great length in this book, we didn't, I mean to say we want to concentrate on the issues, then why wasn't B. Hussein Obama asked about the issues? He was asked, as I describe over and over in my book, you know the tough "gotcha" questions he'd get from the media were things like, "How did you feel tonight? You must have been thinking about your parents."
LAUER: Do you, do you not get a sense though-
COULTER: That's from Brian Williams.
LAUER: -that people want-
COULTER: Meanwhile Sarah Palin is memorizing the last seven kings of Swaziland.
LAUER: Do you not get a sense that people want a different tone? That they want a different attitude? That they want, maybe, to start to pull together?
COULTER: No I think liberals want conservatives to stop talking so that you can keep telling us how marvelous B. Hussein Obama is. You were not asking him about the issues during the campaign, which is why, well the next four years, I think, are gonna be a surprise for all of us because he can't keep voting, "present."
LAUER: George Bush leaving office in two weeks. What are your thoughts on his departure?
COULTER: Well I'm grateful to him for keeping the nation safe for the last, for the last eight years. We'll see if that continues. We don't really know that much about what, what the President-elect is going to do, because he was being asked so much about how he thinks his parents would feel tonight? "You must have been thinking of them? And how do you think the Republicans will come after you?"
LAUER: The book is called Guilty. Ann Coulter, I'm glad you're back.
COULTER: Oh so am I! Thank you.
LAUER: It's good to be here.
COULTER: Nice to see you again.
LAUER: Alright we are going to, by the way you're not banned for life, obviously. Okay?
COULTER: Thank you, I'm delighted to hear that.
LAUER: Next book comes out I'm sure you'll be sitting right, you'll be sitting right here again.

Coulter Spars with Gifford and Kotb About
Her 'Venom'

Ann Coulter made a second appearance during the 10am Eastern hour of Wednesday's Today show, and hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb continued the discussion about the apparent "venom" in her books. Kotb asked if Coulter's style was "kind of like shock jock, shake the cage, freak everyone out, wake everybody up," and later stated that she felt the tone of the conservative's writing was "dripping with venom." The two hosts focused Coulter's take on single motherhood in her new book, as Matt Lauer had done in her earlier appearance on the NBC program.

Kotb began the interview with her "shock jock, shake the cage" question. Coulter answered that she tries to "write in an entertaining, intriguing way, so that people will read what I have to say." After the three briefly discussed the writing process for the author, Kotb then brought up the title of Coulter's chapter on the problem of single motherhood: "Victim of a Crime? Thank a Single Mother." Coulter explained her central point in the chapter, that single mothers are "victimizing their children by raising their children without fathers," and how these children are "70% of the prison population, 60% to 70% of future unwed mothers -- of murderers, of rapists, of juvenile delinquents, of teenage runaways."

[This item, by the MRC's Matthew Balan, was posted Wednesday afternoon on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

For more on Coulter's earlier Today appearance with Matt Lauer, see item #2 above.

Despite acknowledging this point, Kotb complained about Coulter's tone: "I feel like it's dripping with venom, so when you read it, you go, ugh and you just roll your eyes." Coulter replied that "the most important point, as Matt Lauer said this morning, we're in the Obama era -- we're going to talk about issues. So, I think this is an important issue, and it does need to be discussed, and liberals don't talk about it because they don't like the nuclear family, as I document in that chapter."

Gifford objected to this "liberals don't like the nuclear family" line as being a "blanket statement," and voiced her agreement with Kotb about Coulter's tone: "I think it's tone, because oftentimes, I'll hear you say something, and I'll think, well, she's right, but Ann, oh, don't say it like that because you're not going to win anybody over that way." Coulter's reponse: "I think there's a little too much discussion of tone...I think we should be talking about the substance of the book. Apparently, the tone is zippy and enticing enough that I have written six massive New York Times best sellers, so people are reading, and if nobody reads it, you're not getting the message out."

Later, Kotb continued with the tone subject by bringing up how the conservative author criticized some of the 9/11 widows, the so-called Jersey Girls: "You lost me when you were talking about the victims of 9/11 -- the wives....You called them 'griefazillas -- I've never seen someone enjoying their husbands' deaths so much.' That kind of tone, those kind of words are -- it's just a turn-off."

Coulter answered that "these women were using their victimhood in order to make political points to attack a sitting president in a time of war, to take positions in a presidential election, and to use their victimhood to say no one -- don't respond to me, I'm a victim....I mean, that is a microcosm of someone advancing while using victimhood as a shield."

Both Kotb and Gifford made light of Coulter's famously thin figure before the interview and at its conclusion. At the top of the hour, as they gave a promo of the interview, Kotb exaggerated that Coulter is "about as thin as my pinky." Gifford replied to this by using the title of the conservative's book: "That's what she's guilty of, being way too thin and wearing very little on the cover of her book." As the segment closed, Kotb tried to get Coulter to stand up to demonstrate how thin the author was: "Look how skinny she is!...You are too thin!"

During an interview of Rosie O'Donnell in May 2008, Kotb and Gifford apparently failed to find "venom" in the entertainer's past as she claimed that people misidentified her "passion for rage."

For more on Rosie O'Donnell's interview on the 'Today' show, see the May 6, 2008 CyberAlert item, "Rosie O'Donnell on NBC: Jeremiah Wright 'Made Sense to Me,'" at: www.mrc.org

The full transcript of Coulter's interview, which began 13 minutes into the 10 am Eastern hour of Wednesday's Today show:

GIFFORD, In 13 days, millions of Americans will be cheering as Barack Obama is sworn into the White House.
KOTB: It is no secret -- conservative columnist Ann Coulter will not be one of them. She is just out with her book. It's called 'Guilty: Liberal Victims and their Assault on America.' Hello, Ms. Controversial Ann.
GIFFORD: Good morning!
COULTER: So happy to be here. Thank you for having me.
KOTB: Let's start with just -- just the beginning. Okay, is this kind of like shock jock, shake the cage, freak everyone out, wake everybody up when you're -- when you're writing some of the things in this -- in this book of yours?
GIFFORD: And we're just talking about the cover.
(Kotb laughs.)
COULTER: (Laughs.) No, not really. I mean, obviously, I try to write in an entertaining, intriguing way, so that people will read what I have to say, and, of course, I have to edit it many, many times before it comes out. If it's not interesting to read, I don't even want to edit it.
GIFFORD: And other people vet it as well, right? So you have attorneys who have to look at everything.
COULTER: Yes.
GIFFORD: I mean, everybody does it when you do a book. The publishers are protecting themselves.
COULTER: Well, it's more than attorneys. I also send it out to -- I have a few liberal friends -- big news here today.
GIFFORD: Who? Name names.
COULTER: I don't want to ruin their reputations, but I always send them -- we don't have gallies, but I do send them copies of the book before it comes out, so they can tell me, you know, attack it, so I'll be prepared, and they never pick out the one line that will be elevated as, you know, me starting the next Kristallnacht. They can never guess what it's going to be, but it's like a game of 'Where's Waldo,' and they have finally given up with this book, and they say, no, we think you're going to be invited into the Obama tent.
KOTB: What?
COULTER: Everyone's going to love it this time.
GIFFORD: They were wrong though, right?
KOTB: Well, wait -- listen to this. Here's the title of chapter two -- 'Victim of a Crime? Thank a Single Mother.'
COULTER: Yes.
KOTB: That was -- that, that really caused ---
GIFFORD: That'll get your attention.
KOTB: A lot of issues so far. Explain your point.
COULTER: Thank you. Yes, actually, that's the first time -- this is the chapter that I thought ought to get the most attention. It is basically that we have, you know, 30 years of numbers on this. This is just numbers crunching in a somewhat innovative way -- that single motherhood is responsible for -- I mean, they are victimizing their children by raising their children without fathers. It's about 70% of the prison population, 60% to 70% of future unwed mothers -- of murderers, of rapists, of juvenile delinquents, of teenage runaways. You could -- you could, you know, you could solve many of the world's problems, reduce all of these problems by 60% to 70% if women would just get married before having children.
KOTB: But I think the point's valid, but I think it's when you read through it, it's all about tone. I feel like it's dripping with venom, so when you read it, you go, ugh and you just roll your eyes-
COULTER: I don't think it is.
KOTB: You don't?
COULTER: No, and I think, you know, 'Miss Dangle with an Angle,' -- everybody becomes a chaste Victorian virgin when they read my book.
GIFFORD: Well, I am one, honey. I was born in the Victorian age. So-
COULTER: Well, so was I, but that doesn't mean you can't make a joke, and suddenly, I just think there is a very different attitude, and moreover, the most important -- important point, as Matt Lauer said this morning, we're in the Obama era -- we're going to talk about issues. So, I think this is an important issue, and it does need to be discussed, and liberals don't talk about it because they don't like the nuclear family, as I document in that chapter-
KOTB: That's -- but liberals not liking-
GIFFORD: That's a blanket statement.
COULTER: And conservatives don't talk about it because they're so upset about it -- well, of course, but you have to talk in blanket statements. Conservatives don't talk about it because they're, you know -- they're so traumatized by the backlash against Dan Quayle for the Murphy Brown speech. So, no one's talking about this and millions of children are being victimized every year.
KOTB: But -- go on.
GIFFORD: No -- again, I think it's tone, because oftentimes, I'll hear you say something, and I'll think, well, she's right, but Ann, oh, don't say it like that because you're not going to win anybody over that way.
COULTER: I thought that when I heard 'dangle with an angle.'
GIFFORD: Oh, did that-
COULTER: I was shocked!
GIFFORD: I shocked Ann Coulter. I guess I've arrived. But Ann, you know what I'm saying. Are you trying to win converts, or -- because sometimes it's not the message, it's the messenger. I'm responsible for that myself. Sometimes I want something-
COULTER: I think there's a little too much discussion of tone, and, like I say, I think people do become chaste Victorian virgins when they're reading my book. I think we should be talking about the substance of the book. Apparently, the tone is zippy and enticing enough that I have written six massive New York Times best sellers, so people are reading, and if nobody reads it, you're not getting the message out. So let's get to the message.
KOTB: Just real quick -- you lost me a while ago, okay? You lost me when you were talking about the victims of 9/11 -- the wives, and you called them-
COULTER: Three books back.
KOTB: I know. But just, you know, sometimes something sticks with you. You called them 'griefazillas -- I've never seen someone enjoying their husbands' deaths so much.' That kind of tone, those kind of words are -- it's just a turn-off. So then the next time you see Ann Coulter-
COULTER: I don't think so. I mean, 'Godless' was the best-selling of all of my books so far, and there were important points in that book, including that point, which is a microcosm of the whole point of this book, and that is these women were using their victimhood in order to make political points to attack a sitting president in a time of war, to take positions in a presidential election, and to use their victimhood to say no one -- don't respond to me, I'm a victim.
GIFFORD: But here's the problem-
COULTER: But you know there were also families -- widows from the 9/11 attack, and I heard from a lot of them, and they --
KOTB: Yes, you did.
COULTER: And they were with me on those 'Jersey Girls,' because they supported President Bush, and they weren't out there saying, 'And you can't criticize me. You must vote for President Bush because I'm a widow.' I mean, that is a microcosm of someone advancing while using victimhood as a shield.
GIFFORD: But is this getting us anywhere in terms of the dialogue between liberal -- I mean, the worst thing that happened is the partisanship and the venom on both sides that keeps us from -- yes, we discuss things, but we don't find -- we're not finding solutions.
COULTER: Well-
KOTB: Yeah, because of this.
COULTER: I'm in favor of that dialogue, which is why I'm so happy I'm here. I would like to engage in dialogue. I sure sense a lot of venom coming my way. I think I'm just selling jokes.
GIFFORD: Not from us, though.
COULTER: No, no, no, no. I'm not saying that.
GIFFORD: I hope you're not saying that. We don't want to be venomous to anybody.
COULTER: No, no, no, I'm not saying that about you.
KOTB: But what's -- give me a solution to the single mother problem -- the single mother problem.
COULTER: I would love to give you a solution, and it's in the chapter.
KOTB: What is the solution?
COULTER: I mean, this has been a 30-year plan. You reverse the plan -- first, with the courts. It started in the '70s when the courts basically stopped acknowledging the law of marriage, which is, if a man wants rights to his child, he best be married to the mother before he has the child. If the mother wants income from the father, she better be married to the father. The Supreme Court overturned that in the '70s saying that unwed fathers could come in and start disrupting adoptions, and you remember all those 'Baby Richard' cases. Well, that was the beginning of it. Now, you know, all these state laws we have had to create, like paternity registries, so if a man has sex with a woman-
KOTB: So it's a legal thing. You think this is all a legal thing.
GIFFORD: The glamorization, you say -- the Hollywood glamorization of the unwed mother. I wish we could sit and talk.
COULTER: Thank you.
KOTB: They're playing the music. We've got to go, Ann Coulter. Look how skinny she is!
GIFFORD: Can you come back tomorrow?
COULTER: I would love to.
KOTB: Can you stand up for one second? Just stand up for one second-
COULTER: I am not standing up.
KOTB: You are too thin!
GIFFORD: Don't sexualize the woman.
KOTB: I'm just saying-
COULTER: Hang from a ski lift.
GIFFORD: And dangle her angle or whatever. Her book is called what?
KOTB: It's called 'Guilty: Liberals and their Assault on America.'

ABC Series Searches for 'Ugly Americans';
Anti-Immigrant Bigotry

The first of a "What Would You Do?" series of Prime Time programs attempted to see how real people would react to racism or over-the-top behavior. As part of the experiment, host John Quinones introduced "Bob" and "Bonnie," actors sent to Paris to represent obnoxious U.S. citizens. Quinones began the segment by cheerfully explaining, "They're the ugly Americans. And for more than a century, they've been fixtures in American literature and film."

[This item, by the MRC's Scott Whitlock, was posted Wednesday afternoon, with video, on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ]

Justifying the U.S.-bashing piece, he added: "So, why have we brought 'What Would You Do?' here to Paris? Well, we all know the stereotype. The loud, clueless American, oblivious to French manners and culture, and the haughty French, who seem to relish putting them in their place." The walking stereotypes were clearly designed to be what members of the media see as Red Staters. At one point, the very loud Bob is decked out in a Dallas Cowboys jersey.

Later, Bob could be seen with his pro-Bush shirt. An almost bemused Quinones narrated, "Apparently, not everyone is amused by our couple's t-shirts or their politics. This woman is German." The unidentified female derided, "This is nearly as if I had a t-shirt, 'I like Hitler,' you know?"

At no point did Quinones stop the woman or challenge her comparison of the democratically elected Bush to a genocidal murderer. This is quite the contrast to how he dealt with a belligerent American earlier in the show. That section featured a fake cashier in a New Jersey deli. With the hidden cameras rolling, the program attempted to see if real people would adopt the prejudice of the actors hired by ABC. A customer repeatedly insulted a pretend illegal alien who was attempting to purchase coffee. (Again, the day laborer and the cashier were network plants.)

Unlike the hateful German, Quinones later berated the customer until he recanted his comments and apologized. The ABC host also lumped together racists, such as the man in the deli, and those who oppose illegal immigration and its effects. Just after featuring the footage of the angry customer, the special cut to a clip of Americans protesting illegal immigration. Quinones lectured, "It's a highly charged, volatile subject with emotions running high on both sides over legal and illegal immigrants and whether they have a right to be here."

The correspondent also highlighted Jack Dovidio, a Yale professor, who continued to make the connection. Responding to a snippet of Quinones dealing with the belligerent deli customer, he explained, "When you're threatened, you think in terms of category. Who's part of my group? Who's not part of my group?"

Finally, 25 minutes into the special, the anchor let slip an admission that completely undermined the whole concept of the show. Regarding the experiment and whether or not people would stand up to the bigoted cashier in the deli, Quinones admitted: "During our experiment, a total of 88 people came into the store. 49 of them didn't get involved at all. Nine sided with the cashier, and most of them were unabashedly forthright about their feelings. But the fact is, 30 customers stood up and spoke out in defense of the day laborers."

So, those Americans who did get involved, stood up and opposed the racism of the cashier? This is the very definition of burying the lead. Apparently Quinones didn't think this was important enough to mention at the top of the program.

ABC previewed the special on Tuesday's Good Morning America. For more on that, see a NewsBusters post: newsbusters.org

A partial transcript of the segment, which aired at 10pm EST on January 6, follows:

JOHN QUINONES: Before things get out of control, we decide to introduce ourselves. This was an experiment about racism.
DARICK MAXIS (CUSTOMER): I'm not racism. [sic] I'm not a racist.
QUINONES: Just tell us why. Can you just tell us why you said those things about these folks?
MAXIS: What are you? Are you Mexican also?
QUINONES: Yes. Mexican American also.
MAXIS: So what? I just did something racist also?
QUINONES: Well, I'm just asking. Do you think it was? You told them to get out of here, that you were gonna call the cops.
MAXIS: That's right, because they asked them to leave.
QUINONES: You told them not to look at your money.
MAXIS: Jeez, man.
QUINONES: You don't know if they're here legally or illegally, do you? Yale psychology professor, Jack DoVideo. In the heat of the moment, he even says to me, "What, are you Mexican?"
DOCTOR JACK DOVIDIO (DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY): When you're threatened, you think in terms of category. Who's part of my group? Who's not part of my group? And at that moment, you were not part of his group.
MAXIS: I'm a working hard black man. Life is a struggle. You know what, you know what I think? I think they're taking our jobs because we ain't got no jobs. So, you leave me alone. You don't know -- where the heck I've been.
QUINONES: People are angry.
MAXIS: Yes, we are angry. We are. We're really angry.
QUINONES: He is right. [B-roll of illegal immigration protests.] It's a highly charged, volatile subject with emotions running high on both sides over legal and illegal immigrants and whether they have a right to be here.
DELI "CASHIER": Out. Vamonos.
QUINONES: But when it comes to something as simple as being served a cup of coffee, why should any of that matter? After watching us for half an hour as we repeat the experiment, Darick Maxis, who earlier threatened to kick the Latinos out, seems to undergo a total transformation. Looking back now at what happened, what would you tell those Latino workers?
MAXIS: I would have told them I'm sorry the way I, you know, I talked to them. Yeah. I'll be a man and say it because when I'm wrong, I'm wrong.
QUINONES: As a Mexican American and a former migrant worker, I wanted to see for myself what would happen if I posed as a day laborer. Mario joins me.
10:20 QUINONES: During our experiment, a total of 88 people came into the store. 49 of them didn't get involved at all. Nine sided with the cashier, and most of them were unabashedly forthright about their feelings. But the fact is, 30 customers stood up and spoke out in defense of the day laorers.
10:25pm
QUINONES: But forget about Carrie and her Manolo Blahniks because today, someone else is checking in. Meet Bonnie and her husband, Bob.
["Bonnie" and "Bob" walking through Paris.]
JEFF NATHAN (ACTOR): Howdy.
QUINONES: They've come all the way here from Paris. Paris, Texas, that is. They're loud.
WEISS: Whoa. Gee, that's big.
QUINONES: They're obnoxious.
WEISS: Dang.
QUINONES: And they don't know the difference between haute cuisine and oatmeal.
WEISS: We're in Paris.
QUINONES: They're the ugly Americans. And for more than a century, they've been fixtures in American literature and film. From the novels of Henry James to movies like "National Lampoon's European Vacation."

....

QUINONES: So, why have we brought 'What Would You Do?' here to Paris? Well, we all know the stereotype. The loud, clueless American, oblivious to French manners and culture, and the haughty French, who seem to relish putting them in their place. But just how true is that stereotype? And just how ugly do Americans have to get before the French rise up and shout "non."

....

HEATHER STIMMLER-HALL (FRENCH ETIQUETTE EXPERT): Faux pas is French. They have a lot of faux pas. They are the masters of what not to do, yes.
QUINONES: Heather Stimmler-Hall who moved to Paris from Colorado 13 years ago is an expert on French etiquette. She gives American tourists a course on how to behave, the dos and the don'ts. And here's our faux pas number one. Don't dress like you've come to mow their lawn.
STIMMLER-HALL: You're in the fashion capital of the world and people notice your clothes. They notice your shoes. You know, you could be even Bill Gates. He's not going to get very well treated either if he's wearing shorts and a T-shirt and a baseball cap.

....

["Bob" is wearing a "Bush '08" t-shirt.]
QUINONES: Apparently, not everyone is amused by our couple's t-shirts or their politics. This woman is German.
DINER (FEMALE): This is nearly as if I had a t-shirt, 'I like Hitler,' you know? Yeah. Aaah!

-- Brent Baker