Uniquely among Friday's broadcast network evening newscasts, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams gave his viewers a glimpse into the undignified exit from the White House endured by the Dalai Lama, who was made to walk past a number of trash bags as President Obama sought to keep the Chinese government from noticing the meeting. A photograph of Tibet's exiled Buddhist spiritual leader walking past the bags was shown as the NBC host read the piece.
Below is a transcript of the news item from the Friday, February 19, NBC Nightly News, as read by Brian Williams:
How do you ask the Dalai Lama to leave the White House if you're trying to keep his visit from becoming too public? Well, judging from the trash bags that he had to walk around, the Obama White House had him exit through a door seldom used by anybody but household staff. It's where the West Wing meets the main residence. China, however, did notice the visit and called in the U.S. ambassador to China today to protest.
-Brad Wilmouth is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.