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:: Tuesday, September 07, 2004 ::
Carville Spins "Po' ol' Senator Zell"
What’s a spinmeister to do when a prominent player on his team delivers a crushing indictment of the competence and policies of his presidential candidate as Sen. Zell Miller (D-GA) did at the Republican National Convention?
No problem for James Carville: You simply ignore the deadly content of the speech and strongly suggest early senility. Simultaneously, you shake your head sadly over how pitiful it all is to see such a grand old senator and former client manipulated so cynically by scheming Republicans.
Miller, who is only 72 and appears extraordinarily fit and feisty, excoriated Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry’s record in the Senate and elsewhere and said Kerry apparently thought America could be defended with “spitballs.”
But in response to all questions on NBC News’ Meet the Press Sept. 5, Carville avoided the specifics of Miller’s speech and in less than 10 minutes floated the following:
“It's a shame they put that poor man out there in the twilight of his career with a bunch of half-truths. Then they put him on TV after, out there making a fool of himself.”
“You know, it's a shame, because Senator Miller's had a distinguished mid-career, and I'm very sad for him and the people that work for him.”
“I love Senator Zell. I'm just so angry at what those cynical Republicans did to him, putting him up and making him says stuff that is indefensible.”
Carville also wanted his listeners to know that “po’ ol’ Senator Zell” wasn’t to blame for the speech in any case. Carville said the speech was written for him by White House Political Strategist and the Democrats' favorite bête noir Karl Rove.
The problem with this final bank-shot spin was that Carville’s wife, GOP Political Strategist Mary Matalan, was also on Meet the Press and the following exchange ensued:
Matalan: “I think I know who wrote Miller's speech.”
Carville: “You know?”
Matalan: “Senator Miller wrote his own speech.”
No one ever said life in the spin factory is a bowl of berries.
:: James Baar 9/07/2004 09:23:00 AM [+] ::
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