By James Taranto
CBS response: Huh? Did someone say something?
By now you probably know that President Obama on Saturday finally put out a clear statement supporting the antiregime protesters in Iran as we and many others spent much of last week urging. What you may not know is that the president actually changed his tune on Friday--and not just in a written statement but in a TV interview. The comments did not air on Friday however apparently because flatfooted journalists at CBS failed to realize their significance.
Heres the pertinent portion from the transcript of Harry Smiths interview with the president:
Smith: Lets move on to news of the day. The Ayatollah Khamenei gave his--speech today and gave his sermon. He said that the election in Iran was in fact legitimate. He said quote/unquote the street--street demonstrations are unacceptable. Do you have a message for those people in the street?
Obama: I absolutely do. Well first of all lets understand that this notion that somehow these hundreds of thousands of people who are pouring into the streets in Iran are somehow responding to the West or the United States. thats an old distraction that I think has been trotted out periodically. And thats just not gonna fly.
What youre seeing in Iran are hundreds of thousands of people who believe their voices were not heard and who are peacefully protesting and--and seeking justice. And the world is watching. And we stand behind those who are seeking justice in a peaceful way. And you know already weve seen violence out there. I think Ive said this throughout the week. I want to repeat it that we stand with those who would look to peaceful resolution of conflict and we believe that the voices of people have to be heard that thats a universal value that the American people stand for and this administration stands for.
And Im very concerned based on some of the tenor and tone of the statements that have been made that the government of Iran recognize that the world is watching. And how they approach and deal with people who are through peaceful means trying to be heard will I think send a pretty clear signal to the international community about what Iran is--and is not.
But the last point I want to make on this--this is not an issue of the United States or the West versus Iran. This is an issue of the Iranian people. The fact that they are on the streets under pretty severe duress at great risk to themselves is a sign that theres something in that society that wants to open up.
As HotAir.coms Allahpundit notes however the two paragraphs weve put in bold above were cut from the interview excerpts aired on the CBS Evening News. Thus Katie Courics viewers did not hear the president say publicly for the first time that we stand behind those who are seeking justice in a peaceful way and that theres something in that society that wants to open up.
They heard instead the familiar refrains: We respect Irans sovereignty and The last thing that I want to do is to have the United States be a foil for those forces inside Iran who would love nothing better than to make this an argument about the United States.
Somehow CBS found this week-old mush more newsworthy than Obamas first clear statement of support for the Iranians.
The White House appears to have wanted to make news with Obamas new toughness. The CBS Evening News airs at 6:30 ET and the interview excerpts led Fridays broadcast.
At 6:48--after the segment had aired but before the broadcast was complete--the White House blog posted the full exchange under the title The President on Iran: The World Is Watching.
This does not seem to have drawn much notice--who knew the White House had a blog?--and on Saturday the White House press secretarys office issued the written statement reiterating the points that had ended up on CBSs cutting room floor:
The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.
As I said in Cairo suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent not coercion.
Martin Luther King once said--The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice. I believe that. The international community believes that. And right now we are bearing witness to the Iranian peoples sic belief in that truth and we will continue to bear witness.
This was widely reported. Obama got his message out albeit a day late. But CBS could have reported it on Friday and it would have had a big scoop. How could the network have missed it?
What we have here is a failure to communicate and the ultimate responsibility must be laid at the feet of the communicator--i.e. the president. Obama excels at conveying an attitude of calm detachment which is a good skill for a leader to have in a time of crisis.
But it may be that he was too good at it in this case--that he failed to provide the emotional cues that would have made it clear to the folks at CBS that he was saying something new and important.
But ideological bias at CBS might also have played a role. The Weekly Standards Michael Goldfarb following a CBS newsmans Twitter feed had a mildly shocking Saturday report that bolsters this suspicion (Goldfarb is quoting the Twitter tweets verbatim):
CBS White House correspondent Mark Knoller has been doing some in-depth reporting on the presidents trip to an ice cream parlor this afternoon. He reports that Obama had vanilla frozen custard in a cup with hot fudge and toasted almonds. He reports that Sasha had a Brownie sundae: vanilla frozen yogurt hot fudge cherry sprinkles and whipped cream (which she asked Dad to scrape off). He reports that Malia had vanilla frozen custart in a waffle cone. And Youre gonna laff: Obama & the girls actually bought Frozen Puppy pops for Bo: flavors: pumpkin peanut butter and yogurt…
When some twitterers complained that maybe President Obamas time could be better spent given the crisis in Iran Knoller responded Surprised by the outrage at the ice cream outing. What is it you expect or want the US to do about Iran? Attack? War?
Let us first say a word in defense of reporters like Knoller.
Their fascination with Obama trivia is embarrassing but understandable. The White House beat has to be a horribly tedious job as it consists mostly of waiting around in case news happens. If their love for Obama brings a little magic into their otherwise joyless lives it would be churlish to begrudge them that even if it means the rest of us are subjected to fluff like White House Dog Photographed Remains Cute (Washington Post).
And we reject as false the choice between enjoying an ice cream cone and addressing the crisis in Iran.
But Knollers taunting of his critics--What is it you expect or want the US to do about Iran? Attack? War?--is revealing.
The idea that those who criticized Obamas weak stance last week did so because they desired war is fairly widespread but it is a highly partisan notion and a kooky one at that. It seems obvious that if the regime in Tehran falls the risk of war will be substantially reduced. Knoller is a reporter. Hes not supposed to be a partisan much less a kooky partisan.
Then again Helen Thomas is 87 and the best medical evidence suggests that people who live that long eventually die. Maybe Knoller is angling to take her place as American journalisms crazy old aunt in the attic.
