The unbelievable truth: "Tucker Carlson calls it for Kerry"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/#tucker

Tucker Carlson calls it for Kerry

Here's yet another October surprise: the bow-tied wonderboy is calling the election for Kerry. That's right -- "Crossfire's" Tucker Carlson predicts in a "2004 Crystal Ball" roundup for the Opinion section of the Sunday Washington Post that the Democrat will win with 51.5 percent of the popular vote and 278 electoral votes. As a blogger over at Daily Kos uncharitably remarks, "Perhaps Jon Stewart slapped some sense into him after all."

You will be less bug-eyed to hear that Ann Coulter, that voice of dispassionate analysis, calls it for Bush (52 to 47, popular, 317 to 221, electoral) as does Fox News gabber Tony Snow and the Weekly Standard's heavily war-bunkered neocon Bill Kristol, by the same popular margin. The Wonkette and public radio host Kojo Nnamdi give it to Kerry.

-- David Talbot

<12:40 PDT, Oct. 30, 2004>

[OldLeftieLawyer]

1. Coulter

Richard Belzer, on Real Time With Ball Maher, called her "a fascist party doll."

She needs to get beat up by a bunch of us left-wing chicks.

[POAS]

3. I'd pay per view that!!!!! n/t

[gjb]

I'll hold your coat until you're finished.

[Darth_Kitten]

4. LOL

If you need some muscle, I'm ready and willing. ;) :evilgrin:

[robmc88]

6. Thats HOT!!!!

Growwwwwwwlllllllllll....

[muchacho]

9. Haaa haaaa

I hope that makes it to iFilms.

[melody]

23. Can we feel up Belzer instead? :)

Sorry, hormones raging.

[LynnTheDem]

24. Let's rumble.

I've wanted to punch her lights out for a long time now.

[Ilsa]

2. See? Tucker isn't all bad.

He's my favorite of all the rw'ers on CNN.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

5. 52 Percent Shrub!!!

She must be sniffing glue again.

I grant the slim chance that * slimes his way to another selection, but no way on God's green earth will he get 52% of the popular vote.

[saccheradi]

20. slim chance? Who's side are you on anyway???

[Polly Glot]

7. I seem to recall Crashcart in a recent interview saying the same thing...

Namely, that Shrub will win 52 to 47. Is that the margin the neocons plan to use when they steal the votes?!?

[muchacho]

8. finally

as big a weasel as Tucker is I think he's hated Bush since interviewing him in Texas when Bush mocked Karla Fey Tucker leading for her life.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

13. Carlson on Karen Hughes: "A lot of people like her. I'm not one of them"

http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2003/09/13/carlson/index.html

Q: ...What about your profile of George W. Bush in Talk in 1999? That had to be the most damaging profile of him yet written -- swearing like a truck driver, making fun of Karla Faye Tucker's death penalty appeals, mimicking her saying, "Don't kill me!" -- because of its high profile, and because of your access to him. Did that bring you flak from conservatives?

Carlson: Well, it's always disconcerting when something you write is received in a way you don't expect. I have no problem hurting someone's feelings -- obviously, I work on "Crossfire" -- but when you don't expect to, it's disconcerting. As I put in the book, the day before I filed the piece my wife asked, "Aren't people going to think you're sucking up?" And that was my concern, that people would think it's a suck-up piece.

Q: And the response from team Bush?

Carlson: It was very, very hostile. The reaction was: You betrayed us. Well, I was never there as a partisan to begin with. Then I heard that (on the campaign bus, Bush communications director) Karen Hughes accused me of lying. And so I called Karen and asked her why she was saying this, and she had this almost Orwellian rap that she laid on me about how things she'd heard -- that I watched her hear -- she in fact had never heard, and she'd never heard Bush use profanity ever. It was insane. I've obviously been lied to a lot by campaign operatives, but the striking thing about the way she lied was she knew I knew she was lying, and she did it anyway. There is no word in English that captures that. It almost crosses over from bravado into mental illness.

They get carried away, consultants do, in the heat of the campaign, they're really invested in this. A lot of times they really like the candidate. That's all conventional. But on some level, you think, there's a hint of recognition that there is reality -- even if they don't recognize reality exists -- there is an objective truth. With Karen you didn't get that sense at all. A lot of people like her. A lot of people I know like her. I'm not one of them.

[truthpusher]

10. Ann Coulter is a man and Tucker Carlson is a Dick!

[regnaD kciN]

11. Yes, but...

...I'll bet you 10-to-1 that this was written before the October Semi-Surprise, which, of course, "changes everything."

:eyes:

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

15. Check the date stamp: "12:40 PDT, Oct. 30, 2004"

...also the reference to more of this on The Daily Kos, which I didn't check out.

It's a roll of the Rove dice. Before the OBL vid, people like John Zogby started calling the race for Kerry. So Rove needed a disruption that would last several days, and he got what he wanted.

But Bush has a problem "being in the moment." Kerry took a step back during the Swift Boat mess, but...as I've read in many articles...he now knows that even if it's not his preferred way of winning the election, he is GOING to have to take down George Bush...HARD. Anyone with half a brain can see the way Kerry has risen to the challenge, so that (by default) leaves out Emperor Bunnypants.

I'm seeing at least a 50-50 ratio on the buzz surrounding the OBL tape. Half the people are saying that it will remind people of how they need a president who can protect them from terror (the currently hypnotized masses). What's interesting is they're repeating the Bush talking points but they are not necessarily saying that the president should BE Bush...just one who will protect them. The fact that OBL made that tape is proof that Bush...in the last four years...has basically "protected" DICK. And I'm not talkin' Cheney, folks...

The other half realizes that if Bush had been doing his job, the only place OBL would be filming "America's Funniest Radical Islamic Home Videos" would be in HELL.

The second half is GROWING...and out-distancing the first half...because Kerry is making some serious noise about this.

:toast:

[snowbear]

12. LOL.....

..."She needs to get beat up by a bunch of us left-wing chicks"

Too funny coulter!!

(p.s. call me when you're ready to go! ;) )

[Deja Q]

14. Fuc... oops, Tucker is merely using reverse psychology to get the

repukes out of the woodwork.

So Tucker is a fucker.

[Killarney]

16. carlson's repulsive, but smart

[chimp chump]

17. Interesting to see this

I think Carlson has a certain strain of independent thinking that does distinguish him somewhat from the usual rightwing coterie and their daily talking point bile. I don't see him in the same clique with Limbaugh or Hannity or O'Reilly or Coulter and the other usual mouthpieces.

Well, maybe they just won't invite him to join their club. Still, I notice that he sometimes seems to give his own opinions, not just the day's GOP talking points from the usual fax distributions.

[wiggs]

18. McLaughlin Group goes to Kerry, 3-2

Blankley and Buchanon were really trying hard to say that the week went well for Bush and that he has the edge in the election. Sounded very insincere.

McLaughlin was clearly asking hard questions about Bush's administration, challenging the Republican surrogates time after time.

In the end O'Donnell, McLaughlin, and the other progressive voice made clear, rational points and ended up agreeing that Kerry takes it all.

[chimp chump]

19. The McLaughlin Group...

...is far less interesting and relevant than even McLaughlin himself is. They make him look much smarter than he is. It was a much better show 5-10 years ago with Jack Germond and Kondracke and the others. I used to never miss it. Nowadays, they're all second-rate commentators if you ask me.

But thanks for the report on it. We'll see how well they predicted it. The only real surprise here is McLaughlin picking Kerry to win. I wouldn't have expected that at all.

[HR_Pufnstuf]

21. Tucker who??

[DeepModem Mom]

22. kick