Paul Begala DESTROYS Ari Fleischer on Anderson Cooper 360

[FourScore]

Paul Begala DESTROYS Ari Fleischer on Anderson Cooper 360
by bottlerocketheart
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Tue Apr 21, 2009 at 08:01:34 PM PDT

I don't always agree with Begala, but tonight he took Ari Fleischer - a man who currently spends much of his time waterboarding semantics in order to defend the crimes of the Bush Administration - down to the closest beverage establishment, sat him down at the bar, and served him a tall refreshing glass of Shut The Fuck Up.

The topic was the recent release of the torture memos. On one side, Ari Fleischer, who wondered aloud if the declassifying of state secrets opens a Pandora's Box of prosecution, one that sets a precedent for the next administration to investigate every evil Obama will commit (because in Fleischer's twisted view, every president must commit at least one human rights violation per term as a matter of course).

On the other side, Paul Begala, feisty Clintonite-cum-CNN's token Democrat, who said a lot of good things about how Obama was compelled, by a lawsuit, to release the torture memos - and how it must be a change of pace for Ari to experience a president who actually bent to the will of the law.

Which was a nice little zinger - but not the main course.

Credit (very little credit, but credit nonetheless) must go to Anderson Cooper, who pressed Fleischer on the question of torture. See, the whole interview, Fleischer squirmed around the issue of actually acknowledging torture took place. He referred to waterboarding as an 'advanced interrogation technique', for instance. To which Cooper responded to the effect of, "If waterboarding isn't torture, why did the CIA destroy evidence of it?"

Fleischer's reply, verbatim: "The CIA destroys lots of things. That's what they do."

He then went on to state that he didn't believe waterboarding was torture. It was close, but it wasn't torture - and therefore, Bush was not lying when he said "We do not torture".

Enter Paul Begala. I wish I could find the video to show you because this was fucking classic:

We executed Japanese soldiers for waterboarding American POWs after World War II. Executed them, for the same crimes that we are committing today.

Thus ensued a good five seconds of the most satisfying awkward television silence I have ever experienced in my young life.

To Mr. Begala: kudos, sir. Kudos.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/4/21/722957/-Paul-Begala-DESTROYS-Ari-Fleischer-on-Anderson-Cooper-360

[BlooInBloo]

1. It's a lot easier when the truth is on your side.

[ananda]

2. Ari Fleischer is made of nothing but smarm and slime.

Begala's steel knowledge and wit would
slice right through it without leaving
a mark....

.... except in our minds, of course.

Smiling smiley.

[cliffordu]

3. I hope that phrase becomes the usual response to idiots defending the Bushies -

"We executed Japanese for waterboarding after WWII"

That's all that needs to be said. Perfect.

[Solly Mack]

4. K&R

Bet that was priceless

[JimGinPA]

5. I Saw It - I Thought I Lost The Audio Feed Momentarily

:rofl:


:spank:


:applause:

[aquart]

6. What else does the CIA destroy, Ari?

Is "destroying lots of things" the mission of the CIA?

[MajorChode]

7. US soldiers were court martialed for waterboarding as far back as 100 years ago

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=1356870

How the dipshits in the Bush administration can deem it as "legal" is beyond fucked up.

[tkmorris]

8. We court martialed a guy in Vietnam for it

[MajorChode]

23. A Major in the Spanish-American War got 10 years of hard labor for it

Both instances are mentioned in the ABC article.

[saltpoint]

9. Ari was stunned, in part because he wasn't anywhere near as prepared as

Begala, plus defending the Bush administration is a doomed commitment to start with.

Ari never had to face that sort of treatment at FOX!

[Skittles]

12. you know things are bad for the GOP

when they're recycling such tired old hacks as Cheney, Rove and Ari Fucking Fleischer

[saltpoint]

16. Hi, Skittles. Yep. The parade of wretches and thieves continues in the

media.

They gave Jindal are tv gig and he definitely blew it.

Sarah Palin tried a late-hour attack on Governor Sebelious' nomination and that went nowhere fast.

So instead they dug up Gingrich and Ari and Uncle Dick. Good god.

[Lex]

17. It's fast becoming clear: the GOP's got nothing.

NOTHING. Lost. In. The. Wilderness.

[burning rain]

22. It's a mark of their sorry state that.....

Fleischer is among their best teevee performers. I'm sadistic enough that I want to see poor little Zach Wamp thrown to Begala sometime!

[sampsonblk]

10. YouTube has it up (link here)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpdLS2GjSmk


That was good shit!!

[Raine]

11. THANKS for that link

GREAT stuff!!! :thumbsup:

[Omnibus]

15. Beautiful.

When Ari Fleischer went into this interview, he knew his main goal was to keep clouding the issue, to try to keep pretending the question of whether it's torture is partisan (it isn't) and undecided (it's not). He had to stall and dissemble. Bullshitting is the only move he has left, but he's not worried, because he's good at it.

At about 2:50, though, we get a glimpse into Ari's brain. We can see that he KNOWS he's wrong, KNOWS he doesn't have a defense. he realizes that the bullshit isn't working, it CAN'T work, there's not a shovel big enough to move the crap it would take to bury the torture issue. He's screwed and so are all his bosses.

He's a pro: after 5 seconds, he recovers, and comes out with a snooty little snippet about "judge, jury, and executioner"; unoriginal, week, and especially ironic from a member of an administration that OKed "indefinite retention".

But for 5 seconds, he knew he was full of crap, and he knew WE knew it, too.

[malaise]

19. That pause was priceless

stunned silence.

[Cha]

25. Good summary, for especially

those like me who didn't see it..thanks!

[bridgit]

13. As are they all: Fleischer is a tad some rabid these days needs some putting down

Go Paul!

[BurtWorm]

18. And a tiresome rabbit.

:patriot:

[and-justice-for-all]

14. Fleischer stepped into a bear trap...priceless...nt

[JVS]

20. "The CIA destroys lots of things. That's what they do."

LOL

[ArbustoBuster]

21. It's hard to overstate my rage at Fleischer.

Begala confronts him directly with the fact that "calm, nonpartisan" (to use Fleischer's term) people already made the decision after World War Two that waterboarding is torture and deserves the death penalty, and that fucking weasel Fleischer starts in by saying that Begala has declared himself judge, jury, and executioner.

No, Ari, you disgusting maggot, Begala has answered your question. You, Ari, said that you wanted calm and nonpartisan people to decide what is and isn't torture. Begala said that the question had been answered decades ago and that you're being a fucking lying sack of shit.

And I happen to agree with him.

Now go do the sensible thing and flee to a country without an extradition treaty, please. It will save us the expense of a trial.

[Cha]

24. Thank you, Paul Begala..somebody

needs to smack down that squirming worm, ari fleicher.

[CrazyN00b]

26. Too Good to be True. Begala was wrong.

The few number of Japanese executed were guilty of many offenses including a much harsher form of water boarding(i.e. rather than simulating drowning with mere sensation, lots of water actually went into the mouth). Given how much we know about the extraordinary brutality of the Japanese in the the Bataan death march and Nanjing, the idea that some would be executed for that is so obviously suspect I feel embarrassed for those who actually took Begala's claim at face value...

[Binka]

27. HHHAAAAAHHHAAAAAAHHHAAAAA

Get Lost

[Sugarcoated]

28. Ari's joining us on the DU

Did you put some ointment on that hurtin' toush? Begala layed a power sander on your poopshoot :rofl: