Networks

Wallace v. Clinton

By Patrick on September 25, 2006 10:21 AM

wallaceclinton.jpg

Seems like it’s all anyone can talk about this morning.

Later today, in our Poll of the Day, we’ll give you a chance to weigh in on who’s side you took during yesterday’s Clinton v. Wallace interview on Fox News Sunday (and see our interview with Wallace yesterday).

But for now, here are some of the interesting things we’re thinking about:

  • Surprisingly, only half of the interview (we did a rough word count search of the transcript) was taken up with the “tense” part, even though it did seem like it dominated the entire conversation.

  • What will this mean for this weekend’s Sunday ratings? Meet the Press was delayed in most markets due to the Ryder Cup, which means that this weekend’s #1 slot could be up for grabs. Fox News Sunday, which almost always places last, could pull off a surprising victory this week, especially since they were able to heavily promote their taped interview (knowing well in advance that this was going to be a goodie).

  • TVNewser notes that Fox may be loving this interview. “Fox News Channel has mentioned Chris Wallace’s contentious interview with Bill Clinton several times an hour, every hour, so far today.”

  • See Howie Kurtz’s piece on it today.

  • Here’s the segment from “Reliable Sources” about the interview.

  • From the AP:

      Wallace said Sunday he was surprised by Clinton’s “conspiratorial view” of “a very non-confrontational question, ‘Did you do enough to connect the dots and go after Al Qaida?’”

      “All I did was ask him a question, and I think it was a legitimate news question. I was surprised that he would conjure up that this was a hit job,” Wallace said in a telephone interview.

      Clinton said he “worked hard” to try to kill bin Laden.

      “We contracted with people to kill him. I got closer to killing him than anybody’s gotten since,” he said.

      He told Wallace, “And you got that little smirk on your face and you think you’re so clever, but I had responsibility for trying to protect this country. I tried and I failed to get bin Laden. I regret it, but I did try and I did everything I thought I responsibly could.”

      The interview was taped Friday during Clinton’s three-day Global Initiative conference.

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