Keith's follow up to Blackwell's interview last night

NEW YORK - We have been inviting Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell to appear on Countdown since we began to cover the voting irregularities story on November 8th.

It struck me as not quite coincidental that he finally joined us the same day the Ohio GOP issued what might be the first Republican recognition of any kind that there are questions about the vote - a news release with the gaudy headline “Democrats Struggle to Justify Unnecessary Recount / (Jesse) Jackson swoops in to fuel conspiracy theories even Kerry lawyers admit are baseless.”



While it was the Greens and Libertarians filing for the recount, the Republicans seemed to prefer silence. But after Jackson spoke in Columbus Sunday and Cincinnati Monday, suddenly Mr. Blackwell was available. “I think what happened,” he said, “is that Jesse Jackson ran around the block and tried to get out in front of a parade that was already on the march.”

That’s an odd phrase. Show of hands, please! Who out of the 20% who believe the election is illegitimate would have believed that a Republican state official would ever compare an Ohio recount to “a parade that was already on the march”? Sounds like a campaign phrase - for Democrats.

Suddenly the recount itself seems like an old pal to Ohio’s top election official. Last week, the incoming president of the association of county election officials mused out loud about a suit to stop the Glibs, so I asked Blackwell if he was saying that his office would take no step to try to prevent the recount. “Once they ask for a recount, we will provide them with a recount… we will regard this as yet another audit of the voting process.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240/

did you see the stupid smile on his face the whole time

i wish i could wipe that silly smile off of his smug-puke face

was appropriately skeptical of Blackwell and "spread" him on the record nicely.....it was good journalism in my opinion.

Jesse blah blah blah!

:hi:

Jackson says something useful. }(

:hi:

he states so toward the end of the blog entry :D

it seemed that Blackwell had certain talking points and just steamrolled his way through. I replied last night to a different thread that it also appeared to me that he is going to try to discredit anyone that tries to question anything. Sounds like Rove to me!

Keith didn't have to say jack shit. Blackwell looked worse than a snake oil salesman. He repeated himself. He simply looked shifty. I think Keith was very smart. He just let the man speak for himself ..... and he did ..... on and on and on.

and kept mispronouncing words.

Nervous Nelly, that one.

So, instead, I went for a straight yes-or-no on the latest ‘sources say’ story from the many and varied internets: did he, or did he not, meet with President Bush, in Ohio, on election day. “That’s just hogwash, absolutely zero, not true. And it’s the sort of mythology that grows out of, you know, a lot of people with a lot of time on their hands and the imaginations of Jonathan Swift.” While earning points for referencing the author of Gulliver’s Travels, Secretary Blackwell also threw a gauntlet down at the feet of the net’s Baker Streets Irregulars: there darn well better not be anybody willing to swear an oath they saw such a meeting take place.

We had no expectations that this interview was going to produce a “Eureka” moment and we were correct. But the salient point seems to be that -- as was meekly forecast here some time ago -- as the prospect of the actual recount loomed, the story would be driven into the mainstream media. Why, even CNN’s Inside Politics interviewed Jackson briefly Monday - and the Reverend’s use of the new F-word (fraud) seemingly motivated Blackwell to go on the record (and bring up Jackson’s presence in Ohio eight times after I stopped asking him about Jackson).

I did not see the CNN interview, but I am told Jackson did not repeat his strong weekend comments about Kerry supporting the Ohio investigations, which to me implies again that the only people more sensitive to the prospect of Kerry participation in the recount than the Republican Party, is the Democratic Party. This eludes my capability for analysis beyond what I have written here previously about the pulling back of last week’s news release by the Ohio Dems because it read the Kerry/Edwards campaign “joins” the recount, and its replacement a few hours later by an otherwise identical statement saying the Kerry/Edwards campaign “participates in” the process.

There is more parsing going on here - by both parties - than at a reunion of the Ken Starr fan club.

For the record, Jesse Jackson is scheduled to join us Tuesday night on Countdown, with the caveat that his day planner is notoriously fluid - so if he’s not there, don’t assume he’s been - I don’t know - fired.

I would say Jessie took his rightful place, as a leader for justice. Kinda like giving the homeboys a boost. I doubt anyone there, wanted to have Jessie stand in the back of the bus. I am also sure he was invited to come. He sure got the media attention, and that what KB doesn't like.

This looks like a lame attempt by KO to backfill for last night's shortcomings. Parsing a phrase that went over most viewers heads doesn't cut it, IMHO.

Large crowds in the Ukraine, for chrissakes, are forcing a new vote, while most activists here are sitting on their kiesters at the most crucial time during the OH recounts. I'm not finding much solace in KO's subtleties.

Who else feels like hurling?

as at least he is the only one attempting.

I've appreciated KO's efforts over the past 4 weeks (minus his vacation). I've been the eternal optimist that something material was going to result from it. But there needs to be something more than just sitting around waiting for nightly digs from any NBC anchor in order to accomplish tangible results.

Look at the Ukraine and compare it to what is happening in the US. Meaningful street action (without the downside of anarchy) is garnering real movement. Over here, we're watching the tube while the sands in the hourglass are dwindling. Did either KO's or MM's laidback efforts last night encourage anyone?

Here's my fear. Come time for the Electoral College to meet in a few weeks, people are going to realize that they missed a golden opportunity for purposeful action. Instead, they will be watching anchors on CNN and MSNBC ratify, in dignified tones, the 2004 corruption. KO - because he is a pro - will dutifully report the results. No amount of snarky comment from him that evening will make any difference.

Hint: Keith, move to PBS. You're spinning your wheels working with the rest of the whores on your channel.