Bob Costas: Very Serious Person Posted by Moira Whelan

I'm watching the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics and have to say, Bob Costas is doing a pretty good job navigating the international politics of all of this. His comments on the heads of state, the WMD issue in Iran, Darfur, and all the rest. Perhaps he could cross from sports into political commentary. It has afterall, been done before...

Comments

[Dan Kervick]

I believe Costas actually had a late night politics or current affairs show many years ago.

[Kyle]

Good to hear he's skilled in politics, because he's rubbish when it comes to sports.

[Richard Smith]

What the eff is going on with his hair?

[Harold]

Kyle, I have listened and watched Costas for years as a sports announcer, commentator and analyst. He is not only quite knowledgeable, his delivery is very polished and entertaining. How you find him to be "rubbish" is beyond me. I am dying to know your favorite sports analysts/commentators---the Monday Night Football crew?

[Jack Maki]

I watched Cotas interview President George W. Bush Sunday night while watching our Olympic gymnastic team make it into the finals. Cotas was discourteous, obnoxious, impatient, hateful, annoying, irritating, grating, rude and disrespectful. Does this third rate sports guy think there is an opening for a network news anchor and this is his only opportunity by insulting our President. I know from interviews Costas has had in the past that this little weasel does not like President Bush and it sure showed Sunday night. Given a rare one on one in prime time opportunity, Costas railed into a very gracious President Bush. Giving the President little time to respond to his Helen Thomas like simpleton and crude questions, he made an attempt to trap Our President and failed miserably. His attempt to condense an hour long press conference into 15 minutes was anxious, stressful, tense mind-numbing, tedious, obvious and strained. Costas came off very unprofessional, sloppy and amateurish as a news person. Our President came off cool, unruffled, in control, at ease and composed. President Bush is in Beijing with his family on what is obviously a working vacation and had to field this rapid fire delivery of questions from this yapping dog. The President was up to the challenge and finished the attack interview without giving this idiot any answers that will further his dismal career. President Bush indicated at the end by body language and comment that he was insulted, offended, surprised and was glad it was over. I think NBC should immediately recall Costas to his cave back here in the USA and make him undergo some anger management classes. Our President should not have to endure on foreign soil this kind of bushwhack treatment from people of our own country. This piece was an obvious setup, either by NBC or Costas on his own. I suspect the former as Costas does not impress me as being bright enough to put the questions together by himself. This outrage was another attempt by one of our traitorous news networks to embarrass our President and our country.

Very truly yours,
Jack Maki
16019 Craighurst Drive
Houston, Texas 77059
Phone: 281 280 0817
Mob: 713 628 7351
E-mail: jackmaki@yahoo.com

[Richard Smith]

I was going to write a long reply to that comment, but then I remembered how much more effective it is to just ignore things that are ridiculous.

[Charlie]

Yes, indeed. Irregardless of people' opinions of Bush's policies, I have to say he should not have given Costas--he is certainly obnoxious--a forum. Costas is hurting the very causes he'd like to claim to stand for by his seemingly "political big" and yet superficial and misleading insinuations.

[Bob Archer]

Jack Maki -- are you kidding us with this nonsense about Costas being "discourteous, impatient, obnoxious" etc. towards Bush? Costas was, if anything, unusually restrained and deferential in the interview. Watch it again, for pete's sake. After all, he somehow did not jump all over the President's inane comment that religion was somehow going to fix all the problems in China (uh, whatever happened to the good old American faith in the democracy, the multi-party system and civil liberties?) Nor did he excoriate the CIC for his ridiculous claim that the U.S. has no problems. Sounds like you had some preconceived notions about old Bobby, and are more than a little defensive about the supposed mistreatment Bush has had to endure from the media (like FOX news, perhaps?) It's Bush's fault that he "lost" the trust of the media -- he totally owned them after 9/11, and it wasn't until his constant lies, obfuscations, cluelessness and failed policies finally expasperated the vast majority of the electorate -- and the world -- that the media dared to put hard questions to him. Which, of course, he has shown himself totally incapable of handling. Watch the interview again -- it will become immediately evident that, amazingly, Costas appears to be better informed and much more articulate about geopolitical nuances than Bush, who seems to be stuck on autopilot from 2003 (what was with the sudden blurting of "Iran and North Korea"?). And what is Bush doing in China, anyway? Are there not a few crises he should be at home dealing with? Let's see: Russia-Georgia, Iraq, Afghanistan, oil prices, the economy, unemployment...and this guy's acting like he's been retired as long as his dad has been. Even Reagan didn't spend that much time at the '84 Olympics, and they were in his own country! You know what we're seeing here? Nero fiddling while Rome burns. And if you're upset with Costas's imaginary disprespectfulness towards the President, remember that it's pretty obvious that Bush agreed to be interviewed! He's a big boy...if he can't handle the tough questions, don't blame the messenger. By the way, it's not "that idiot" Costas that has the failed career (even though I'm not a big fan of his preciousness, he has certainly had a distinguished run), it's Bush. And you contradict yourself by saying that the President was "cool, unruffled...and composed" but also "insulted, offended...and glad it was over." Bush seemed uncomfortable the entire time, and only slightly loosened up when the questions were about sports, not politics. Bush/Cheney and Co. have always had an "Us vs. Them" mentality -- always. This is not something that was thrust upon them. They have always been dismissive towards the media, because they...well, darn it, they ask tough questions, and expect intelligent, informed answers. That happens in a democracy. Bush seems to actually resent this, sort of like Nixon did (although Nixon could handle the policy questions with aplomb). However, other more secure and intelligent presidents seemed to welcome the thrust and parry with the press, like T. Roosevelt, FDR, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Reagan. Again, Bush is an adult. He wanted the job, and presumably all the difficulties that came with it. But it's his own shortcomings that will continue to plague him until the (very) bitter end..

[Jack Maki]

Thanks Charlie for an honest response to my assessment of the Bob Costas interrogation of President Bush.
I thought the comments from Bob Archer were from Joe Biden using multi words to say I hate our President and I like anyone that hates him too. You are just another coward, liberal democrat that squeals when one of your kind gets pricked. Costas did not have any follow up questions because they were not in his notes. I did have preconceived notions about old Bobby and said I did. You follow the democrat talking points to nausea, President Bush is stupid, he lies, and he has lost the love and faith of the American people and so forth and so forth. I think you need to do a little homework. The whole world loved us after 9/11 including the media, but they began to hate us when we fought back. President Bush decided that the response that would have come from the Vietnam “war hero” John Kerry, the “enviro chump” Al Gore and their like (talking and getting Europe and the UN to condone our retaliation.) was not be the correct course and took the fight to the Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq. You democrats dived under your beds along with the rest of the liberal world. Some 40+ countries with backbone without the help of opinion polls chose to help us in our war on terror. Regarding a failed career, you might call John Edwards, Hitlery, Tom Daschle, Dick Gephardt, John Kerry (Vietnam “war hero”) and Al Gore (“enviro chump”). While you are inquiring about failed careers ask Nancy Pelosi how her book is doing and why her congress approval rating is less than ½ the approval rating of President Bush. The Costas distinguished career can not even afford him a decent toupee. I think you better find something secure to hang on to because your candidate for president the “celebrity terrorist” is looking pretty shaky against a real war hero John McCain.

Very truly yours,
Jack Maki
16019 Craighurst Drive
Houston, Texas 77059
Phone: 281 280 0817
Mob: 713 628 7351
E-mail: jackmaki@yahoo.com

[Bob Archer]

Jackie,
You little man, you! Calling me a coward, and you don't even know me! Talking about the "failed" careers of Edwards the Philanderer, Hillary (correct spelling here, not the immature, weasely spelling you used), Daschle, Gephardt, Kerry (who actually saw action and was wounded a few times, unlike the chickenhawks who love to denigrate him). What was the point of bringing them up? I only commented on Bush and Costas. You need to get the ADD out of your system and stick to the subject. Maybe some decaffienation is in order, too.
I bet you're one big, tough guy. Let's see, did you serve your country -- in uniform, that is? Ever under enemy fire? Ever see one of your buddies shot down right next to you? Since you're willing to claim I'm a coward, I'll turn the tables on you -- Military service? Probably not (maybe you were like Cheney, and had "other priorities" -- a luxury too many Americans DIDN"T have back then). And if by some stange twist of fate you were in uniform, it sems you didn't learn much from the experience. Hate doesn't get you anywhere -- it's the lazy man's way out of thinking hard about differences. We're all Americans here, and I'm sure I'm at least as patriotic as your are. And I don't hate George W. Bush -- I don't know him personally, so how could I hate him? But I'm deeply disappointed by his performance. After all, he works for me (at least, he's supposed to -- that's how it works in a democracy), and he's been one lousy employee. You might take a deep breath and wonder why the majority of Americans are so unsatisfied with him. It's not some liberal conspiracy. Bush/Cheney and Co. have a track record, and it's not a pretty one. It's not like Bush doesn't know he's wildly unpopular -- he keeps talking about how we should all wait a generation to assess his presidency. Sorry, I might not be around by then, so I have to do it now. He compares himself to the misunderstood Truman, but Truman faced a red-baiting chorus of right-wing lunatics who made his life miserable. Bush had both houses of Congress in the palm of his hand for several years, and lied and decieved and fumbled his way right out of their trust, as well as that of the public. You just can't honestly compare the two.
I always thought it might have helped if Bush had actually had a real job, not just been born to wealth and allowed to idle away the time by not finding oil in an oil-laden state, until it was time for him to essentially be gifted a baseball team, and then become governor of Texas. He never had to punch a time clock. Never had to worry about being able to pay the mortgage, find affordable health care, and worry about the boss breathing down his neck, or having to get up the nerve to ask for a raise or a promotion. That stuff is actually good for a person. It builds character, self-respect, a sense of responsibility, and, also privides the opportunity to discover and maximize your talents and, importantly, learn how to deal with your limitations. By any reasonable measure of accomplishment, Bush is much, much more like a spoiled Renaissance prince than your average working American -- and it shows in his stubborness, self-righteousness, lack of intellectual curiosity, carelessness and impatience with details, his my-way-or-the-highway mindset, and his utter cluelessness when it comes to understanding that there are gray areas in life, policy, and politics that need to be carefully parsed and negotiated. He says he likes to read about Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. That doesn't mean he's learned anything from any of that reading.
So Jack, if you're gonna call me a coward, let me tell you something about myself. I'm 52 years old, have served my country honorably, have not a gray hair on my head (still naturally brown), and, despite two knee surgeries and ongoing back problems, am still spry enough -- and courageous enough, if that's what it takes -- to play competitive soccer against former and current college players. That's just the physical stuff, which I'll keep doing as long as I can. I'm also a History professor at a university in California (I can just HEAR you grinding your teeth, Jackie! Oh, the pain! OMG, I can see on your brain -- a LIBERAL!!!), and I'm sure I know a bit more about our glorious past than you. However, I'm neither a raging liberal nor a doddering conservative,as I grew up in a family of Repubicans who I'm still very close to (and who all distrust Bush, by the way, for, as my Dad puts it, his "shoot first and ask questions never" attitude). I'm really just a guy in the middle who knows when he's being taken for a ride -- and this administration has been taking all of us on a wild, self-indulgent, free-spending and morale-sapping ride for a long, long time now. I guess you don't like it being put that way, and you're certainly free to exercise your opinions -- as long as you leave ridiculous assertions like "coward" and that kind of immature nonsense out of it. It's not like anybody who knows me wouldn't get a good chuckle out of that 7th grade-style name-calling.

Your fellow American,
Bob Archer

[Bob Archer]

And Jack, by the way, watch that pot calling the kettle black thing. You accused me of using democratic "talking points," which was kind of silly since I can think for myself and don't need Pelosi or anybody else to tell me what to say, but you're REALLY using the Republican buzz words and phrases, my man! Obama is the "celebrity terrorist" candidate for president? Gee, Wally, isn't that original! Jack, you're really not crazy enough, or hateful enough, to fall for that, are you? Is that what this campaign's supposed to be all about -- making up outrageous assertions about a candidate's supposed "anti-Americanism" and secret "terrorism" and then talking yourself into believing it simply because you want to? Does that mean that the Dem's have to start calling McCain the "Philandering Candidate" because he cheated on and abandoned his first wife and family? Of course, that was during his "immature" days, as he put it -- you know, right when he was running for Congress the first time, and I guess by his reasoning he had decided that we were in need of an immature Congressmen.

And, Jack, it's time for you to get something straight. We did not invade Iraq to root out "Islamic terrorists." That's what we were supposed to do in Afghanistan. Instead, we made sure the Islamic terrorists got IN to Iraq, by ravaging and destabilizing that country, and opening the borders to thugs everywhere. Then we put the supremely talented L. Paul Bremeer in charge, and everything went even more to hell. Over 4,000 Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died there for virtually nothing. That's the biggest crime of the Bush administration: they blew off the real job in Afghanistan and decided to invade Iraq instead. And those 40 or so "brave" nations that "joined" the alliance? Never has there been a flimsier alliance, and never have we had to pay off so many nations, in so many ways, to join us. Everyone knows it's "Bush's" war and his alone. I don't know how many soldiers you know who've served there, but I know a ton, and virtually none of them think it was worth it. But they still do their duty, unlike the CIC and his veep, as far as I can tell. Nice of them to try every trick in the book to cut veteran's benefits, isn't it?

Bob Archer

[Jack Maki]

Bobbie, I must have really got under you skin, I said coward once and you repeated it back to me five times in your rambling attempt at excoriating my patriotism. You lambaste our President for not having a real job then you “proudly” proclaim you are a history professor in a California university with all the job risk and responsibility of a mail man. Your brown hair without a touch of grey further demonstrates your high risk job choice. Better watch out that freshman in the second row wants to fire you. As usual it does not take long to get an arrogant, elitist, liberal democrat off point and get him into a name calling tirade. I agree you probably do not know our President, I don’t think President Bush or Vice President Cheney would have much interest in knowing you. They have though kept your arrogant rear end safe for the last seven years unlike your unmentioned hero Bill “BJ” Clinton, who left us at the mercy of the Islamic terrorists during and after his eight years of an embarrassing presidency. We have since thwarted these cowardly Muslims all over the world including Afghanistan and Iraq. We have done this with our allies and friends around the world. Thankfully we did not have to call on your war hero John Kerry (three purple hearts in three months, two self inflicted) to watch our back while we either killed or sent packing your liberal democrat buddies the Taliban and Al Qaeda. You liberal democrats dropped your pants too soon, if you take a look at current events you will see another Al Qaeda leader bit the dust this week. Tough break for you and your ilk. I wonder if any of this ton of soldiers that you say you know have re-enlisted or are they the National Guard and reservists that were in it for a free education and found themselves on active duty. We have another serious situation with Russia, Georgia and the Stans, so I hope our country will recognize that we need a serious person as President and not that empty suit Barack Hussein Obama.

Very truly yours,
Jack Maki
16019 Craighurst Drive
Houston, Texas 77059
Phone: 281 280 0817
Mob: 713 628 7351
E-mail: jackmaki@yahoo.com

[paul fairbrook]

I think Bob Costas should be more sensitive to the ignorance about sport details of many viewer. THe term IM standing for Individual Media swimming is not known to many and the fact that the swimmers have to use 4 different types of strokes certainly is not. This is just one example of the snobbish attitude Bob and others take towards viewers who are not familiar with many of these terms. Similarly, mistaes in the gymnastics could be better explained by the announcers.

[Bob Archer]

Jack,
You can count! I wasn't sure...but you wrote that I mentioned "coward" five times, while you did only once. And what does that have to do with anything? Obviously nothing. But thank god it was only five times or you would have run out of fingers on one hand and then where would you have been?
Jack, with your endless attempts at impugning absolutely everything that remotely resembles a position left of far right, you are once again in pot calling the kettle black territory. I'm the arrogant one? Sure.
And the Bushies haven't "saved" anybody for the last seven years. Over 4,000 Americans have died in Iraq in a useless war. Unless you consider death being saved that mark is on W. And Kerry didn't self-inflict two of his wounds -- you just want to believe he did, so therefore it is so. Another Al Qaedda leader bit the dust? What a relief...good, the war is over and everyone can come home. We're saved for the 13,000th time.
And evidently you just love those troops so much you have to ridicule the National Guardsmen who you just know signed up "for a free education" and are really slackers who don't deserve any credit for being put in the danger zone -- and I'm the arrogant one? Jack, get your fat ass over to Iraq right away! I'm so tired of hearing from people who wouldn't dream of facing the enemy question the motives of those who do, whether they really wanted to or not. Like Kerry is somehow some sort of coward because he was wounded three times, and Bush joined the Champagne Unit and is somehow more of a hero? And by the way, I haven't spoken to a single National Guardsman, if that even matters.
Jack, I do have a real job. I work my butt off teaching kids how to search for real facts and information in a world that the powerful try to build out of lies, to get the many to submit to their will (why I love teaching the Revolutionary period, and our truly great beginnings) and most importantly I teach them the old axiom that the first casualty of war is the truth. The ultimate truism. Jack, kids aren't stupid -- they know when the "grownups" are lying to them. That's why my hair is "still brown." I have an honorable job where I don't have to go around all the time making phony claims about the greatness of people who don't deserve it, while trying to make some kind of weird statement like "Barack Hussein Obama", as if that "Hussein" denoted something more sinister than a middle name -- and the ignorance and immaturity of the writer.
Bobbie

[Jack Maki]

Bob,
I missed you; I thought you got stuck under the bed. This latest challenge we have in Georgia demands we have strong leaders, not empty suits, phony war heroes or scandalous politicians. Our country can not stand the uncertainty of a pretender like Obama who needs a teleprompter to complete a sentence, phony war heroes like Kerry who disgraced our country’s honors by throwing them over a fence in a political move to gain favor with shiftless politicians that would sell us out for a kind word from the UN and the uselessness of Pelosi who with her crowd have earned her House of Representatives the lowest approval rating in the history of our country. I hope President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Rice have enough time to resolve this problem in Georgia. I do not want to take the chance that the solution to this problem would fall under the stewardship of Obama “the soft”. He showed this weekend how weak and uncertain he reacts under pressure. God forbid he wins; we will need to have a lot of input on the men and women that control his actions. Putin is using the cover of the Olympics and our commitment to the war on terror to take advantage of one of his neighbors and is eyeing the others. His similarity to Hitler is frightening; President Nicolas Sarkozy of France is the modern equivalent to Neville Chamberlain and the Russians are ignoring the agreement just like the Germans. I am sure Putin is licking his chops hoping that Obama, the self proclaimed pacifist, becomes President next year. Putin, using his country’s oil riches (democrats will not let us use ours), will reestablish the old Soviet Union and restart the arms race against a US President that will not engage. When you consider the threats that face our nation it is inconceivable to put our national security in the hands of Obama with any of the suggested running mates. The support team of Pelosi, Clinton, Kerry, Reid, Boxer, Feingold, Feinstein, Waxman, Waters, Sheila Jackson Lee. William Jefferson (of New Orleans), Murtha and a host of other obstructionist, turncoat and useless democrats that will run for cover at the first sign of trouble. If we could have had a united front (even if you faked it) in the war on terror, a lot of those 4000 brave soldier’s lives could have been spared. Our Muslim enemies have taken solace and comfort in the language and actions from democrats in the media, congress and senate. We need to have on board some of the national heroes from the Revolutionary period that you enjoy teaching. I believe John McCain stands head and shoulders above Barack Hussein Obama in courage, stature, wisdom, and composure under fire. That just happens to be his name; you guys should have picked a candidate with a name like John Paul Jones or some other patriot. By the way Bob; Al-Qaeda has only one “d”.

Jack Maki

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