Anthony Weiner appeared on Sean Hannity last night, and, as usual, provided an unflappable foil to the tag team of Hannity and Bachmann.
Anthony Weiner has impressed me with his ability to go on Fox News and score points in a hostile environment. Some feel that going on Fox News is a waste of time, and although I respect that view, there are some advantages that I will get to in a moment.
I'll have to say that my view of the Crossfire model, which for some reason the media still clings to, has changed over the years. Early on, most of us looked at the hostile shouting volleys that have occurred as being a cage match, with reactions on Daily Kos or Red State, where each site waves their partisan flag and announces their fighter as being the winner. Many of us agree that Jon Stewart's appearance on Crossfire was one of the most important televised events in politics. If there was a top ten of important televised political moments, I would put it with John F. Kennedy's debate with Richard Nixon.
In the online world, regardless of the effect that Stewart's appearance had in the short term (Crossfire was cancelled), the same game is being played. I am sure that some liberal sites will say Weiner decimates Hannity. This (clipped) Youtube video makes the laughable claim that Michele Bachmann "schooled" Weiner:
Weiner knows that he's being brought on as a punching bag for Fox. He knows he will be shouted over. Pretty much any Democrat or so-called liberal who makes an appearance on the show is a chance for Fox to spout off their talking points. The way they do this is just by posing their talking points in the form of a question:
"Congressman, don't you think <Republican talking point>?
What Weiner does is interrupt the flow of talking points to insert a counter, and lets few things slip by. He rarely shows any weakness or uncertainty about what he believes, and he openly mocks Fox's talking points. He comes prepared fully expecting what Hannity will say. When Hannity dishonestly tries to tie Weiner to President Obama for last fall's tax cut bill, which Weiner voted against, Weiner says the following:
WEINER: I understand, but you are asking my position. I don't support taxes [sic] for millionaires and billionaires, do you?
HANNITY: Yes.
WEINER: Then you've got to pay for them somehow.
Obviously Weiner provides some entertainment value as well. Michele Bachmann's eerie deer-in-the-headlights daze during the first part of the interview is funny in itself, (I'm thinking she's doing Botox or something, she looks weirder than usual). Weiner, even knowing he only has a few minutes to work with, is able to joke about Bachmann's recent gaffes, the pile-on mentality of the interview, and Hannity's name calling, all the while giving his opinion about the big reasons for deficits: unemployment, wars, tax cuts.
Hannity himself seems flummoxed early and has to tag Bachmann in to deal with Weiner, and when he jumps back in seems to get no traction. In the end, he loses a bit of his composure about the time of the weird football thing he often does at the end of an interview. The last exchange, where Weiner kids Hannity about the "fair and balanced" interview, ends awkwardly:
WEINER: I love these balanced debates.
HANNITY: Yes, well, that's what it is.
BACHMANN: Tell me about it.
HANNITY: Tell me about it.
Just by holding his own, Weiner does a great service to those of us disheartened by the sky-is-falling predictions that appear on both left and right blogs after every progressive setback. "Winning" a debate in a hostile, dishonest environment is not always a realistic goal. But were there four or five Anthony Weiners that could disrupt the flow of Fox's bias, especially in light of so many fake liberals that go on that don't, I think that enough of those small victories would give a necessary morale boost to those of us that hold out for hope.
Mediate captured the whole segment, it just can't be embedded here.
Updated by esby at Thu Mar 17, 2011 at 09:29 AM PDT
Hunter in comments points out that Weiner says "taxes" instead of "tax cuts" in the interview. Even though he misspoke, this is kind of hilarious in a way, because Hannity then says he supports taxes for millionaires and billionaires.
Updated by esby at Thu Mar 17, 2011 at 10:30 AM PDT
Update #2: Thanks for the recs! Newshounds has posted a video from the same Hannity show where Juan Williams shuts down Hannity over the Obama campaigning/recreating meme that conservatives have been pushing for days.
Hannity pwned twice. On his own show. On the same day.
Ellen from Newshounds says what we all feel:
I've got my quarrels with Juan Williams but when he's good he can be very, very good.