Tom Brokaw Discusses Iraq, Network News, and the Upcoming Election During Romantic, Candlelit Interview With Howard Kurtz

Howard Kurtz broadcast a long interview with former "NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Brokaw on today's "Reliable Sources," allotting the entire first half of the show to the newsman's thoughts on a wide range of subjects, including his new book, "Boom! Voices of the Sixties: Personal Reflections on the '60s and Today," for which he has recently been making the rounds. Brokaw had a lot to offer in the interview — the transcript of which is available here — clearly the result of Howie Kurtz's flickering-candle decor loosening Brokaw up, presumably after welcoming him to the strains of Barry White on the stereo and a little Courvoisier . At any rate, Brokaw had much to say but we found the below excerpt putting the recent progress in Iraq into context to be of interest:

Here's the full excerpt:

KURTZ: In recent months, though, casualties are down in Iraq. Some would say that the surge is having some modest success. Yet conservatives say that is not getting enough coverage. Is that because of Iraq fatigue? Is that because only bad news is news?

BROKAW: No, I think it is time to take a look at it again. You know, what, Howie? These are small signs of some progress four years later.

KURTZ: Sure.

BROKAW: And the Iraqi government still doesn't have it together. And after four years, if the Iraqis can't take care of themselves with all of the money that has been poured in there, all of the help that they have been given, that's a truer measurement, I think, of what is going on in Iraq.

It does not mean that we ought not to take notice of the fact that the attacks are down, that the insurgency has been hurt. I had a briefing the other day about what is going on with IEDs. After billions of dollars, we have finally found a way to be more effective at protecting our troops from them and detonating them early. But it has taken a long time. That won't solve the political issue about whether Iraq can handle its own destiny.

Other nuggets from Brokaw:

• On not being a cokehead, though pot was cool: "There was this early benign attitude, certainly toward marijuana, and then even toward cocaine later on, which was not an area for me. I didn't go there. But you know, marijuana was being passed around at very establishment cocktails parties like an after-dinner drink of some kind." (Brokaw has admitted to inhaling, as the kids say, but has said it "didn't agree" with him.)
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• On the enduring/waning influence of network evening news: "It is not as dominant as it once was, but between them they deliver 20 million people a night...and sometimes more. There is no other establishment that does that. When people say to me, that Bill O'Reilly is popular, and I say, now what do you suppose his proportion of audience is compared to, say, Katie Couric, who is not doing well at CBS? It is a third....The trend lines are down, there is no question about it. We are living in a -- what I call the big bang, which is that we are creating a whole new universe. We are trying to figure out which planets are going to support life and which ones won't, which ones will drift too close to the sun and burn out."

• On BriWi on SNL: "I think the rules have changed a lot now, I think people are much -- moved much more easily across those lines...Brian has got a very good barometer about what is going too far and what is not. And he was very funny. And he liked doing it. My -- the problem for me that night was switching between the Boston College football game and 'Saturday Night Live.'"

• On the return of Don Imus, when Kurtz mentioned how Brokaw called him after the Rutgers comment and his subsequent removal from CBS and MSNBC, and said that the hoped it would "lead to an elevated racial dialogue in the country": "He said, "Call me at the ranch when that happens," because he didn't expect it to happen, and he was right. It hasn't happened. And it's one of the things that I have addressed directly in the book. I think that we do need to have a dialogue in this country.

  We don't have language for dealing with race. Everybody hides behind political correctness or a certain mythology. No one wants to offend, no one wants to get at the facts of it. You are in danger of being a racist if you go against the merits of some issues and just try to look at it objectively.

  That goes on across the racial spectrum, by the way. Within the black culture there is a fear about speaking out, about what some people see as wrong, because they say, don't go there, you know, it will only hurt our people. So I do -- we used to talk about race with a lot more candor than we do now."

Tom Brokaw interviewed by Howie Kurtz on "Reliable Sources" [CNN]

Comments

[Arielman]

Yesterday a knock came to my friends door in the Bronx, NY. It was a gentleman with two petitions to put Hillary Clinton on the ballot. I thought it was the furnace repairman returning at first, the thing went out after Thanksgiving. It sort of made sense, in Representative Crowley's district (redistricting stretches from the Bronx into Queens) Senator Clinton, after the first "pile-on" debate, only actually officially requested to run in New Hampshire. I still recall that 3 or 4 am call by Mr. Brokaw that George W. Bush had won in the first election, the impropriety of which, presented to the President of the Senate, then Vice President Albert Gore and the candidate and alleged victim in the said election in Florida, the motion presented by an African-American woman Senator would not be heard by them and the rest of it went to the Supreme Court instead of a Senate committee, an image still stuck in my brain.

I enjoyed Mr. Brokaw's autobiography, a cousin, George Murray, an award-winning news producer, who started out in the film editing room (infantry Captain in the Korean War and then Army Signal Corps, as was actors Martin Landau and Michael Richards) at NBC news, directing "Huntley and Brinkley" (started as a substitute for a sick one) and lastly producing CBS' coverage of both Democratic and Republican conventions in 1976, as far as I know never wrote one. I would have liked to have read about the stories of Saigon and Houston, the war and the Gemini project, which ruined his first marriage, washing his shirts out in hotel rooms. Edwin Newman read his letter of a cancellation by "higher-ups" of his investigative journalism team in South Vietnam trying to get the "common soldiers view" of the conflict for a number of months, at a eulogy in the UN Chapel. He had died in Mexico City, where his wife, an Avon executive from Pennsylvania, was introducing that product there. Well, I can look forward to Brokaw's new book.

[wsblake]

I don't care if there is not one more single incident of violence in Iraq, or one more death. There will never,ever be "progress"- the only thing that grows from cancer is more cancer-

[Tator]

I am laughing hysterically as you Libs/Dem go through contortions to not mention the successes in Iraq. It like watching Dorathy clicking her slipper "Please we MUST lose, We MUST lose"...

I just hope Polosi and Murtha keep surrendering on TV, we need more campaign ad clips!

[dolphy]

Hastings: You have the same fucked up genes as your fuhrer. Described by Reagan as somebody who at 40 had accomplished nothing. Please google the definition of crazy and you will see the definitive definition of your state of mind. STFU.

[Pat15]

Many pertinent comments on Iraq.... Even the generals wont tell the truth...so Dumbya, the Decider keeps on lying that surge is working.. For Boooosh loyalty trumps truth ...They have show this trait for the last 7 yeras.. & cluless citizens woke up too late to do anything about it ..Theu chose this Moron twice ... Dont blame them The enemy is us ...Amen

[cruisepuppy7452a]

I think Tom is right in some respects, it is Iraq that is the problem, but that does not mean we continue throwing money to it. Its a lost cause, time to end it asap, get all of the troops home yesterday. The public needs to look at this and see, we are not he answer to thier problem. Its criminal to continue this war.

[shag11]

Everytime the Bushies ballyhoo success in Iraq, the foreign fighters seem to spike-up the violence, as if on Q. Sure enough, there have been several suicide bombings in the last 2 todays.

[fourex]

LONDON - Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, criticized the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in an interview published Sunday, saying it was worse than the British land grabs of the colonial era.
The spiritual leader of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion described the situation in Iraq as the "the worst of all worlds," and compared it to the time when Britain was at the height of its imperial power.

[Purcy]

I'm disappointed in Tom (not for the first time) but I really do hate it when the lack of success in Iraq is blamed on the Iraqi government. Yes, a lot of money has been poured into Iraq but I think it has all hit the funnel that takes the money directly into the pockets of Halliburton, Kellog, Brown and Root and the other Cheney owned contractors. Blackwater should be included in that as well.

I really feel for the Iraqi people who have suffered beyond belief and all because they believed that the American Government actually had honorable intentions. If there is any good will left in Iraq, it is only because of those in the military who really did want to help, did everything they could to help and honestly did win some hearts and minds.

As for our Government, it makes me ashamed to be an American. I despise what they have done to this country. It sounds as if we have been successful at building our military bases in Iraq. Nevermind that the Iraqi people don't have housing, electricity, or water. I don't know how Bush, Cheney, and the rest can look at themselves in the mirror.

[ceasenake]

Downplays progress! What a suprise!

Of course, he's going to.

If it bleeds, it leads - remember?

Less death and bloodshed means less drama to these people - and we can't have that.

Not to even mention the politics of it.

[Nyland8]

I just posted this rather long analogy, for the benefit of Smellyone, on another thread. It explains, to the extent that any half-assed analogy does, why I have been posting that Iraq is a “failure” since my first days on HuffPo and elsewhere before, and why I persist in correcting any notions of “success” in Iraq. Some might find it useful.

++++++++++­++++++++++­+++++++

You’ve made an on-line purchase using your credit card. It was a safety item you thought you needed, and for a price you thought was fair. The “seller” has told you your item will be shipped this week and arrive a few days later.

Days go by.

The “seller” tells you stock had just run out, but you should be getting your money’s worth soon and they’ll ship as soon as they get it from the manufacturer.

Weeks go by.

The “seller” apologizes, tells you there’ll be some additional handling charges, reminds you how good the initial deal was and assures you it’ll be worth it.

Months go by.

The “seller” tells you there are some more charges, tells you its features are somewhat less than originally advertised, but assures you it will ship shortly, and reminds you how important you thought your purchase was and how much you needed it for your safety, so it must be worth it. Hang tough. Don’t give up. It’s on its way.

More months go by

The “seller” tells you it’s a dangerous world, you need it more than ever, and he can have it shipped directly from the manufacturer to save you time … for a small additional fee. You acquiesce.

8

continued

[MichiganJFrog]

"Here's the full excerpt:"

Get back to me when you have the entirely partial story.

[Hastings]

I know that it must be difficult for Mr. Brokaw and his former colleagues at NBC to face the fact that they were wrong to embrace retreat, surrender, and defeat in Iraq. Although I am not holding my breath it is my hope that they will now honestly report the story of our victory in Iraq as diligently as they promoted our defeat.

[leftLibertarian]

Never Forget: Bush and Cheney lied about WMD in Iraq to enrich their friends and themselves.

Their fortune includes a Democratic Party too gutless to impeach them for their many crimes.

[Ginzaman]

Back in the dark ages, I thought Brokaw actually had some integrity and was a good reporter/anchorman. Now, it's obvious that he's just another megamillionaire network news superstar hack that does what G.E. tells him to do. Kurtz is another hack that will kiss ass any and everywhere he has to to apparently keep his access to the Media Power Elite.

So Brokaw did inhale. No big deal, right? Then why do we crucify Obama over the same thing? Answer: he's the rich white neocon's worst nightmare. Back in the mid 70's, most of the SNL staff at 30 Rock was f*****g high as a kite (including Lorne Michaels). G.E. made a ton of money off it and didn't do s**t about it. Now, it's play the race card (Karl Rove using the Willie Horton ad). Have a black guy as President? Hell no, we can't have that. So if Obama thinks that things will improve in the campaign, he's sadly mistaken.

If Brokaw thinks that we really need a race dialogue, then why the f**k did he make money for YEARS off of being on Imus's show? Isn't it funny how all of these rich white East Coast Media Elite people went on for years because it was you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours? The suddenly when G.E. was forced to fire him, 99% of them suddenly said, oh no, not me. I'm not racist like him. F**k that! That's exactly what you are. Then again, being rich idiotic white people how you could possibly understand this?

With Iraq, it's the same corporate media crap. He's playing both sides of the fence. It was a mistake to go there. But we are making progress? Really, how? Use your vast NBC News global resources and prove that that's true. Instead you just tow the corporate line because making $_____ million a year is FAR more important than having actual integrity. What a f*****g joke.