Bill Moyers On Olbermann: "I Was Greatly Encouraged...That People Saw Through [Hillary's] Flimsy Rationale For The Gas Tax"

Bill Moyers appeared on Monday night's "Countdown" with Keith Olbermann and discussed the state of the media as well as Jeremiah Wright (and the intersection of the two). Moyers decried the way the media oversimplifies stories, saying, "you won't be heard unless you learn to speak in the way of bumper stickers." But he was relieved, and encouraged, that voters saw through Hillary Clinton's oversimplified and "flimsy rationale" for the gas tax, saying, "I was greatly encouraged by the fact that people saw through that flimsy rationale for the gas tax."

Regarding Reverend Wright, Moyers — who scored a calm and substantive interview with the pastor just days before his controversial appearance at the National Press Club — said, "Never have I seen a pastor and a parishioner come to such grief in public and the parishioner have to break with his pastor."

Comments

[Kundera]

02:36 PM on 05/15/2008

Really, Bill, did you ever apologize for your daisy/mushroom cloud ad against Goldwater? Of course not.

[doc1400]

11:48 AM on 05/14/2008

This morning Tuesday, 5/13/8, I looked for content on Huff Post that was not banal, sexually oriented, or totally irrelevant and finally found this treatment of the Olbermann Moyers interview. I was greatly encouraged. This is why.
The thread of this interview is about whether the voter, during this election cycle, can get past the agenda driven sound bite coverage of the election which the press offers and draw reasoned and logical conclusions for themselves.
Both Moyers and Olbermann concluded that the HRC gas tax fiasco issue proved that yes they can. I am also encouraged by how the voters rejected this pander by HRC.
To me the key here is that the voter must seek to find better information than they are getting with the press and demand more information content. This is the essence of the politics of change.
Yes we can.

[Gingerously]

03:49 AM on 05/15/2008

sticker your bumper much?

i was disappointed that such a "respected" pro as Moyers would appear on that blatherer's show, but i guess his Wright interview revealed what a shallow journalist he is. wright's true essence didn't show itself during the interview, but only afterward.

and i was thinking the other day as i paid a personal record amount for a tank of gas that some sort of relief would be nice...

[Bozwellian]

10:08 AM on 05/15/2008

....LOL, perhaps you need to rethink the "guzzler" approach and realize that too many good patriots have been ENCOURAGE to support the terrorists by being encouraged to be "wasteful" with a product that compensates the foreign oil intersts primarily--but perhaps you hold stock in them in some form and justify it all that way !! Yeah, a get that fed gas cut and that would save you HOW MUCH ? Be sure and save what you would save --going to need it for repairs no doubt for you vehicle will take a bit of a beating from pot-holed roadways and oh, do be cautious when thinking over which bridge to nowhere you travel !! Get a reality check...Hillary claimed SHE had a plan, to give that 18cent relief for this summer ? And was going to have the OIL folks pick up the difference ? LOL and just HOW was she actually going to ACCOMPLISH that feat ? As a Dem, even with that slim "majority" , they can NOT get anything accomplished to over ride a BUSH VETO nor enough GOPERS in the houses to go along with her plan anyway !!! Keep thinking of how so much better off you are since the Bush team took office and be sure to send them a thank-you !!! You appear to be their sort of patriot !!!

[Melissa]

03:47 PM on 05/15/2008

That proposal was one of the reasons she had such a huge win in WV. Moyers interview with Wright was a complete sham. We found that out the very next day.

[Bulbul]

07:56 AM on 05/14/2008

Thanks Huffy for leting us know about the guest. I would be watching something else then. If Moyer has gone to Olberman for his fair interview, his guest list has been running thin..

[strifeknot]

12:56 PM on 05/14/2008

What?

Can someone try to translate this into something intelligible?

[Bulbul]

07:56 AM on 05/15/2008

Oops ...I stand corrected...It is the other way around..

Never watch Olberman anymore...hence the error...

Or may be I was coffee deprived..

Now I can breath and watch Moyers on Friday eves..

[ceasenake]

07:47 AM on 05/14/2008

I guess he means the African American voters of North Carolina, because that's all Obama has really won over since the "gas tax" - meaning temporary gas tax relief. I don't think they voted for Obama because of gas ... no there's some other reason, but I can't put my finger on it ...

[nomobull]

09:57 AM on 05/14/2008

too bad there is no cure for self delusion. you need one

[ceasenake]

07:35 PM on 05/14/2008

I'm just looking at the data. There has been no rejection of gas tax relief by voters.

In fact exit poll in WV (which Clinton won 67% to 26%) show that 63% of the voters think it's a good idea.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/13/schneider-gas-tax-suspension-proves-popular/

C'MON PEOPLE - STEP OUT OF THE ECHO CHAMBER!

[onlinesavant]

10:12 AM on 05/14/2008

You do realize that he won every metric in NC don't you. Oh, that's right you do look at "facts" ( As they are as Reagan said, "Silly Things".) you just listen to the voices in your head that tell you what you want to hear.

[ceasenake]

07:17 PM on 05/14/2008

This must be one of the areas that you are not "savant" about:

She won 61% of the white vote, he won 91% of the black vote in NC.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/epolls/#NCDEM.

[Raymondf]

07:00 AM on 05/14/2008

use to have respect for Moyers, but no longer, Olbermann has always been a joke, should be on comedy central with Colbert, and Stewart, because they are really jokes.

[Scarllatti]

09:42 AM on 05/14/2008

You are really the biggest joke. Show some respect for Bill Moyers. He probably did not say "what you like" but at least he spoke the truth. Take the truth and decide if you will ditch the messenger or medium. You must be from WV.

[UnbiasView]

10:31 AM on 05/14/2008

Bill moyers is about as soft as they come as an interviewer.

[Eoin45]

02:33 PM on 05/14/2008

LOL. You can't punctuate or use proper grammar and you accuse two of the most literate people on the planet of being jokes? The joke's on you.

[Grulg]

05:52 AM on 05/14/2008

Mr Moyers/Mr Obamamann--ummmm it seemed to work Really well w/ the WVA voters.....

[AnAmericanWoman]

10:30 AM on 05/14/2008

Grulg, No one gives a F* about your Bigot vote.

[Zentomato]

01:35 AM on 05/14/2008

Guru Moyers taught me this. Fun with conservatives: How To Make a Conservative's Head Explode? Just speak these words aloud, mantra style...you know like a yoga teacher chanting Aum of Om.... slowly chant "Michael Moore, Michael Moore, Bill Moyers, Bill Moyers, Phil Donahue, Phil Donahue, Keith Olbermann, Keith Olbermann..... presto blammo in just a nick of time you will have a fine, albeit small explosion of a conservative brain right before your very eyes. Reminder, bring a mop and some Pinesol.

[Raymondf]

07:03 AM on 05/14/2008

There stupidity doesn't bother me a bit. I think their funny.

[Maxiesid]

02:19 PM on 05/14/2008

Raymondf - When you are going to call someone else stupid, it is always a good idea to make sure you use the correct words. You might want to consult a dictionary when in doubt, because it makes you look, well, stupid.

[Eoin45]

02:35 PM on 05/14/2008

It's "Their" stupidity, stupid. And it's "they're" funny, stupid.

[demlover1]

12:10 AM on 05/14/2008

Remember when journalists tried to be neutral an unbiased. Moyers, just like so many of his cronies has become an embarassment. I shouldn't no what he thinks about the gas tax. He should report the news---ask insightful questions and have on experts to debate issues instead of trying to force his political views on viewers. I am a liberal, but if you want to be in politics, run for office, don't become a journalist.

[CarmenCameron]

03:53 AM on 05/14/2008

You mean like the MSM did with the lead-up to the Iraq war? Yeah. Those were the good old days...

The whole point of the Constitutional protection of the press is to ensure an informed electorate. And Bill Moyers is an excellent example of how that's done!

[Raymondf]

07:04 AM on 05/14/2008

I agree.

[glitzqueen]

12:04 AM on 05/14/2008

What a delight to see these brave kindred spirits together. It's amazing, really, that the corporatists have suffered them to live.

[Opus007]

11:12 PM on 05/13/2008

I love Bill Moyers. He is thoughful and deliberate - a refreshing change from the shallow, egotistial, overpaid and under informed pundits.

I am a little surprised at the derisive comments from ctbutte and hydenorhare. What in this piece would trigger such a vile reation? I don't get it. Why don't they channel their attack mode energy into something more constructive like addressing the massive problems created by the train wreck known as the Bush administration.

[knosiswar]

09:37 PM on 05/13/2008

BIG NEWS, A GUY LOCAL TO ME HAS SOLVED OUR OIL PROBLEM. HE HAS IMPROVED HIS GAS MILEAGE BY 275% WITH AN INVENTION THAT TURNS WATER INTO HYDROGEN RIGHT AT THE CARS INTAKE MANIFOLD. SPREAD THIS AROUND BEFORE MSM AND BIG OIL SQUASH IT.

THIS IS FOR REAL. NOT A SALES PITCH.

'Gas prices push retiree into action

HARTSELLE -- If you are tired of paying $3.50 to $4 per gallon for gasoline, Larry Thrasher wants you to visit him.

He won't be able to lower the cost of gas. But, he said, his generated hydrogen system will increase your miles per gallon and decrease the number of trips you make to the gas station.

After more than a year of research and testing, Thrasher said he has perfected a system that will allow your vehicle to run on hydrogen and gasoline.

Long range, his plan is to run a vehicle on hydrogen only.

Because of the number of electronics in vehicles, he said, his hydrogen system still depends on some gasoline.

Since installing the hydrogen fuel system on his eight-cylinder Cadillac, Thrasher said his fuel efficiency has increased from 19 miles per gallon to 53. His wife's 1996 Toyota gets about 71 miles per gallon.

A former teacher at several technical schools with more than 30 years of automotive experience, Thrasher started researching his system about 16 months ago.

-FOR REST OF ARTICLE
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/BUSINESS/805130339&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

[Opus007]

10:47 PM on 05/13/2008

I'm intriqued. I will check it out.

[AmbivalentGuy]

03:05 PM on 05/14/2008

"Thank you for your interest.
We also have an additive that the government won't let us tell you about, but it will make your car get 30 miles to the thimbleful,
May I have your credit card number please?"

[donballz]

11:00 PM on 05/13/2008

Isnt GM already marketing a hydrogen engine? I dont want to downplay your friend because if he invented that in his garage that is beyond amazing. But good luck competing with GM. But maybe Toyota or someone will buy it from him. It does give us hope

[Mij13]

08:35 PM on 05/13/2008

Moyers makes some excellent points, and it should be as troubling to Republicans as Democrats. Think of the great leaders and potential leaders who could never get elected today because they are not media savvy or cannot speak in sound-bites or bumper stickers, as Moyers calls them. It reminded me of a teacher who told me that she thought Hemingway probably would not be able to get published in todays market.

[hydenorhare]

07:46 PM on 05/13/2008

Here's the transcript ...

Olbermann: Welcome, schmoopy.
Moyers: Thanks for having me, schmoopy.
Olbermann: YOU'RE schmoopy.
Moyers: No, YOU'RE schmoopy.

and on and on it goes.

[drtwo25]

08:47 PM on 05/13/2008

oh wow, the conversation doesn't fit on a bumpersticker and the first morons show up to prove the point of a retarded america

[Zentomato]

01:25 AM on 05/14/2008

nuance = noun: "a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude (Example: "Without understanding the finer nuances you can't enjoy the humor") there must be something in the conservative mindset that doesn't allow for nuance.

[an observer3]

07:18 PM on 05/13/2008

Moyers interview with Dr. Jeremiah Wright was very enlightening. My family and I was able to see and hear the man.

[Grulg]

06:31 PM on 05/13/2008

Keith Obamamann.

[nomobull]

10:01 AM on 05/14/2008

proving what that yoyu have problems with people who dare to think and not follow the pack.

[Eoin45]

02:44 PM on 05/14/2008

Oh great Grulg. I bow down to you in your incredible cleverness. You have devastated all Obama fans with your verbal wit. NOT.