Okay, Russert Watch fans, this is the one we've been waiting for. The Big Kahuna. The Super Bowl of Meet the Press shows. The chance to see what our favorite newsman is really made of. That's right, Tim's guest this week is Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, fresh off his rocky appearance in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee. With Iraq going south and its main architect in his hot seat, will E-ZPass Tim let him spin, spin, spin... or will he finally take his role seriously and hold Rummy's feet to the fire? Will the two men go toe-to-toe... or will they waltz through the interview hand-in-hand?
Here are just some of the many, many questions I'd like to hear Russert put to Rumsfeld:
“Mr. Secretary, during your joint appearance in front of the Armed Services Committee this week, Gen. Abizaid, the head of U.S. Central Command, said that despite two years of counterinsurgency operations, the insurgency’s “overall strength is about the same”. Yet your Vice President continues to stand by his statement that “the insurgency is in its last throes” [And Tim, putting those two short, pithy, and irreconcilable quotes side-by-side would make for a nice screen]. So who is right?” "Before the war started, you said you doubted that it would last even six months. Twenty-eight months and 1,735 dead American soldiers later, the insurgency is still going strong -- with no end to the carnage in sight. Hasn't the time come to admit that you wildly miscalculated?" "I realize the situation there is fluid, but today, with what you know, how many months -- or years -- do you think we'll have combat troops on the ground in Iraq?" "The Downing Street Memos seem to indicate that the administration put little or no thought into the aftermath of the invasion. And what's happened since then bears this out. How can you explain this?" “Are reports that we are building 14 permanent military bases in Iraq accurate? And if we are, why?” "Back in December, a soldier stood up and asked you why our troops were having to go into battle without the proper equipment. You answered that you go to war with the Army you have. Putting aside the discussion of whether we needed to launch this war when we did, especially if we weren't properly prepared -- why is it that, over six months later, soldiers are still being advised by their commanders to buy their own flak jackets, goggles, and padding? As the person in charge of running the Pentagon, isn't it an utter disgrace that after spending over $200 billion on Iraq, we've still got soldiers who don't have the equipment they need to keep them safe?" "A follow-up on this last question: when your head hits the pillow at night, is your mind filled with images of the shocking number of amputees this war has produced, and your heart filled with overwhelming guilt?" "Military recruitment numbers are way down. a) What does this say about how your handling of our troops is perceived by the public at large? b) At what point will we be forced to institute a military draft if the current dismal rate of recruitment continues?" 'Shifting from Iraq to the war on terror, on Friday a UN source said that the US has finally acknowledged that prisoners have been tortured at Guantanamo Bay. Given that admission, what are we to make of your defense of the treatment of detainees there as "professional and humane"? Would you like to reconsider that assessment?' "You thought that we could win the war in Iraq using around 100,000 troops. Gen. Shinseki said he thought the number needed to be significantly higher. Given what we know now, why did he lose his job, while you still have yours?" "You claim that you have twice submitted your resignation to President Bush. If you were the president, would you have accepted it?" "In the early 80s you traveled to Baghdad as a special envoy for President Reagan and met with Saddam Hussein in an effort to improve US-Iraq relations. What did you guys talk about? Did his prior use of chemical weapons against Iran ever come up?"
Okay, gang, those are my questions. Now I want to hear yours. Go to the comments section and let 'em rip. We'll post the best ones on Saturday.
One last programming note: On last week's Meet the Press, Sen. John McCain said: "I predict that by the time this program is shown next Sunday that Mr. Durbin will have apologized." Ka-ching! Pretty impressive, Senator. So, here's an idea: why not have McCain come on every week and offer his latest bold prediction -- kind of like Sybil the Soothsayer in Network. I smell a Nielsen bump, Tim!