Humphreys v Bolton – the Re-match!
I’d meant to post this clip this morning but it wasn’t on the Today website yet. Now it is, and you to can share in the joy of John Bolton and BBC journo John Humphreys metaphorically going for each others’ throats on the issue of US foreign policy; Bolton accusing Humphreys (and anyone else who thinks bad decisions may have been made) of far-left extremism, and Humphreys showing his contempt in the way only he can.
Humphreys doesn’t hold back – “Haven’t we learned anything from Iraq?” and “So you go into a country and destroy all the institutions and if it all goes wrong afterwards you say don’t blame us?” as Bolton almost sputters in annoyance.
Bolton goes on to call George Soros a ‘man of the extreme left’ and accuses Humphreys of agreeing politically with Soros and being ‘a superior Brit’. Humphreys gives as good as he gets.
Classic.
But leaving the media/politician fun aside, John Bolton is chilling in the insight he gives to Bushco’s thinking. They intend to bomb Iran, no doubt about it.
bjacques
May 23, 2007 at 7:43 amI wouldn’t say chilling so much as tedious and a bit depressing. Bolton is a typical specimen of Bushite/neocon automaton.
Bolton goes on TV or radio and gives his spiel.
If the venue a friendly one, with a tame interviewer, a lovefest ensues, eating up a bit of airtime and giving Bolton media cred. No benefit to the viewers, advantage goes to Bolton
If the interviewer is neutral, or doesn’t ask softball questions, Bolton gives the standard warning that asking questions his helping America’s enemies. Most interviewers take the hint and return to friendly questions.
If the interview calls Bolton on his bullshit, however gently, Bolton invokes someone who is a wingnut object of hate (but who non-wingnuts think is OK or at worst annoying) and then smears interviewer by associating him or her with said hate object. Then he continues in this vain and starts to chuckle when he delivers what he considers insults. (I worked with a guy like that once. Mind like a closed steel trap.) At some point the interviewer backs off and, if they’re any good, tries another approach. Repeat until the interview ends, then both part as the best of enemies.
Bolton did the same thing when Jeremy Paxman interviewed him.
You don’t see much of this with US interviewers, because Karl Rove will put them or their bosses on the White House Press shit list and tell them why. Tom Cruise’s publicists (includiing his sister) did this with entertainment journalists. Works like a charm.
I suppose that once Bolton invoked Soros, Humphreys could have suggested that Bolton considers Soros contemptible (which he does) and then asked whether this puts everyone who asks Bolton tough (i.e., real) questions in the camp of the contemptible.
But in the end, it’s a wash. Bolton and his kind know that BBC barely register on the US electoral landscape. They probably just need the challenge every now and then to avoid the temptation to utter their contempt more plainly on US TV.
Think of Malcolm MacDowell in “Caligula” during an orgy scene. “Crawl! Crawl! Crawl! I HATE YOU!!!”