USNews.com: Inside Washington: Paul Bedard: : Katie, Matt? What's Bush thinking?

September 11, 2006

Katie, Matt? What's Bush thinking?

They've never much cared for the Today show inside the White House, feeling it was just too anti-Bush to stomach sometimes. So maybe it shouldn't come as a big surprise that some insiders were shocked that the prez gave former cohost Katie Couric a big smooching interview for her debut at CBS last week and Today's Matt Lauer a 9/11 session for today's show. "What were they thinking? Why are we rewarding them?" asks one insider. In fact, when Couric first switched jobs, it was expected that she'd try to nail a Bush interview to show she counted. She spent lots of time in Washington wooing big shots and overcoming those Bushies who wanted to shut her out. Now, others say, what was Bush supposed to do: Ignore Couric, who was expected to bring in huge audiences for her debut, which she did. Or duck Today's 9/11 coverage just to make a point? Of course not. But all was not lost for the Couric critics who were looking for some nick in her armor: Seems she was uncharacteristically nervous going into the Bush interview.

Posted at 03:00 PM by PaulBedard

« Say it on your bumper

Eerie 9/11 mixed with politics »

WHAT IS THIS?

Have you ever wondered what reporters do with all the stuff they collect but never write about? Well wonder no more. The bosses here pay me a good chunk of change and haven't ever choked on my Amex bill so it seems only proper to dump out my notebook every week. It won't be just news we didn't use. The blog will sometimes write about the process of getting stories-like why we choose Charlie Palmer's (quiet, spacious) for source lunches on Capitol Hill over Bistro Bis (crowded and noisy). Or why it's hard to get reporters at U.S. News to answer their phones on Fridays (it's our deadline, silly.) We'll even include pictures of our travels. Don't hesitate to applaud or criticize. We might just run your comments. Go ahead and email me at pbedard@usnews.com.

HISTORICAL STUFF

In Washington Whispers One Year Ago: Sen. Edward M. Kennedy can be one of the Senate's blustering best, but we found him in a candid moment last week when he sized up his speech this week at the AFL-CIO convention in Chicago. "You're gonna miss a great speech there," he said with a chuckle. "Same one I've given for 40 years. It's going to be breathtaking."

Five years ago: Vice President Dick Cheney knows how to keep reporters happy. Flying home on Air Force Two from an energy policy town hall meeting in Pittsburgh, his press corps asked stewards for beer. Breaking with practice, the jet was dry. Scribes whined to Cheney who found two bottles of vino, red and white, to give the pampered pressies.