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March 27, 2007 9:39 AM

Katie's Interview: John Edwards Responds

Posted by Greg Kandra
(Getty Images/Sara D. Davis)
Yesterday, John Edwards weighed in on some of the reaction to the interview with Katie on "60 Minutes".

The Edwards campaign released a statement:
The Edwardses appreciated the opportunity 60 Minutes afforded them to respond to tough questions which have been raised in response to last week's diagnosis that Mrs. Edwards' cancer had returned. Mrs. Edwards also called Ms. Couric today to thank her for the interview and to say that she and Senator Edwards thought the interview was both thorough and fair."

During a roundtable today in San Francisco to discuss his plan to halt global warming, Senator Edwards was asked about the matter and said: "My reaction was that Katie Couric asked questions that the American people are asking themselves, and I think they were completely legitimate questions. And I think the American people deserve answers from me and from Elizabeth to those questions. I mean, I'm asking America to support me and vote for me as their next president, and I think part of the evaluation of a candidate for president is a personal evaluation of the character and integrity and honesty of a candidate. So, no, I thought the questions were fair. Tough. I thought they were tough, but they were fair.
For more reaction -- and comment -- browse around the CBSNews.com website. Everybody, it seems, has an opinion, including the folks over at the Columbia Journalism Review.

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Add a Comment See all 23 Comments
by miznurse36 March 28, 2007 10:48 PM EDT
I think the Edwards are courageous people. Shame on Katie Couric for the way she came at them. I mean she of all people should know what it's like to deal with cancer. I mean it's not like she stopped working when her husband had it then died. And what's with the "some people" who are these people and what sources did Katie use to quote them. Best wishes to the Edwards family.

~S

P.S. I never really cared for Katie Couric on the Today Show and I rarely watch her on CBS News.
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by voodre March 27, 2007 11:06 PM EDT
Ms. Couric,

While I agree you asked Mr. Edwards, fair and reasonable questions, the way in which they were asked were smug and biased. You repeatedly harped on the negatives of John Edwards moving forward with his career. The use of the phrase "some would say..." means to the average viewer "I would say..." and as a journalist, it is your public obligation to interview in an objective manner, not a persuasive manner. If there is one thing I took from the interview, it is that CBS clearly sees John Edwards destined to fail as a presidential candidate because his wife has cancer.

Sincerely,
Amanda
Reply to this comment
by March 27, 2007 10:51 PM EDT
Well thats the worst non-Fox piece of Television "news" segment assault piece that I can remember. Nothing has made angrier in recent memory from any of the former news outlets.
Katie this STENCH and SHAME will never leave you. This is YOUR LEGACY, this is your low speed getaway ride in white bronco OJ moment, Katie - just like w/ OJ all of America is watching. The difference is, at that point, we didn't want him to pull the trigger to escape the glare. As for you CancerousKatie With you SOME WOULD SAY....anything that causes extreme suffering and lasts for eternity will do. Here's to NEVER EVER watching you on any show ever again.
That's what some people are saying.
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by todd_somers March 27, 2007 9:30 PM EDT
Re: John Edwards' Response Statement

An Open Letter to the Senator Edwards

Dear Senator Edwards,

Did you actually see the interview that aired, 03-25-07, on 60 Minutes? Given your statement, I'm not so sure that you have. You know...a lot of things may have been done in post production that you're not aware of. If your interview was shot with one camera...you're in for an eye opener, Senator. This, because, Ms. Couric has a ton of "face time" in your interview. "Face time" that shouldn't be there if your interview was shot with one camera. (The "face time" I'm addressing includes Ms. Couric asking you questions [in a bit of an unruly tone] while the camera is on her. This could have been filmed and edited into your interview -- long after the interview was over). This would explain why you don't understand what all of the fuss is about.

If you actually did see the 60 Minutes interview that aired on 03-25-07, please accept my apologies for disturbing you with my concerns. It's, just, that I (and, so it seems, a great deal of Americans) found Ms. Couric's demeanor quite disturbing.

My prayers go out to you, Elizabeth and your family.

Wishing You, Elizabeth and Your Entire Family Much Success (Always) in Life,

Todd

Todd Somers
Pasadena, CA


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by twopenny2 March 27, 2007 8:19 PM EDT
A fascinating interview,good questions and good response. Sure, John Edwards will be a 100% focused President irrespective of Ms. Edward's state of illness. Also, let us not delude ourselves thinking that the President's job is something that is onerous as to call for undivided attention. Clinton demonstrated ability to compartmentalize and function effectively. If I have some reservations, it is that the media will dwell to much on an ailing Ms. Edwards if she becomes the First Lady. If indeed she does, John Edwards should prevail on the media almost to ignore Ms. Edwards, from that time onwards.
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by missg53 March 27, 2007 8:10 PM EDT
Katie
I am very disappointed in you. Where is the compassion you once displayed when you were the host of the Today Show. Many times you interviewed people who faced many heart-wrenching things including some serious health issues. You always allowed your voice to resonate the compassion many of us watching could tell you felt. But the tone of this interview lacked compassion and your attitude came across as quite INSENSITIVE and you appeared very CALLOUS and SELF-RIGHTEOUS. Has it been that long since you faced a similiar issue with your own husband's health issues? How would you have felt if someone asked insensitive questions of you after you returned to your job after only a brief absence when he passed away. I lost my husband in 2003 to diabetes complications and still feel concern
for anyone I hear has suffered similiar consequences. Katie, I was a fan of yours when you were on the Today Show, but in what seems like an all out effort by CBS to portray the Evening News in a serious light, it has caused a once likeable personality to appear very hard-nosed and calloused. Lighten Up, CBS and Katie Couric or you will never be number 1.
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by ramos937 March 27, 2007 6:48 PM EDT
I have no comment on the interview since I did not see it. I do on Mrs. Edwards. I firmly belive she is a beautiful, courageous and fine lady. She defines class.

On the Edwards campaign - Sorry, but it will peter out sometime in 2007. Why? You cannot run a presidential campaign without huge resources. These resources will evaluate the risk that Mrs. Edwards will get worse and that her husband must curtail his campaigning or quite altogether. No choice, cruel as it is. Without these resources ($, paid staff, volunteers, etc), the campaign will cease.
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by zykracosmos March 27, 2007 6:43 PM EDT
Katie,
Here's what I came away with from your interview:
So, how does it feel to know you're going to die?
How did it feel to tell your children you're going to die?
Is it selfish to run for president when she's going to die?
Will you be able to concentrate on the campaign when she's about dead?
How do you cope with thinking you're getting better, but you're going to die?
Does it make your squint, looking death in the face?
Are you starting to feel dead yet?
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by shameoncbs March 27, 2007 6:35 PM EDT
Shame on you Katie! YOU WERE THE ONE THAT IS CALLOUS. WHHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? I was thinking of watching you AT CBS but after the interview, I cannot watch you anymore. I am not a journalist, but even I know THERE WAS A BETTER WAY TO ASK THESE TOUGH QUESTIONS. What happened to your grace, integrity and compassion!!!? Did you forget what you went through with your own husband? Did you forget about leaving your own kids? I WILL NOT WATCH CBS AT ALL ANYMORE AND TELL OTHERS TO DO THE SAME. WE NEED TO SEND THE MESSAGE THAT THERE MUST BE A LINE OF VALUES THAT SHOULD NOT BE CROSSED EVEN FOR THE SAKE OF JOURNALISM. GOD BLESS ELIZABETH EDWARDS AND MAY SHE BE COMPLETELY HEALED OF HER CANCER. SHE HAD A GRACE UNDER FIRE THAT MANY PEOPLE SAY KATIE DID NOT DISPLAY. I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT. GOD BLESS AND PROTECT THE EDWARDS. WE ARE NO ONE TO JUDGE THEIR DECISION. GOODBYE CBS! GOODBYE KATIE!
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by willjeffrie1 March 27, 2007 5:59 PM EDT
I thought Katie Couric did a great job in her interview, worthy of the tradition of hard-hitting interviews on "60 Minutes." I'm a journalist and realize that nonjournalists find it hard to understand why Katie had to press the issue, but to do otherwise would be an insult to John Edwards and a disservice to his campaign. Soft-ball questions would have made Edwards look weak and he would have been criticized for using a soft, friendly forum to answer those important questions. It would not only have called into question his ability to handle a tough interview, but also his ability to be president. Katie's interview allowed John and his wife to eloquently respond to what most people are thinking, and also put the matter behind them.
Would Mike Wallace and his personal life be questioned if he had done the interview? Unlikely.
I really like John Edwards, so let's dignify him and focus on his answers instead of on Katie.
By the way, bravo to Katie!
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by tilden1876 March 27, 2007 5:53 PM EDT
What a lame, self-serving, sleazy posting. It is so telling that the only outside blog you cite is Dan Goldberg%u2019s equally lame comments at CJR. Let%u2019s review. Couric conducts an interview many of us thought sensationist, unprofessional, and biased, and Goldberg%u2019s response (that you are so quick to promote and feature) is to suggest we are all bigoted chauvinists. He might of considered or debated the merits of the criticism. For that matter, you might of done so on this blog. But no, so much easier to cry %u201Csexism!%u201D

For the record, some of us find the prosecutorial tone, the hearsay framing of the questions, the fairly blunt assault on marital character, the insinuating manner, and the rest of the bag of tricks Ms. Couric employed as abhorrent when used by any of her male confederates in the news business as when used by her. If there is a double standard here, it is only in that many of us hoped that CBS News and its main anchor would live up to its often promoted standards and traditions rather than ape those of Fox News and other Murdoch style tabloids.

P.S. - It is a clear sign of the celebrity tabloid driven mentality behind the way CBS approached this interview that they cite the Edwards%u2019s expressed satisfaction with the interview as a defense. As if they responsibility is to the Edwards rather than the truth or the public interest. I don%u2019t give a *** how the Edwards's felt %u2013 I%u2019m a viewer and I was cheated.

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by acbas March 27, 2007 5:45 PM EDT
I am stunned by the comments I have read on this blog regarding the Edwards interview Katie Couric did on 60 Minutes last Sunday. Was my TV on the same station? Tough questions HAVE to be asked of a man campagining for the Presidency of the U.S., whose wife is battling cancer. Make no mistake, Katie took no pleasure in asking the tough, personal questions, given her personal background with family, but journalists must cover all the bases when interviewing Presidential candidates---otherwise bloggers would accuse her of being too "soft" on Edwards. You bloggers/viewers criticize her either way she interviews: either too soft, or too tough. Well, the reality is, she can not please everyone and she does the best job she possibly can each and every day. I, for one, think she is a professional and I keep my TV on Channel 2 now. My respect for her remains unwavered since the Edwards interview, which undoubtedly was a rough one for her, personally & professionally. Bravo Katie.
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by musicmancbs March 27, 2007 5:03 PM EDT
Journalistic debate is one thing, but name-calling is quite another. Couric cannot win -- one moment, she is blamed for being "too soft;" then, when she asks hard questions in a hard news interview, she's called a "shrew," a "hag," biased (posts simultaneously claim she is a mouthpiece for Hillary Clinton and a mouthpiece for Rush Limbaugh), etc. Most of the comments -- "hag," "shrew," etc., are never comments that would be aimed at a male anchor -- full evidence that sexism is alive and well in this country.

Katie asked fair questions -- and I'm not sure how anyone can characterize her questions, nor the way she asked them, as "mean-spirited" or "sensational." The Edwards knew they were appearing on "60 Minutes," not "Oprah" or "Ellen."
Clearly, by agreeing to the interview in the first place, they expected such questions to be asked...and may have even wanted the opportunity to answer them.

The "some" used by Katie in the course of asking her questions probably refers to the range of opinions among the general public regarding the Edwards' decision. What was she supposed to do: say "'Joe Blow' wants to know why...." ? She was merely the conveyor of those quesitons because she had the opportunity to ask them and get answers.
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by vastr-wcon March 27, 2007 4:49 PM EDT
It is typical of the graciousness of John Edwards that he would speak well of Couric, even though her outrageous, pathetic, disgusting interview showed that she is utterly and completely incompetent as a professional newsperson and should be relegated to just fluff interviews on morning shows.
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by one2three1 March 27, 2007 4:41 PM EDT
Why didn't Katie ask the Edwards about the governments policies on cancer, the lack of commitment of the Bush administration to spend significantly more money in finding treatments and cures and how the money being poured down the rat hole of Iraq could be used to find more options for treating cancers like Ms Edwards!

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by jmbsheridan2 March 27, 2007 4:09 PM EDT
Why did not Ms. Couric source the people who are asking the questions when she says "Some People Say" when beginning a question. It seems the some people are Limbaugh and Coulter. When you use "Some People Say" it sounds like it's actually Couric making the question up. I don't understand why she decided to use this "Fox News" tactic. It seems to damage her credibility unnecessarily.
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by catz25 March 27, 2007 3:49 PM EDT
Think about it a minute. It occured to me that Ms. Couric was only playing devil's advocate and beating the Faux news people to the punch. She knew that the Edwards were going to be asked these questions along the way and now that they have very candidly answered these tough and outrageous questions, (that believe me, the Faux people would have no qualms in asking them.) these questions no longer have any value or power to them. The Edwards are unbelievably gracious and honest people and our country would benefit greatly having them in the White House. We need integrity in our WHite House again so we can once again believe in our government. Vote John Edwards!
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by schroeder181 March 27, 2007 3:25 PM EDT
People aren't giving enough credit to Katie for conducting the interview. She, sadly, lost her husband and sister to cancer, so interviewing the Edwardses on such a painful subject must've been a personal hell for her. I can only imagine that she questioned herself over and over before asking the types of questions she knew she'd get flack for and would bring back her own awful memories. Plus, she probably checked in with the Edwardses prior to the interview to make sure they could steel themselves for tough talk. (Anyone who watches CBS Evening News knows that Katie totally has a heart - it's some good, heartfelt programming.)

If she didn't ask those questions and really downplayed the situation, the public would be criticizing her for being to soft. C'mon, admit it - we were all wondering how the Edwardses would handle this hurdle in the midst of a grueling presidential campaign.

So damned if you do, and damned if you don't. Anyway, Katie: let it roll off you like water. And to the Edwardses: my heart goes out to you!

- Susie
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by milleniumgir March 27, 2007 3:18 PM EDT
This is really ironic considering when Couric's husband was dying of Cancer she did not stop her career at all. Th Edwards family are excellent people and did not deserve this repsponse from her. She is a single mother with daughters and others are with them more than she is! I am from North Carolina and know the Edwards family well and they are Highly repsected which is more than I can say for Couric! She should know that when people with Cancer are fighting it , stay strong and determined they do much better than those who stop their daily lives!
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by mygramma March 27, 2007 2:54 PM EDT
Good post Greg. Thanks for the link to Dan Goldberg's fine article on the subject at Columbia Journalism Review. I agree with jcorbin1958. The smear Katie hate mongers need to get a life. No sense in recommending they take a second look or a journalism class -- they wouldn't understand anyway.
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