"My job is to make sure that all stories we publish are the best they can be. Holding stories that aren’t ready for whatever reason..."

"... that they lack sufficient context, say, or that they are missing critical voices — happens every day in every newsroom. I look forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready."

Said Bari Weiss, quoted in "'60 Minutes’ Pulled a Segment. A Correspondent Calls It ‘Political.' Sharyn Alfonsi, a '60 Minutes' correspondent, criticized the network’s decision to remove her reporting from Sunday’s edition of the show" (NYT).

ADDED: Oh, for the golden age of "60 Minutes":

 

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Things conflated by Majorie Taylor Greene.

Now, here's an appropriate use of the word "conflate."

I'm reading "How Marjorie Taylor Greene’s ‘pedophile’ slur made it to ‘60 Minutes’" by Greg Sargent (in WaPo). 

The “pedophile” slur, a companion of the term “groomer,” is regularly applied by Republicans and right-wing media figures to Democrats and others who stand up for transgender rights, including gender-affirming treatment for adolescents. Greene cheerfully flaunted this use of the term on “60 Minutes,” which left [Lesley] Stahl utterly flummoxed: 

Did Trump say he would only nominate Justices who committed to overruling Roe v. Wade?

I heard the NYT reporter Adam Liptak make that assertion (on yesterday's episode of the NYT "Daily" podcast), and I wondered if that was strictly accurate. 

Writing every day, I've followed Trump very closely, and I believe if he said anything like that, I would have blogged about it, and the key words to search my archive are so clear — Trump... Supreme Court... abortion — that I'm going to believe the answer is "no" if I am unable to find it. 

***

I needed to read through about 20 old posts to find what is relevant to my question — only 3 posts, which I'll present in chronological order, with boldface added:

June 27, 2016: 

I asked, "Why hasn't Trump said anything about the Supreme Court's new abortion case?" Answering my own question: "Gender politics isn't his thing. He only talks about abortion when pushed or when attacked."

October 20, 2016: 

Chris Wallace, moderating a debate, asked where the Supreme Court should take the country and what's the right approach to constitutional interpretation. Trump blathered a bit, seized on the Second Amendment, and threw in "The justices that I am going to appoint will be pro-life." You can be pro-life and still decide reaffirm the long-standing precedent, so his answer is an evasion. Wallace was smart to follow up:

This week on 60 Minutes, correspondent Lesley Stahl reported on the health care challenges facing the transgender community," including the experience of "detransitioners."

CBS News reports. 

"I think we spoke to more people on this story than any other story I can remember reporting on in my whole time at 60 Minutes," Stahl told 60 Minutes Overtime. "We wanted to be thorough. We wanted to be fair. And we wanted to understand every aspect of this story. And it was really focused on health care. That was the primary idea for the story. Health care... We were concerned that the groups that oppose transgender people might try to weaponize our story and use it against transgender people."

She sounds very defensive, and if you watch the report — here — you'll see why she's on edge. The part about the detransitioners is very powerful. We spend quite a bit of time with a young woman who had her breasts removed and a young man who had his testicles removed. Both of them realized afterward that they'd made a terrible mistake. Obviously, they received terrible health care, and the idea was to cover the problems in transgender health care. It took some courage to include them in the story, but, of course, "60 Minutes" is being criticized for that.

"We’ve got a president who actually suggested selling Puerto Rico. Believe it or not, it could have been worse. He once asked our national security officials if he could nuke hurricanes."

"I mean, at least he didn’t do that. A nuclear hurricane seems like it would have been bad. I mean, it would be funny if it wasn’t. Look. Some of the rhetoric you’re hearing down here in South Florida, it’s just made up. It’s just nonsense. Listening to the Republicans, you’d think Joe was more Communist than the Castros. Don’t fall for that garbage, don’t fall for that okey-doke. Joe Biden is not a socialist. He was a senator from Delaware. He was my vice president. I think folks would know if he’s a secret socialist by now.... [The President] likes to act tough and talk tough. He thinks scowling and being mean is tough, and being rude is tough. But when 60 Minutes and Lesley Stahl are too tough for you, you ain’t all that tough. You got to walk out of a 60 Minutes interview, then you’re never going to stand up to a dictator. If you’re spending all your time complaining about how mean reporters are to you, you’re not going to stand up to Putin.... With Joe and Kamala at the helm, you won’t have to think about them every single day. There might be a whole day where they don’t be on TV. There might be a whole day where they don’t tweet some craziness. You won’t have to argue about them every day. It won’t be so exhausting. Just having a normal president.... We’re not going to have a president that goes out of his way to insult anybody who he doesn’t think is nice enough to him. We won’t have a president who threatens people with jail for just criticizing him. That’s not normal behavior, Florida. You wouldn’t tolerate it from a co-worker. You wouldn’t tolerate it from a high-school principal. You won’t tolerate it from a coach. You wouldn’t tolerate it from a family member. Florida Man wouldn’t even do this stuff."

Said Barack Obama at his Florida rally speech yesterday. Transcript.

"Senator Al Franken Kissed and Groped Me Without My Consent, And There’s Nothing Funny About It."

"In December of 2006, I embarked on my ninth USO Tour to entertain our troops, my eighth to the Middle East since the 9/11 attacks," writes Leeann Tweeden, a morning news anchor on TalkRadio 790 KABC in Los Angeles, writing on the TalkRadio 790 KABC website.

When I saw the script, Franken had written a moment when his character comes at me for a ‘kiss’... On the day of the show Franken... said to me, “We need to rehearse the kiss.” I laughed and ignored him... He continued to insist, and I was beginning to get uncomfortable....  I said ‘OK’ so he would stop badgering me. We did the line leading up to the kiss and then he came at me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth. I immediately pushed him away with both of my hands against his chest and told him if he ever did that to me again I wouldn’t be so nice about it the next time....

Not long after, I performed the skit as written, carefully turning my head so he couldn’t kiss me on the lips. No one saw what happened backstage. I didn’t tell the Sergeant Major of the Army, who was the sponsor of the tour. I didn’t tell our USO rep what happened. At the time I didn’t want to cause trouble.... Other than our dialogue on stage, I never had a voluntary conversation with Al Franken again....

It wasn’t until I was back in the US and looking through the CD of photos we were given by the photographer that I saw this one:



I couldn’t believe it. He groped me, without my consent, while I was asleep....

A few weeks ago, we had California Congresswoman Jackie Speier on the show and she told us her story of being sexually assaulted when she was a young Congressional aide. She described how a powerful man in the office where she worked ‘held her face, kissed her and stuck his tongue in her mouth.’

At that moment, I thought to myself, Al Franken did that exact same thing to me....

ADDED: "In the New York Magazine article, dated March 13, 1995, entitled 'Comedy Isn't Funny: Saturday Night Live At Twenty--How The Show That Transformed TV Became A Grim Joke'...."

Franken: And, "I give the pills to Lesley Stahl. Then, when Lesley's passed out, I take her to the closet and rape her." Or, "That's why you never see Lesley until February." Or, "When she passes out, I put her in various positions and take pictures of her."

AND: Here's how Franken talked about Trump's "Access Hollywood" tape:

"Over and over grandparents have whispered to me, 'Don’t use our name, but we bought their house' or 'We pay their rent.'"

Writes the "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl in a NYT op-ed about grandparenting.

[M]y generation is spending more money on our grandchildren, 64 percent more than grandparents did just 10 years ago.... One reason we pioneers have become the family piggy bank is a generational inversion: It used to be that the middle-aged took care of their elderly parents; more and more it’s the other way round....

Many of us want a second chance. As working mothers, we carried around bales of guilt because we felt (or were made to feel) we weren’t there enough for our kids. We know what we missed out on, so we’re making up for it by pouring not just money but also time into our grandchildren. My daughter likes to remind me how much I loathed taking her to the park. As a workaholic reporter in Washington covering the White House, I would push her on a swing and read a research paper at the same time. Today I love taking my granddaughters to the park, playing tea party, sitting on the floor with them coloring. My attention is all theirs.

Most of the grandparents I know are like me: We’ll do anything to hold those babies. We’re the babysitters who beg to come over, an offer that’s hard to refuse since we don’t charge a dime....

Stahl purports to love this, but she doesn't mention that she is —though we know, and it's obvious — quite rich. It's easy for her and her friends — the "Don’t use our name, but we bought their house" people — to make up for the income insecurity of the younger generation. But what about more average aging boomers? Stahl blithely describes their financial well-being like this: "Grandparents get their monthly Social Security checks; many have paid off their mortgage; and large numbers remain on the job, earning money."

I've read so many articles over the years about Baby Boomer women who are burdened with working, taking care of their children, and taking care of their aging parents. Now that we are older, we're still working, taking care of our aging self, still taking care of our children, and — if we're lucky enough to have any — taking care of our grandchildren. But, Stahl tells us, this is wonderful, because we must have extra money and time, and we must have developed a taste for caregiving, even if we were the sort who "loathed taking [our own children] to the park."

Stahl acts like she's laying down her "bales of guilt," but isn't she imposing guilt on her fellow boomers? Yikes! I was supposed to pay their rent?! I shouldn't have asked for tender care; I was supposed to be giving it? No attention for me; my attention is supposed to be all theirs?

And what's with "bales of guilt"? "Ol' Man River" starts playing in my head.

You an'me, we sweat an' strain,
Body all achin' an' rack'd wid pain,
Tote dat barge!
Lif' dat bale!

A cotton bale weighs 500 pounds. It's lift that bale, singular. Not bales. Even that poor, suffering African American stevedore only lifted one bale at a time. And he had to tote that barge. I'm sure Lesley totes barges. I'm being totes a jerk here now, I know. But making fun of Lesley Stahl is child's play. It's a tea party. It's sitting on the floor coloring.

Lesley Stahl to Donald Trump: "A lot of people are afraid. They’re really afraid. African Americans think there’s a target on their back."

What is the basis for the statement that Donald Trump has made "African Americans think there’s a target on their back"?

And if there is no basis — I don't think there is — then Lesley Stahl — ironically — should be condemned for the very thing for which she is blaming Trump — making black people feel targeted.

ADDED: Stahl was crafty in the way she phrased her question — nonquestion, really:

I want to ask you all about something that’s going on right now around the country. A lot of people are afraid. They’re really afraid. African Americans think there’s a target on their back. Muslims are terrified.

There's just this fear out there. She's not saying who scared who. She put black people and Muslims together. Muslims heard some specific policy proposals that are the basis of an appropriate question about fear. She did not mention Hispanic people, some of whom could be said to feel threatened by immigration proposals. But what's the Trump-connected basis for fear in black people?

Trump's response was to say "it’s horrible if that’s happening" and to direct an attack at the press: "they’ll take every single little incident that they can find in this country," even things that might have happened if he wasn't "around doing this," and "they’ll make into an event because that’s the way the press is."

Stahl does not frame a follow-up question that specifies how she's tying Trump to the fear going on right now. She merely invites the Trump offspring " to say anything about this fear that’s out there." "Out there" is an embarrassing tell.

Donald Trump, Jr. steps up: "I think the fears, you know, while they may be there, some fabricated, some not-- are totally unfounded."

ALSO: "Trump transition team begins minority outreach with 'new deal for Black America.'"

How Donald Trump used and deflected questions about same-sex marriage and the abortion precedents.

Let's study the "60 Minutes" transcript. Lesley Stahl brought up the diverse set of individuals that she labeled "the LGBTQ group" — it's "One of the groups that’s expressing fear." Trump reminded her that he "mentioned them at the Republican National Convention," and: "Everybody said, 'That was so great.' I have been, you know, I’ve been a supporter."

So Stahl switched to an issue that is important to many of people, individuals both in and, like me, outside of the group: "Do you support marriage equality?" Trump said:

It’s irrelevant because it was already settled. It’s law. It was settled in the Supreme Court. I mean it’s done.

Stahl tried to jump in with "So even if you appoint a judge that," and Trump just kept going, mentioning the Supreme Court, but only as an institution that has already done something. It's already decided:

It’s done. It-- you have-- these cases have gone to the Supreme Court. They’ve been settled. And, I’m fine with that.

This is different — but not that different — from how he'd spoken a moment earlier about abortion and the Supreme Court. I say "not that different," because the question was framed differently for abortion:

Lesley Stahl: During the campaign, you said that you would appoint justices who were against abortion rights. Will you appoint-- are you looking to appoint a justice who wants to overturn Roe v. Wade?

That's different from the demand for his opinion on same-sex marriage, "Do you support marriage equality?" Note that Trump did not answer the question asked. He only said it didn't matter, then pointed to the Court's past decision, which he said he was "fine with." I'd infer that he supports same-sex marriage or at least opposes upsetting the expectations that fell in place when the Court decided.

With abortion, the question was about whom he'd pick for the Court and whether that person was not just someone who personally opposes abortion but someone who "wants to overturn Roe v. Wade." That's a different question, and it was also a question he didn't answer:

Donald Trump: So look, here’s what’s going to happen-- I’m going to-- I’m pro-life. The judges will be pro-life. They’ll be very—

Note that he first switched to his personal opinion — "I’m pro-life" — and then he addressed the nominees' — he pluralized it — opinion: They'll be very pro-life. Stahl then prodded him about whether they'd actually be for overturning the precedent (because one can be personally pro-life but still believe in keeping the precedent in place). Trump deflected the question again:

Well, there are a couple of things. They’ll be pro-life, they’ll be-- in terms of the whole gun situation, we know the Second Amendment and everybody’s talking about the Second Amendment and they’re trying to dice it up and change it, they’re going to be very pro-Second Amendment. But having to do with abortion if it ever were overturned, it would go back to the states. So it would go back to the states and--

You might think he finally danced back to the question, but he did not. He only started explaining what would happen if Roe v. Wade were overturned, not whether he'd appoint a justice who "wants to overturn Roe v. Wade." This time, he succeeded in knocking Stahl off the question. We got this back-and-forth:

Lesley Stahl: Yeah, but then some women won’t be able to get an abortion?

Donald Trump: No, it’ll go back to the states.

Lesley Stahl: By state—no some --

Donald Trump: Yeah.

Donald Trump: Yeah, well, they’ll perhaps have to go, they’ll have to go to another state.

Lesley Stahl: And that’s OK?

Donald Trump: Well, we’ll see what happens. It’s got a long way to go, just so you understand. That has a long, long way to go.

That's only about how people would deal with the loss of the constitutional right to have an abortion. Trump doesn't even concede that it would be "OK" to put women in the position of needing to travel farther to obtain an abortion. He gently puts the question away with the familiar colloquial phrase "we’ll see what happens." He pats the question to sleep with "long... long, long." I read that to mean what I already thought: He doesn't want Roe v. Wade to be overturned, and even as he wants pro-lifers to know he cares, he'd like pro-choicers not to worry too much.

"I don’t want to be just a little nice monotone character and in many cases I will be... that’s easier. Honestly to do that, it’s easier."

Said Donald Trump to Lesley Stahl on "60 Minutes" last night. Full video and transcript, here.

Can Trump still criticize Hillary for voting for the Iraq war, now that he's picked a VP who also voted for that war?

Watch him — on "60 Minutes" — insisting on saying he can:

Donald Trump: Yeah, you went to Iraq, but that was handled so badly. And [Iraq] was a war-- by the way, that was a war that we shouldn't have entered because Iraq did not knock down--excuse me

Lesley Stahl: Your running mate--

Donald Trump: Iraq did not--

Lesley Stahl: --voted for it.

Donald Trump: I don't care.

Lesley Stahl: What do you mean you don't care that he voted for?

Donald Trump: It's a long time ago. And he voted that way and they were also misled. A lot of information was given to people.

Lesley Stahl: But you've harped on this.

Donald Trump: But I was against the war in Iraq from the beginning.

Lesley Stahl: Yeah, but you've used that vote of Hillary's that was the same as Governor Pence as the example of her bad judgment.

Donald Trump: Many people have, and frankly, I'm one of the few that was right on Iraq.

Lesley Stahl: Yeah, but what about he--

Donald Trump: He's entitled to make a mistake every once in a while.

Lesley Stahl: But she's not? OK, come on--

Donald Trump: But she's not--

Lesley Stahl: She's not?

Donald Trump: No. She's not.

Lesley Stahl: Got it. 

That's the part I wanted to excerpt from the transcript, but I recommend the entire interview. Watch for all the times Trump jumps in and answers a question directed at Pence. And watch the body language. It reminds me of an old-fashioned husband-and-wife routine where the couple has agreed in advance that the husband should do the talking and the wife will perform silent theater with the message: This man is excellent. At one of the few points where Pence speaks, it seems as though he's reciting the message he's been on task conveying with his face: "I think this is a good man who's been talking about the issues the American people care about."