Goodwin was a paid contributor to NBC until 2008.) But “there is some value in seeing his mood,” she said, including his attitude about the memoir itself. Bush’s televised interview was not likely to deviate from the words in his memoir. Now he’s trying to explain what he was going through, and the conditions he was working under.”ĭoris Kearns Goodwin, the presidential historian, said Mr. She elaborated later: “There’s been plenty of debates about the decisions he has made. “He’s not interested in having a debate about the policies,” Ms. Bush was in office, said that tone was an important consideration for the TV book tour. Bell emphasized, but it comes down to tone.ĭana Perino, who was a White House press secretary while Mr. Many tough questions are asked, and the word “torture” is used, Mr. Bell pointedly called the special “a conversation with President Bush about his book,” not just his presidency.
The tone of the prime-time special is conversational, not prosecutorial, and for that reason, “Lauer/Bush” is not likely to join “Frost/Nixon” in the public imagination. Bush and there are many, with polls showing that most Americans still hold an unfavorable view of him who would like to see a televised confrontation over issues like the Iraq war may come away disappointed. Bush “has things he wants to get off his chest.”īut critics of Mr. “They talked about every subject under the sun,” said Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, who observed that Mr. Bush and his advisers, who decided that “the first interview should be in a news context, with a network news anchor,” said David Drake, a senior vice president of Crown, the publisher of “ Decision Points.”įor NBC, the interview which was taped over the course of two days in Texas late last month is a major coup. “We’re living in a time when some of television news is partisan, and Matt and the ‘Today’ show are decidedly not so.” “He’s an extraordinarily fair interviewer,” said Jim Bell, the executive producer of “Today” and of the prime-time special. By choosing the top morning anchor instead, both sides are essentially endorsing the soft power of Matt Lauer. In the past, the first interview of a controversial ex-president would be expected to go to the nation’s top evening news anchor, currently NBC’s Brian Williams. Bush and his advisers, as well as a campaign by NBC. Bush will end a self-imposed silence about his presidency in an NBC prime-time special on Monday, the eve of the release of his memoir, “Decision Points.” That the interviewer will be Matt Lauer, the co-host of the “Today” show, reveals calculations by Mr.
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