Hugh Hewitt Sits Down With Bill Sammon

Bill Sammon, journalist extraordinaire, had an interview with Hugh Hewitt today. For those unfamiliar with this man, shame on you. He has put together a number of solid books about President George W. Bush. His newest is Strategery: How George W. Bush Is Defearting Terrorists, Outwitting Democrats, and Confounding the Mainstream Media. And if this one is as good as the preivous one I read, Misunderestimated, then this one will be a guaranteed New York Times runaway bestseller.

The best thing about listening to Bill Sammon is that this man is the senior White House correspondant originally for the Washington Times. He is now the senior White House correspondant for the Washington Examiner--a brand new paper created by a Denver tycoon who has taken Roger Ailes ideas about the media, and transferred it to a newspaper. In short, the paper will be the cage-liner version of FOX News; fair and balanced, and a return to the journalism of old.

Sammon had a lot to say about the White House, and the president, but he hammered on the media, and the fact that there is a vendetta underway to do what ever they can to derail the president. He is blunt and to the point about CBS, Mary Mapes, and Dan Rather, and he points out that CBS refuses to turn away from it's ideology. He pointed out that Dan Rather--a man who has interviewed every president since JFK--has not had one with George W. Bush. And Sammon points out that this is not an accident. Rather has virtually been banned from the White House, and that there won't be an interview with the president in his future.

In short, Sammon was upfront about what he has witnessed from this White House. He's not a band-wagoner; he's a solid journalist who is in the business of covering the White House, whether it's good news or bad. He doesn't spin his information, but rather lets the reader have a first-hand view of what he is privy to. He admitted in the interview that yes, a couple of mistakes have been made. He cited the Harriet Miers debacle, and the fact that President Bush doesn't blame his base for her implosion.

During that particular interview, Sammon asked the president is he misjudged the base's loyalty. The president answered as follows:

"People should stand on principle based on what they believe, not based on upon they should be loyal to me. I was just disappointed for her, as much as anything else. But I understand people who believe strongly about somethingwill speak out about it. And that's just part of the process."

So, to all of those moonbats on the Left that keep claiming this is an imperial presidency, and that the president has no respect for the rights of citizens, this quote kills your argument every time. Had this truly been the imperial presidency they believe in their little fantasy world, then the president would have been extremely upset over the derailing of his nominee. He would have clamped down on his base, and really applied the screws. No, the president didn't do that, and understood that in the great game of politics, you win some and you lose some. That time around he lost. But his track record of accomplishments--a point firmly made by Sammon--outweigh his defeats; the defeats that the MSM continue to hang on, push forward, and ultimately miss the point that the stories are long forgotten.

The transcript should be up soon at RadioBlogger before the end of the night. Please, I insist our readers scan this interview. Not only is it quite telling in the realm of expertise that Sammon possesses, but it lets everyone into the halls of power within the White House.

Publius II