I want it noted for the record that on Thursday, August 23, 2001 Lanny Davis and Rich Galen � agreed.
Following The Interview, I joined Lanny and a host of others, via satellite, on an hour-long MSNBC special hosted by Dan Abrams. As two veterans of working The Brethren of the National Press Corps on behalf of high-profile bosses, we each, independently, saw the Condit interview as a total disaster.
Here's an example: Condit's political position has diminished to the point where a reporter on a nationally televised news program could ask him "Did you kill Chandra Levy?" and there followed a calm discussion as to whether his denial was believable or not.
Name another sitting Member of the House or Senate for whom the question "Did you kill �" would be met with anything other than the interviewee getting up, tearing off his or her microphone, and stalking off the set in disgust.
The only reasonable explanation for why Condit's people agreed to this interview was to begin to focus on the only group that really counts: The voters of the 18th Congressional District of California.
A great deal has been spoken and written about the ground rules which may or may not have been imposed on ABC and Connie Chung to get The Interview.
But the REAL battle, I guarantee you, was not between the Condit Crew and ABC, but between the Condit Crew-West and the Condit Crew-East.
The legal team (the East), I suspect, only agreed to the pleas of the political team (the West) to have Condit say SOMETHING, if the political team agreed to let the legal team do the prep.
So, the only question anyone care about was asked 37 times and we got one answer: "I have been married for 34 years �"
I watched The Interview with two serious Republican strategists: Mike Milligan and Deby Snodgrass.
Milligan and I saw the thing about the same way; but Deby was outraged by Condit's lack of emotion. That was echoed by a focus group which had been set up in Chicago by MSNBC. The women were much more animated than the men as they described their negative reactions to The Interview.
Condit wants to keep his seat in Congress the strategy, unveiled yesterday with The Letter and The Interview, is: It's "Us" Against "Them."
"Us" is Condit and his supporters. (Uh, Rich, that now totals about 17 people.) Ok. "Us" is Condit and his constituents.
"Them" is:
- The national press;
- The local press;
- The tabloid press;
- The DC cops;
- The FBI;
- The lawyers (not the current lawyers, the previous lawyers who sent that statement to the flight attendant so she could swear she and Condit never had an affair which Condit said he had nothing to do with);
- The flight attendant; and,
- The watch box which, seemingly, was just minding its own business enjoying life, working three-and-a-half days a week, lying around in a Congressional office when it suddenly found itself thrust into "NOT a dumpster, but a trash bin" in Alexandria, Virginia because, Condit said, he thought reporters were rifling through his official garbage.
That's "Them." That's the "Twilight Zone."
Never mind if professional spinsters in Your Nation's Capital don't believe him. That's not what the game is in Condit-land. The only people who count are the voters in his district - the "Us" in the equation.
After last night, "Them" was expanded to include Connie Chung. Today, "Them" will expand to include "People" magazine.
"Us" against "Them." It's the basis of all politics.
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