Couric got it wrong, again, in debating Coulter

On June 26, HUMAN EVF-NTS Legal Affairs Correspondent Ann Coulter appeared on NBC's "Today" show with Katie Couric to discuss her book Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right. The appearance quickly turned into a debate rather than an interview.

The question to be resolved, as raised by Couric, was whether Coulter had inaccurately accused the "Today" show of distorting the words of Ronald Reagan's biographer Edmund Morris, so that the "Today" show could tar Reagan as an "airhead."

Couric claimed Coulter had wrongfully implied the "Today" show itself had called Reagan an airhead, when in fact, according to Couric, she had only quoted what Morris had written in his book, Dutch. Couric also claimed Coulter had inaccurately claimed the "Today" show had referred to Reagan as an airhead on successive days rather than just once. On this, Couric also erred.

Then Couric claimed she could prove Coulter wrong by producing transcripts. Thiswas her biggest error.

Liberal Mickey Kaus of slate.msn.com did his own review of the transcripts. His verdict: "Coulter 1, Couric 0." "The account in Coulter's book," he wrote, "... appears to be completely accurate."

We have collected the relevant passages here, so you can make your own judgment-and enjoy. By the way, after she bested Couric, Ann saw her Slander rocket to No. 1 on the New York Times and other bestseller lists.

"Years later, the media was still muttering about what a dope Reagan was. On Sept. 27, 1999, NBC's host Katie Couric opened the 'Today' show by chipperly announcing, `The Gipper was an airhead. That's one of the conclusions of a new biography of Ronald Reagan that's drawing a tremendous amount of interest and fire today.' She was referring to the recently released Edmund Morris book, Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan.

"The next day, Matt Lauer opened the 'Today' show saying, `Good morning. For the first time, President Bush is responding to the controversial new biography of Ronald Reagan and, in particular, the author's assertion that Reagan was a great President but an airhead.' After quoting President Bush attacking the 'airhead' characterization as `grossly unfair and untrue,' Lauer observed that another thing the author seems to say `is that the Reagans were not all that crazy about the Bushes.'

"When Morris finally came on the 'Today' show to respond, he denounced the claim that his book called Reagan an airhead as `brutal and grossly unfair. I did not call him an airhead.' Explaining that he had simply written that on a first meeting, Reagan seemed `an apparent airhead,' Morris observed that the `whole course' of his book `makes quite obvious that that first impression was wrong.' To Couric's follow-up question, `So you do not believe today that Ronald Reagan was an airhead?' Morris said, `Oh, good God, no. He was a very bright man."' -Slander

Ann Coulter NBC's Katie Couric: "....But you talk about the media bias against Ronald Reagan, and you use a quote, an open, from the 'Today' show where we say an airhead, Ronald Reagan is an airhead, and we're quoting Edmund Morris, but frankly, in the book, you make it sound as if I was saying that rather than Edmund Morris. And I guess one of your problems is with-even using that-is that he said he was an `apparent airhead' and we failed to say `apparent airhead.'

"And during the course of the interview with Edmund Morris, I really conducted an extremely challenging interview with him because he did eviscerate Ronald Reagan in his book It was a very, very unflattering portrayal. The Reagans were very unhappy with it Conservatives were very unhappy with it Afterwards, Edmund-Edmund Morris-was unhappy with the interview, and Nancy Reagan called to thank me for my line of questioning. So I'm just wondering how that jibes with your contention that, somehow, I'm a Ronald Reagan basher?"

Ann Coulter: "Well, I didn't call you a Ronald Reagan basher. I said-which is true-that the 'Today' show-" Couric: "Well, you used me as an example of liberal

bias against Ronald Reagan, and I'm just curious why you took it so out of context."

Coulter: "Well, I don't think I did. You're taking it out of context."

Couric: "No I'm not."

Coulter: "What I said, which is true, is that the 'Today' show opened, I believe it was three days in a row, with the announcement Ronald Reagan was an airhead. That's the conclusion of this new book by Edmund Morris. When Edmund Morris came on for that interview with you, he described that as a grossly unfair characterization of his points. And-"

Couric: "Well, we should also point out, though-" Coulter: 11... his entire book was contradicting that. So when the author himself and George Bush, the Vice President, was interviewed about this, all say that that was a grossly unfair characterization."

Couric: "Right and-and that's in-"

Coulter: "Well, then whose characterization was it?" Couric: "That's in-"

Coulter: "It wasn't Edmund Morris. He certainly denies it." Couric: "Well, actually, he backpedaled considerably. If you had read the book by Edmund Morris-" Coulter: "I did."