[wordup] Who knew Phil Donahue was Cool?

[Adam Shand]

Via: http://csof.net/node.php?id=105

Who knew Phil Donahue was Cool?   
Submitted by kmikeym on Saturday, April 13, 2002 - 13:08    

I remember Phil popping up now and again during Nader's attempt to
disrupt "Politics As Usual" but I never really saw why Ralph wanted to
be associated to him. I mean, Donahue?

This interview was good. He seems really careful, but in a legit
"Don't-twist-my-words" way instead of a "I-have-dark-and-horrible-
secrets" way. It seems weird for MSNBC to be into him with his outspoken
anti-media-conglomerate views. I guess MSNBC likes him because he draws
in viewers talking bad about companies like MSNBC?

From: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/14/magazine/14QUESTIONS.html

April 14, 2002
>From Left Field
By DAVID WALLIS

Q Your talk show went off the air in 1996. Did you miss having a
platform?

Yeah. I'll tell you, we did over 6,000 shows. I'm Cal Ripken. And if it
sounds like I'm bragging, I am. In 29 years, more than a million people
sat in my studio audience -- more than a million!

Were there a few moments when it particularly stung?

Mostly since 9/11. I've watched a lot of television since 9/11, and I've
seen a lot of rhetoric. I was very taken by the fact that Tom Daschle
wanted to know what's the endgame. Senator [Robert] Byrd wanted to know
what's the endgame. And they were made to feel unsupportive of the
president. We all support the president -- I support the president. It
doesn't mean I have to keep my mouth shut.

If President Bush were a guest on your new MSNBC show, what would you
ask him?

Mr. President, when you say we are going to root out terrorists, hunt
them down, dead or alive, is it realistic to expect to do that with
bombs that threaten innocent people? Is the memory of those who died in
the World Trade Center honored by killing more innocent people? Are we
not creating more martyrs? And most important, Mr. President, will this
make our children safer? How do we ensure that our grandchildren 30
years from now will not be waking up every day wondering what the color
of the day's alert is?
You have all the time you need to answer those questions.

Any chance you'd vote for him in 2004?

It depends on what happens in the next two years and on which candidate
opposes him. I'm not ruling it out at all.

You supported Ralph Nader's presidential run in 2000. Do you have any
regrets about that now?

I'm very proud to have stood with Ralph Nader. I'm proud to have stood
next to Ralph Nader when he said that the drug war is not working. We
were against executing retarded teenagers. We said that corporate
influence is way over the top and has taken over our democratic
institutions. Incidentally, those who suggest that this is some kind of
radical, wide-eyed, liberal complaint, we have one word for you: Enron.
This is a textbook of all the things that progressives have been railing
against for decades now.

Why do you think liberal voices are so rare on television?

Conservatives criticize government and liberals criticize business. And
that is not something that media conglomerates are altogether welcoming
to.

Could another reason be that liberals tend to be a bit preachy and lack
a sense of humor?

Are you suggesting that conservatives are not preachy and have a
wonderful sense of humor?

You're a Catholic. What do you think of the recent stories about priests
and sexual abuse? Have they shaken your faith?

I believe we did a show in the 80's about them. This was no easy
decision for a graduate of Notre Dame, incidentally. I had 16 years of
Catholic education. I was a very good Catholic.

Was?

I am a divorced and remarried Catholic. I refused to have my first
marriage annulled. I refused to pay a fee to four or five celibate men
whom I didn't know, who would somehow, behind closed doors, conclude
that my marriage never existed. I do see myself as a Catholic. I will
always be a Catholic. But I want my church to join the human race and
finally walk away from this antisexual theology.

What steps would you take to reform the church?

I would permit a married clergy. I would also stop being so certain
about what's a sin. The church is telling third-world women that they
can't use contraceptives. The church is telling third-world men that
they can't use prophylactics in the age of AIDS. This is a sin.

Barbara Walters seems to relish making guests cry. When a guest broke
down on Donahue, did you say to yourself, ''Yes, this is good TV!''

No. If we go out of our way to produce tears, it's as obvious as a
billboard that you are pandering. But I think that people who never cry
are like people who never laugh: there's something wrong with them. And
I think we should see pain. We should see the pain when Israelis bury
their dead, when Palestinians bury their dead. Don't sanitize the news.
I remember the Scripps-Howard motto on the wall of the Cleveland Press
Building when I was a kid: ''Give light and the people will find their
own way.''