CBS newsman Mike Wallace talked up his Sunday CBS “60 Minutes” sitdown with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Sean Hannity radio show Thursday evening. Anderson Cooper’s one-on-one with Angelina Jolie looks like a grilling compared to the preview Wallace offered of his softball interview with Ahmadinejad. A few excerpts (hat tip and thanks: Independent Conservative):
Partial transcript:
Hannity: Let’s start with your general impressions…
Wallace: He’s smart, savvy, self-assured, self-righteous. He was much more impressive as an individual than I expected him to be. I expected him to be probably a kind of firebrand. On the contrary he listened to questions, he batted some of the way…
Wallace: (Re. statements on wiping Israel off the map). He has interesting answers for all of that and he’s happy to entertain a discussion.
Hannity: You don’t think he’s an anti-Semite?
Wallace: Anti-Jew? No, no I don’t…
More:
Wallace: I ask you to bring not prejudice, not your own beliefs or prejudices, when you watch him…
Hannity: Mike, I believe you are going to be hammered for your statements.
Wallace: Oh, I have not the slightest doubt that I’m going to be hammered.
***
Brent Baker of Newsbusters goes back in time with “Mike Wallace: Journalist First, American Second.”
John at Wuzzadem spoofs.
Wallace lets the love flow in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:
“He’s actually, in a strange way, he’s a rather attractive man, very smart, savvy, self-assured, good looking in a strange way,” Wallace said. “He’s very, very short but he’s comfortable in his own skin.”
Despite problems with translation — there was only one translator for a time during the interview — Wallace said Ahmadinejad was patient.
“He couldn’t have been more accomodating. He had a good time doing the interview,” Wallace said. And he believes that it was Ahmadinejad’s idea to do the interview. He acknowledged that he had become a much-desired interview subject but told the veteran CBS journalist that he remembered a discussion the two had over a year ago when Ahmadinejad was in New York.
“I don’t know if you remember this or not but you and I had a talk over breakfast at the United Nations,” Ahmadinejad told Wallace. “Do you remember that you asked me at the time if I would sit down with you … and I said by all means, let’s do it.” Wallace said he was surprised that Ahmadinejad had remembered.
Wall-to-wall Ahmadinejad at CBSNews.com.
Flashback: Mike Wallace has “lost it” (says his son).
Flashback: Meatloaf Mike arrested.
Flashback: The bias of Mike Wallace.
