Hussein “was to all outward appearances calm. He was unhurried. He comes across as confident. He has what military people call command presence. Some may argue this was studied; I can only report what I saw, heard and felt in that room.”
Unfortunately for Rather, the interview “got off to a slow start.” He had to wait for one interpreter to translate his questions and a second interpreter to provide Hussein’s answers.
“It’s hard — I’m not complaining about it — to build a rhythm to the interview. I was saying to myself, ‘Boy, I’m in trouble here. This is not going very well.’
“After 11 or 12 minutes, the dynamic started to change. He was getting engaged and was ‘there.’ ” Hussein sometimes leaned forward or rapped his finger on a table as he described the fate of past invaders in the Middle East. “He smiled some, not a lot.”
Rather was surprised when Hussein challenged Bush to a debate, a gambit that was quickly dismissed by the White House. “I wasn’t sure he was serious,” the anchor explained. “I said to him, ‘Mr. President, are you joking about this?’ He said no, war is too serious to joke about.”
Pressed further, Hussein dismissed the United Nations as a forum for the debate he wants. He said he would be in Baghdad and Bush in Washington, and suggested that Rather could moderate the televised face-off.
“I paused and said — I’m not proud of this — ‘Mr. President, I have enough troubles already.’ He chuckled at that.”
“If he was a real American, he would have shot him.” — Don Imus on Dan Rather’s interview with Saddam Hussein.
We have a great idea after reading Dan’s little Saddam-love-fest…..
Urge Dan to go back to Iraq for a second, follow-up interview with the tyrannical dictator. Only this time, fit Dan and his crew with these nifty little GPS devices and . . . .
Dan Rather – - boycotted.
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