[untitled #514]
By Todd Stadler · Thursday, September 25, 2003 2:53pm
I have just read the greatest interview of all time: Bill O'Reilly talks to Condoleeza Rice, apparently during a windstorm or something. Here's just a sample of the scintillating conversation:
O'REILLY: I don't mean to sound (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
RICE: Probably not the right word (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
O'REILLY: No.
RICE: Probably not the right word (ph).
O'REILLY: The world's most wanted terrorist is not (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
RICE: It is a combination of intelligence and the ability to strike quickly.
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: Will the fundamentalists overthrow him if (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
Pure. Journalistic. Dynamite. Read it again: "The world's most wanted terrorist is not (UNINTELLIGIBLE)". It's like some sort of Zen koan, maybe.
Also, did you know that "Dr. Rice was a chief (UNINTELLIGIBLE) officer at Stanford University"? I did not know that.
For those keeping score, the word "(UNINTELLIGIBLE)" appears in the transcript 34 times. The word "(CROSSTALK)" appears 17 times.
Which, of course, suggests to me what FOXNews' new slogan should be. "FOXNews: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) (CROSSTALK)"
4 comments so far
1 Sep 26 '03 2:15pm:
Mike Riley replied:
"Okay, but what's with the (ph) thing? Allergy season?"
2 Sep 26 '03 3:13pm:
tODD replied:
"I usually read "(ph)" in transcripts as meaning "phonetic", but only when it's found after a name. Like when some politician in an interview refers to some heretofore unknown al-Qaeda member, it might read "and we haven't captured Abuzi al-Kamourof (ph), either." But I've never seen it used as in this interview."
3 Oct 20 '03 2:45pm:
Brie replied:
"O'Reilly makes the most sense when he's (UNINTELLIGIBLE)!"
4 Oct 20 '03 2:47pm:
Brie replied:
"Bill O'Reilly makes the most sense when he's (UNINTELLIGIBLE)!"