NBC Nightly News featured another round of viewers e-mails on Tuesday night. The segment is always fun, and this one was no different.
Caroline from Pennsylvania was furious that Brian Williams called Bill Clinton “Mr. President.” She ended her e-mail with, “‘ll go back to the real news at Fox, thank you.”
Later, Donald in Naples thought Williams’ “aggressive attitude with Tony Blair was uncalled for.” Williams responded: “Need I remind you that no one has ever
accused the British press of being soft?”
Click continued for the transcript…
WILLIAMS: From time to time around here, we like to read from the stacks
of e-mails we get on a daily basis, and those we have selected for tonight
all pertain, as so many of them do, to what we say and how we say it,
beginning with this one, following our live interview here last week with
President Clinton.
Caroline from Pennsylvania writes, “Where does Brian Williams get off
addressing Bill Clinton as ‘Mr. President’? No former president should
ever be addressed this way. Our president is George W. Bush, and I wish
you would all respect this fact, even though you make it quite obvious how
much you hate it. I’ll go back to the real news at Fox, thank you.”
Caroline, I hope we caught you in time. We got a lot of letters like this
from different viewers, saying all the same thing, and they were all sadly
mistaken. The title “Mr. President” is for life, and it’s the only way,
polite way, to address the president, current or former.
The criticism didn’t stop with American leaders. A viewer named David was
quite steamed about the queen. “Shame on you, Brian Williams and other
news anchors and the news media, for referring to Elizabeth II as the queen
of England. Would you refer to President Bush as the president of
Texas? It would be more correct to refer to her as the queen of Great
Britain or the U.K. You do a disservice to the Welsh, Scots, and others of
that ilk. It is hoped that you and the others will recognize this faux pas.”
Sorry, David. As you may, know Williams is a Welsh name, so I meant no
offense, especially to the woman formerly known as the queen of England.
And there was our Tony Blair interview, which Donald in Naples, Florida,
decidedly did not like. “Is Brian Williams suffering from jet lag? His
aggressive attitude with Tony Blair was uncalled for. Must you people
continue to push? All this when Blair had graciously allowed what is said
to be his longest interview with the press. Will NBC be asking for another?”
Well, to be honest with you, Donald, we probably will. For what it’s
worth, a spokesman called from Number 10 Downing Street so say they were,
quote, “tickled” with our interview. The prime minister, we should tell
you, expected tough questions. And need I remind you that no one has ever
accused the British press of being soft?
Tough punch. We also get some very nice e-mails around here.