Poll: Did you watch all of the NBC Snowden interview? What did you think?

[JDPriestly]

Just curious about how many DUers watched it. I had trouble getting my computer to let me watch it. Did you?

16 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	I watched all of the Snowden interview.
	8 (50%)
	I watched some of the Snowden interview.
	2 (13%)
	I watched a little of the Snowden interview.
	0 (0%)
	I did not watch the Snowden interview.
	6 (38%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[ZombieHorde]

1. I don't hate Snowden, or even dislike him,

but I don't care very much about what he has to say. The leaks are interesting to me, but his opinions are not, generally speaking.

[Tarheel_Dem]

2. You're not alone.

Edward Snowden-Brian Williams Interview Beaten by CBS Rerun

Edward Snowden? Living in Russia, world’s most wanted leaker of government secrets, Snowden, you’d think, would be a huge “get” for any network anchor. Last night Brian Williams got the scoop and presented an interview with Snowden called “Inside the Mind of Edward Snowden” on NBC.

Big ratings? They were ok. The total viewer number was 5.91 and the key demo was 1.3. But “Inside” didn’t win its time slot. It was beaten by a rerun of “CSI” on CBS. “CSI” had a larger total audience– 6.14 million viewers. Of course, the “CSI” viewers were slightly older, as the rerun scored a 1.1 in the key demo.

How frustrating for Williams et al that not a lot of people cared about finally seeing and hearing Snowden. It didn’t help that NBC didn’t care very much either. The lead in was a two rerun of “Last Comic Standing.” They had this big news scoop, and didn’t bother to just put it on at 8pm and say Here, look what we’ve got. Maybe that’s why the Snowden interview was also beaten for the night by CBS’s rerun of “Criminal Minds.”

Fiction is better than fact!

http://www.showbiz411.com/2014/05/29/tv-edward-snowden-brian-williams-interview-beaten-by-cbs-rerun

[grasswire]

4. I guess you can take a day off, then.

No big deal.

You know that Cheney needs ds some attention for beating up on Obama.

[Tarheel_Dem]

7. I guess we can both "take a day off". Have you left this place since Wednesday night? Grab a cup..

of--------->>>>>>> You must be exhausted.

You've put in a lot of hours these past couple of days. Get some sleep. Comrade Snowie ain't going nowhere, he'll still be in the Kremlin tomorrow, and for the foreseeable future.

[grasswire]

9. well, I don't get paid for posting.

My laptop is in my kitchen. I can clean and cook and flit back and forth with ease. I can see a million dollar view out my picture window and watch eagles and sea lions and bunnies and geese and flowers galore. I can have the TV on as well, and I can converse with anyone else here.

So it's all good. But thanks for your concern.

Snowden won the day. And I have stood up for the Constitution.

[Tarheel_Dem]

12. Any "tangible evidence" of "won the day"? Or is this that whole twitter thingie again?

[Vattel]

30. You are awesome grasswire

[JDPriestly]

5. It's sad. Meanwhile, the NSA may have more accurate counts on the numbers of viewers

of last night's reality shows than the networks.

The apathy is astounding.

[Tarheel_Dem]

11. I don't know that it's sad. People made up their minds about this guy some time ago. It hasn't....

changed. And no matter how many awards he scoops up in Europe, it hasn't helped him here at home. This poll is from January, and they have continued to decline from the height of the scandal. Outside of privacy advocates, this hasn't hit home as a "kitchen table" issue. You call it apathy, I call it priorities.

Poll: Most think Edward Snowden should stand trial in U.S.

Most Americans – 61 percent - think Snowden should have to stand trial in the United States for his actions. Far fewer – 23 percent - think he should be granted amnesty. Republicans, Democrats, and independents all agree on this as well.

Meanwhile, 31 percent approve of Snowden’s actions, while most, 54 percent, disapprove. Majorities of Republicans, Democrats, and independents disapprove.

Americans are divided as to the impact on the country from making the NSA program public. While 40 percent think the disclosure has been good for the country, 46 percent think it has been bad.

When asked to come up with a word that describes Edward Snowden, nearly a quarter volunteer either traitor or a similar word that questions his loyalty to his country, while 8 percent say he is “brave” or “courageous” or “a hero”. Just 2 percent volunteered that he is a patriot or patriotic, and another 2 percent say “terrorist”.

While many approved of his releasing information about domestic spying, they drew a line with regard to disclosures of our global surveillance practices, as did I.

[JDPriestly]

14. The global surveillance practices are related to commercial espionage -- a serious no, no.

We condemn other countries that perform commercial espionage. But we seem to have been doing it ourselves. Perhaps in self-defense? But if so, we should say so.

We supposedly believe in free enterprise. Commercial espionage does not support free enterprise.

[Tarheel_Dem]

22. If what you say is true, who stood to benefit from the disclosure?

[JDPriestly]

25. Perhaps our corporations.

If Germany was under surveillance, it could be any technical company or the US government.

German technicians are wonderful.

Note that Germany and Japan are two countries that have excelled in engineering and technology. And note also that those two countries bore very little of the financial burden of building up military force within their countries following WWII.

Strange how well the "losers" in WWII have done economically and technologically.

We have the computers. But in other areas, we haven't lived up to our potential. I wonder whether it is because we have been obsessed with arms and military power since the end of WWII.

I don't know. I'm sort of asking. Snowden's revelations indicate that we are expending a greater portion of our resources on surveillance than is really profitable for or beneficial to us.

[JDPriestly]

16. Did you watch the show, Tarheel Dem?

[Tarheel_Dem]

21. I did NOT! Can't bear to listen to either one of 'em.

I have the same visceral reaction to those two, that I had whenever GWB/DC appeared on my teevee machine. It tests my gag reflexes to no end, cuz I knew if their mouths were moving, they were lying.

[JDPriestly]

24. You might be surprised by Snowden. In fact, I think you would be.

You are missing out if you don't listen to the interview.

It was very interesting, and then if you've listened to Snowden answer questions, you could speak with more authority about disliking him and explain better why you dislike him. If you just call Snowden a liar without listening to and watching his interview, how can I have much confidence in your opinion of him.

If not on this interview, the first of its kind, what is your opinion of Snowden based on? What you have heard in the news? Snippets or full texts of his speeches? What people at work say?

[Tarheel_Dem]

34. This didn't help what I already suspected.....

[JDPriestly]

6. Did you watch the program?

[ZombieHorde]

19. No. I didn't watch it.

I'm mostly interested in the leaks, and those will most likely be posted and discussed here at length.

Did you watch it, and if so, did you find any of it interesting?

[JDPriestly]

26. I watched it and was pleasantly surprised.

I never thought anything bad about Snowden. I've seen his speeches. But his ready and thoughtful answers to the questions he was asked (not softball at all) really impressed me.

His syntax, vocabulary and thoughts are much more sophisticated than those you would expect from a high school graduate.

In my opinion, he seemed quiet, unassuming and rational. He is no hothead. He is not angry. He is very calm and very conscientious. More than even before, I do believe he acted out of conscience. He can articulate his reasons for his actions very clearly.

He criticizes the NSA for its lack of security and the fact that he could so easily walk off work with documents. I have wondered about that. How was that possible? You would think that the NSA would have everything locked down.

He explains his relationship with the Russian government. None.

He explains that he has no NSA documents and why.

It is a very informative, good interview.

I don't think he realizes how homesick he will get.

[Curmudgeoness]

29. Didn't you find all of his answers

very calculated? That was what I noticed. He was very articulate and I have been supportive of him from the beginning, but I don't feel as if I can get any perception of what is really happening in his mind. He measured every comment.

[JDPriestly]

33. He may be a bit Obsessive Compulsive and may think and think and ruminate and think

again and again repetitively about things. That may be part of his personality. It would explain his facility with computers. He is probably very gifted when it comes to mechanical objects and ideas. He has probably written down his thoughts on what he did many times.

[Jefferson23]

3. He should keep talking. I hope the network airs it again. n/t

[JDPriestly]

8. Yes. I was favorably impressed. Very conscientious. Not as naive as I expected.

Really a solid young man with courage.

I lived overseas for years. He's got some tough times ahead. I was not in political or other exile but could not afford to come back (or even make overseas calls back then when they were so expensive). I wish him well. He is an honest young man in my opinion.

[grasswire]

10. I think that Brian Williams was impressed, too.

I watched his body language pretty carefully. He was engaged. Not just doing a job, but engaged.

[JDPriestly]

17. I thought so today. Snowden was not what he expected -- far more circumspect and modest,

far more thoughtful I suspected. Of course I can't read Williams' mind, but that was my subjective impression.

[Jefferson23]

23. I am appreciative of what he has done. McCarthy era/Watergate was chump change by comparison.

They want to dominate us, it is a sick way to be governed and the repercussions from the
level of information they have gathered has made any presumption of a working democracy
more elusive than ever.

At least now, we are beginning to get out of the dark.

I hope he keeps talking, I want to know everything he knows.

[carolinayellowdog]

13. he comes across as more credible and less of an axe-grinder

than any of his critics or his supporters

[JDPriestly]

18. Yes. It was interesting.

He was not defiant or crowing or proud. He was more or less humbly resigned to having to take up an unpleasant task, something he really did not want to do but felt that he was morally compelled to do. That was my impression.

I wondered what his grandfather did at the FBI, Does anyone know? I don't want to speculate about that but it might explain Snowden's attitude toward the Constitution.

[Cali_Democrat]

15. watched some

but read most of it online.

[OKNancy]

20. Basketball for me

[valerief]

27. Snowden is just trying to keep us from becoming North Korea. We're headed that way. nt

[JDPriestly]

32. So true. Everythin is just hunky dory wonderful, and our dear leader is the best ever, ever.

Nothing to see. Nothing to say. Nothing to criticize. Not here. Not today.

[betsuni]

44. Japan is still dealing with the North Korea abduction issue

You idiots know nothing of North Korea. How dare you.

[SummerSnow]

28. Who's Snowden?

[JDPriestly]

31. We're each entitled to our own opinion. Thank you.

[SummerSnow]

35. Lol

[JDPriestly]

37. I like your Coltrane avatar. One of my favorites.

[SummerSnow]

45. Coltrane is awesome.

[Puglover]

36. I was surprised.

I got the impression that Brian Williams was too. He came across as sincere and intelligent. I had thought he might be arrogant but at least in this interview he was not.

I don't he espoused an opinion that even his harshest critics would take issue with. I can't imagine how someone can work themselves up into a lather hating on him and then not listen to what he had to say.

I fucking loathed Bunnypants. But I listened to the murderous little asshole. It made me sick but I did it.

[KoKo]

38. I watched and then tried to watch extra on NBC's site...

They edited down the interview from 3 hrs.. to maybe 25 min. with all the commercials and re-introductions by Williams for the next segment.

When I tried to watch the extended interview at NBC I couldn't get it to download no matter how hard I tried. I have DSL and it sucked all my resources. I'm hoping the extended interview will be on You Tube shortly.

Snowden is very impressive but I'd seen other interviews with him so thought he would be. I wish more people could watch the interview because it's really hard to dislike him or be a hater of him when you see how clearly he speaks and how well he lays out his reasoning for revealing what he has.

Thanks for the post/poll.

[JDPriestly]

39. Excellent post. Thanks.

If you find the extended interview on YouTube, please post or send me a link. Thanks.

Like Ellsberg, he seems to have been moved by some inner moral voice. Not as in a crazy voice, but as in the still, soft voice of a conscience.

[Blue_In_AK]

40. I watched what was on MSNBC.

I thought it was fascinating. Combined with the two Frontlines on the NSA, it made for some pretty interesting TV.

Personally, I think Snowden performed a valuable service. And I thought the interview was fair.

[Leopolds Ghost]

41. Other: I didn't know when it was on, and I missed it. And NBC won't let me see the damn thing

They won't rerun it, their website is terribly fucked, (But here you go), they won't let anyone air the whole thing online without taking it down, only in 3-minute soundbites, and they plan to take it down themselves at the end of this week. And I'm not someone who torrents stuff, so... and I can't ask friends for a copy because they don't watch TV. I generally wish I could save a copy of news or news clips since if it is coming from an advertising-supported outlet you know you will never see it again. Which means they don't really want to keep the public informed, only entertained for ratings sake. Anyone know a link to the whole thing?

Let me know if anyone can get through the links on that splash page. It at least looks nice even though it is built like an adfarm site.

[6000eliot]

42. Didn't watch. Don't care.

[joshcryer]

43. I watch them all.

I keep trying to find details about the hack, I mean, actual, substantive, details, but it's all vague stuff. I don't think it would hurt to tell us about the hack, especially because he was inside the NSA trying to push for upgrades to a lot of the systems (and he got in trouble for it). Any details would help the NSA close those holes.

C'mon, give me some spy level hack details, please!