Walter Cronkite Dies

[Humbert]

Sad to see the passing of this man. He will be missed.

[Raffles]

A long and illustrious career

He was at the Arnhem Landings I seem to recall - he also knew when the USa had lost in Vietnam many years before the politicians or some of todays's revisionists.

[Muadib]

The voice & face of news in my childhood...

RIP Walter...

[sabang]

Very good eulogy from the Washington Post-

Legendary Newsman Walter Cronkite Dies at 92 - washingtonpost.com

In a 1973 public opinion poll by the Oliver Quayle organization, Cronkite was named the most trusted public figure in the United States, ahead of the president and the vice president.


"To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past," he said, casting doubt in the minds of millions of Americans on official versions of the war. Cronkite's viewers were certain that he would never lie to them, and the White House and the Defense Department did not command that level of credibility.
President Lyndon B. Johnson was widely quoted as having told aides, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America."


RIP. Pretty good innings at 92, anyway.

[Jet Gorgon]

The voice & face of news in my childhood...

RIP Walter...

Ya. Just watched some memorials on the man. Will miss that gravelly voice. Best in the biz.
"And that's the way it is."
RIP, Mr Cronkite.

Just heard that he took longer vacations in the years before he retired in 1981. The CBS news folks would say that he was "out on assignment." Yep. His yacht was named Assignment.

[raycarey]

he had the courage to tell the american people that america had lost in vietnam, and for that alone he is an important figure in 20th century american history.
too bad no one had the guts to say the same about iraq....or do any reporting that could have kept the country out of iraq in the first place.

Best in the biz.

if cronkite had been reporting the news over the last few years, you would be bleating about his being an active participant in the so called 'liberal' media.

[sabang]

Well, it hasn't taken long for the more rabid elements of the Right wing blogosphere to jump on the bandwagon. Such grace :-


"I just heard the news that former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite died. And perhaps I will be one of the few with the guts to be real and say it: I'm not sad to see this overrated liar go. Buh-bye.
Cronkite enjoyed a long and glamorous life, unlike many of our late teen and 20-something American troops against whom he editorialized on a nightly basis. They died on the killing fields of Vietnam in no small part because he contributed to the video demoralization of America and the resulting lack of commitment to help our boys win the Vietnam War.
I'm sure that Cronkite will be remembered gushingly by all of the liberal mainstream media robots whom he spawned and who idolize him (and probably many gutless idiots on the right, too). In so many ways, he is their Michael Jackson, minus the creativity and talent. In life, they already exalted Cronkite far, far beyond what he deserved and completely ignored his awful transgressions against our country. Walter Cronkite Defeated America on TV But the man they called "The Most Trusted Man in America" was really something far different: The Most Destructive Man in America. And that is how he should be remembered. He had the blood of thousands of American men--some of them really just boys--on his hands."

Buh-Bye, Walter Cronkite: He Lost the Vietnam War for U.S. on TV, Had American Blood on His Hands

Thats the way it is, Walter. This Superman defeated the US military in Vietnam.

Blimey.

[Jet Gorgon]

^ Ouch! I would never have said that. Mr Cronkite was an icon, even if he worked for CBS. He rarely voiced a personal opinion, but hek, it's America, he was allowed to do so.

[Humbert]

"I just heard the news that former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite died. And perhaps I will be one of the few with the guts to be real and say it: I'm not sad to see this overrated liar go. Buh-bye.
Cronkite enjoyed a long and glamorous life, unlike many of our late teen and 20-something American troops against whom he editorialized on a nightly basis. They died on the killing fields of Vietnam in no small part because he contributed to the video demoralization of America and the resulting lack of commitment to help our boys win the Vietnam War.
I'm sure that Cronkite will be remembered gushingly by all of the liberal mainstream media robots whom he spawned and who idolize him (and probably many gutless idiots on the right, too). In so many ways, he is their Michael Jackson, minus the creativity and talent. In life, they already exalted Cronkite far, far beyond what he deserved and completely ignored his awful transgressions against our country. Walter Cronkite Defeated America on TV But the man they called "The Most Trusted Man in America" was really something far different: The Most Destructive Man in America. And that is how he should be remembered. He had the blood of thousands of American men--some of them really just boys--on his hands."

A minority voice for sure. For many it was just a case of 'America right or wrong' and 'America; love it or leave it'. But Walter Cronkite was an authentic American voice during those years and reflected the sentiments of many people who knew that the Vietnam War was both unwinnable and a needless waste of both American and Vietnamese life.

[wefearourdespot]

he had the courage to tell the american people that america had lost in vietnam, and for that alone he is an important figure in 20th century american history.

What you call courage others might call defeatism.
He and that bitch of Jane Fonda are among the main culprits of damning 80 million vietnamese to a life of poverty under communist rule.

[wefearourdespot]

"I just heard the news that former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite died. And perhaps I will be one of the few with the guts to be real and say it: I'm not sad to see this overrated liar go. Buh-bye.
Cronkite enjoyed a long and glamorous life, unlike many of our late teen and 20-something American troops against whom he editorialized on a nightly basis. They died on the killing fields of Vietnam in no small part because he contributed to the video demoralization of America and the resulting lack of commitment to help our boys win the Vietnam War.
I'm sure that Cronkite will be remembered gushingly by all of the liberal mainstream media robots whom he spawned and who idolize him (and probably many gutless idiots on the right, too). In so many ways, he is their Michael Jackson, minus the creativity and talent. In life, they already exalted Cronkite far, far beyond what he deserved and completely ignored his awful transgressions against our country. Walter Cronkite Defeated America on TV But the man they called "The Most Trusted Man in America" was really something far different: The Most Destructive Man in America. And that is how he should be remembered. He had the blood of thousands of American men--some of them really just boys--on his hands."

Buh-Bye, Walter Cronkite: He Lost the Vietnam War for U.S. on TV, Had American Blood on His Hands

Excellent statement.
Absolutely spot on.
I could not have written it better.

[barbaro]

"I just heard the news that former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite died. And perhaps I will be one of the few with the guts to be real and say it: I'm not sad to see this overrated liar go. Buh-bye.
Cronkite enjoyed a long and glamorous life, unlike many of our late teen and 20-something American troops against whom he editorialized on a nightly basis. They died on the killing fields of Vietnam in no small part because he contributed to the video demoralization of America and the resulting lack of commitment to help our boys win the Vietnam War.
I'm sure that Cronkite will be remembered gushingly by all of the liberal mainstream media robots whom he spawned and who idolize him (and probably many gutless idiots on the right, too). In so many ways, he is their Michael Jackson, minus the creativity and talent. In life, they already exalted Cronkite far, far beyond what he deserved and completely ignored his awful transgressions against our country. Walter Cronkite Defeated America on TV But the man they called "The Most Trusted Man in America" was really something far different: The Most Destructive Man in America. And that is how he should be remembered. He had the blood of thousands of American men--some of them really just boys--on his hands."

Buh-Bye, Walter Cronkite: He Lost the Vietnam War for U.S. on TV, Had American Blood on His Hands

Excellent statement.
Absolutely spot on.
I could not have written it better.

The Americans were never going to win. In fact, this statement means that it was only about the Americans.

I cannot stand the commies, but the Americans in the field - and I know many of them - were young, impressionable, uneducated, and naiive.

Conkrite didn't matter. Nor did Fonda.

It's a Vietnamese issue. Period. It's not an American issue.

[Muadib]

too bad no one had the guts to say the same about iraq....or do any reporting that could have kept the country out of iraq in the first place.

if cronkite had been reporting the news over the last few years, you would be bleating about his being an active participant in the so called 'liberal' media.

You can't even contribute to a thread eulogizing an American icon of the news industry without adding your 2 cents of political tripe... What a moron...

What you call courage others might call defeatism.
He and that bitch of Jane Fonda are among the main culprits of damning 80 million vietnamese to a life of poverty under communist rule.

Another moron... Are you related to Ray???

[Boon Mee]

Sad to see the passing of this man. He will be missed.

By some...certainly not by Viet Nam Vets who were spit on after listening to that old Gas Bag pontificate on and on how evil Amerika was...

[wefearourdespot]

It's a Vietnamese issue. Period. It's not an American issue.

Indeed.
Those struggling to make ends meet with 40$ a month are 80 millions Vietnamese, not a few hundred thousands USA vets.... yet if they had not been backstabbed by Cronkite propaganda weakening the "home front" and de-legitimating their efforts, perhaps they could have succeeded in defending Vietnamese freedom and their sacrifice would not have been vain.

[wefearourdespot]

Another moron... Are you related to Ray???

I just received and gave him back a red...does that imply we are related now ?

[Boon Mee]

Another moron... Are you related to Ray???

I just received and gave him back a red...does that imply we are related now ?

Good on ya...

[Humbert]

It's a Vietnamese issue. Period. It's not an American issue.

Indeed.
Those struggling to make ends meet with 40$ a month are 80 millions Vietnamese, not a few hundred thousands USA vets.... yet if they had not been backstabbed by Cronkite propaganda weakening the "home front" and de-legitimating their efforts, perhaps they could have succeeded in defending Vietnamese freedom and their sacrifice would not have been vain.

If you think that war was about defending Vietnamese freedom you are living in cloud cuckoo land. Propping up the corrupt and hated Diem regime in a game of global chess is more the truth. Thousands of young Americans were drafted to fight and die for a cause that had nothing to do with them.

[raycarey]

yeah, american got its ass kicked in vietnam because of cronkite and jane fonda.



beyond absurd.

[sabang]

yet if they had not been backstabbed by Cronkite propaganda weakening the "home front" and de-legitimating their efforts, perhaps they could have succeeded

Most TDer's are not American, and were not around then anyway. So here is Cronkites 'traitorous' report-

“To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past. To suggest we are on the edge of defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism. To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion....It is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy and did the best they could.”

Walter Cronkite quotes

And you blame that for Americas defeat in Vietnam? Laughable. Informed people had known for ages the war was in a stalemate. And the Protest Movement had already been going for ages, before Tet.

[Norton]

Conkrite didn't matter.

"If we've lost Cronkite, we've lost middle America."

Lyndon B. Johnson

[wefearourdespot]

It's a Vietnamese issue. Period. It's not an American issue.

Indeed.
Those struggling to make ends meet with 40$ a month are 80 millions Vietnamese, not a few hundred thousands USA vets.... yet if they had not been backstabbed by Cronkite propaganda weakening the "home front" and de-legitimating their efforts, perhaps they could have succeeded in defending Vietnamese freedom and their sacrifice would not have been vain.

If you think that war was about defending Vietnamese freedom you are living in cloud cuckoo land. Propping up the corrupt and hated Diem regime in a game of global chess is more the truth. Thousands of young Americans were drafted to fight and die for a cause that had nothing to do with them.

I don't remember people escaping South Vietnam challenging the Ocean with bare rafts during the "corrupt and hated Diem regime".
About 1,000,000 instead did that after Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Mihn City

I am aware that the reason for American fighting wasn't defending vietnamese freedom (if the USA really fought for everyone's freedom, we would be looking at marines storming Rangoon right now), yet had they won one of the consequences would have been South Vietnamenese had retained their freedom and their properties and their standard of living now would me more similar to that of Taiwan rather than that of Cambodia.

[Humbert]

yet if they had not been backstabbed by Cronkite propaganda weakening the "home front" and de-legitimating their efforts, perhaps they could have succeeded

Most TDer's are not American, and were not around then anyway. So here is Cronkites 'traitorous' report-

“To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past. To suggest we are on the edge of defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism. To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion....It is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy and did the best they could.”

Walter Cronkite quotes

And you blame that for Americas defeat in Vietnam? Laughable. Informed people had known for ages the war was in a stalemate. And the Protest Movement had already been going for ages, before Tet.

Absolutely right! As if three American administrations did not have ample opportunity to make their case with the public. Walter Cronkite is accused of defeatism and aiding ad abetting the enemy because of his opinion that the war was unwinnable. Of course it's much easier and more patriotic to just agree with everything your government tells you.

[Boon Mee]

Says it all, this...truth be told, all he ever was was an over-rated News Reader:

Roger Kimball calls Cronkite the world’s most overrated reader of the news.

“Like Michael Jackson, he was so successful because he perfectly incarnated certain popular clichés. His success was not a matter of substance. . . . He didn’t research or write the news. He read it. He emitted the same platitudes every other news reader mouthed. He did so, however, with a sort of cardigan authenticity that used car salesmen would climb naked over broken bottles to emulate. . . . Michael Jackson was famous for inventing a dance step called the moonwalk in which the dancer seems to float backwards while walking in place. Walter Cronkite did something similar. He seemed to float above the yapping clamor of common opinion. At bottom, though, he merely reflected it.”

RIP you old Gas Bag...

[Jet Gorgon]

^ You mean like what's his name in the movie Broadcast news?