"World News" led with the economy. "Evening News" and "Nightly News" led with a crib recall.
ABC continued to air McFadden's interview 11/23 with ex-aide Doug Hampton about Sen. John Ensign's (R-NV) affair with his wife, Cindy Hampton.
Hampton, on seeking help to stop the affair from the C Street House and the first piece of advice they gave him: "Be cool."
McFadden: "Cover it up?"
Hampton: "No, no. Not initially. 'No, we need help. This is not big enough. This is a United States senator. So even though we're friends, we're close, we're brothers in Christ. We need power to confront this. Senator Tom Coburn, the hit man."
Hampton, on confronting Ensign about the continued affair. "Tom [Coburn] really kind of takes the helm."
Hampton, on how angry Coburn is at this point: "Oh he's smoking. I mean he is one upset man. ... And then John kind of breaks down a little bit. 'I don't know what to say. I made a mistake. I really screwed up.'"
Hampton, on a phone call Ensign made to Cindy, hours after writing her a break up letter: "He is just livid. 'They made me write a letter, but it's not how I feel. Doug has exposed me.' As though, somehow I'm the bad guy in this."
(RACHELLE DOUILLARD-PROULX & ABBY LIVINGSTON)
After the jump, more on Ensign, ex-AK Gov. Sarah Palin (R) weighs in on policy, and Rep. David Obey (D-WI) on paying for the Afghanistan war
Hampton, on what Ensign says to him the next time they see each other: "He's in love with her. 'I know what was said. I can't change it. And I'm not going to apologize for how I feel. Not only am I going to pursue the relationship, you can't work for me anymore. This isn't going to work.' He almost said it like, 'You've made me uncomfortable.'"
Hampton, on whether his wife is in love with ensign: "No, she's ..."
Hampton, on whether Ensign took advantage of his wife": "Yeah. Absolutely. He took advantage of his power and his position."
Hampton, on whether that he is "a loving husband talking": "I can appreciate why a lot of people would think that. I do not think that she is blameless and I'm not saying she wasn't struggling with her own feelings and her own attraction to John and her own demons."
Hampton, on his going away party from the Ensign office: "He [Ensign] called me and said, 'You need to come back here, I need to throw you a party. If you don't come back here and let me throw you a party, people will suspect something" ("Nightline, ABC, 11/23).
PALIN' AROUND WITH FOX
Palin discussed policy and politics when she went "On the Record" 11/23 p.m.
Palin, on Pres. Obama's weaknesses: "The worst thing, I think that there's been a lack of acknowledgement by our president in understanding what it is that the American military provides in terms of, obviously, the safety, the security of our country. There was the comment made the other night, about the troops make for a good photo op, and, 'Hey, I'm giving you guys a raise, and that's the applause line you need to...'"
Palin, on what she wants from Obama: "I want him to acknowledge how the sacrifices that these individual men and women, our sons, our daughters, our moms, our dads, our brothers and sisters are providing this country to keep us safe, this service that they're providing that is to something greater than self. They're making sacrifices. ... I want to see more acknowledgement and more respect given to them."
Palin, on how she'd solve Indian/Pakistani tensions: "Geez, well, with India, we have to make sure that we're working closely with India, the largest democracy in the world, such a strategic partner of ours. We have to make sure that India and Pakistan know that, 'Hey, the last thing that this world needs is conflict between these two countries. That's the last thing that we need.' In fact, they both need to understand that each other are not the problem, the Taliban is the problem. There needs to be a concerted effort on both parts. ... to make sure that the Taliban is controlled."
Palin, on Pakistan: "Pakistan's doing some right things right now. They're cracking down internally on that growth of the terror cells there. India needs to support them doing that. And India, ... we have a great relationship with the prime minister there. In fact, he's coming over to have -- Singh's having dinner with Obama here in a couple of days."
Palin, on Sec/State Hillary Clinton: "I think she's doing a great job, and Americans appreciate that she is out there. And you know, she's got a boss. Her boss is President Obama, and she's not going to get ahead of him. So again, it's all the more reason that the man whom America -- whom we elected will listen to those who are his team, including Hillary Clinton, and do what's right for our country."
Palin, on, after quitting AK GOV because of personal destruction politics, how she'd handle it if she ran in '12: "Is not the same scale, because in Alaska our administration is set up a little bit differently than anywhere else you're going to find in the country or the federal government where the governor is not protected by the department of law when these frivolous ethics violations charges are filed against you. I have to pay personally for the defense, and I am still paying personally for the defense of all the frivolity."
More Palin: "Those charges filed by fake people -- a fake British soap opera actress filed something against me and I am still paying the bill. I am still paying the bill to defend myself against stupid things like that. That is not going to happen elsewhere because, again, more and more people are realizing that things like that that keep good people away from politics, people are expecting that kind of change, the ethics reform so that those kinds of actions can't prohibit someone from wanting to serve for the right reasons" (FNC, 11/23).
OBEY ME
Obey went on "Campbell Brown" 11/23 p.m.
Obey, responding to WH press sec. Robert Gibbs' response to his tax plan that it's "too early to talk about paying for a decision that's yet to be made": "I think he's right, in that you won't know how much it will cost until you know what's being recommended. Look, the president has a miserable set of choices. He didn't start this war. He didn't screw up our ability to win it in the first place, like the previous administration did. And now we're stuck with the reality being mired in Afghanistan. In my judgment, we don't have a viable partner on the ground in an Afghan government that is worth anything in the fight."
More Obey: "No matter how good a strategy is, if you don't have the tools to implement it on the ground, the strategy isn't worth very much. And right now, it's very hard to convince me that we have a reliable partner on the ground in either the Pakistani government or the Afghan government."
Obey, on why he thinks his colleagues will support this tax when they didn't support a similar tax on the war in Iraq: "I don't know if they will. But, two years ago, the economy had not yet collapsed. Two years ago, we didn't have a runaway deficit, which we have now, thanks to the collapse of that economy. And, two years ago, we weren't being asked to expand another effort in Afghanistan that we're told might last 10 years. I don't believe this country will support an involvement in Afghanistan for the next 10 years at the level being discussed."
CNN's Brown: "So, it is a serious proposal, in your view? You're not just trying to send the president a message that Democrats are not just going to roll over on the issue of Afghanistan?"
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