I’m face-to-face with New York Times Washington Correspondent Michael Schmidt, intently listening to his questions. Only, this time, I’m not actually being interviewed, as in the past, when I was in the PR business. Instead, I’m being interviewed vicariously, as I’m watching Mr. Schmidt on cable news. He’s discussing hypothetical questions, focusing on current events… in politics.
I’m admiring his journalistic artistry, and in my imagination, I’m back in the thick of things.
What a kick that was, with your adrenaline going like crazy! There could be monsoons or volcanic eruptions, just outside, but you’re laser-focusing on the journalist’s questions.
Another veteran journalist, Bob Woodward, also is on the TV program, recalling some of his interviews with the nation’s president. Listening to excerpts, Mr. Woodward’s artistry, like Mr. Schmidt’s, is something to behold.
The president, referencing Dr. Anthony Fauci, as I recall, describes the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases as a sharp guy, and then goes on to say that Dr. Fauci is about 79 years old. That’s older than you… and older than me, I recall Mr. Woodward saying, in his soothing, calming voice. The president, then, reveals more about himself, by denigrating his opponent in the upcoming presidential election, suggesting that Dr. Fauci is much sharper than ‘sleepy’ Joe Biden.
While the 1987 book about President Trump is entitled ‘The Art of The Deal,’ someone writing about journalists like Mr. Woodard and Mr. Schmidt, might call their book ‘The Artistry of the Interview.’
Various journalists who interviewed me, over the years, stand out. Among them, a columnist who was with the San Francisco Chronicle, back when I knew him, and who is now with the Los Angeles Times. David Lazarus. In his column, a few days ago, Mr. Lazarus questioned what the president had said about drug prices, during the first presidential debate.
“Insulin is now so cheap, it’s ‘like water,’” said the president. “It isn’t,” Mr. Lazarus noted, who goes on to say: “There was much to dislike in this week’s presidential debate – the lies, the rudeness, the inability of the White House incumbent to rise above the level of a cranky kindergartner… For me, the low point came not when President Trump refused to condemn white supremacy, and not when he tore into the sons of Democratic candidate Joe Biden, but when he once again sought to convince the American people that he had single-handedly lowered the cost of prescription drugs.”
In the column, Mr. Lazarus quotes Vivian Ho, a healthcare economist at Rice University. “Saying that insulin is as cheap as water is a complete disconnect from reality,” she tells Mr. Lazarus. “For the overwhelming majority of the millions of Americans with diabetes who depend on insulin, the prices are outrageous. People have been dying because they can’t afford insulin.”
That’s David Lazarus, a knowledgeable, tough journalist, I had the pleasure of knowing, years ago.