Word: kalb
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...never intended to trip anyone up," says Kalb. "I don't want to do that, it's not my style...I don't think you get information out when you try to trip up a candidate." He says his show "never was conceived of as an opportunity for me to engage in self-promoting, hyperbolic questions designed for the viewer to say "Wow, isn't Marvin smart.' " Kalb insists on deriding such hostile cross-examination as a diversion from any serious discussion of political issues...
...While Kalb exemplifies the laid-back, more intellectual approach, the more provocative method can be found in David Frost's program "The Next President." Frost, who also interviewed a dozen would-be presidents in hour-long installments, made every effort to catch his guests off guard. Frost asked the Rev. Pat Robertson to explain what it was like to speak in tongues, and relentlessly questioned Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.) about contradictions in his views on abortion...
...Kalb, who says he saw three of Frost's interviews, balks at the slightest comparison between the two shows. "I don't think there was anything similar at all except that they were both within an hour context and they were both on television," he says. "If [the three I saw] were representative of the other nine, they were soft, People magazine, substanceless fluff," says Kalb. Moreover, Kalb points out that despite Frost's higher budget and more explosive style, "Candidates '88" received more coverage in the media. Clearly, even an academic likes to keep track of his headlines...
Despite the candidates' inevitable image flaunting, Kalb says that, based on his expectation, he was impressed by many of those who appeared on his show. He cites the Rev. Jesse Jackson's "growth as a political figure" and Gov. Michael Dukakis' "intellectual capacity." Kalb also extends praise to Pete DuPont, now out of the race, and Rep. Richard Gephardt (D.Mo...
...other hand, Kalb says he was "disappointed" with Al Haig's interview. "I know he is much smarter than he came through," says Kalb, "and I was surprised that he did not take better advantage of the occasion than he did." He expresses similar disappointment with Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.) for "his overly simplistic presentation of very complicated ideas, particularly the manner in which he said he was going to balance the budget in three years...