Yes, there was a huge amount of news on Tuesday night with the Presidential election in the balance and several other races across the country.
But after the dust cleared, the biggest question on election night: Was ABC’s Diane Sawyer drunk on the air trying to deliver news to millions of viewers?
“Now, after hours of coverage, many viewers were left wondering if Diane Sawyer was drunk on the job after slurring her words and rambling on leaving her fellow co-anchor, George Stephanopoulos, a bit confused, noted a celebrity site.
According to a report in the New York News one user tweeted, “and Diane Sawyer declares tonight’s winner is … chardonnay!” while another Twitter user writes, “Diane Sawyer is one drink away from taking her top off.”
The Philadelphia Daily News headlined its story about Sawyer as “Sideshow: Diane Sawyer goes election-night loopy.”
“She seemed, shall we say, lit from within Tuesday night as she cohosted election coverage with George Stephanopoulos. Her speech was slurred (“President Barack Ora - Barack Obama”), she wandered, seemed on the verge of giggling, and she kept leaning forward on her arms like a stevedore calling for a double Rusty Nail and make it quick,” reported the News.
At this juncture it seems as if it is the traditional case of “Do as I say, not as I do” with the news media.
Sawyer responded with a silly Tweet: “…during 25 minute power outage. Read your tweets the good, bad, and the funny. See you on @ABCWorldNews.”
Today she sent out another Tweet: ”In DC to interview the Republican in the spotlight after this historic election. Tweet me your Qs for @SpeakerBoehner #AskBoehner”
Sawyer, who as one pundit noted “acted like a giddy schoolgirl” when announcing President Obama had won Ohio, obviously feels she does not need to explain her actions. Neither does her ABC Network or corporate owner Disney.
“Diane’s fine, she’s exhausted. Diane’s been up for days and she’s had many sleepless nights,” said a person close to Sawyer. “She was covering the hurricane and then preparing for the election broadcast.”
Her antics raise several questions. Do viewers have a right to know what is occurring when a journalist is slurring words and acting silly delivering the news? Does Sawyer get a pass because she is a female? Is it right for journalists to demand answers from the people they interview, but feel they owe nothing when viewers want an explanation?
FORGET SAWYER. FOX NEWS IS CULPRIT
No. It’s Fox News that should explain itself.
IDIOTIC COMMENT
Couple Radiomankc’s idiotic comment with the fact that he is not an atypical voter and you can understand why this country is in the mess that it is.
DIANE THE DRUNK
IT seems DIane was drunk and the fact she tries to inject humor to deflect this reality is disgusting. At the same time, she’s only human, so how can we so harshly judge her?
LOW BLOOD SUGAR?
She’s a skinny woman who probably didn’t eat or sleep well for several days. I think it most likely that she was suffering from low blood sugar. I’ve seen exactly this kind of behavior from a Type 1 diabetic who I knew was not drunk.
It is amazing to me how many people are giving Sawyer a pass and willing to make any number of excuses for her actions: Low blood sugar, Ambien, overworked, blah, blah, blah. She doesn’t have to say a thing and people will make excuses for her ridiculous on-air performance.
Why do I doubt that Sawyer is being given a pass that male anchors such as Brian Williams, Scott Pelley or even George Stephanopoulos would never get?
DON’T PICK ON DIANE
Dear BLC: I say don’t be hard on her even if she was drunk. And, I like to believe that I would say the same about a male anchor. As Our Lord said: “He amongst you who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.” Sincerely and Respectfully, Ernest Evans