Walter Cronkite On America's Post-9/11 Reaction

Walter Cronkite On America's Post-9/11 Reaction | Letterman

Рет қаралды 71,515

10 ай бұрын

The esteemed newsman says America should consider other options in the aftermath of 9/11.
(From "Late Show," air date: 9/20/01)
#waltercronkite #911 #letterman
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Пікірлер: 195

@Malcolmdeeb 9 ай бұрын

I waited on Mr Cronkite at a restaurant I worked at. He was 87 and as we talked, he held my hand. It’s a memory I’ll never forget.

@sarahbgln 9 ай бұрын

What a gem of a memory! Aww 🖤

@jacoblott1617 9 ай бұрын

Now that is something sweet. Good old men are treasures.

@v-town1980 9 ай бұрын

Cronkite was from a generation of newscasting that was simple, honest, and professional. That's gone now.

@Ricopolico 4 ай бұрын

Dream on, Grasshopper, dream on.

@KungEMuller 10 ай бұрын

When it comes to the really tough times, Dave knows how to make things better. Also, Walter Cronkite will always be the most trusted news anchor in America. Those two legends are incredible.

@lkramberg 10 ай бұрын

All these years later and Walter Cronkite still stands head and shoulders above for his wisdom and trust. Unfortunately, he wasn't listened to at the time and the deaths of both sides in Iraq and Afghanistan sadly came about. At least Walter didn't live to see what his profession and our nation has become today.

@robertmusgrave9236 4 ай бұрын

He was thinking 20 years ahead of the time and he was 100% right. He should have be an advisor to the people in power when he was still of a sharp mind before he died.

@bstully1 3 ай бұрын

I wish there were a "Love" button. "Like" isn't a strong enough term for how I feel about this and about Cronkite. ❤

@GardenGirlD76 10 ай бұрын

Two national treasures speaking wise wisdom. I sincerely, thank Mr. Letterman and the Late Show staff and writers for being there. I never forget when Mr. Letterman carried on his first monologue after this dark day.

@wjmoore17 9 ай бұрын

Pretty wild to sit here 20 years on and see how spot on Cronkite was with his concerns, especially in an emotional time when few were willing to be this rational.

@cynthiamason4069 10 ай бұрын

Thanks to Dave and the crew for posting this. I haven't seen it since it aired. Cronkite was a well seasoned, wise and heartfelt man. Our country would be in a much better place had we followed his advice. I recommend Walters biography if you haven't read it. ♡

@624radicalham 10 ай бұрын

The full unedited video of this has been on KZfaq for 15 years. If you're a fan of Cronkite and read his biography then you should truly search for the entire unedited interview.

@cynthiamason4069 10 ай бұрын

@@624radicalham Thank you so much. Very kind of you to let me know♡

@jeremycummings6702 9 ай бұрын

One of the best bios I've ever read!!!

@Bobbingbobberscreative 9 ай бұрын

@@jeremycummings6702I agree, one of the best. David Brinkley’s I a good one too.

@hayeshumphries311 2 ай бұрын

Cronkite is from Saint Joseph, MO....His dad worked across from my great grandfather.....Our families were very close.......He invited my Great Grandmother and great Aunt to stay at his luxurious apartment in NYC for a few days.....The man was a total gentleman and really was the last objective, non-biased, non-political, and just a real person.....Apollo program, JFK, Vietnam, the guy was the epitome of REAL journalism;!

@BobbySacamano 10 ай бұрын

I was a junior in high school at this time. We didn't know what to do and think, but my Old Man made sure we watched this. It may be weird, but I still tear up. Dave and Cronkite made that feel okay, and still does.

@MakatiMazz 10 ай бұрын

Walter was right, and it wasn’t an easy time for him to say this.

@MH-Tesla 9 ай бұрын

No he wasn't. They tried that when Clinton was president. Osama then said, "America is a paper tiger." This attitude is what led to 9/11. If you don't know that, you were taught poorly in school. I lived through the 90s and this event. Walter was a moron.

@ravenstone366 4 ай бұрын

Yes it was, to bad it wasn't heeded because as he stated when RFK was assassinated for months after MLK that the ripple effect of his lost will be felt throughout America and many generations to come. As RFK was Hope and I who wasn't even thought of yet😂 do believe that while ever of President that was assassinated before 1968 was tragic, don't get me wrong. The year of 1968 is when not just one great man with many flaws, but two great men with many flaws but they weren't afraid to admit to all mankind of their Country. They were opposite sides of the same coin, truly wanting a middle road for all of Mankind in America, where outward appearances was only suface ways of thinking like colors of a person's skin, it who they were on the individual, on the inside who makes us us humans. To work better to establishing better for all of us, best way to start is making sure all had the rights to equal schooling as education is the way to helping climb out of the hole and opening a whole new world to imagination, dream, thinking outside the box at any situation, knowing their is always more then one choice to any given situation. 😢 1968 was a year where many dared to dream that maybe finally we had two great individual souls that truly came from two walks of life's but treated each other as equals, brothers and a future of truly mending, never forgotten a better road forward as all truly free, brothers and sisters of one Nation, one Country, United We Stand.. Hope!!

@thanks6248 10 ай бұрын

We could trust this man and the media in his days.

@kellywalker9827 10 ай бұрын

The autobiography Cronkite is excellent! It reads as if he's talking to you personally.

@Maliceah 10 ай бұрын

Now I have to add that to my reading list!

@raymondm.9954 10 ай бұрын

I especially enjoyed the audio version, read by Cronkite himself. His voice breaks when describing the pilot killed in action.

@claytonalva7042 10 ай бұрын

Walter cronkite would have made a good president

@jeanmank742 9 ай бұрын

That comment just brought tears to my eyes. ❤

@stroock6394 10 ай бұрын

come on guys upload the full sept 17 episode, the first time back on air when Dave gave that great monologue and brought out Regis to make us feel better again

@tomsdotter3228 10 ай бұрын

We miss The Late Show and Uncle Walter 😔

@garylobo3 16 күн бұрын

Dave! You should've had Walter read those two jokes at the beginning!! The crowd would've gone nuts!!!

@Drj-69 4 ай бұрын

Wow, how wonderful it is to listen to such a class act with outstanding wisdom. There will never be another trusted newsman like Walter ever again. This is a wonderful interview that I never saw before today.

@dogzdad123 9 ай бұрын

WOW! I just came across this archived footage. How prophetic Uncle Walter was...and how is he sorely missed in our current geo and domestic political climate.

@cosmojonesmusic 9 ай бұрын

The positive side of journalism. It's getting harder to find honest journalists who aren't simply interested in themselves.

@shawnuel 10 ай бұрын

That Danny Almonte joke is pure gold!

@theskillzreport 9 ай бұрын

I literally laughed out loud; hope I didn't wake anyone (it was early here)

@iused2BAfireman 10 ай бұрын

how much foresight and truth are on display here. thank you for reminding us on the September 11th

@elizabethlarson9655 10 ай бұрын

This is so powerful. I'm so grateful to see it.

@steveleeart 10 ай бұрын

Wish he had still been with us over the last ten years, I think he would have had a lot of sage advice to give about many things and the many divisions that have occurred.

@hunter999888 10 ай бұрын

Letterman knew when to show respect and just let the guest speak and show their pedigree.

@jayducharme 10 ай бұрын

He was so right.

@1982kuba01 9 ай бұрын

What a great interview and twenty two years later this resonates hard "invasion of Afghanistan is a bottomless hole"

@Mr1930s 10 ай бұрын

Afghanistan was indeed a bottomless hole. We were doomed to repeat history.

@DefenseFren 10 ай бұрын

The GAY MAFIA became known as "anonymous" in 17th C. Britain. The corporation is so used to making excuses for themselves, they are providing free cover for our mutual enemies. Now they've got the technology of Kali, and no religion to speak of. We're obviously all going to die if Washington doesn't un-f_ck themselves.

@ihatezgoogle6264 9 ай бұрын

Where the heck is our generation’s trusted newsman?

@daveg9000 9 ай бұрын

Cronkite gave us the real story, real news every night. I don't recall his coverage ever being slanted. I don't remember him ever giving an opinion. Or, showing favoritism to a party, movement, and idea. Straight news. No sensationalism.

@slmsedg44 10 ай бұрын

Miss the Late Show!

@ronflatter1235 10 ай бұрын

Letterman’s informed curiosity remains a didactic prism for us all. One could say this was a preview of what he would bring with “My Next Guest ...”

@estradaj777 10 ай бұрын

2 legends this guys are the best in their profession.

@Ryan-on5on 2 ай бұрын

No man other than Mr. Cronkite, the wise old man of television journalism whom generations of Americans tuned in to during times of tragedy, unrest, and war, was better suited for delivering wise counsel and comfort to a shell-shocked nation just a week after the attacks of September 11th. Unfortunately, few at the time heeded his advice on not letting fear and anger overcome reason and guide our response to this barbarism. The twin debacles of Afghanistan and Iraq were the result of this folly!

@michelenichele294 10 ай бұрын

Walter Cronkite, the best ever!👏🏻🏆

@Shellinois 10 ай бұрын

Two great broadcasters. I will forever miss when TV was a smaller stage.

@gjoanne173 10 ай бұрын

Very difficult to name a single current political figure who exhibits such wisdom and foresight as Cronkite did here. He didn't speak a word of a lie

@comicsgrinder 9 ай бұрын

Wise observations by Walter Cronkite.

@markweatherly6782 10 ай бұрын

Wow Cronkite was a master journalist. I only wonder how he would be perceived in todays ultra polarized “news” environment.

@jillfromatlanta427 9 ай бұрын

He would have absolutely nothing to do with most all of it. He is spinning in his grave because of people who call themselves 'news journalists' (with a few exceptions)....I'm glad he never had to deal in any way with the criminal DT and MAGA

@Inglesemente 2 ай бұрын

He was a national treasure!

@kennethbode2017 10 ай бұрын

we should have listened to Uncle Walter

@dtsdigitalden5023 10 ай бұрын

Oh my goodness, Cronkite was so quick and witty, and David (in the monent, heaven forbid I were ever in his shoes, on live TV, interviewing Cronkite) ... just didn't play into it. Cronkite was the kind of guy who makes you feel okay about being a fair human. David, now he's approaching Cronkite's age (at the time of the this interview) is also beginning to do a mighty fine job too.

@markyncole 10 ай бұрын

Dave probably wasn't expecting it and was caught a little of guard by it.

@justmenb3379 9 ай бұрын

Cronkite didn't need a juggling act for Americans to tune into his broadcast.Networks have to wake up to this,as well as us viewers.

@BobbySacamano 10 ай бұрын

I remember the way I felt; "This is it."

@garylobo3 2 ай бұрын

And that's the way it was... September 11, 2001. Walter Cronkite reporting.

@mrdavidmcnamara 10 ай бұрын

Please post Dave's opening remarks from the 9/17/01 broadcast!

@ronsanford4793 9 ай бұрын

The war in Afghanistan dragged on for 20 years but it didn't turn out to be like Vietnam with people protesting and killing here in the U.S.

@danam0228 9 ай бұрын

Such a wise man

@oldmoviesinbwwithsubtitles3501 10 ай бұрын

One smart man, today we lack this type of people

@pschmidty5 10 ай бұрын

Please add the Dan Rather interview as well. Thank you.

@markstevens1729 9 ай бұрын

He saw Vietnam up close and turned against war. He was right.

@donaldblankenship8057 10 ай бұрын

The most trusted and grandfatherly man we have ever known in some ways wasn't too bright but was very funny with the elbow slip on Letterman.

@cherokee60 9 ай бұрын

At 9 yrs old, I watched with tears in my eyes, the moon landing with Walter. He was such a polarizing fixture of daily life. News of any kind would be doubted, if it wasn't told by Walter. I am so blessed to be alive. Sadly, the present leadership didn't listen to Walter, back when they could have made a difference.

@DrJonez 10 ай бұрын

9 days after it happened and Walter sounds like he had a crystal ball that could see the future. Never forget that the last 20 years of hell we've gone through in the Middle East accomplishing nothing was clear as day and our government still walked us right into it.

@Vanderearden 10 ай бұрын

: That's depends on how you look at it. It accomplished the goal of the U.S. government to create over 6 trillion dollars out of thin air. It allowed the U.S. government to pass the Patriot Act, which suspended the Constitution to this day and place America under War Powers Authority. It allowed for the suspension of Habeas Corpus. It allowed for the pharmaceutical industry to steal unlimited amounts of poppy to flood the streets of America with a disastrous opioid epidemic. It allowed for American corporations to plunder Afghanistan of precious minerals. It allowed for record profits of the military industrial complex. Just to name a few If you were a politician or CEO or shareholder, the invasion of Afghanistan was a highly profitable endeavor.

@jawbone78 9 ай бұрын

He wasn't the only person who saw it so clearly. Anyone with any sense knew that going off half cocked into a guaranteed quagmire like Afghanistan was a bad idea. Not unjustified, but not smart either. Unfortunately, Cronkite was one of the few with the courage to say so honestly. The worst part of the days that followed 9/11 was how quickly the fear and confusion turned to rage, and voices who cautioned restraint and consideration were shouted down, threatened, and branded traitors.

@keithgrillo8096 9 ай бұрын

Walter’s statements on the press and Germany’s thrust into WW2 should be pumped into Trump’’s prison cell everyday of his stay.

@mikeyboy3054 9 ай бұрын

You mean Biden's.

@stuckintheinbetween 9 ай бұрын

Cronkite supported world government: "It seems to many of us that if we are to avoid the eventual catastrophic world conflict we must strengthen the United Nations as a first step toward a world government patterned after our own government with a legislature, executive and judiciary, and police to enforce its international laws and keep the peace. To do that, of course, we Americans will have to yield up some of our sovereignty. That would be a bitter pill. It would take a lot of courage, a lot of faith in the new order. But the American colonies did it once and brought forth one of the most nearly perfect unions the world has ever seen."

@goldcanyon340. 9 ай бұрын

Where are you when we need you Walt?

@zippydooda 9 ай бұрын

Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

@njpaddler Ай бұрын

The proper quote is not "forget" but "refuse to learn from".

@zippydooda Ай бұрын

@@njpaddler wow, you're a wicked fart smeller, I mean smart fella!

@JohnRoland 10 ай бұрын

Very wise insights from Mr Cronkite

@seanwinkel8890 10 ай бұрын

God I loved this man. How prescient was he here?

@NathanIsLame 10 ай бұрын

Cronkite held his head down when the audience gushed over his mispronunciation of the nemesis’s name. Lucy fire! Hilarious.

@scottweaverphotovideo 10 ай бұрын

Cronkite showed such insight into the dangers of the Afghan invasion. Few wanted to listen.

@jp1170 9 ай бұрын

What a man

@samuelperez9816 5 ай бұрын

Walter was the last good journalist that this country has had

@DMC88mph 10 ай бұрын

"So then how do we EXTINGUISH the entire line (of enemies)?" Interesting choice of words, Dave. We didn't start the fire. It was always burning, since the world's been turning.

@pho3nix- 10 ай бұрын

Smart man

@asilong9049 9 ай бұрын

No one listened to the wise man. People ignored everything and sought revenge that fixed nothing.

@johnp139 Ай бұрын

“Has it worked in the past? Have we neutralized enemies by lifting them up economically?” How about GERMANY and JAPAN AFTER WW-II!????!! It was called the Marshall Act!!!!!

@davewilkirson2320 Ай бұрын

Walter was the real deal. In 2024 we have mostly lies or hyperbole for ratings driven by money.

@DigiRangerScott 10 ай бұрын

He was always a good CRONK

@ransom182 2 ай бұрын

He was right about everything...

@gongqi67 10 ай бұрын

Smart man.

@jcsmith725 9 ай бұрын

Boy, listening to this all these years later he wasn't wrong.. All most of us were thinking was "Nukem till they glow and shoot'em in the dark!!" No telling how many of our young would still be with us and those that are, fully whole.

@SeanATX 9 ай бұрын

Prescient words from one of the last great newsmen

@nightowldickson 9 ай бұрын

4:10 - Walter had great foresight and decades later he was right. Although the conflict did flush Bin Laden out. The irony is an 'ally' of the US, Pakistan, was harboring Bin Laden, and the Saudis had some involvement in 9/11.

@PV-pu5iu 10 ай бұрын

Boy, was he right about the war. On the wrong country, too.

@alvinuselton912 10 ай бұрын

He is just like he was during Vietnam

@theodorejay1046 9 ай бұрын

A wise view of the world ... Walter had seen everything up to then ... a good feel for history.

@Gracie18841 9 ай бұрын

wow prolific

@456zounds 9 ай бұрын

Yep, those two wars were ABSOLUTE mistakes!!!

@dustinprewitt 10 ай бұрын

The final time America will ever be remotely united on anything.

@624radicalham 10 ай бұрын

Did you watch this interview? They weren't united on anything. Cronkite is telling you exactly how polarized people were between going to war vs. using diplomatic solutions and intelligence

@garylivingston9052 9 ай бұрын

He was a very wise man, no need to invade Afghanistan. Caused us many, many years of problems and continues to.

@ilovethe1950s 6 ай бұрын

You don't see hosts nowadays let their guests talk in length. It's all about what the host has to say.

@joshuamann5228 10 ай бұрын

I seldom profess to speak for anyone but myself but you know what we want. Please give it to us.

@Dfturcott 10 ай бұрын

He was great on futurama.

@getit9066 4 ай бұрын

"We are with the President 100%" The lies just keep on coming with this guy.

@SimonChan09 10 ай бұрын

Same

@KelleneHubbard-dz4gt 10 ай бұрын

❤ We still have David Letterman 😂 but Walter is Now gone 😭😇🙏

@wxsawxsa2941 5 ай бұрын

DAN RATHER WAS CBS DALLAS KRLD CH 4 JFK CUB REPORTER

@stephenperkins5644 9 ай бұрын

Walter had his name right .

@magnificentfailure2390 10 ай бұрын

I was fostering a teenager when this all went down. I'm sorry to say that I was completely on board with the revenge aspect. Thankfully, she duly treated my reasoning as any teen ought to treat the madness of her "parents".

@illygah 10 ай бұрын

was this the first show back after the tragedy?

@SR-zc6lk 9 ай бұрын

Cronkite was right about not going into Afghanistan, but very naive about trying to lift up the world economically.

@dillionoshea7535 4 ай бұрын

Was he through? We did that with Japan and Germany after WW2 and now we have positive relationships with both and Germany is an ally

@lumpydavidg2201 10 ай бұрын

This man is what the standard should want to duplicate. And Walter Cronkite. JK. 😏

@uuclmusic2711 10 ай бұрын

Did George W Bush expand the Peace Corp? That’s a no…

@starter47990 9 ай бұрын

What year is this?

@alvallac2171 9 ай бұрын

The description says it first aired 9/20/2001, so only 9 days after the attacks.

@HiggsBJ 9 ай бұрын

This was great! Could we get some of the old skit featuring trump or monkey? Those were the best!

@Qfungi 10 ай бұрын

11:07-11:49

@tylerlozano9849 10 ай бұрын

Walter Cronkite should have not Retired in 1981 I think maybe 2002 or 2003 could have been the year Walter Cronkite retired from the Anchor Chair because I know if he would have stayed at CBS more money was coming in I know people said he should have retired in the ten years later like in 1991 but Walter Cronkite looks good in the video I wonder how Walter Cronkite would have covered 9/11/01 if he didn’t retire in 1981 and stayed two more decades on The Anchor Chair at CBS News?

@624radicalham 10 ай бұрын

Dan Rather pushed him out, did you seriously not know this? It was either he leave or Dan Rather threatened to leave and CBS was not about to lose Rather. It's politics. How did you not know this?

@tylerlozano9849 10 ай бұрын

@@624radicalham I thought I heard something like more money coming in I didn’t know Dan Rather was going to leave CBS in the 1980s at that time I just probably have to listen the story carefully because maybe because it was a CNN reporter who said something like that when Cronkite Passed Away in July of 2009.

@tylerlozano9849 10 ай бұрын

But I didn’t know Rather was going to Leave CBS at one point something I learned today everyday you learn something new mostly.

@624radicalham 9 ай бұрын

There are many interesting books on the matter. Rather was threatening to leave. He felt that Cronkite was purposely taking too long to retire thereby damaging his career. Alot of bad blood there. @@tylerlozano9849

@rsgabrys---- 10 ай бұрын

---------------‐--------- price of fuel .... billboard high prices is that part of the world telling us , we ain't friends , dammed if we ever be. . thanks4sharing