Vargas’ big chance

“Elizabeth Vargas to Go One-on-One With Bush,” proclaims ABCNews.com. The ABC News co-anchor gets an interview with the U.S. president on Tuesday at the White House.

I hope the tone of that promotional headline is accurate, because I’d really like to see a journalist be seriously confrontational with Bush, who has much to answer for. This interview could be pivotal for Vargas’ career.

If she wimps out and throws too many softballs at George, then she’ll lose my respect. I’ve seen her in a few other interviews asking hard questions, and refraining from the dumb ones. Vargas is my favorite network anchor these days; I really hope she will take the gloves off for this one.

FOLLOW-UP: (2-28) I watched the Bush-Vargas interview tonight on ABC News, and felt she did a credible job. Hard-hitting it wasn’t. But then, Bush is a master at deflecting questions and not owning up to even the most obvious mistakes, so I suppose I shouldn’t have expected much. Vargas didn’t embarrass herself, but neither did she make much of a splash.