White House Runs Scandal Script (TomPaine.com)

[marmar]

White House Runs Scandal Script


Recognizing that its political purge of eight U.S. attorneys was about to reach critical mass—particularly because of the appearance that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales lied to Congress about it—the White House is now running its script to beat back the media interest.

That effort climaxed Wednesday with President Bush's comments on the firings, which combined a rhetorical slap on Gonzales' wrist for misleading Congress with a no-big-deal dismissal of the underlying controversy. The bottom line, he said, was that the attorney firings were "entirely appropriate" and that "past administrations have removed U.S. attorneys. It's their right to do so."

Monday, it selectively leaked information to The New York Times and The Washington Post, both which ran articles that shed some light on the White House involvement in the purge and the attempt to circumvent the Senate's traditional confirmation process.

Nevertheless the creative leaks, by design, set up Gonzales for his press conference Tuesday.

At the conference, Gonzales' main messages were:

1. I Didn't Do It: Kyle Sampson, who was my chief of staff until yesterday, didn't tell me he tried to install new attorneys without Senate confirmation. So I didn't break the law and lie to Congress when I said we wouldn't do that. I just unwittingly gave "incomplete information."

2. They Got Purged: U.S. Attorneys are political appointees that "serve at the pleasure of the President." If they got purged by White House, so what? .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/03/14/white_house_runs_scandal_script.php

[IWantAChange]

1. Question is - do Repuke voters care - better yet - do they even understand??

I believe that a fair percentage - possibly 25% do - the rest - Religous Righters and the Faux Noise zombies simply listen to the mantra and could care less about the facts.

[Demeter]

2. The Important Thing Is: The Powerful Are Paying Attention

and they are mightily ticked off. They aren't providing any support or cover, they aren't turning their heads and looking the other way, they are rolling up sleeves and starting the cleanup of the Augean Stables. There's been too much for too long, and it's stopping NOW.