Bush's Media Blame Game

[kentuck]

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/03/23/bushs_media_blame_game.php

<snip>

A revealing moment—dramatizing the pro-war division of labor—came on Wednesday, during Bush’s nationally televised appearance in Wheeling, West Virginia. On the surface, the format resembled a town hall, but the orchestration was closer to war rally. (According to White House spokesperson Scott McClellan, the local Chamber of Commerce had distributed 2,000 tickets while a newspaper in the community gave out 100.) It fell to a woman who identified herself as being from Columbus, Ohio, to give the Wheeling event an anti-media jolt.

<snip>

She added:

They just want to focus ... on another car bomb or they just want to focus on some more bloodshed or they just want to focus on how they don’t agree with you and what you’re doing, when they don’t even probably know how you’re doing what you’re doing anyway. But what can we do to get that footage on CNN, on Fox, to get it on Headline News, to get it on the local news?... It portrays the good. And if people could see that, if the American people could see it, there would never be another negative word about this conflict.

The audience punctuated the woman’s statement with very strong applause and then a standing ovation. But rather than pile on, Bush adopted an air of restraint. He advised:

Just got to keep talking. Word of mouth, there’s blogs, there’s Internet, there’s all kinds of ways to communicate, which is literally changing the way people are getting their information. And so if you’re concerned, I would suggest that you reach out to some of the groups that are supporting the troops, that have gotten Internet sites, and just keep the word moving. And that’s one way to deal with an issue without suppressing a free press. We will never do that in America.

In effect, Bush is holding the coat of those who go after the news media on his behalf. Many pro-war voices constantly accuse the media of anti-war and anti-Bush biases—with the accusations routinely amplified in mass-media echo chambers. Cranking up the volume are powerhouse outlets like Fox News, the Wall Street Journal editorial page, The New York Post, The Washington Times, The Weekly Standard, legions of high-profile loyalist pundits, and literally hundreds of radio talk-show hosts across the country who have political outlooks similar to Rush Limbaugh’s.

....more

[exlrrp]

1. Holding their coats

Thats the way Bush works, he never actually gets his hands dirty. Thats the way it worked with the Swiftboaters--while mildmannered President Georgis was praising Kerry's record, he was paying his Maumaus and Peasants with Pitchfaorks to crucify the guy's military record.
%thats the way he got rid of the CBS Papers controversy. Do you know he never denied they were real, nor did any of his staff? he never even lodged a formal complaint, never even a mild remonstrance.
And it all went away due to the work of other people.
Thats the way he got Libby and RFove to out Valerie Plame--and the list is endless.
There's two reaslons for this: A) Bush is really chickenshit, personally. He's never been in a real fight, wouldn't know what to do in one. B) This gives him all the maneuver rooom in the world and lets him retain his image as a nice guy when his people ar really stabbing other people in the back.
Bush always gets other people to do his fighting for him--thats how he can take one day offf out of 5

[kentuck]

2. Just like his Dad....

who was "out of the loop" during the Iran-Contra...

[Jeffersons Ghost]

3. maybe he's just under a lot of preasure

[spindrifter]

4. So what is this "one way to deal

with an issue without suppressing a free press." That is very disturbing.It is admitting that he wants people to disseminate an idea without regard to whether it is true.

[fooj]

5. Hell. they've been doing that since day one.

Peace.

[doc03]

6. I think that woman was a plant, remember on Tuesday

he took a question from Helen Thomas for the first time in over 3 years. Then the talking points went out that she was disrespectful. The very next day the woman in Wheeling comes out with the media question, and he gets the standing ovation, I don't think that was a coincidence at all.


EXTRA EXTRA:

All but one IED attack was stopped in Iraq today, 58 people were killed, but fortunately the US saved the the lives of 27 million.

[Disturbed]

7. She was definetly a shill.

Her husband is in the Army Reserve and was a Army Reporter in Iraq. She said that Iraq had to be invaded because of 911 and mentioned Jesus in the convo with Cavuto on Faux. Most of that audience were Military and families.

[tsuki]

8. He was a REPORTER for the Pentagon. The Pentagon has no

Reporters, just propagandists.

This is how in your face the Republicans are. They love show up the "common" man as stoopid.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

9. West Va is a very friendly state to bushie...

So is alabama where I live... maybe he'll come here... I've got a few questions for him.

[mtnester]

10. Wonder if the media feels good about being Swifboated?

Complacency and complicity got them here...NOW I want to see them actually do their job.

This could be a blessing to all of us if the media wakes up NOW! But they have to do it fast fast FAST!