NYT: Delicate Dance for Bush in Depicting Spy Program as Asset

[kainah]

Delicate Dance for Bush in Depicting Spy Program as Asset
By ADAM NAGOURNEY

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 - With a campaign of high-profile national security events set for the next three days, following Karl Rove's blistering speech to Republicans on Friday, the White House has effectively declared that it views its controversial secret surveillance program not as a political liability but as an asset, a way to attack Democrats and re-establish President Bush's standing after a difficult year.

Whether the White House can succeed depends very much, members of both parties say, on its success in framing a complicated debate when the country is torn between its historic aversion to governmental intrusion and its recent fear of terrorist attacks at home.

snip...

Still, in many significant ways the task the White House faces now may prove more daunting than the battles it has waged on this terrain before.

A number of Republicans have joined Democrats in challenging the surveillance program, pointedly reminding the administration that precedents established today will be in place whenever a Democrat returns to power.

"A lot of Democrats?" said one prominent Republican supporter of Mr. Bush, who did not want to be identified while being critical of a White House that famously does not brook criticism. "Democrats, Karl? Republicans, too."

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/23/politics/23spy.html?ei=5065&en=b8a73e937d46e97f&ex=1138597200&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print

This is the article reference by Raw Story in this LBN item: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2058860

[flordehinojos]

1. i hope he trips all over his monkey tail and falls flat on his face!

i hope his push to sell the spy program will put the OUT OF BUSINESS on him and his administration.

i hope his plan to spy on america will fall flat like a souffle full of hot air which falls flat even before it rises.

NO TO BUSH'S POWER GRAB. NO TO BUSH'S SPYING ON AMERICA. NO TO THE BUSH AGENDA. NO TO BUSH!

[cmdrzog]

7. The sad part is

I still hear the "what's the problem if you have nothing to hide" defense from too many people. It is unbelievable to me how willingly some people give up their rights and freedom.

[flordehinojos]

13. they will one day regret it ...they are blind to what the bastard is doing

how he is lying to them, and how he will take their life oxygen away. they will cry a river when bush finally clamps down on his police state. (sadly, so will we).

[0007]

9. I hope he get a bad case of uncontrollable diarrhea three minutes

into his State of the Union Address. I hope the stink is so bad that everyone has to hold their noses. I hope that junior is so embarrassed that he sobs uncontrollably.

[flordehinojos]

14. he won't sob. he will probably blame some democrat for the stink and

manage to leave the room for a few minutes waving and smirking and smiling the cunning guy is such an @**

[grasswire]

2. that's what Andrea Mitchell said Sunday night

in the segment where the pundits tell Chris Matthews something he "doesn't know." She said that the White House has discovered that the NSA program is approved by the American people and so it will be a big part of the State of the Union address and an issue he will emphasize. Ol' Turdblossom is trying to turn lemons into lemonade again. And Mrs. Greenspan was carrying water.

[kainah]

3. which means

we have to do a much better job of pointing out that the issue isn't whether or not he should be able to conduct these wiretaps but whether he should have to follow the law in doing so. That's what they do not want to talk about.

[wordpix2]

15. the issue isn't his justification re: breaking law, it's that * broke it

[HuffleClaw]

6. oh i sure hope they are depending on those polls

the ones that never once actually asked a question about the real issue at the heart of this entire domestic spying debacle, the part about spying on americans. every single poll i saw about this just HAD to ask something like 'do you approve of warrantless wiretapping of TERRORISTS?', so, if this is what they are depending on, they are gonna be some suprised. and i say GOOD. it'll be hilarious to see this blow up in their ever so self-righteous faces.

[AtomicKitten]

4. Begala quoted Zell Miller on Meet the Press on Sunday.

And I think it applies here ... A HIT DOG BARKS.

Clearly this White House is in deep shit on several fronts and, as always, their immediate response is to attack, attack, attack.

It is also clear their base laps up this BS, and the question remains, will the Democrats be able to frame the illegal wiretapping issue in a way that is heard over the Republican noise machine?

[rodeodance]

12. i don't know--I just do not know.

......It is also clear their base laps up this BS, and the question remains, will the Democrats be able to frame the illegal wiretapping issue in a way that is heard over the Republican noise machine?

[wordpix2]

16. Dems should frame it this way: "The pres. broke the law." Don't get too

deeply into details or Dems will lose the American sheeple. If they're interested in why Chimp broke the law, they'llk start following the story.

[thebigidea]

5. more of a delicate dance for Nagourney as he tries to help out

[bklyncowgirl]

8. Democrats have not done a good job of explaining what he did wrong.

The message has to be simple. It has to be clear, compelling and it has to be repeated over and over again without equivocation.

Compare these:

Our Message: In ordering warrentless wiretaps on American citizens the President (may have)broken the law. This raises grave questions about his abuse of presidential power.

Their message: I will do anything in my power to protect the American people.

Which of these messages is more likely to get through to the average overworked and overentertained American.

[Demeter]

10. Since The Illegal Spying Will Put His Ass in Jail

and his presidency in the running for most crooked politicain in public office in any country, ever, it is laughable that anyone at BushCo still thinks of it as an asset (While those who fight for democracy know that it is the best gift we could have gotten for Fitzmas).

[rodeodance]

11. it is painful to see 9/11 being exploited by the like of Rove.

Mr. Rove's speech on Friday to the Republican National Committee was a classic example. "Let me be as clear as I can be: President Bush believes if Al Qaeda is calling somebody in America, it is in our national security interest to know who they're calling and why," Mr. Rove said. "Some important Democrats clearly disagree."...

[rodeodance]

17. Rove is changing the subject AGAIN.

[leesa]

18. The cowardly Republicans and the DLCers will all fall into line to protect

the King of Corporations