Bush's last press conference was staged....and manipulated

[kentuck]

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/030811/whispers/11whisplead.htm

<snip>
President George W. Bush says he isn't interested in spin or stagecraft. But that doesn't mean he won't try to outfox the White House press corps as often as he can--as he did at last week's press conference in the Rose Garden, his first solo run in nearly five months. Bush and senior aides, including new press secretary Scott McClellan, had been planning the encounter for weeks, and Bush had gone over possible questions the day before in the Oval Office. (His staff predicted nearly every one.) To leave nothing to chance, the team decided in advance which journalists Bush would call upon and created a crib sheet of their names. And White House officials gave reporters only 90 minutes' notice--a ploy to prevent them from preparing their questions too carefully and generally to keep them off balance. Bush seemed to enjoy the give-and-take, aides say, but America shouldn't expect a repeat performance anytime soon, and certainly not in prime time. Bush thinks those events tend to become media spectaculars in which reporters preen for the television audience and try to play "gotcha" with him.

[GalleryGod]

1. Shrub McAsswipe Strikes Once More!

English as a THIRD language!:puke: :mad: :silly:

[dennis4868]

2. Wow that article was a suprise to me....NOT!

Everything this pResident does is staged. He is not a man of substance so that have to prepare the questions for him and give him crib sheets......FOR A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? What kind of world are we living in when the most powerfull man in the world acts like a 4th grader and has a crib sheet. I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK DAMN IT!

[searchingforlight]

3. God, imagine how unpredictable he would be on the telephone -

I bet they don't let him talk to anyone directly but use a delayed feed so that they can type in a response. Whadda dope!

[peekaloo]

4. even with a "rehearsal"

he stumbled, ummm and ahhhed, what a pathetic waste of carbon and water.

The only asshole that PREENS for the camera seems to be Chimp McChump.


:mad:

[pansypoo53219]

12. indeed

THAT WAS REHERSED?!?
my God, why do we not DEMAND BETTER?!?

[ewagner]

5. Earpiece?

I've heard a lot of speculation that the Pres uses an earpiece when meeting (manipulating) the press.

Anybody have a definitive answer either way?

[radfringe]

6. all press conferences/speeches/appearances

are staged, manipulated and choreographed

attendance is by invitation only, audience is screened,vetted and given instructions on how and when to cheer/clap

he only appears at defense manufacturing plants or on military bases - never where there is the slightest possibility of dissent appearing on the nightly news or where someone in an audience would yell out "...but he has no clothes...."

[otohara]

7. What a Pathetic Stupid Man

I don't think he needs to worry about "the WPC" asking questions that might be too difficult for GWB. They never do, why should they start now?

[samsingh]

8. all his press conferences are staged.

each and every one .

[Cocoa]

9. they're "media spectaculars" because they're so rare

wow! the president is actually going to answer to the public!

[mjb4]

10. the blackout address, of course.....

they were trying to make him look sober as well...

[Generic Other]

11. If it was a real press conference Helen Thomas would have asked

a real question. I don't believe she was invited to this one, a first for her since the 60s.

[SharonAnn]

14. The excuse is that she's no longer a journalist, she's a "columnist"

eom

[Rex]

13. Play gotcha? Hell, the press are timid little bunnies.

nt

[OrdinaryTa]

15. Compared to Michael Bloomberg ...

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave an unrehearsed press conference as the blackout was ending. He may or may not have said things he shouldn't have said, but he was straightforward and he answered every question. This is what Giuliani did on September 11th, and should be within the grasp of every politician.

Why are the standards lowered for Bush? John Kennedy used to give an unrehearsed press conference every week.