Whose idea was the 'Mission Accomplished' banner?

[WilliamPitt]

I remember hard evidence coming out to refute Bush's claims that the banner was the Navy's idea, but I can't find it. Can anyone help?

[Lefty48197]

1. Someone had a photo of a similar banner from a couple of months prior

It had the exact same blurry flag background, and the same font. It probably said something like 'saving the economy' or some other inane Bush lie.

[ibegurpard]

2. It was Howard Dean!

That evil little bastard! LOL!

[La_Serpiente]

3. Hmmm....

let's dig around here a little bit.... *dig* *dig*

[Cleita]

4. I remember it too and it was posted here.

So I guess a "search" is in order.

[Robin Hood]

5. Let's get real here.

I am tired of all the excuses involving eager underlings. Where does the buck stop in this Admin? Obviously not at the Oval office. So if the person in charge is not accountable for anything that he has done(See Clinton's penis, terrorism, etc), Then who the hell is in charge here?

[WilliamPitt]

7. That's my point

I'm writing something today, and I want to stick this right up Bush's poop chute.

[opihimoimoi]

10. Those Neocons, they be so arrogant, they don't even care

if they are found out. They will just spin it away as they have done to everything else.

But I remember it being posted here somewhere. Gatta search I suppose.

[La_Serpiente]

6. OK, I found it

You can thank John Kerry's campaign for pointing it out.

Here is the link:

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2003_1028.html

HERE IS WHAT BUSH SAID TODAY: The "Mission Accomplished" sign, of course, was put up by the members of the USS Abraham Lincoln, saying that their mission was accomplished. I know it was attributed some how to some ingenious advance man from my staff.” (Press Conference, 10/28)


HERE IS HOW IT WAS REPORTED: The most elaborate -- and criticized -- White House event so far was Mr. Bush's speech aboard the Abraham Lincoln announcing the end of major combat in Iraq. White House officials say that a variety of people, including the president, came up with the idea, and that Mr. Sforza embedded himself on the carrier to make preparations days before Mr. Bush's landing in a flight suit and his early evening speech. Media strategists noted afterward that Mr. Sforza and his aides had choreographed every aspect of the event, even down to the members of the Lincoln crew arrayed in coordinated shirt colors over Mr. Bush's right shoulder and the "Mission Accomplished" banner placed to perfectly capture the president and the celebratory two words in a single shot. (NYT, 5/16)

[WilliamPitt]

8. Thank you!!

Who is Mr. Sforza?

[La_Serpiente]

11. Ok Ok

I'll dig around here a little bit again.... *dig* *dig*

[WilliamPitt]

12. Never mind, I found it

[Melinda]

13. Scott Sforza:

"First among equals is Scott Sforza, a former ABC producer who was hired by the Bush campaign in Austin, Tex., and who now works for Dan Bartlett, the White House communications director. Mr. Sforza created the White House "message of the day" backdrops and helped design the $250,000 set at the United States Central Command forward headquarters in Doha, Qatar, during the Iraq war.

<snip>

The most elaborate - and criticized - White House event so far was Mr. Bush's speech aboard the Abraham Lincoln announcing the end of major combat in Iraq. White House officials say that a variety of people, including the president, came up with the idea, and that Mr. Sforza embedded himself on the carrier to make preparations days before Mr. Bush's landing in a flight suit and his early evening speech.

Media strategists noted afterward that Mr. Sforza and his aides had choreographed every aspect of the event, even down to the members of the Lincoln crew arrayed in coordinated shirt colors over Mr. Bush's right shoulder and the "Mission Accomplished" banner placed to perfectly capture the president and the celebratory two words in a single shot. The speech was specifically timed for what image makers call "magic hour light," which cast a golden glow on Mr. Bush.

"If you looked at the TV picture, you saw there was flattering light on his left cheek and slight shadowing on his right," Mr. King said. "It looked great."


http://www.notinourname.net/resources_links/bush_image_may03.htm

[KeepItReal]

14. Scott Sforza

"First among equals is Scott Sforza, a former ABC producer who was hired by the Bush campaign in Austin, Tex., and who now works for Dan Bartlett, the White House communications director. Mr. Sforza created the White House "message of the day" backdrops and helped design the $250,000 set at the United States Central Command forward headquarters in Doha, Qatar, during the Iraq war.

Mr. Sforza works closely with Bob DeServi, a former NBC cameraman whom the Bush White House hired after seeing his work in the 2000 campaign. Mr. DeServi, whose title is associate director of communications for production, is considered a master at lighting. "You want it, I'll heat it up and make a picture," he said early this week. Mr. DeServi helped produce one of Mr. Bush's largest events, a speech to a crowd in Revolution Square in Bucharest last November."

http://www.notinourname.net/resources_links/bush_image_may03.htm

http://www.alexandriayrs.org/Newsletter/summer2002.pdf

[La_Serpiente]

15. Here is Mr. Sforza

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/US/05/16/nyt.bumiller/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

WASHINGTON -- George W. Bush's "Top Gun" landing on the deck of the carrier Abraham Lincoln will be remembered as one of the most audacious moments of presidential theater in American history. But it was only the latest example of how the Bush administration, going far beyond the foundations in stagecraft set by the Reagan White House, is using the powers of television and technology to promote a presidency like never before.

<snip>

That somebody, White House officials and television executives say, is in fact three or four people. First among equals is Scott Sforza, a former ABC producer who was hired by the Bush campaign in Austin, Tex., and who now works for Dan Bartlett, the White House communications director. Mr. Sforza created the White House "message of the day" backdrops and helped design the $250,000 set at the United States Central Command forward headquarters in Doha, Qatar, during the Iraq war.

more...

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

16. Mr. Sforza will also be running the Com Center for * re-elect.*

[KeepItReal]

9. "Top 11 administration explanations for the "Mission Accomplished" banner

" 1. The crew thought it would be a great idea to have a message banner with the same background that they saw when they took a break from the war to watch Dubya address job creation in Canton, Ohio the week before.

2. Typo. It was supposed to read, "The first step on a long road that will still cost hundreds of U.S. lives and hundreds of billions of dollars.

3. "Spontaneous Generation."

4. It was the only thing available to cover the vandalism left behind by departing Clinton staffers.

5. Dubya is infallible. The person transmitting to his "hearing-aid" misrepresented the story of the banner.


6. Dubya soiled the alternate "Bush 2004" banner during the carrier landing.

7. What banner?

8. "Mission Accomplished" referred not to Iraq, but to getting an image into the national consciousness to undermine the evidence that Dubya was A.W.O.L. from the Texas Air National Guard for more than a year.

9. Banner still hanging since the Lincoln's previous deployment.

10. Okay, we had our advance guy on the ship to choreograph every detail. We approved the slogan and we made the banner to bring to the ship, but we didn't "sign-off" on it.

11. It depends on what your definition of the word "accomplished" is. "


http://www.toostupidtobepresident.com/top11/mission_accomplished.htm

[SoCalDem]

17. The real question is... How/when did they fly the banner to the carrier?

Rememebr how close the ship was to docking.. I have a mind's eye pic of the families standing out there watchiing it get closer and closer....and then.... it goes back out to sea for the chimp's arrival..

and these are the same folks who had a shit fit over Clinton's haircut..

Someone put that banner on a chopper and flew it out to the carrier...all for the photo op

[elperromagico]

18. I did it!

I take full responsibility for putting up that banner! I'm also responsible for this backdrop:

[VolcanoJen]

19. Here's the definitive DU Thread on the "MA Banner"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=605132#606018

Cat Atomic's post nos. 61 and 74 have some great comparative images of the flag and font, and the rest of the thread contains a fantastic, and exhaustive, collection of links.

This ought to help you out, Will!

[Media_Lies_Daily]

20. Clinton's...

...trouser trout, of course!

[Don_G]

21. Are You Certain It's Not

A one-eyed python of love?