Tony Snow Melts Down in 1st Gaggle

[Jack_Dawson]

Oh please let The Daily Show not be repeats next week.

:beer:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/12/AR2006051200958.html

[Theres-a]

1. Wheeeeeeeeeee!

[Jack_Dawson]

2. Oh to work from home today...

I wish!

Guess I'll have to settle for the NBC watered down version tonight.

:beer:

[Democrat 4 Ever]

4. Was it filmed? I thought the whole point of conducting the gaggle

in Snow's office was to "provide a more informal environment" (party line) but really was just an attempt to keep him out of the camera lens when pelleted with questions about all the scandals.

I certainly hope someone got the footage of that little snafu.

[Jack_Dawson]

26. 2nd part of it was

Sounds like...

[greenbriar]

3. so for cube rats

spill the goo

[Jack_Dawson]

5. You know as much as I do

Read the article - spells it out pretty nicely.

[notadmblnd]

6. Ok, so how long is he going to be able to use his "I'm the new kid" excuse

He's had a couple of weeks to do his homework and I would expect he'd have a clue by now. Ah, but our press will lap it up. It's cute, it's disarming, he admits his shortcomings... I've heard enough already.

[Jack_Dawson]

8. Kelly O'Donnell wasn't lapping it up

She was "steamed"

Can't wait for "steamed" to translate to "missteps" tonight.

[rodeodance]

15. oh Kelly, looks like Tony pulled a good one on you.

....Kelly O'Donnell of NBC News was steamed. "This was 9 a.m., then pushed back to 9:30, then I walk in at 9:20 and it's already well under way," she protested.

[rodeodance]

21. Helen Thomas wondered if the situation wasn't "peculiar."

The new-kid strategy proved disarming, particularly as he got questions about the latest revelations on the administration's telephone surveillance programs.

Pressed about the Justice Department ending a probe of the National Security Administration because lawyers couldn't get security clearance, Snow reached for a red folder. "You'll forgive me but I'll do the talking points on this because, again, as the new kid on the block I'm not fully briefed into everything, but here it is." After reading the legalese bullet points, he added, apologetically: "I hate to read from a sheet of paper."


Helen Thomas wondered if the situation wasn't "peculiar."

"Honestly, I can't answer the question," Snow pleaded.

[Supersedeas]

30. Whaaaat??? He read from the red folder -- was that some kind of joke?

[Jack_Dawson]

32. No - why? n/t

[lpbk2713]

7. Yet another

talking head in a long predictable line of sycophantic horse's asses.

SSDD.

[Jack_Dawson]

10. SSDD?

:beer:

[Liberal Dose]

20. Same Shit Different Dumbass?

[lpbk2713]

29. Very good.

:thumbsup:

[sutz12]

9. Well.....

He seems to have the "I don't know what I'm doing" line down pretty good. :rofl:

[wicket]

11. Wow, I almost feel sorry for him

Not quite, but almost :P

[MazeRat7]

27. Well I was almost feeling a bit sorry for Snotty there at the end...

Being forced to go out and lie day in and day out... Gezzzzz, I'm sure his family life was ideal.

But, like I said.. almost. He did have a choice.

MZr7

note to self: To thine own self be true... no job is worth losing your soul.

[Sequoia]

12. I don't know, I don't know, I don't know anything.

I'm dumb, I'm not even a real journalist, I'm just a jerk, I need some coffee. Go away, you're bothering me.

[Jack_Dawson]

13. LOL - that would be a nightmarish job though

Think about it. How many fuckups do you have to simultaneously defend? I'd melt down too.

[rodeodance]

14. I think of the gaggle as being televised---but not so:

Snow Melts at Debut 'Gaggle'

By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 12, 2006; 1:15 PM

Depending on how you look at it, Tony Snow's first briefing as White House press secretary this morning started either 18 minutes late or 12 minutes early.

Shortly before the start of his 9 a.m. "gaggle" --- the daily off-camera briefing --- the White House paged reporters to say the gaggle would instead start at 9:30. But to the dismay of reporters showing up at 9:30, Snow had already begun the briefing, at 9:18.



And the trouble was just beginning. After some 60 reporters crammed into Snow's office, which had room for less than half that number, Cox News's Ken Herman asked why he decided to move the gaggle from the White House briefing room. "I thought it was a little more informal," Snow said meekly. "I didn't realize it would be so highly attended."

Kelly O'Donnell of NBC News was steamed. "This was 9 a.m., then pushed back to 9:30, then I walk in at 9:20 and it's already well under way," she protested.

[Alamom]

16. A new way to say "Nothing"....is just to say, I know nothing. n/t

[Liberal Dose]

17. Can you guess the new canned response?

But if the new press secretary stumbled on the logistics, he offered a refreshing humility, admitting when he didn't know something. :wtf: FAKE MODESTY IS REFRESHING HUMILITY????

Has President Bush changed his mind on immigration? "You're asking me a state-of-mind question that predates me," Snow replied. "I'm not even going to try to fake it."

Get used to hearing:
"That predates me"
"I'm sorry but that event took place before I joined the WH staff."
and similar statements to that effect...

:puke:

[Lars39]

18. He didn't melt; he did exactly as he was hired to do.

[Jack_Dawson]

19. ...Piss off reporters?

Methinks not.

[Lars39]

35. No, be an imcompetent doofus.

He screwed up their deadlines and made himself the news.

[Cocoa]

22. "I'm not going to answer questions about credibility"

But Snow's bosses in the White House needn't worry: the guy does know how to draw the curtains shut. When Thomas asked him about how he would make Bush more credible, Snow shot back: "I'm not going to answer questions about credibility."

:rofl:

[Maestro]

23. Wow he's using really big words to make it look

like he is really intelligent and not just a talking head. "You need to give me a little forebearance." :eyes: Who talks like this?

[LSK]

24. so he doesnt know anything???? but he came from FOXNEWS

Im sure Keith will be all over it!!!!

:rofl:

[Jack_Dawson]

25. OMG Thx 4 Reminding me!

Forgot about the K.O. factor...

:toast:

[LSK]

28. thx for the link, im find this rather amusing

The former Fox News commentator showed some reflexive candor that could get him in trouble in his new role. Asked about the HUD secretary who claims he was fibbing when he said he denied a contract for political reasons. "The president accepts that," Snow said.

He's not waiting for the inspector general's report?

"Well," Snow revised, "at this point the president is supporting Alfonso Jackson."

Uh oh. "At this point?"

"You're getting me ahead of my brief," Snow retreated. "I don't know any more than I told you."


:rofl: :rofl:

[rodeodance]

31. and he told Helen T. he would not answer questions about Bush's credibilit

But Snow's bosses in the White House needn't worry: the guy does know how to draw the curtains shut. When Thomas asked him about how he would make Bush more credible, Snow shot back: "I'm not going to answer questions about credibility."

He also defended a recent increase in campaign-style press releases issued by the White House called "Setting the Record Straight," which seek to discredit media reports. His offer to "try to make it strictly factual" and to give reporters a heads up "if it has to do with things you've written or done" did not come across as the olive branch Snow must have intended.

A barrage of questions about the NSA produced nothing: "Operational detail . . . can't confirm or deny . . . I will reiterate the points he made yesterday . . . You'll have to ask General Hayden . . . I'm not going to get in an argument, nor am I going to comment either way . . . You'll have to ask the folks on Capitol Hill . . . I can't comment . . . You will have to ask the Senate committee."

At least he didn't try to defend obvious inconsistencies. When NBC's O'Donnell pointed out that Bush was happy to confirm a different NSA program when it was exposed, Snow answered: "Well, in this particular case, again, we're neither confirming nor denying."

[Jack_Dawson]

33. The Free-Fall continues

:popcorn:

[Hardrada]

34. Sergeant Schultz as Press Secretary

"I know NOTHING!"

[wtmusic]

36. Compared to Scott, Tony is a mensch

and because of it he'll never last

[bobthedrummer]

37. He is used to Fox and Free Republic and other extreme RW venues

what does that say about this administration...

[phoebe]

38. Definition of gaggle - to cackle; a flock of geese when not flying; an

often noisy group or disorderly group or gathering; an assortment of related things.

Not a very flattering description...