Slaying the Bullhorn Myth - Bush's "Magic Moment"

[Presstitutes]

http://www.presstitutes.com/presstitutes/2005/10/once_and_for_al.html

Of the many myths about George W. Bush, the most enduring is that he demonstrated great leadership in the days after 9/11 - with the shining example supposedly being his "Bullhorn Moment."

The fiction of the Bullhorn Moment has been repeated thousands of times, not only by reporters, but by Democratic leaders who think complimenting Bush somehow endears them to voters.

On Sunday's Chris Matthews Show (10/16), Matthews repeated the canard yet again, calling it Bush's "magic moment," his "glorious statement" on the rubble.

With Pre$$titutes like Matthews and polite Democrats pushing that "glorious" storyline, Bush's shameful cheerleading on a sacred gravesite has been etched into the public consciousness as the pinnacle of his presidency, and it may be impossible to slay the myth. But it's important for the "reality-based" community to present a cogent counter-narrative, to keep telling the truth about Bush's blasphemous bravado on the rubble, his arm slumped over the shoulders of a real hero, clinging to him in the vain hope that true humanity would rub off.

The rank Pre$$titution surrounding the 'bullhorn' speech wasn't the only time the press tried to paint Bush as a war hero, but it was certainly the most successful. Who can forget the salivating reporting of Bush's aircraft carrier landing, coverage so sycophantic that propagandists the world over must have stared in awe at such a display of journalistic evangelism.

Pre$$titutes and other Bush supporters will counter that poll numbers confirm that his bullhorn speech was Bush's hour of glory, but we've chronicled the power of the 'media loop' to cement false impressions: "Through a self-reinforcing loop, the media can turn talking points into accepted, unconsciously-repeated facts. Inject the meme into the national bloodstream, repeat it endlessly, have ordinary citizens repeat it to the press, use these statements from the public as evidence of truth and as a means to convince other members of the public that the talking point is factual. And so on."

In the days after the 9/11 tragedy, the power of the media to mythologize Bush's response was at its zenith. No dissent was tolerated, the nation was in a state of shock, Americans wanted to believe that someone was in charge. Pre$$titutes had free rein to weave fictions about Bush's "leadership."

It may be solace to some that reality is finally intruding on the pro-Bush storyline foisted on America by the media, but the damage done to our country will take generations to repair, and it's not over yet: Pre$$titutes wield tremendous influence, and if they have their way, we may yet see more bullhorn fairy tales.

[opihimoimoi]

1. "Brownie, ya did a heck of a job"...thats what's gonna kill him

In the face of Reality to the opposite...the Bush tries to snow us with thaT STATEMENT.

Sheer audacity and arrogance...

There was no bullhorn moment..a staged photo op.

Bush is a fraud of a man...

[niallmac]

2. I don't get it.

The article doesn't explain what was not valid about the bull horn moment...does it?

[Presstitutes]

16. Not sure what you're asking

:shrug:

[lectrobyte]

19. The myth they've built around * is that he's this strong war-president

and provided brave leadership in our time of and so on... The reality: stage-managed bullhorn bullshit. Wanted Dead or Alive one month, Don't Matter the next, while all the while shoving money into the gaping orifii of Halliburton et al.

[niallmac]

21. Well yeah I get that. The moment happened though.

Stage managed or not he pulled off a hollywood stunt that helped ignite a nationalistic patriotic frenzy to kill Ayrabs and stick flags on our foreheads. In that, Bush succeeded.
Did he follow through as a president truly concerned about righting a wrong, rallying the hugh world empathy that was ours. No. He screwed this up like everything else he has ever touched in his pathetic little c minus frat boy life.

[Freedomfried]

3. Bullhorn moment? He was hanging on that fireman for dear life

He was scared shitless, a perfect example of "forced bravado" if there ever was one.

[SoCalDem]

5. " We can't HEAR you" came from an UNIDENTIFIED person

If this had been a legit outburst, people would have come out of the woodwork claiming to be the one who asked it.. They would have been on The Today Show, Nightline, etc,,

The "question" probably came from a stooge who was carefully planted and asked it to cue the "bravado pledge"..

Nothing is spontaneous with *².. He requires massive rehearsal, coaching, and cueing..

[Kurovski]

15. What I've always wondered about was how could that guy

in the crowd not hear Bush, who had a BULLHORN, when the guy himself could be heard quite clearly.

It struck me the very first time I saw it, and I yammered about it on DU a few times. I thought it was clearly a set-up.

The footage shown of the event since those early days (shown regularly now from Tweety's birdcage) has omitted the "we can't hear you" part.

[Freedomfried]

20. The reply, "Well I can hear you" was written by his speech writers

Has anyone EVER heard that POS say ANYTHING spontaneous that made any sense?

[DemInDistress]

4. How magical would have that moment been if

we Americans were aware of his earlier August 6 2001 PDB. Would he even have visited NYC if the memo was leaked lets say on Sept.13th 01'
On 911 I supported the scumbag even though he stole the 2000 election
but as the weeks and months passed we saw bush/cheney block,stonewall,
obstruct and independent investigation,why? because he was well aware
of impending attacks yet chose to lie in our grieving faces.The Bush
Crime Family is scum,shit,thieves and murderers.I wish misery,pain and
hardships on all 25 of them.May they all rot in hell with the others
pieces of shit.....sorry for my french.

[niyad]

7. even on 9/11, I had absolutely NO respect for that pretender. in hiding

all day, and when he finally gave that absurd news conference, he didn't even appear to fully grasp the situation. a group of us were watching, and our reaction was pretty much the same--he was a complete dud then, and now.

[RamboLiberal]

11. Does anyone remember the phone call with Rudy Giuliani?

Was that 9/12. What I do remember is Bush sounded like the blithering idiot he is.

Yep, the bullhorn moment was pure media mythology, plus some decent speechwriters in that speech he delivered before Congress (IMHO also highly overrated). The damn media and jerks like Tweety wanted a manly hero, so they created one out of a blithering coward.

[amitten]

6. A not-very-notable moment

I remember clearly the 'bullhorn moment' after 9/11. It wasn't a big deal at the time, and didn't impress me one way or the other. Its seemed like the type of thing any leader with half a brain might do/say after a major national disaster. I don't remember that at the time it was treated as a particularly jaw-dropping moment. In fact, the most I've ever heard about it is the last several weeks after Katrina. Now it's said Bush is searching for another bullhorn moment. Uhhh--really? Can't he do better than that? I've never seen him conduct himself publically in a very impressive way, bullhorn moment included.:boring:

[DemInDistress]

8. Amitten...welcome to DU !!!!

what kind of reception would he have received if Americans knew about
the Aug.6 2001 PDB?My bet is New Yorkers would have stoned him.

[DemInDistress]

9. Amitten...welcome to DU !!!!.... Duplicate post,ignore

what kind of reception would he have received if Americans knew about
the Aug.6 2001 PDB?My bet is New Yorkers would have stoned him.

[calmblueocean]

10. I thought Bush and his bullhorn were an embarrassment.

I've never understood how anyone could see that spectacle, with Bush whimpering to himself surrounded by this crowd of angry firefighters who looked like they wanted to kill him, and think, "Wow, so glad this guy's my president."

I just remember him saying, "The people who did this will hear all of us soon," and thinking to myself, "Dude, the people who did this died on the freaking planes, or haven't you been paying attention?"

[progressivebydesign]

12. I never bought into the Bullhorn Miracle Moment. It was pure bullshit.

It took him freakin' forever to get down there. I believe Hillary, Bill, and Al Gore, had all been down there before he even bothered. The bullhorn moment was photo ops at its worst and, I suppose, best. It was disgusting and staged, and IF the media had been critical in their viewing of it, rather than suspend their professional ethics in an effort to look like team players, then they would have pointed that out. I can't blame them, and perhaps many others, as 9/11 was such a shock and tragedy, most people weren't thinking straight. Sad, really, that the terrorists perpetrated something so horrific to punish those that make the policies that they believe hurt their cause, and instead it STRENGTHENED those policy makers and allowed them to continue unquestioned, while the attacks also devastated the lives of thousands of ordinary people.

[jim3775]

13. I remember it as it happened. The news networks couldn't get the live....

video to work, so they only had audio. Once he got to the "we will find them etc." part I thought "what the fuck is he doing, those people are still pulling bodies out and he is doing some rah rah cheerleading bullshit". And as soon as the video was shown the dumb jingoism started prompted by the news networks, they loved showing that video along with that stupid I-Beam cross. The whole display sickened me considering what had happened two or three days before, I don't think I've watched American corporate media at all since then.

[NightOwwl]

14. It took that sniveling coward FOUR FUCKING DAYS to get to Ground Zero.

FOUR FUCKING DAYS!

Bullhorn moment my ass. :grr:

[elehhhhna]

17. 3. Got there 9/14. He's ALWAYS 3 days late. ALWAYS.

[Jack from Charlotte]

18. It was the day..... AFTER.... Clinton went there and he was in Australia..

when the attack occured. I always thought The AWOL/Moron only went to NY that day because Clinton looked so presidential there the day before.

[RedSock]

22. the man * is slumped over

didn't the firefighter than Moron is hanging onto come out and speak against bush -- how he supported him but could not any more?