smirk threatening journos one on one

[donsu]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/28/politics/28press.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

For Bush and Press, Informal Talks

President Bush has been holding informal off-the-record sessions with major news organizations over the last several days.

Starting Thursday, he began meeting with groups of about a half-dozen reporters from newspapers, television, news agencies and magazines. They have discussed a variety of issues including the war in Iraq, said a reporter who attended a session.

The meetings, which the journalists have agreed not to describe publicly, have been in the White House residence. They come as several news organizations have assigned new reporters, who had no relationship with Mr. Bush, to cover the White House.

David Bohrman, the Washington bureau chief for CNN, one of whose reporters attended a session, said they were a good idea.

"Most of the time, the environments that our reporters deal with the president in are very structured, very managed, and they rarely get to just kick back and have a conversation," he said. "I think there's a lot of value in it for both sides."
-snip-
---------------------------

David Bohrman should be ashamed of himself talking such crap.

does it go like this?:

the bushmilhousegang spys on reporters, invites them to W.H. to chat and then blackmails them with stuff they learned spying on them.

or do they just whisper 'we will kill your first born' if you cross us?

smirk served them ice tea, sodas and water

[babylonsister]

1. If ya can't kill them with kindness, baffle them with bullshit.

I hope the journalists aren't taking the bait.

[Debau2005]

6. Baffle them with bullshit...

:spray: :rofl:

[niyad]

2. does anybody actually believe that this man, who cannot construct two

coherent sentences together, who refuses to answer real questions, had any informal gatherings? puleeeeeeezzzee.

[Inland]

3. I saw this. Press coopted by becoming one of the insiders.

My question is, how "unstructured" is it if you can't say anthing about the conversation? And what does it say when the only time a reporter gets a peek past the veil of secrecy and lies is a meeting held under a veil of secrecy?

Basically, it's this: the reporters are basically turned into insiders, given insider information and told that only they and a few selected others can be trusted with it. It's the same way that anyone joining the white house team becomes a co conspirator. What information are they given? Well, you can bet it's top secret stuff that for some reason ends up putting everything Bush does in a different light. If they believe it, every single fucking article is colored by "facts" that nobody knows about and of course, nobody can check. It's a form of self censorship.

[Dunvegan]

5. Sounds like "Skull and Bones Lite".

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. My first thought, too, was the question, "What are they being threatened

with?"

It's sad that we have a president that forces that thought to be the very first thing that enters my mind.

"When you report from the White House, we will tell you what the news is. And I'm not saying anything will happen, but as a down home kind of guy with Christian family values, I sure would be saddened if an accident were to happen to you or your home or your family. Bob - your daughter walks home from school at 2:46 pm each afternoon, right? Don, your daughter Megan has a dental appointment on Thursday, right, at Dr. Holmen's on vine and main, your wife taking her there in your 2003 brown Escalade with the broken taillight from when you backed into the Ash tree in your front yard trying to avoid your son Travis' blue Schwinn 10-speed he left laying in the driveway on May 20th, 2005? Sure would hate to see an SUV or bus or sniper take one of them out. Yep, I shore would be sad."

[Tarheel_Dem]

7. i would be rofl...but sadly it's probably true.....

n/t

[Vidar]

8. Helen would win with a knockout.