NY Times mourns Bush's loss of his "Bullhorn Moment" & "9/11 Image"

[Human Torch]

Year After Katrina, Bush Still Fights for 9/11 Image



President Bush surveying hurricane damage last August from aboard Air Force One, an image a Republican senator called “regrettable.”

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: August 28, 2006

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 — When the nation records the legacy of George W. Bush, 43rd president and self-described compassionate conservative, two competing images will help tell the tale. The first is of Mr. Bush after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, bullhorn in hand, feet planted firmly in the rubble of the twin towers. The second is of him aboard Air Force One, on his way from Crawford, Tex., to Washington, peering out the window at the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina thousands of feet below.

If the bungled federal response to Hurricane Katrina called into question the president’s competence, that Air Force One snapshot, coupled with wrenching scenes on the ground of victims who were largely poor and black, called into question something equally important to Mr. Bush: his compassion. A year later, he has yet to recover on either front.

Mr. Bush has prodded Congress to approve tens of billions of dollars for rebuilding and victim assistance, delivered a much-publicized fence-mending speech to the N.A.A.C.P. and made repeated trips to the Gulf Coast, where he plans to observe the anniversary of the storm Monday and Tuesday. Yet his public persona remains that of wartime president — the man standing in the Manhattan rubble — flying by as desperate and vulnerable Americans suffered.

His approval ratings have never rebounded from their post-hurricane plummet. A New York Times/CBS News poll conducted this month found that 51 percent of those surveyed disapproved of the way Mr. Bush had responded to the needs of hurricane victims, a figure statistically no different from last September, when 48 percent disapproved.



But he's still got his 9/11 Image...

[blm]

1. NYT and rest of media CREATED heroic image of Bush out of FEAR of what

terrorists would do next, so they hurried to prop Bush up and keep him there for the next 3 years.

It took a CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE to blowback the spin the media was using since 9-11. That's what it took - live pictures of an event so catastrophic that not even the corpmedia could spin it FOR Bush.

[rocktivity]

10. DING DING DING! Blm, you're our grand prize winner!

It took...live pictures of an event so catastrophic that not even the corpmedia could spin it FOR Bush.

Remember when Fox News went "off script?" And Jack Caffterty's "conversion?"

:headbang:
rockantion

[LisaM]

2. I never thought much of the bullhorn moment

It seemed just as phony as everything else he does and he's let the 9-11 survivors down as much as he has the Katrina survivors. It also didn't make sense, as he got up there and yelled "we can hear you!" What was that supposed to mean?

He also got to NYC two or three days AFTER Clinton, who wasn't even in the country when it occurred.

[Human Torch]

4. "We can hear you" was Bush's "Hello Cleveland" rock star moment.

Face it, Junior would have been a one-term, Gerald Ford kind of forgettable president if it weren't for 9/11. He was largely seen as a smirking frat-boy idiot who was at least a few bricks shy of a load. But we, as a society, love "defining moments" and "moments of truth." The country was in a state of shock when he got up there with the bullhorn, and ANYTHING spoken with authority and confidence in that moment would have sounded inspirational.

But it was one of those "If we knew THEN what we know NOW" things. Maybe for the blink of an eye he was willing to step up to the task. Maybe he found out how much hard work it is being president and realized he liked those trips to Crawford a lot better.

I just think that the NYT (and the rest of the media) is penning a eulogy for a man who never truly existed.

Or as Frank Zappa might have said, a man who existed "only in the imagination of the imaginer."

:patriot:

[Benhurst]

12. On the contrary, I've never found anything so inspiring as

the image of The Leader standing atop the carnage he allowed to happen, haranguing the masses through a bullhorn.

[sarge43]

14. Speaking of the Big Dog, this is

the difference between a leader in a time of crisis and pain and a poltroon and poseur.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/wjcoklahomabombingspeech.htm

[Auntie Bush]

30. Thanks Sarge...that was inspirational and reminds me why

I miss the Big Dog so much. :cry:

[quiet.american]

21. Thank you, LisaM. The "bullhorn moment" is UTTER BULL.

A completely shameless cable news creation. As a New Yorker, what I saw at the time was at best, a pure-and-simple photo-op, at worst, a picuture of the hubris of a vain, hollow, frightened, wanton idiot whose administration, by their failures, (or worse) presided over the worst attack this country has ever seen.

[Cosmocat]

24. On par ...

with the "mission accomplished" photo op ... The media got all cuddly over that, too ... As noted, trying to prop this clown up as some kind of tough president ...

Frankly, ANY president would have done basically the same thing ... You think for ONE second that Bill Clinton wouldn't have scampered up there ... First Bush, Reagan, Carter ... You know LBJ would have ... Difference being, as noted, no president I have known in my life would have read a freakin children's book half an hour into the attacks, then allowed himself to be flown all across the country the rest of the day ...

If it were me, and I was in Florida at 9 when it happened, I would have been in DC and standing on the steps of the white house flipping OBL the bird by noon, at the Pentagon by that evening and in NYC the next day ... Then, NO MFing intelligence head would have been allowed to sleep, no freakin general/admiral been able to sleep, until OBL's head was sitting on a platter in the oval office ... And, I mean that ... If it was five years later, and he was still alive, I would have fired and rehired the entire goverment 10 times over ...

[Lisa]

28. Karl Rove was reportedly looking around the site ...

... for suitable photo-ops, and saw the retired firefighter (Bob Beckwith) standing on top of the crushed truck. He asked Beckwith to jump up and down to test the truck for stability, then told him to stay there to help "someone" up onto it, then get down right afterwards (so it would look like Bush had gotten up there by himself?). This was stated in an interview with Beckwith, by Joseph Kellard in 2002.

So it seems to have been Rove's idea, not a spontaneous act by Bush.


Personally, I find the spectacle of Bush and his aides, scurrying around the ruins of the Gulf Coast trying to find a similar "opportunity" for a dramatic photo, not just pathetic but appallingly selfish.

[nam78_two]

3. Sheryl Stolberg and Elizabeth Bumiller

are two of the most kiss-ass reporters the NYT has on their staff...

They kiss Bushie ass copiously...Bumiller was the cow that wrote about "the hallowed atmosphere of the press room" or something that caused her and fellow lame-ass reporters to not ask any pressing questions about Iraq :eyes:

I saw her on CSPAN one time, bitching about those "angry lefties" that are never satisfied...

yuck...

[bullimiami]

5. "BULLSHIT MOMENT" if they were honest.

[The_Casual_Observer]

6. What did jr accomplish with that bullhorn performance?

Nothing but distract the populace from the fact that the god damn thing happened on his watch.

[AX10]

7. The NYT is a corporate media outlet. What else did you expect?

[applegrove]

8. Called REALITY. If you are a leader of a democracy and you don't

see the desperate people in mid disaster - under your care - well you get the reputation you deserve.

Maybe neocons can build a memorial to themselves & the poll points they lost. Put it up on the Mall. Maybe GOP pups could take a piece of paper and etch out the words "Condi's Shoes" as a keepsake. For when they revealed themselves. Emperor... no clothes (or shoes).

[yellowcanine]

9. The AF 1 pic of Bush looking down on N.O. after Katrina captures his

presidency, imo. Detached and clueless.

On edit: What makes that pic so priceless is that he is wearing his presidential flight jacket, as if to indicate that he is ready to do some serious "presidenting." Bush is truly a triumph of form over substance.

[SteppingRazor]

11. It's funny how we blast the very same paper...

that got such approval here for its editorial in the wake of Lieberman's defeat by Lamont.

Indeed, I would argue that the NYTimes has a point here, albeit clouded in Bush image-making: After 9/11 and that bullhorn bit, America was united, and most of the world was with us. That of course, was a function of the horrific nature of the attacks themselves, not Bush's rhetoric. After that, especially due to Iraq, but also due to Bush's failure to gain, or in many cases, even try to gain, multiliateral cooperation abroad and bipartisan support at home, America's unified nature crumbled.

And, in fact, the article goes on to describe the current state of Bush's presidency in hardly "mournful" terms, quoting Democratic luminaries such as Chuck Schumer and even quoting token moderate Republican Susan Collins as saying that the image of Bush flying over New Orleans days after Katrina, "That’s a searing and very unfortunate image that doesn’t reflect the president’s compassion.” Hardly a ringing endorsement.

And, in fact, that lone Republican is the only one quoted in the story, a piece rife with Democratic anti-Bush sentiment. I don't think we could have asked for a piece more critical of Bush that would find a place outside of the NYT op-ed page.

It's a shame you didn't post a link to the story, so that people would have the opportunity to see all this for themselves.

By the way, for those interested, here it is: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/us/nationalspecial/28bush.html?_r=1&hp&ex=1156737600&en=5eb005c71c19f0d1&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin

I find it bizarre that we constantly bash the media, often, as in this case, even when they are serving our purpose.

[Human Torch]

13. I forgot the link...a simple and honest mistake.

If you've read any of my other posts, you know that I always...repeat, always...post the URL.

I forgot. My bad. I guess it would support a tinfoil hat, media bashing conspiracy theory to say that I deliberately left it out, but...the truth of the matter is I simply forgot.

I will now slink into the corner and say ten Our Fathers and Ten Hail Marys to repent for this blatant sin against humanity.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/us/nationalspecial/28bush.html?hp&ex=1156824000&en=1cdb3fde830d64e8&ei=5094&partner=homepage

:evilgrin:

[SteppingRazor]

15. Tsk, tsk... 50 lashes with a wet noodle for forgetting!

:spank:

[nam78_two]

16. They pat their own backs sufficiently

I don't think our "bashing" them is affecting them one bit.
Besides, I mean the fact that now-when the preznit's approval rating is what 33%?- they finally write a few articles critical of him doesn't make up for the years of bs.

I used to read the NYT regularly up till the end of 2004 and be amazed at the kiss ass coverage of many Bush policies...particularly by a handful of their reporters-Elizabeth Bumiller, Sheryl Stolberg etc. The apologism for the war in the early years etc.

I don't dislike the paper overall even after the Judy Miller fiasco-for example I look forward to reading anything written by James Risen or Eric Lichtblau, who broke the NSA wire-tapping story.

Bush's failure on Katrina is so blatant, so out there...they should get no brownie points for pointing out the obvious. I just think its too soon to be getting complacent about the media yet :-/-I would rather err on the side of being overly critical than the reverse right now.....
Who knows maybe they might even pay some attn to those pesky lefty bloggers eh :)?

[SteppingRazor]

18. I'm just asking for fairness...

condemn them when they really deserve it. Castigate people everytime they write an article, and they will ignore you. Take them to task just when they're being stupid, and they're more likely to listen.

Full disclosure: I should say, I suppose, that I am a journalist myself :hide:

[nam78_two]

20. heh fair enough

:) :hi:

I was mostly just reacting to Stolberg...unfortunately when you read a paper over time, you start noticing certain names and having your own opinion of some journalists and I agree thats not the best thing to do.
Focussing on the person rather than the content, but hey I am human it happens...

And I like the NYT overall...they just have a handful of reporters who I have known to write very -almost idolatory articles about BushCo...(I think Bumiller referred to Cheney as a heroic lion or something :puke: ) and they write what seem close to opinion pieces in the news section.

Stolberg was the one that wrote a puff piece on Bush's 60th about his fitness blah blah. I find it hard to take reporters like her seriously....

[SteppingRazor]

22. I agree Bumiller's atrocious...

and Miller's unforgivable.

I see nothing wrong with forming opinions about stories once you see the byline. If a writer has destroyed his/her credibility with previous stories, why should the current story be treated with kid gloves?

I actually didn't take notice of the byline on this story, but had it read "Bumiller," I probably wouldn't have rushed as quickly to its defense.

[NYCGirl]

17. How do these quotes do anything to glorify Bush and the admin?

“Bush did nothing for the people,” said one Republican, Joseph Ippolito, 75, a retired highway superintendent from Bayville, N.J. “Bush didn’t have the proper people in office to take care of Katrina. The whole administration is wacky — and I voted twice for him.”

“Here was an opportunity for a new conversation on race and class and poverty, and they blew it,” said the Rev. Eugene F. Rivers III, a Bush supporter who runs a coalition that represents mainly black churches. “It’s not even just President Bush. Here was an opportunity for Republicans and conservatives in general to make a moral and intellectual case for a positive policy agenda for the black poor, and they did not advance it.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/us/nationalspecial/28bush.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&ei=5094&en=5eb005c71c19f0d1&hp&ex=1156737600&partner=homepage

[xxqqqzme]

23. sorry Rev Rivers,

they really, truly are not interested in advancing ANY agenda for any poor persons, regardless of the color of their skin. What they say and what they do are 2 completely opposite activities. If, and that is a huge IF, anyone ever called them on it, they would simply lie and all would be swept under the rug, w/ all the other failed agendas, and promptly forgotten.

[The_Counsel]

19. HA! Serves That Nimrod Right!! :-)

Wasn't there a pic of Bush on AF1 looking all strong and decisive as he plotted revenge on al Queda? The GOPukes were actually selling 'em as fundraisers for their '02 Congressional campaign. It looked an awful lot like the one of him flying over NOLA that Bushies now find "unfortunate." :eyes:

You know what all this tells me? It tells me what the USAF has known since the early 1970's: any combination of George W. Bush and anything to do with aviation is a BAD idea... :evilgrin:

[RFKHumphreyObama]

25. Awww....poor Georgie

He's so compassionate and benevolent and he's done so much to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina and mend fences and still the ungrateful public and the liberal media are still maligning him :eyes:

:sarcasm:

Although in all fairness to the NYT it does include a considerable amount of diverse opinions and perspectives and takes steps toward balanced and objective reporting. But I never thought that *'s bullhorn moment was that inspiring -he sounded like a wannabe-Texas cowboy

[rocktivity]

26. If Bush's looking at the aftermath of 9/11 from a plane was so regrettable

why did he follow it up by looking at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina from a plane?



:headbang:
rocknation

[goclark]

27. That photo makes me sick! He is looking straight out the window

and Katrina is on the ground.

Such a phony op.

He didn't even give the people the dignity of trying to see them wade in the killing waters.

Hate is too good a word....

[samsingh]

29. bush stands proudly in the 911 rubble that his

incompetance caused.

i wonder how many other leaders that are well thought of were just idiots like bush behind the scenes?