Bush's 'candor' was scripted response to planted question

[banana republican]

President George W. Bush's highly-publicized admission of "regrets" and "moment of candor" during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair this past week was actually a scripted response to a planted question with a British journalist.

Capitol Hill Blue has learned that the question was among a list of "proposed questions" given to British reporters by Blair and that both the British Prime Minister and President Bush knew the question was coming and had prepared responses.

<snip>

Wolffe says Bush has to go the regret route because his other trite phrases just don't work any more.

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_8727.shtml

[rzemanfl]

1. Fuckin' figures. n/t

[joemurphy]

2. Be careful of capitolhillblue. Dubious source

They were the guys that were claiming White House aides were questioning Bush's sanity a few months back. They were the only ones with that story.
I haven't heard about this question being a plant from anybody else either.

[HamDon]

11. And why is it dubious?

I continually see Jason Leopold defended here and he is much less reliable than CHB. I for one like to read all sources and make up my own mind. I can think for myself. There seems to be some DU "groupthink" going on here. Are you always going to rely on DU to tell you what is reliable or not?

[951-Riverside]

12. I can tell you Capitol Hill is not credible or reliable but

I'm sure there are left wing versions of Bush Bots and Freeps who will take CHB as a credible news source regardless.

[sandnsea]

13. And that Bush was drinking

And lo and behold, the Globe's got the story now too. Of course, that doesn't make it admissable in a court of law, but considering the trash piece on the Clintons in the New York Times, I'd say Capitol Hill Blues is as valid as any other news source these days.

[tanyev]

31. Bob Schieffer on CBS Evening News said when they showed the clip

that Bush had given this answer before, but not at any event that had as much visibility. That tells me right there that Bush's answer is simply a new talking point they crafted, not a sincere feeling.

[leftchick]

36. KO covered this last week with WP reporter Richard Wolfe

Mr. Wolfe said of course it was scripted and he described what was seen from the sitting press area as opposed to what the cameras showed. He talked about bushs reaction after he made the statement and he said clearly he was not being sincere. I wish I could find the video of it.

[grytpype]

3. Why is this here?

CHB is not news, it is made-up bullshite.

[951-Riverside]

4. Its a bullshit story

CHB is a left wing version of FOX NEWS.

[sandnsea]

15. And yet, Fox News is quoted all the time

They lie and lie and lie, and are still considered a mainstream new source. CHB may well be accurate more often than Fox. So what's the big deal about posting a story from them.

[DELUSIONAL]

19. Or New York Times is quotes -- Judith MIller --remember HER??

post anything from CHB and immediately jerks will post -- can't believe that source.

IF others would post the same warnings when anything from NYT or any other major "news" source -- that would be fair.

DON'T believe any source without collaboration -- from a reliable NON US news source -- how about that sort of warning.

Stop (please) with the knee jerk warning about CHB -- I think we are all mature enough to make up our own minds.

[sandnsea]

22. Fair enough to post one warning

But to go totally apeshit over it is a bit much. They have proven to be right on more than one occasion, over time. That story about aides saying Bush was nuts for instance, has sort of been proven true when you think about them being "afraid" to tell Bush how bad Katrina was. I'm pretty sure they had the story about Bush tossing back a drink last year, and now the Globe has it plastered on their front page. And it isn't like this would be the first time Bush had a scripted press conference. I'm giving them a lot more credence than I used to actually, but we do need to know it's mostly a political 'Enquirer' sort of resource.

[951-Riverside]

20. Re: "CHB may well be accurate more often than Fox"

:rofl:

So what's the big deal about posting a story from them.

Uhhh because I dislike bullshit, lies, disinformation, etc and no I don't watch FAUX news or any other "news" on cable for this very reason.

[sandnsea]

21. Then put a bag over your head

Because there isn't any news source that you will ever come across that will be 100% accurate.

[951-Riverside]

24. Oh I get it!

Its left wing bullshit so its okay with you just like right wing bullshit such as NewsMax & Fox News are okay with the freeps.

Please carry on.

*steps aside*

[sandnsea]

26. It is what it is

You gave people a heads up as to its credibility, that's quite enough. Personally, I don't think the Guardian is all that great a resource, but people are free to make up their minds as to the credibility of a source once they've been informed.

[Canuckistanian]

25. "Quoted" doesn't mean "trusted"

CHB hasn't, to my knowledge, ever broken a story that was verified by another independent source.

He puts out lots of juicy stuff, a lot of it believable, but he's the only one who's got it.

I'll wait for a second source, thanks.

[sandnsea]

28. Yes they have

As I've posted up above, it has proven to be true that aides were tip-toeing around Bush's temper; that was proven to be true when it was revealed that they argued over who was going to tell Bush how bad Katrina was. If I'm not mistaken, they also told the story of Bush drinking, which is now splashed all over the Globe with more details. Still tabloid journalism, but considering the Katrina story, I give it more credibility than I used to.

[BrklynLiberal]

5. Dimson's obviously rehearsed response makes that very believable.

I would bet $20 that this is true, "dubious source" or not.

[Show_Me _The_Truth]

6. As credible a source as NewsMax...EOM

[eviltwin2525]

9. or

or Faux

[HamDon]

16. or

Truthout

[applegrove]

7. What a bunch of asses. I guess it was big seminal news because

he has never told the truth before. Two little regrets. One he has already apologized for. Big whoop! He told the truth.

[eviltwin2525]

8. regardless

whether the source is reliable or not, the question was OBVIOUSLY a setup, and the failure of the MSM to notice Shrub's evil grin at the end is .... well, just another sorry chapter in the dissolution of the MSM.
If it hadn't been for the accent, I'd have thought Gannon had gotten his credentials back. So who was the shill who lobbed that marshmallow, anyway?

[951-Riverside]

10. Its an opinion piece made to look like actual news.

and I'm not giving them a pass or buying their bullshit.

[Supersedeas]

14. but the Chimp regrets is unsophisticated language

[elehhhhna]

38. ...and threatening OBL w/ the "dead or alive" comment

[globalvillage]

17. The Wolffe quote is from Countdown.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12990267/

The rest ???

I found some interesting comments from "FoxFans" on FoxSpews site while I was searching, though.

“I am sick and tired of having to hear this cowardly president cite 9/11 whenever he has to make his excuses for why Iraq is so important. I think that Blair is intelligent, but yet he just stands there listening to Bush’s hogwash. Bush’s polls are low and he is just trying everything he can to get his GOP reelected, but it’s too late!” — Sam (Chicago, IL)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,196938,00.html

[KyuzoGator]

18. capitolhillblue is mostly bullshit. nt

[opihimoimoi]

23. LOL, and Bush is ALL BULL SHIT from the looks of things....

[KyuzoGator]

35. Indeed, and that's why we need to fight him with verifiable facts. nt

[Senator]

27. Why "Wise-UP" the Euphemedia on this?

Of course the bushkid was lying -- I'm just not sure we should "wiseup" the Euphemedia on this right away. I think it may backfire bigtime.

Like rearranging the deckchairs, this is an attempt at placating the Analstocracy and get them to stop parroting that "nobody's listening to him anymore." They're trying to float a "return to reality" subplot into their Fractured Fascist Fairy Tale.

At best it will be double-edged, as the deluded base will perceive it as weakness and admission of failure. They don't make those fine distinctions between rhetoric and substance. It's now ok to think he's a failure; and that (consequently, in those small minds) everything is a failure. Yes, this is something we here already "know," but they've now made it something ok to "believe."

Beyond that, he personified the "failures" right into him own mouth. The meme becomes "bring it on," "wanted dead or alive," "Abu Graib." (He may well have added Abu Graib on his own, off script. Big mistake.) The "message" ends up being that he personally caused torture with his (now admittedly bad) rhetorical lunacy.

It has the potential to eat through his remaining 25% like an acid.

--

[quiet.american]

29. This certainly isn't difficult to believe, no matter the source.

Especially with the widely-distributed photo of the smirk from Bush that immediately followed his "candor."

[Lasher]

30. That's what I think, quiet.

Before, when someone asked Chimpy to name a mistake he had made during his presidency, he said he couldn't think of one. That didn't play well, and it is logical to assume that Rove had coached him with a better answer, in case the question came up again.

Over time the question didn't come up again, so it got planted. Sounds just like something this regieme would do. Planted questions at fake press conferences, planted stories in fake news broadcasts, carefully screened audiences whose fawning members recite the questions they have been told to ask. SSDD.

[malaise]

32. I watched with two friends

and one suggested that the questions were rpepared in advance. No surprise here.

[MindMatter]

33. "I think in certain parts of the world it was misinterpreted,"

What the hell? How else is one supposed to interpret "Bring 'em on"?

Are we supposed to believe that the true intent of that statement was "Bring them on to a wonderful new world where we respect each others' heritages and we work together, hand-in-hand as partners laying the foundation for global peace." Yeah, that's what he meant to say.

[sutz12]

34. I have my doubts about the "planted question" part.

But the answer was obviously one he had practiced.

Hell, they have been asking that question for a while now. He finally had his trainers cook up an "answer."

[Bassic]

37. Yeah, like that is a big surprise.

I don't think This reporter would have gotten an answer like that one if Bush hadn't known the question was coming.

[banana republican]

39. For those who want a "second source" or the original as the case may be.

OLBERMANN: Let‘s start with the president‘s seeming reflectiveness there. That language he used was more than three-and-a-half years ago, after 9/11. We began to learn of Abu Ghraib two years ago. What might have caused the president to admit the mistakes in both areas now?

WOLFFE: Well, first of all, the president and the White House are not stupid. They knew they had made mistakes in the 2004 election, but like one of the president‘s closest friends told me at the time, there was no way on earth he was going to pay the political price of admitting that he‘d made a mistake in the middle of an election.

What they‘ve realized since then, especially the president‘s communications advisers, is that in the latter part of last year, they were paying a price for seeming out of touch, and what they needed to do was adopt a more realistic turn (ph) about the insurgents on the ground, later, earlier this year, talking explicitly about mistakes. And so, you know, this is a more realistic term they‘ve adopted. They should be given some credit for it.

But of course, it is very rehearsed, everything from the mannerisms you saw, the upwards glance up at the ceiling for inspiration. And for me, the big giveaway was at the end of that answer—I don‘t know if you could see it on camera, but the president flashed a big grin to those of us sitting in the front rows. It didn‘t seem that he was quite as contrite as his performance.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12990267

[vixengrl]

40. "Meta public relations".

Whether the question and response can be verified as scripted or not, its pretty typical of Bush that we have him talking about *how* he was talking. He's not really being *contrite* there in the sense of making a policy mistake, he's sorry some people responded to his thetoric the way they did (a nice, fat, "I'm sorry you felt that way.") He smirked afterwards because his answer was at least better than fumbling around for something like he might otherwise have.