Iraq: Trying to spin the unspinnable

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http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HI20Ak01.html

CAIRO - In the modern age, politicians are accustomed to being rescued from the tar pit of failed policies by the wondrous powers of spin.

The administration of US President George W Bush, for example, when faced with a public outcry over Iraq, has with great effectiveness disseminated expertly crafted, razor-sharp talking points into the ether to persuade voters to believe what they hear and not what they see.

The power of spin is not infinite, however, as the administration is
now discovering. The consequences of its invasion of Iraq are now so transparently catastrophic that Republican control of Congress is threatened in the November 7 mid-term elections, in which Iraq is the hot-button issue.

Bad news has cascaded out of Iraq at such an astonishing pace that it defies credulity to suggest that the war has not drastically worsened the lives of Iraqis. At the same time, the initial rationale for the war has itself been further undermined.

The administration has nevertheless tried to spin the unspinnable as the elections near, with many Republican candidates fighting for their political lives and choosing to distance themselves from the White House on Iraq. Only the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the US has offered the administration any respite, providing an opportunity it did not squander to tell voters, ad nauseam, that Iraq is the front line of its "war on terror".

[exlrrp]

1. Some spin moves

The Bush administrations spinmoves are noticeable and name able and definitely worth study. I have stuidied their media moves in conjunctin with other studies.
Here's from a diary I did on Kos:

-Friday afternoon release--Ney's confession is the latest example, Porter Goss's resignation another and then there was the Friday afternoon release of Bush's military documents (see "Document Dump")

-The "Document Dump" They did this on Bush's military documents, completely scrambled them up, then just walked in and dumped them on the table on a Friday afternoon. No narrative, no explanation, nada. Anybody who reads my series: The BUsh Military History Project, knows that they did this to hide what wasn't there, smoke and mirror what WAS there, and to confuse analysis. What other reason would you scramble a record you say youre proud of?

The "Non answer" They do this better than anyone--just don't answer the question, just keep repeating their talking points. Repeating the Talking Points over and over is how they direct the conversation. Remember the "CBS Papers?" Thats what they did there.

The Stonewall- They do this better than anyone largely because the media has a 1 day memory and never asks followup questions. The "Non Answer" is a variation of the Stonewall, also "I'll get back to you on that" is a variation of the Stonewall

"Create Controversy" This is perhaps the signature spin move of the Bush administration--they never prove or disprove anything, they just "create controversy" Tis is also what they did with the CBS Papers. Thats right, they never prove a thing, just creating controversy with the help of their paid media friends is enough to focus attention away from the problem and how the Bush adminstration is fucking things up. Global warming is another good example of this.

"Good Cop/Bad Cop" There's several variations to this but basically the Repubs try and keep Bush looking good while Cheney, Hastert, Delay, Frist et al do the dirty work. This keeps Bush looking like "regular, nice guy" while still sanctioning things like torture and listening to your phone calls. Their main goal here is to have Bush looking "presidential" while his minions do the backstabbing.

Repitition of Talking Points-This is one way they control the conversation--just repeat their Talking points over and over. As long as the conversation stays on their points, they control the dialog. This way the dialog revolves around their definitions. Their paid and unpaid friends in the media help here a lot too.

Misdirection, False Leads. "watch closely at the shiny object in my left hand while with my right hand I..." This is a variation of the old "Hey your shoe's untied!" The media falls for this one all the time.

Shooting the Messenger. When the Bush adminstration confronts news they don't like, the first thing they do is slam the messenger. They don't go for the argument, they go for the questioner's motivation.]

Swiftboating- Another signature Bush administration spin move, theyve added the term to the public lexicon. This is perhaps the most outrageous and egregious: attacking other people's service records. I am convinced that they do this primarily to take the heat and focus off of Bush's miserable service record which ended with him suspended from flying--his ONLY job. (He got paid for 47 days of pilot's duty after he'd been suspended) Bush is the only president ever suspended from both flying AND driving. It takes a lot of finger pointing and name calling to hide that.

[madokie]

2. The bush* pResidency is the presidency powered by spin

There is nothing else for them to do. his record on everything is to be run from not on.