Did You Hear The President Admonish that AP Reporter? It was Great!

me and news conference | April 5, 2004 | nuconvert

[nuconvert]

FOX showed a clip of a news conference this morning. The President spoke about meeting with family of a fallen soldier, and as usual was emotional about it. When he finished, he said he'd answer a few questions, and then asked who the AP reporter was....the reporter identified himself and began to ask his question by saying, "Sir.......". The President quickly said, "Who are you talking to?" And the reporter immediately said, "Mr. President,....." It was Great! All the reporters afterward made sure they addressed him as Mr. President. LOL!

[eleni121]

I heard that from another source (was it on Rush?) and wonder about how they knew.

Very suspicious but provable? If it can be established that AP was aware that something was going to happen and did not notify authorities then what do we have? Nothing less than traitorous inhuman behavior.

[gogeo]

I suspect it is much less out of adulation requirements for GWB the person as it is that he respects the office so much. He insists that men must wear a coat and tie in the Oval Office and any interviewer must do likewise. X42 on the other hand let everything become a frat party.

...and pants!

[gogeo]

I suspect it is much less out of adulation requirements for GWB the person as it is that he respects the office so much. He insists that men must wear a coat and tie in the Oval Office and any interviewer must do likewise. X42 on the other hand let everything become a frat party.

I read the article...I noticed that they resent the implication, but they did not contradict it.

[TaxRelief]

I just saw W, and he was not at all testy. He was emotionally drained from meeting the family of one of our fallen heroes, but he was upbeat and eloquently expressed his resolve to stay the course in Iraq.

He was also smiling and genuinely happy to be among a group of true supporters.

[sarasota]

Thank you for this post. I pray that W's strength of character shines through every day, in spite of the obstacles he faces.

[Keith]

I'm also wondering if the US gov't has had a difficult time getting some of these news organizations to cooperate in turning over original copies of their Fallujah footage for identification of perps...knowing our media, I'll bet that hasn't happened. And having original high quality footage will be important when you are enhancing photos...

If this has been a problem, and knowing AP's collusion accusations, I would bet Dubya is more than a little peed off with them...

[Keith]

That's one of the nice things I have enjoyed watching the West Wing...even his looney secretary, when she was calling for Bartlet to have to drink water laced with arsenic, got cut slack because she called him President Bartlet. As the character says later, "you showed respect for the office."

That's what this is all about...

[TaxRelief]

Isn't the most revealing Fallujah footage owned by Al Jezeera? How did they know to be there at the right time?

[nicollo]

A long time ago, someone posted that in the case of a former president, the protocol is to address him by his former title.

I think you are right about this, although it seems to have varied. As ex-President, Theodore Roosevelt went by "Colonel," rather than "President" or "Governor."

On formal introductions, Emily Post's 1922 "Etiquette" says,

Very few people in polite society are introduced by their formal titles. A hostess says, “Mrs. Jones, may I present the Duke of Overthere?” or “Lord Blank?”; never “his Grace” or “his Lordship.” The Honorable is merely Mr. Lordson, or Mr. Holdoffice. A doctor, a judge, a bishop, are addressed and introduced by their titles. The clergy are usually Mister unless they formally hold the title of Doctor, or Dean, or Canon. A Catholic priest is “Father Kelly.” A senator is always introduced as Senator, whether he is still in office or not. But the President of the United States, once he is out of office, is merely “Mr.” and not “Ex-president.”

And check this out: in addressing the President, she wrote to use, "Mr. President And occasionally throughout a conversation, Sir." (From HOW TO ADDRESS IMPORTANT PERSONAGES)

[CroftonFreeper]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3906748429&ssPageName=ADME:B:LC:US:1

[Melpomene]

This sounds a bit uncharacteristic of GWB. He doesn't ten to demand adulation.

Actually, it's the exact opposite, as noted by another poster. "Sir" connotates someone in a position higher than your own. "Mr." is the average joe.

[Lady Heron]

The problem comes because this is the first president where the media tries not to give him the title of Mr. President or President Bush. They use Bush a lot when talking about him leaving off the title President, and now addressing him in person as sir. Their point is to not reinforce the idea that he is a legitimate president (he is not in their minds) in the minds of the American people (especially now this is an election year, though it has been going on throughout his presidency). This is the first time in my life that this type of disrespect in the media has happened with a president and is really getting very bad.

[OneTimeLurker]

At long last:

More Troops to Iraq Possibly

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=544&ncid=703&e=3&u=/ap/20040405/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_iraq

[jackbill]

The AP articles from Charlotte are bylined Pete Yost. I assume that he was the AP reporter in attendance.

Go back and read the transcript:

Let me ask you a couple of questions. Who is the AP person?

Q I am.

THE PRESIDENT: You are?

Q Sir, in regard to --

THE PRESIDENT: Who are you talking to?

It looks to me like the President is admonishing the reporter for his first response: "I am". Not "I am, sir" or "I am, Mr. President."

And the admonishment was deserved.

If I am right, I believe that the President would have not differentiated between Sir or Mr. President.

[nuconvert]

Peter Yost. Thanks for tracking that down.
You may be right. However, he did change "Sir" to "Mr. President" right away.

[Frapster]

A person recently referred to me as 'the righteous one'. When I protested their complaint was that they called me something nice and I'm upset about it? Maybe the President felt he needed to do some reminding that these people are not interviewing some local business owner or the local mayor. *shrugs*

[TedsGarage]

You must understand. One legacy of an upper-class upbringing is knowing how to put an inferior in his place.

[freedumb2003]

Always check SNOPES before believing this kind of thing. If you didn't see it in the original publication/official site then ASSUME IT IS FALSE -- especially if it wonderfully juicy.

Same goes for "letters" from servicepeople/policment/firement/etc. who tell great stories about pithy and/or eye-tearing rejoinders that are one of those "I wish I would have said/heard that" stories.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

He didn't start screaming at him and get him ushered out of the room never to return???

[nuconvert]

'Fraid not.