For Every Cool Head, a Thousand Overheated Mouths (As Expected, the Media is Turning on Bush!)

Washington Post ^ | October 29, 2001 | Howard Kurtz

[Mo1]

Ok ... I got half way thru it and couldn't read anymore .. what a load of crap .. the media has some real balls to even print that crap .. they wouldn't know how to report the news if it smacked them in the face .. they IGNORED reporting the truth for the last eight years .. and now they care .. why .. because they have an AGENDA that's why .. and as for as I'm concerned the media can kiss my irish @ss ..

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"After six weeks of generally sympathetic coverage, the anthrax-obsessed press is turning on the Bush administration."

Last week, during a live White House briefing with Ari Fleisher,
FOX NEWS left the live briefing to show the OJ Simpson verdict.
If I had not seen it with my own eyes I would not have believed that FOX NEWS did that.
Since when is OJ Simpson more important than a live White House briefing during a time of war/

[Bernard Marx]

The Article the link points to states Diane Sawyer interviewed bin laden last Thursday.

As I read it, the "bin Laden" involved is Osama's sister-in-law, Carmen.

[reloader]

This is the first I've heard about any interview.I don't think anything was posted about a bin laden interview on this site.Any Freepers know about this?

[Iam4theRepublic]

I think this whole thing started with the "release" of the right-wing being blamed for the ANTHRAX terrorism. Which is B.S. Imho.

[Minnesota Lady]

AMEN to your post. They also have too much time to fill on the CNN's etc. News mouths that just keep on tickin'!

[keri]

The press are a bunch of hyenas and they have been getting on my nerves bad...

By the time these red dogs are through, everyone in America may very well despise them.

"Nattering nabobs of bumbling buffoons..." (thanks dowdie)

[HiTech RedNeck]

Is "live" really "live"? Even two-bit radio hosts use a delay loop to keep unwanted comments off the air. Why wouldn't the White House insist on the same? Real-time coverage during a war is asking for megatrouble from a single Freudian slip.

[SmartBlonde]

I expect we'll see those poll numbers fall soon. The constant drumbeat of 'failure' has been deafening for at least a week.

GWB needs to get a handle on this FAST. Maybe Freepers could help. I have a few suggestions.

1. GWB should go to the World Series in NY and sit with Rudy in the Front Row - not in Steinbrenner's box. If he isn't safe there he isn't safe anywhere (sing with me, New York, New York).

2. He should stop Cabinet Secretaries from appearing on the Sunday shows. They muddle the message and - for the most part - are miserable public speakers. Cheney, Rice, Ridge, Chao and Norton are the best think-on-their-feet speakers. Powell and Rumsfeld should use the 'I'm too busy' excuse - the public will believe them. Norton, of course, is hated by the press so she should probably stay home, too.

3. Get some YOUNG, ENERGETIC, well-spoken Republicans out on the circuit. Where the heck has J. C. Watts been? J. D. Hayworth? Steve Largent (I know he's retiring to run for Governor, so that's even better - he's recognizable and people will listen to him). Rick Santorum.

Where is Jennifer Dunn? She's an excellent speaker, and would be a good antidote to Loretta Sanchez. I saw Susan Molinari on t.v. the other night and she was quite eloquent. Where's her hubby, Bill Paxson?

4. I think GWB is making a BIG, BIG mistake not campaigning for Republicans. The press is denigrating and ridiculing him anyway. I think Schundler is a lost cause, but Earley might be able to squeak out a victory. Bush needs to get to the Naval shipyards and take Earley with him. He doesn't have to fundraise or actively campaign - photo ops would do nicely. Republicans are going to need all the help they can get next November and it's not too early to start.

5. He needs to go to California. While he's still in good standing with the public, he should tour several military bases and venture into Silicon Valley. CA Republicans could use a boost and it would be good p.r. The press loves to go to CA, which would help.

6. Take Torie Clarke out of the Defense Department and move her to the White House to replace Ari Fleischer. She is an excellent speaker. She would get good press - married, 3 small children, working mother, etc. The press doesn't mess with her. They don't take Ari seriously, and he can't get past one or two sentences in response to any question.

7. The speechwriters need to find some new ways to describe OSB - 'evil doers' is worn into the ground. Even I am tired of hearing it. How about something simple - like 'murderers', zealots, 'vast right Islamic wingers'?

8. Where's Haley Barbour? I thought he was returning to help out at the RNC? I don't see any evidence of that.

The people I've talked to this week (very conservative, all Bush supporters) are very frustrated that we are not using our military - that the state department is running the show, and we're pussyfooting around when Americans want to hear big thuds! I haven't heard anyone but the media wail and moan about 'civilian casualties'. At this point, I don't think 70% of Americans give a rat's ... about Afghani casualties.

[oldvike]

9. Replace Tommy Thompson. The guy has been clueless from the getgo. As for everybody else (Rumsfeld, et al), well, they are doing just fine.

[reloader]

Oh,sorry.I was getting a little worked up there.
Who gives a rats ass what his lame sister in law says?

[america-rules]

FOX NEWS has pissed me off the last 4 weeks. They have been whipppping this non anthrex attack just as much as the next news company ! Shame on them ...

[prognostigaator]

In appreciation of Kurtz' comments,Cokies' views, and the Time.com article, a copy of a previous response....

Lucky breaks ....Time Magazine starts it, the Fleet Street press in jolly old England takes their lead and runs with it...[Drudge incensed at the English press on tonight's radio He cites a headline -"This War Is A Fraud" .

Simply because a strategic attempt of a long shot failed ,the pundit journalists at Time.com confidently write the future of the cold war against terrorism.

How quickly the editors and writers for Time, the AP, Reuters and the unholy tri-partite of ABCNBCCBS ,their affiliates on cable, namely CNN , and leading astute columnists such as Maureen Dowd discount over 4,000, [that's f-o-u-r t-h-o-u-s-a-n-d ] American lives were snuffed in ONE DAY.

It would appear from their writings and broadcasts that not one of them suffered the death of a loved one that gruesome morning.

No, they delude themselves into believing that reporting the news as they see fit to print and speak , in that they have been so indoctrinated with the liberal leftist view learned in J-school and amply propagated by the by-laws of their 'professional associations' ,that they believe that the freedom of the press was inserted into the Constitution not because so many of the contemporaries of that time did suffer the grief of loss in that war for independence, and so knew what sacrifice was for being a patriot , but for the effete and snobbish them.

How they have shirked their responsibilities in becoming the selfish to their own agenda , unpatriotic egotistical members of the fourth estate as we recognize them to be today-as first rate clymers [spelled a-h].

How will they report the memorial service being held today ? Will they preface it with the information that umpteen civilians in Afghanistan were killed , and that the US forces destroyed hospitals and food warehouses...?

Well, mabe they won't preface it, but will slip it in somewhere under their byline......

Bastards....there is not one drop of patriotic American blood in their veins , and not much of what earlier journalists had -printer's ink when truth ,loyalty to the American way was an unequivicated legacy.

[TennesseeProfessor]

I support Bush and Rumsfeld, but I have to agree that the handling of the antrhrax has been a fiasco. Thompson lost my support when he he claimed that "he got it by drinking from a mountain stream." And we have a plethora of conflicting information about the DC anthrax. Daschel says it is potent stuff. Thomson says it is "garden-variety". US-AMRID says the coating has bentonite; the CDC says no. An anonymous source says that Atta met with an Iraqi agent; a different anyonymous sources claims the "totality of evidence" shows the "spores" came from the US. All of this conflicting information leads to a loss of confidence in the government and makes me think they wouldn't recognize military-grade anthrax if they got it in the mail.

[Reagan Man]

The press is upset that the feds aren't giving them access to Middle East operations being carried out by the US military. Keeping the media in the dark about the conflict in Afghanistan, leaves Bush and company open to a higher level of criticism right here at home. Of course, the media never offers any suggestions for exactly how the Bush administration should be going about handling this anthrax scare. Most likely, becasue they have no suggestions. At least no worthy suggestions. But the media has turned some very limited and low level terrorist attacks into full blown panic mode over the events involving anthrax.

America should continue to attack terrorism at the root of it's very existence by destroying the terrorist infrastructure and thereby curtailing any future expansion. Overall, this will help out significantly to offset future growth within the ring of world wide terrorism. With constant military and economic pressure being applied, it should lead to the eventual downfall of international terrorism. Problem is, it will take quite some time to achieve the goals spelled out by President Bush. If America is to be victorious in the end, patience, resolve and courage is required by everyone.

And the media can go to hell!

[oldvike]

You would think our Health Secretary would have even the most basic knowledge of the biological sciences. I've seen many of his press conferences in the past 3 weeks and he's looked like a deer in the headlights at every one of them. He's hardly even able to answer the most basic of questions.

[spyone]

Quite seriously...everything is going according to plan. Down to every crossed t and dotted i. Couldn't be happier. Going to sleep now. Everone relax. We are in the drivers seat. Al Gore is out of a job. Goodnight.

[dixiechick2000]

Amen!

But, it was just a matter of time before they turned on President Bush.

[Wphile]

Okay, here's my two cents. #1 I agree totally; he should even throw out the first pitch and then spend the rest of the game with Rudy; could do some commentary in the booth even. # 2 Agreed. Rummy, Rummy, Rice....that's the drill. Put Cheney out there too. # 3 True as well. Jennifer Dunn is good, Hayworth too, actually lots of Reps from the House... #4 I totally agree that W should campaign. The press will have a FIELD DAY if a Democrat wins in Virginia of all places. #5 He was just in California...I prefer he come to the NW where I am. #6 Torrie Clark replacing Ari seems a stretch to me. #7 Yes and No. Evildoers is getting old but maybe only to us...I think it connects with people but some variety may be good. As for the military ops, I say chill out and let W and company run the show. Too many armchair quarterbacks out there. Sheesh...It's only been 3 weeks for crying out loud. My two cents.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"Is "live" really "live"?"

Good point, probably a few seconds delay.
FOX NEWS left the "live" press conference for 4 minutes,
I know, I timed it and then when they were done with OJ, they came back and White House briefing was still on.
I don't know what I missed BUT I do know I was forced to see the OJ Simpson verdict.