I keep seeing the press, pulling for their man Bush as public opinion pulls him down further into the morass (the supposedly odious Bill Clinton never had sub-40 second term approval numbers like Bush does) and seriously wondering if appointing a new chief of staff and press secretary will do the task of rejuvenating a failed presidency.
Are they serious?
The Bush mistake is a product not of meaningless staffing, but of policy failure. The war of choice that has kiled over 2,400 of our people and let a terrorist killer of 3,000 run free, the negligent response to a natural disaster that killed 1,200, the decision to privatize one of the strongest and most worthwhile social programs our nation has, cutting taxes for oil tycoons who bring home millions while the rest of the unwashed masses pays through the nose at the pump while the next generation is given massive deficits to pay.
It is such a clear sign that the Beltway press corpse is a dumb, dumb beast that they think giving Tony Snow a job can change any of that.
I’m not sure anybody really sees Snow’s appointment as a boon for Bush. Snow has cordial relations with most of the White House press corps, and maybe that will smooth things in the press room. But it won’t actually help Bush improve his standing with the people.
Tony Snow has some dynamite new arrangements for the deck chairs.
Most U.S. citizens, while disapproving of Clinton’s personal behavior (including lying under oath about a blow job), apparently still approved of the job he was doing as president. Though the corporate media (’liberal’ as they are) joined certain congressional critters in the public pillory of Clinton over the blow job lie, I’d say at least half the country didn’t think it warranted the attention being given it. That’s why we saw so much energy being devoted to the Clinton Kangaroo Court, even while Clinton received relatively high poll numbers: this reflected the massive disconnect between the corporate-run media (and the corporate-owned Congress) and most U.S. citizens.
Today, you see the inverse with Chimpie and Co. These cornpone fascists left the door open for 9/11, they urinated on what was left of the Constitution, they lied the country into a phony (and poorly run, except for the profiteers) war, and all this was done under the auspices of a ‘mandate’ of corrupted elections. (The Bushies’ worst sin, though, I fear, is allowing a gallon of gas to climb above three bucks; such are our priorities.) Still, through all of this, the corporate media continue to carry Bush’s water, even while the general public turns its back on Bush. If poll numbers are to be believed, the number of assholes and suckers is steadily dwindling; it’s a shame that so many in high and powerful places are among their number.
Amazingly the GOP (and Joe Loserman) hold up FEMA, a prime example of Republican incompetence, as an example of evil bureaucracy. Brought to you by the party that has rendered Satire irrelevant.
Oliver, I wouldn’t make such a big deal of the pontificating over the Snow job. 24 hours is a lot to fill in the news cycle.
Of course, they COULD be covering how the Republicans are preventing an up or down vote on the Wyden amendment, which would rollback corporate welfare to the oil companies in the form of rebates for royalties from drilling on public land, but that would make their masters unhappy.
Well, wrong on a lot of counts.
The press is overwhelmigly liberal and hates bush Witness a journal derided here from the left printed a prominent article about ti being OK to hate Bush.
The war did not let OBl go free (that’s a reach even for the most rabid polemicist).
SSN has not been privatized.
Taxes were cut for most Americans including the middle class, not just oil tycoons. I’m sure that many leftist bloggers, leftist professors (redundant, I know) and leftist media barons also had their taxes cut.
Duggers, Funny they didn’t hire Brit Hume. Hasn’t he been out of work for a while?
Well since you bring it up Dugger, I actually havent seen a cut in taxes. Not a dime. Largely, I admit, to having been a college student for the past few years (graduated last may) and not working very much, but even now that I am they arent really any lower. I also never got that $300 “Thank you for not forming a mob and burning the white house down” check. I did though, as a result of the recent trend of underfunding education, public and private, see my tuition bill double during my time at college. I remember the College Republicans being in full force constantly through my time there though, ,and they always had bumper stickers saying “You can thank me for your tax cut.” I’m wondering now if its okay with them if I blame them for the tuition hike.
Incidentally, what the hell’s a Leftist Media Baron? I’ll buy you a drink if you can name three.
Well, I’m not press and I hate Bush. What’s your point? That real Americans should love Bush? I did not ask to have this man foisted on me as my leader.
Michael Eisner…no, wait, scratch that.
So, Dug, if we all suddenly loved Bush overnight, all the nation’s problems would magically disappear, right? Gas prices would drop to 1974 levels, New Orleans would be all better, illegal immigration would cease, and Osama would turn himself in.
Uh, there’s George Soros and…uh…Seorge Goros. And David Geffen.
dugger is a bit obsessed by Bush hate. All conversations seem to come round to that topic with him.
Get over it. The unchecked policies and hubris of the WH is the problem, not the fact that most folks don’t like Bush.
Pinch Sulzberger.
Dugger is obsessed with Bush Hate only when he’s not busy being obsessed with Stalinism. If Bush had been president at the same time as Stalin had led Russia, I’d worry his head might explode.
Why? Has he fallen asleep again?
Haw! That joke never gets old.
Quake
10 minutes later, and that still cracks me up.
rex,
“I admit, to having been a college student for the past few years (graduated last may) and not working very much, but even now that I am they arent really any lower. ”
Well I just can’t figure out why you didn’t get a tax break. Dum de dum dum. Doh de doh doh.
BD, Check out the affiliations of the richest US senators. Jane Fonda. Ted Turner. Millions more.
duros,
If you ditched the hate and actually analyzed Bush’s record you would make a much better case than you make now. Like me, you wouldn’t have to love him at all. I don’t particuallry like Bush but the left’s hate and irrationality and outright bullying concerning the man is so over the top, so false, soe xtreme, that #1 with me becomes not seeing that irrational extremist hate rewarded.
Dugger
Duggy
If I ditched the “Bush hate” and analyzed his record, it would not change my opinion about his performance as President in the lightest bit. A CEO does not a leader make.
Dugger, you might be able to convince me that 30% of us suffer from “Bush hate”, although if you actually analyzed our completes you’d probably find that we’re bieing reasonable. Even if I accept that 30% of us are completely irrational, what about the other 40%? Are you saying that more and more people are growing irrational based on the a press that always makes excuses for the man?
Oliver Willis: Don t Blame Scotty …
Some policy failures, like the yawning budget deficit, didn t hurt Bush too much early on. But they took on new significance when people could no longer say, I m sure he knows what he s doing.
……
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