Bush Speech/press conference

I guess the big issues are clear. Although with a politician, all questions usually are not directly answered.

Pretty poor show. No fire, no energy. No answering questions, really. And did you catch where he mentioned it was "Scripted"?

I rather doubt he changed any minds, and might even have loosened a few. His ducks on North Korea were telling.

I thought it was a pretty boring news conference, he came out, gave his spiel, which included nothing new, answered questions like they came from a script and then he walked back. In my opinion, this press conference would have been a lot more interesting if Helen Thomas had attended. Anyone know why she didn't?

She did. Third row, I believe. She wasn't allowed to ask a question. You knew she was being snubbed, right?

no why ?

I'd imagine for two reasons. Primarily, Helen asks whatever she wants to ask, and doesn't take kindly to the runaround.

If you notice, Bush's answers were all prescripted. (He even said as much, although by accident). Prescripted answers are worse than anything in the face of a relentless and focused questioner. Helen might not have stuck to softballs.

Secondly, she's on record as stating that Bush is the worst President she's ever covered.

in what way did she mean that ? that he is doing a bad job or that he is hard to get answers out of or that he dosen t cooperarate with the press or some other reason.

I knew she was being snubbed, and I knew she didn't like the Bush administration, but I didn't see her there, but I was checking the front row, where she usually sits.

The Bush administration doesn't like Helen Thomas, more or less, because she dogs them quite a bit in press conferences, and if you don't believe, check the white house press conference transcripts at whitehouse.gov. Also, I checked a few of Thomas's columns and the titles don't look at all flattering, "President Bush and John Ashcroft trample the bill of rights", "Bush Acting as imperial president", and ....

Wow, some dude in on CSPAN just asked why Helen Thomas was not called on, and Ari said he told Bush what reporters to call on. So yeah, it was a deliberate snub.

where did Bush let out that he was being scripted? I missed that. thanks

here's a sound byte of the comment

http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/03/03/07_bush-scripted.wav

You might find it in a script of the conference if you look hard enough. Give me a few minutes and I'll find it on C-Span so you can watch it if you want.

thanks a lot. is there a transcript of the comments? the article noted that the cnn transcript had scrubbed it..

I checked guardian, abc, and cnn, so no dice. I did check cspan for video, and it's in .RM format, and at 21:35 he makes the remarks, so if you wanna see for yourself, go to http://www.c-span.org/ and it's the third one under most watched video. Nothing on any transcript that has the remark in it.

 

Editted to add, http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-transcript6amar07,0,4006023.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines

which does have the remark in it.

thanks a lot!

I find it interesting that people tend to look at a president as aiming to hide something or of being uncooperative with the media when he "scripts" a press conference---that is, he chooses which questions from which reporters he's going to answer beforehand.

Bear in mind that there is no regulation requiring a president to hold any kind of a press conference, period, scripted or not. The idea of inviting reporters to the White House so they can ask the president questions didn't exist before the Kennedy administration; JFK more or less came up with the idea to begin with.

Before that, presidents would release information to the media through their press secretaries, and all they got was what the White House wanted to give them---basically the same thing as a "scripted" press conference.

Editted to add:  The original content of this post has not been altered, save this addendum.  I was wrong when I said that the reporters were required to submit their questions in advance.  It looks like that Bush had a script of what reporters Ari wanted him to call on for questions, but he did not know what questions they were going to ask.  Apologies for my inaccuracy.

Oh yes, make no mistake, Bush was hiding something last night - himself.  He hid from reporters who would ask him serious questions, Helen Thomas and her like, and instead depended upon reporters who would submit to his requirement of questions submitted in advance, sorted in advance, and answered in advance. I don't even know how they can ask questions before a press conference, except by asking general non-specific questions.

And trying to equivocate a press release with a rigged press conference is not really honest.  A press release is a sheet of paper handed out to the press.  A press conference is when a key figure/s get up, make a presentation, and reporters ask questions to clarify. 

No, there is not a single regulation in any law book requiring the president to hold press conferences.  But he holds them anyway.  And he will continue to hold them.  He holds them because he wants his side of the story released to the press.  Apparently our President thinks he needs to get an edge up on anyone else who holds normal and honest press confreneces.  I don't recall Nixon doing this, Clinton doing this, Bush Sr. Doing this, Reagan doing this, or anyone else having rigged press confrences.  Do you?

probably did we just didn t know it. i am interested in why GW let it slip. Do you really think it was an accident onn his part or was he mad because that was what he was being advised to do ? Sometimes i get this funny feeling that some one else is really in charge and he is just the mouth piece.

Q Last night, after the fifth time has looked down at an apparent list of reporters, he smiled and he said, this is scripted.

MR. FLEISCHER: Are you going to complain he didn't call on you?

Q No, no, no. No, no. Which surely suggests that he did not write that script which gave two questions to one network, two questions to one wire service, and one to other vague and wealthy media -- but left all the rest, including Helen Thomas, ruled out in advance of any chance to ask, and left to serve only as window dressing.

And my question is, since you are always fair, Ari, in recognizing all of us, who was it that wrote that script that the President confessed to? Was it Karl Rove or Karen or who?

MR. FLEISCHER: It was me who gave the President a suggestion on the reporters to call. And the President called on all reporters, the President did not call on any columnists.

Mark.

Q Wait a minute --

MR. FLEISCHER: No, Lester, we're going to go to the -- Lester, we're moving on.

From: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030307-6.html#14

From today's press briefing by Ari Fleischer. So that's who told Bush who to call on.

ok, wasn't going to say anything but guess i will.

I don't understand what big deal was skipping over columnists, all they write about are their opinions. If i'm thinking right, this press conference was to give some facts to the media, so why not give the questions to the reporters who aren't gonna inflame the article with their personnel opinions.

Or maybe Ari knew that Bush couldn't handle Helen, so he just had her skipped over.

gwyyn

I think the President should have the strength to answer any question.  He works for us.

(Well at least he is supposed to).

IMHO, if Mr. Bush needs to have his questions and answers scripted then we need a better President.