This morning Bush did a telebriefing (that word just made up specifically for today's event--INNOVATION!) with soldiers in Tikrit. It was Aired on CNN, FoxNews, and MSNBC. I think they need to do a better job of staging these things, at least so i don't see the strings and puppeteers in-frame. I mean COME ON! Isn't it borderline miraculous that (via tv-teleconference screen) bush just happens to recognize a soldier he just happened tohave met in NYC once before? or how about the guy that just stood up to spontaneously just say "I really like you Mr. President." Good god! what is this? an appearance of the newest heartthrob on the ed sullivan show? I was just waiting for the next guy to stand up and quickly say "BILLY THINKS YOUR CUTE!!" and dart back into his seat wide eyed and giggling. Oh well, study hall is over. back to class everybody.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
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5 comments:
I may never stop laughing (again)....
It was like a fanclub meeting.
that was freaking hilarious!! i wonder if they got and extra MP3 outta that deal.
OK, seems i'm not the only one catching on here. below is some of the dialogue from the aide that actually DID the scripting for the soldiers AND the reaction. below that is the transcript so you can see JUST how well they followed their lines (all info via The Hotline and my pal Swirly):
Pres. Bush's visit via satellite with soldiers in Tikrit this morning was scripted, according to a WH aide who was, in her own words, "scripting" the soldiers shortly before their "conversation" with Bush. The following is a transcript from pool footage, obtained by The Hotline:
WH aide: "Capt. Kennedy are you ready?"
Kennedy: "I am ready, ma'am."
WH aide: "Okay this is for the money. We are going to time this and remember that if the President cut's it short, if he asks more questions, if you have the microphone and he follows up with a question to you, no matter who has it, Captain Pratt if you have the microphone and the President hears something and he wants more information, you just keep that microphone and talk to the President."
Kennedy: "Okay."
WH aide: "But if he gives us a question that is not something that we have scripted Captain Kennedy you are going to have the mic and that's your chance to impress us all."
Kennedy: "Okay."
WH aide: "Which won't be a problem for you" (Hotline sources, 10/13).
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Immediate Skepticism
MSNBC's Jansing: "I wonder how many soldiers really out there know what voter registration numbers are and have exact percentages about those numbers."
Jansing: "You also have to wonder if the American people are going to really be listening at this point"
Washington Post's Vandehei: "If you remember back to that vote in January, the popularity of the war, if you will, seemed to increase pretty dramatically after that successful vote. I don't know if you would even see that same reaction this time, because of the problems that you just mentioned, plus the fact that we've already had this one positive vote, and there was violence afterwards. So I think the American people, if you look at these polls, still think we will continue to see an escalation in violence and until you see that decrease and until you see the U.S. casualties end, I think you're gonna see frustration with the operation in Iraq. And also the longer you're there, the more those frustrations grow."
Vandehei: "It's hard for us, it certainly must be hard for viewers out there, to sort of discern how capable are our troops and at what point can they come home without creating a disaster in Iraq?" (MSNBC, 10/13).
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The Actual Event That Aired On All The Cable Networks:
Bush: "Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to allow me to visit with you a little bit. I've got some questions for you here in a minute, but I do want to share some thoughts with you. We're facing an enemy that is ruthless and cold-blooded, an enemy that actually has a philosophy. ....And the philosophy is so opposite of ours. It is the exact opposite of what America stands for. We stand for religious freedom and freedom to speak and womens' rights and capacity for people to realize their dreams."
Bush goes on: "I want to thank you for being a part of this global war. And Iraq is a part of the war because the enemy understands that a free Iraq will be a blow to their vision and their strategy of spreading dominance throughout the broader Middle East. And so I want to thank you. When you e-mail your families, you tell them how proud the commander in chief is of their patience and their support as well. One of the tactics of the enemy is to shake our will. Part of their strategy is to use the killing of innocent people to get the American government to pull you out of there before the mission is complete. I'm going to assure you of this: that so long as I'm the president, we're never going to back down, we're never going to give in, we'll never accept anything less than total victory. ....We got a strategy and it's a clear strategy. On the one hand, we will hunt down these killers and terrorists and bring them to justice and train the Iraqi forces to join us in that effort."
How's Everyone Feelin? We Feelin' Okay?
Bush: "Let me ask you some questions, Captain if you don't mind. One of them is about is about the pre election operations, about what you've been doin, what's you r strategy and how you think its going By the you're in decred....kind of an interesting place to be. sadam' old stombing grounds...Do the Iraqis want to fight, and are they capable of fighting? So the vote's in less than 48 hours -- or about 48 hours, I guess. So are you confident? I mean, how do you feel like the operations are going?"
Capt Smith: "They have been planning and coordinating with other Iraqi security forces, such as the Iraqi police and local government agencies, preparing for this referendum...."
Bush: "And how are they doing? I mean, give us an assessment. One of the things, Captain, that people in America want to know is, one, do the Iraqis want to fight? And are they capable of fighting? And maybe somebody can give us an appraisal.
Another Bush question: "Let me ask you something. As you move around, I presume you have a chance to interface with the civilians there in that part of the world. You know, a lot of Americans are wondering whether or not people appreciate your presence or whether or not the people are anxious to be part of the democratic process."
Capt. Williams: "Sir, in north central Iraq voter registration is up 17 percent, that's new 400,000 new voters in north-central Iraq....I was with my Iraqi counterpart in Tikrit last wee, and he was going around talking to the locals, and from what he told me that the locals told him, the Iraqi people are ready and eger to vote in this election."
Bush, after his earpiece fell out: "Oppps. That's good. That's a pretty interesting concept for the people of Tikrit when you really think about the fact that Saddam Hussein's hometown -- they didn't get to vote too often when he was the leader there. Let me ask you about the progress. Most of you have been there for nearly a year, as I understand it. And is it possible to give us a sense, a, kind of, calibration of what life was like when you first got there and what it's like today?"
You May Recognize Me As 'The Reason I'm Here'
Capt. Lombardo to Bush: "First, I'd like to say that this is a pleasure to speak with you again. We had the honor of your visit in New York City on November 11th in 2001, when you recognized our rainbow soldiers..."
Bush to Lombardo: "Were you there?"
Lombardo: "Yes, I was, Mr. President."
Bush: "I thought you looked familiar....I probably look familiar to you, too."
Lombardo: "Yes, you do, Mr. President."
'You Got Something To Say Akheel?'
Bush to Iraqi troop: "Sergeant thanks for joining us. You got something to say Akheel?"
Sgt. Akheel: "Thank you very much for everything ... I like you."
And If You're In My Hood, Drop By
Bush: "Again, I want to thank you all for being so courageous, for stepping up when the United States of America needed you. I repeat what I said earlier: Please give your loved ones my deepest respect. ... May God bless you all in your work. And when you get back to the States, if I'm hanging around, come by and say 'hello'" (mult., 10/13).
SO!! it was Sgt. Akheel that got to finally talk to his teen heartthrob idol, president bush! I mean SERIOUSLY! are we supposed to believe it when they call on a guy just to give a shout out to the president? what am i watching the "Shout Outs" on 99 WJMI's Hot Nine at 9??
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Bush to Iraqi troop: "Sergeant thanks for joining us. You got something to say Akheel?"
Sgt. Akheel: "Thank you very much for everything ... I like you."
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