Mighty nice of them. It reinforces my opinion that as soon as he
leaves office, we will learn what his damage is - like Reagan, any
thinking person can see there's something seriously wrong with that
chimp, though with everybody conspiring to cover it up, it's hard to
know what it is.
With Reagan it was Alzheimers - with Bush - who knows? Rocking back
and forth - Autism?
CBS, NBC Clean Up Bush's 'Happy' Talk
8/24/06
During his August 21 press conference, George W. Bush responded to a
question about the Iraq War by saying that "sometimes I'm happy" about
the conflict. But many readers and TV viewers never heard the remark,
since journalists edited the statement to save Bush any possible
embarrassment.
Bush's unedited comment was as follows:
Q: But are you frustrated, sir?
BUSH: Frustrated? Sometimes I'm frustrated. Rarely surprised.
Sometimes I'm happy. This is -- but war is not a time of joy. These
aren't joyous times. These are challenging times, and they're
difficult times, and they're straining the psyche of our country. I
understand that.
Viewers of CBS Evening News (8/21/06) saw a carefully edited version
of that response—one better suited to presenting Bush as serious and
concerned with the effects of the war. Reporter Bill Plante previewed
the answer by saying that Bush "conceded that daily reports of death
and destruction take a toll, both on the nation and on him." The
edited quote that followed:
Frustrated? Sometimes I'm frustrated, rarely surprised. These aren't
joyous times. These are challenging times, and they're difficult
times. And they're straining the psyche of our country. I understand
that.
CBS was not alone in massaging Bush's response—many outlets excised
Bush's "happy" remark, or found other ways to clean up Bush's
performance. NBC Nightly News (8/21/06) worked around Bush's awkward
answer; reporter Kelly O'Donnell noted that Bush "offered an unusual
glimpse into his thinking," but then proceeded to edit the comments to
Bush's advantage:
BUSH: Frustrated? Sometimes I'm frustrated. Rarely surprised.
O'DONNELL: ...and acknowledged Iraq's weight on the nation.
BUSH: They're difficult times, and they're straining the psyche of
our country. I understand that.
So instead of airing Bush's "happy" remark, NBC's reporter stressed
the fact that Bush was serious about Iraq's "weight on the nation."
Print outlets also generally left out Bush's remark and praised his
performance. The New York Times (8/22/06) interpreted Bush's
"occasionally rocking back and forth" as a sign that he was "generally
upbeat," while the Los Angeles Times was more effusive: "Bush's
appearance suggested he was settling into a pattern of regular,
wide-ranging interactions with reporters in which he can appear
confident and presidential" (8/22/06).
Of course, Bush can only appear that way if the press decides to
present his comments in the most flattering light. With the Iraq War
widely unpopular with the public, many viewers may have found Bush
saying that it sometimes made him "happy" jarring and distasteful. CBS
and NBC apparently thought it was more appropriate to shield viewers
from Bush's words—and, perhaps more importantly, shield the White
House from that public response.
ACTION: Contact CBS and NBC and ask them why they decided that Bush's
comments about the Iraq War making him "happy" should be excised from
their reporting.
CONTACT:
CBS Evening News
evening@cbsnews.com
CBS Public Eye
publiceye@cbs.com
NBC Nightly News
nightly@nbc.com
NOTE: You can watch the CBS broadcast here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?channel=eveningnews
Click on the segment labeled "Bush Holds Firm On Iraq"
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