You Call That a Major Policy Address? Did CNN and MSNBC get hoodwinked ?

[G_j]

http://slate.msn.com/id/2107847/

You Call That a Major Policy Address?
In a week of devastating revelations about his Iraq policies, Bush has nothing new to say.

By Fred Kaplan
Posted Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2004, at 1:57 PM PT


Did CNN and MSNBC get hoodwinked this morning? Yesterday, the White House announced that President Bush would be delivering a "major policy address" on terrorism today. The cable news networks broadcast it live and in full. Yet the "address" turned out to be a standard campaign stump speech before a Pennsylvania crowd that seemed pumped on peyote, cheering, screaming, or whooping at every sentence.

The president announced no new policy, uttered not one new word about terrorism, foreign policy, or anything else. He did all the things he wanted to do in last Thursday's debate—accuse his opponent of weakness, bad judgment, vacillation, and other forms of flip-floppery—though this time without a moderator to hush the audience, much less an opponent to bite back. And Bush loved it, smiling, smirking, raising his eyebrows, as if to say, "How 'bout that zinger?"

In short, the cable networks were lured into airing an hourlong free campaign ad for George W. Bush. (CNN's spokeswoman did not return my calls inquiring if the producers felt used. The secretary to MSNBC President Rick Kaplan—no relation—connected me to a "viewer relations" line, where I could leave a message if I wished. I called again to clarify that I had a press question, not a consumer complaint. She connected me to the same line again. When I tried a third, fourth, and fifth time, she didn't even pick up the phone; no doubt seeing my number pop up on the Caller ID screen, she routed my call to the prerecorded announcement.)

..more..

[sniffa]

1. no - but america was

america was bamboozLed.

[flordehinojos]

2. Sadly this is not the first time that America has been bamboozzled by

George Bush--whose working title ought to really be
Bamboozler-in-Chief.

[markus]

3. My message to both

Your effectively broadcast a Bush stump speech yesterday, because the White House lied and claimed it would be a "major policy address".

I suggest that you 1) carry a full speech of Kerry's choosing in the same time slot and 2) require the White House submit the text in full of future such "major" addresses in advance, so you can make a real news determination.

[Catfight]

4. Let's send the networks that carried it this idea, it's very good. n/t

[KoKo]

5. Thanks...and the rest of the article is a great read for how they lied

about Iraq. Nicely put together in one article mentioning Chalabi and the mess they made after we invaded. A good read.

[tom_paine]

6. Not hoodwinked. Whoring for their Bushevik Masters

Plain and simple.

I miss having a Free Press. I want my Free Country back from the turds who are rapidly transforming it into a Third World Tyranny and Dump!

[G_j]

8. whoring is the correct term

because they get paid well for being "used".

[Raster]

7. Did cnn & msnbc feel used: Was that before or after they rolled over...

...and smoked a cigarette?

[teryang]

9. they are campaigning for chimp 24/7

they can't help themselves.