A Note On The National Enquirer Story

[The Magistrate]

The question of whether it is reliable is beside the point. What matters is that its publisher and editors believe this tale of drunken relapse will entertain and fascinate their readership. That readership pays little attention normally to politics, and it is of value to have the idea that this reptile has relapsed spread among them in the few moments that they do pay heed to what is our leading interest here. We know this creature is a wholly false front, a Potempkin man, a whited sepulcher: the circulation of this tale in this organ signifies those who keep closest watch on the pulse of the apathetic mass believe they are coming to that opinion themselves in their own way, and may be ready to regard him as they do the scoundrel ex-spouse or the prodigal child they have had to wash their hands of....

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[benburch]

1. A brilliant analysis.

You are spot-on.

[billbuckhead]

2. Good point.

Yep, he's become an embarrassment.

[hardrainfallin]

3. Yeah, let the NE go get those bush bastards! Bout time. n/t

[kath]

29. I sure wish that our Dem. leaders would realize that NOW is the time to

"go get those Bush bastards".

but I think there's no hope for them, spineless jellyfish that they are... :-(

[daninthemoon]

4. Know what this means? We have to ENCOURAGE MORE of this

reporting. NE can probably turn up so much crap on these guys without breaking a sweat. Every rock they turn over is gonna have something under it. They could actually be the engine to expose the things we see here at DU, and who knows what else. They can tie it all together for the sleeping masses.

[calimary]

20. Oh yes we do indeed!!! The soil is now quite fertile and ready for

planting. VERY ready. All we have to do is keep planting those seeds... and nurturing those already sprouting. You know, to kind of catapult the propaganda.

[understandinglife]

5. "the circulation of this tale in this organ signifies those who keep ...

... closest watch on the pulse of the apathetic mass believe they are coming to that opinion themselves ...

Yes.

And may they carve another chunk out of whatever remaining 'base' the war criminal and torturer-in-chief has.


Peace.

[frictionlessO]

6. Wow Magistrate! I love seeing this side of you!

"a whited sepulcher" !! Classic and classy...
grinning ear to ear... thank you.

[calimary]

19. Truly! Your posts are always utterly elegant!

And I think you make a REALLY good point here.

The Enquirer (got sick of putting quotes around it all the time - lazy me!) would NOT stick its collective or corporate neck out on something this risky if they didn't have PLENTY of cover and solid sourcing. They smell road kill. Either they can see it and have decided that bush is vulnerable and thus "fair game," or they sense something very big in the approval rating that just won't go back up. As Jack Cafferty said on CNN, John Q. Public just isn't buying this stuff anymore. And John Q. Public never misses his copy of the Enquirer.

One or the other of these dynamics is now in play, I think. Or perhaps both.

And note that sources were tipping the NE about this for weeks. It's what I suspected - that they've probably been sitting on this for a long time. The fact that they've decided to go with it now means either they got that additional source or independent confirmation of this story and now deem it to be rock-solid; or they've had all their ducks in a row for awhile but were waiting until they could be pretty sure they wouldn't be hauled out by angry red-stater bushbot mobs and burned at the stake for heresy against Captain America. Perhaps they've determined that the climate is now right, and ripe, for a story like this to come out. Now, with more and more people souring on george, they wouldn't be so absolutely predisposed to doubt it. Obviously the NE thinks this is something. As other people in other newsrooms pass around their copy of it, THEY, TOO, will start wondering if this is something.

Roundabout way of saying - THIS IS VERY GOOD NEWS. This is a temperature reading. And the heat is now turning up on dubya. He who lives by the smear...

[RagingInMiami]

7. I would bet the National Enquirer is a big seller in red states

[Cronus Protagonist]

8. Ahhh, but he relapsed BECAUSE OF HIS FEELINGS - that's the whole point!

They're giving him an innoculation to the relevation that he's been drinking which was going to come out anyway (see side stories about how lots of people knew but didn't say it out loud).

The most important point of that article is that everyone is supposed to feel sorry for him because the FEELINGS drove him to drink and he "slipped". It's classic Karl Rove and I'm surprised to see a smart and reasoned magistrate such as yourself missing the blatantly obvious primary intention of the article's author. I'm a fan of yours (for the most part :)

The author of the article, of course, is also known as the architect, Karl Rove. Don't you also wonder how they were able to get two sources confirming it? No one loyal to the Bush administration would confirm such a story without internal approval first, and only Bush's close inner circle would know such details.

The whole story is just pure, blatant propaganada.

http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13
Buttons for brainy people - educate your local freepers today!

[longship]

15. You are correct. But you ignore an important context.

This was revealed in context of a debacle of such immensity that thousands may have died as a direct result of it. There now will be questions as to whether Chimpster's inability to act in NOLA/MS had any connection to his beverage habits. It does not matter one whit that it's post hoc ergo proptor hoc. People will want to connect those dots. There might even be some basis for it. We can exploit this by connecting the dots for them.

[Raksha]

27. I made that connection even before the Enquirer story broke.

Re >>There now will be questions as to whether Chimpster's inability to act in NOLA/MS had any connection to his beverage habits.<<

I wondered why there was such a long delay between the announcement of his speech in NOLA (Tuesday) and the actual speech (Friday). I think I posted something to that effect on DU, "Maybe that's how long it takes to sober him up."

Even that is no excuse for the criminal inaction after Hurricane Katrina. FEMA should still have been doing their job even if the CIC was shitfaced.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

26. I have for years now likened Bushbots to classic enablers and agree

that this can very well be a Rove plant. It appeals totally to his base.

[Trekologer]

30. If that's true...

...here's hoping that it will backfire.

If this is a planted story, then the intent is to make the wackos who voted for him because he's the one they would rather have a beer with say "Awwww... he's just like one of us regular folk." (by that I don't mean alcoholics)

But my reaction, and hopefully a majority of Americans' reaction should be, "Holy shit! A drunk is in charge of the nuclear launch codes!"

If this is indeed a panted story, they're getting pretty desperate.

[bklyncowgirl]

37. Would you want a pilot or general to break down because people might die?

We admire airline pilots and military leaders because they can keep their cool in situations that would send you and me screaming to the bottle. Very often that coolheadedness is what pulls them and the people they are responsible for through a crisis.

We should demand nothing less from the President of the United States.

[senaca]

52. that was my first impression too.

It probably is impossible to make it look physically like he care for those who have died in the war except to say that he feels deeply about each and every death by starting to drink again. Cindy Sheehan's vigil and the protest this weekend reminds the populace that he doesn't care. Hurricane Katrina's lack of response further showed his inability to care. By showing him anguished enough to start drinking again it helps in a weird way to show he cares deeply. It, also, puts Laura back on the pedestal as suffering wife who is his Saviour. The question is why was there alcohol at the ranch in the first place if they were serious about Bush being a recovering alcoholic.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

62. Not Rove but rats fleeing the ship

Rat #1: The Enquirer - no friend of Democrats, true, but they gotta turn a buck. Sidebar stories say that others knew but haven't spoken out? That's NE's chance to break the story and boost their circulation - which has declined drastically, despite their political muckraking, because of the proliferation of TV/print/internet gossip outlets. Monica gate was the best thing to happen to them in the 90s, but they haven't scored another hit bashing Hillary, Gary Condit and Ahnold. They gotta go where the money is, and the money's at the top.

Rat #2: the insiders. "No one loyal to the Bush administration would confirm such a story without internal approval first." Well there ya go. Some of them AREN'T loyal. They're worn out from five years of lying and tippytoeing around a ranting sociopath - not that I believe Capital Hill Blue's accounts, but I don't doubt such things occur. Those insiders know, or have been convinced, that their leaks will be worth less the longer they wait. They're packing their own golden parachutes.

And the sympathetic angle? Covering the bases. Who doesn't know a gossipy friend/neighbor/coworker who couches their slander in feigned concern. "Isn't it a shame...it's so sad..." meanwhile dishing the dirt. They report, you decide.

IMO Rove is too busy squeezing out stones to patch up all the cracks on Battleship Bush. Only it's not a battleship anymore, it's a tanker. And it's tanking.

[The Magistrate]

67. Excellent Points, m'Love!

[DeepModem Mom]

9. Thank you, Sir -- nominated! nt

[VolcanoJen]

10. Sir, brilliant, as is your norm.

Applause, applause.

[radwriter0555]

11. Well it will be interesting to see if another ANTHRAX attack occurs, since

an NE writer was the first victim... and it's believed he had something that needed to be obscured and that his death was just to mingle his with the others.

[blm]

65. Exactly what I believe.

.

[greyl]

12. No, the story is too sympathetic to him.

What you've said would make sense if not for that.

Why should we care about a readership that doesn't pay attention to politics, as you claim? The story has already traveled beyond the pages of NE

The question of whether the story is reliable or not, is totally the point.

[Rowdyboy]

13. A pleasure to read as always.....I feel like I'm reading Poe when you're

wound up! Its always a pleasure....

[AgadorSparticus]

14. Excellent analysis, sir!!

[Dr Fate]

16. Political Propaganda 101: Perception is everything.

I agree wit cha!

[deadparrot]

17. EXACTLY.

I agree completely. Thanks for verbalizing my thoughts.

[nickgutierrez]

18. Not too far from my own thoughts, Sir.

Whenever a story is featured in the Enquirer, we must know that it isn't there because it's necessarily true. It is there, though, because it involves a topic that is important somehow to the American people in such a way as to be borderline believable. This is the only way that people will continue to read sensationalist nonsense, as the Enquirer usually is.

So, while I don't put any stock in this story in particular, it still has relevance because it is, at least potentially, a window for those of us who have opposed this monster from the beginning to look into that reveals the flaws that the American people see. He comes off as incompetent and impotent, and he knows it. In the story, he is engaging in the same risky behavior that led to his somewhat well-publicized early troubles, forming a picture that is, despite the flaws mentioned in the previous sentence, still quite dangerous.

[EFerrari]

21. Motley to the view

The whispers are just as significant as the facts.

Good to have your assessment, Sir.

[question everything]

22. Some enlightenment, please

What story from the National Enquirer? Link, please?

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

24. Here is a thread on it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4839199

[question everything]

25. Thank you (nt)

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

28. Your welcome. :) nt

[Tatiana]

23. Good sir, you are spot on, as usual!

And might I add, intellect is so very attractive.

[NightOwwl]

31. "LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

Rock on Magistrate!

:headbang:

[Nothing Without Hope]

32. Bush has become a liability to the neocons. Whatever is wrong with

him appears to be progressive. Some mental health professionals, lookng at fillms of Bush speaking 10 years ago compared with his increasing incoherence now say it looks like presenile dementia, which is indeed progressive. See for yourself in this dramatic video comparison of Bush speaking WITHOUT NOTES 10 years ago and recently:
http://www.adbuzz.com/bushbuzz.htm

Given that he has become a liability, probably even more than we know if he is indeed boozing and coking again, I am wondering what the neocons will do about it. It's horrible to contemplate, but i can imagine these ruthless monsters staging an "assassination" by one of their favorite "enemy groups" - maybe Al Qaeda, maybe some Iranian or Syrian group, maybe protesters in the US. Bush would become an unassailable "hero" overnight, he would be out of their hair with Cheney in power, and whatever "enemy group" was framed for the deed could then be attacked. Yes, I think this is possible. Though of course I hope it won't happen, those people will do anything to strengthen their hold on power.

[bobbieinok]

33. IMO, the power guys have always viewed W as expendable

wasn't he considered the weakest candidate of the Bush Brothers?

I've been afraid since 12-12-00 that his death would be used as excuse for martial law and total control

[Nothing Without Hope]

34. Me too. Read this thread on the leadup to martial law and you'll see

how well that would fit the bill for an "enabling act." In this scenario, a designated "enemy" group would be framed for the event and additional "evidence" would be put forward to claim this "enemy" group was a dangerous power in the US. In this thread, there are many important articles and links in the replies as well as in the opening post, so I recommend reading all of it to see if there is anything you might not have seen before. And by all means add to it if there is something missing - it's still a live thread and i'm going to try to keep it that way for a while.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4790112
Thread title: Missing A KEY POINT in *'s speech: POWER GRAB FOR POTUS AND MILITARY

[uncle ray]

35. since Katrina, i've started to fear an unfortunate accident.

because that's when the public, and media, started to be truly aware that something was amiss. resigning, impeachment, anything of the sort unacceptable to those really in control. it'll be an assassination or plane crash to provide the proper martyrdom of *.

edit:spelling

[Nothing Without Hope]

70. They'd get a lot more mileage out of a staged "assassination" blamed

on the "enemy" du jour. They've been wanting to nuke Iran - so they could say the Iranians did it and use that as "justification." At the same time, as you say, the unfortunate blivet** would achieve martyrdom and sainthood and all his evils and crimes would become non-discussable. Would solve so many problems and remove roadblocks for the neocons. And they are nothing if not ruthless. If he's not an asset, he's going to be out of there one way or another, I suspect.

And he is clearly continuing to deteriorate, whether he is actually using drugs/booze or not. Sooner or later there would be a crisis when he was shown indisputably to be unfit for office even to the believers. "Course, you and I know that already happened long ago...

[Robeson]

68. Great video. And I agree with your scenario in your second....

...paragraph. I often thought they might do that, too, if he became a major embarrassment. Wouldn't surprise me at all if they sacrificed him for the empire.

[ladylibertee]

36. Yeah sure.I'm with you on that.I think.(smile)

[CantGetFooledAgain]

38. You reap what you sow. Simple as that.

Let the tide come in and wash them all away.

[Dover]

Letterman mentioned this story in his opeing monologue.

Didn't mention the source at all, and just stated it as 'fact'.

[Dover]

39. Letterman mentioned this story in his opeing monologue.

Didn't mention the source at all, and just stated it as 'fact'.

[farmbo]

40. Also wrecks the Fundie myth of * defeating his demons thru prayer

...Either his demons are greater than God's power, or Bush has flat-out fallen out of the prayer circle.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

41. Or it could be something completely uncomplicated.

Consider this scenario: At least two white house staffers see evidence of junior's drinking or coking (or both) and have more loyalty to their country than to this particular administration. Being low on the totem pole, they have no other outlet but to pick up the phone and call a magazine that is sure to have interest in the story.

I have no doubt the neocons would oust bush themselves if the golden goose stopped laying wingnut eggs, but I'm not yet convinced that this is the case.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

42. And, the NE pays for their stories...so, perhaps that twinge of conscious

combined with financial incentive, was motivation enough. MKJ

[PATRICK]

43. Tend to agree

Their targets are either popular or notorious and homage paid to the RW demagogues who choose which is which for the rubes. Now that Bush is clearly become an object of great complaint and distrust it is as natural as their original forays against the Bush girls until they had to abandon them for the safer yet clearly tamer game of hunting Chelsea Clinton.

While innocently awaiting a phone call from Rove or a lower op perhaps they just want to do a dollar poll and see if trashing Bush earns money and whether this is sustainable after he has retired and ceases to be a threat.

I think the RW is more like the Enquirer than the other way around. It's like a biologist studying a swamp, taking either one seriously.

[The Magistrate]

45. That Is An Excellent Point, Ms. Tinfoiler

But what strikes me as signifigant is noty that it was reported, but that it was printed. In my own view, this wretch has been hitting the bottle for quite a while, and there have probably been a number of reports of it previous to this. But this one made it into print, and at this particular juncture, in the publication that defines "celebrity news" for our people.

[Dinger]

44. Did Anyone See Letterman Discuss This Last Night?

Cool, way cool. Go Dave Go!

[otohara]

55. What Did He Say

pray tell - for those of us who "did not" see Dave last night

[Dinger]

66. It Was During His Monologue

He mentioned that "Did you hear bu$h is drinking again." Then he said (I'm paraphrasing, but I'm close) "He's driving us to drink too."

[otohara]

71. Thanks n/t

[fishnfla]

46. If they didn't care before, why should they care now?

People that tune into this organ are about as politically astute as an oyster bed. They probably are not a huge voting demographic, so who cares what they think? They most likely didn't even know the chimp was faking the wagon ride, nor would ever really care.

As they stand in the Winn-Dixie with their Mad-Dog 20/20 and 12 pack of Pabst, they probably see a tabloid headline ,where they are usually "entertained" by the glamourous Brad/Jen gossip, or J-Lo's cellulite at the beach photo, and think either 'typical tabloid bullshit' or 'so the guy has a few drinks, big deal'

I think the truth is always more important than perception, JMHO

[weiser]

47. I hope it gets worse...

A hell of a lot worse, until he fu**ks up on National TV...

Wait a sec, he's always been doing that..!! Yet the booze story has only just appeared. It's probably remained a well keep secret, until now.

[The Magistrate]

48. With All Due Respect, Sir

Perception is far more important than truth....

[weiser]

49. delete

.

[weiser]

50. It's all a matter of perspective

Perception is more important in the short term, but truth is more important in the long term, IMHO.

[The Magistrate]

51. Perhaps More Precisely, Ma'am

It is the long term that reveals the truth....

"History is written by the victors."

[weiser]

73. "Actually, my dear Sir"

Even the victors false history will also be exposed in the long term. In ways unforseen...

Truth always reigns supreme. The perception of victory is a mirage... in time it must fade away.

[fishnfla]

57. Then, as I clearly pointed out

The vaunted perception ( I'll hang with the truth, more power to it) of these NE readers is what?

-more tabloid trash?
-fodder for late night comedians?
-BFD? He should have a snort or 2!

Honestly, do you know anyone who reads the National Enquirer, let alone subscribes to it?

Why should we care if these people finally see the chimp's dirty laundry? Its too late now

So the NE found out about Limbaughs pills, what happened to him? They found the blue stained dress: what of that? Another big scoop? Nea, bigger scoop! What of it then? Calling all Lawyers!

You might think it matters, but it doesn't. The ship of state sails on whether the Captain is wearing a lame duck lamp shade or not. Cheney at the helm and first mate Rove manning the full PNAC crew.

It just doesnt matter, really.

[The Magistrate]

58. It Has Long Been My Custom, Sir

To acquire copies of that periodical regularly, for the window it opens into the minds of a great many people somewhat different in their interests and experiences from myself.

It does indeed matter what the great mass is entertained by, and it has much more effect on the political admosphere than some care to admit. There is little point in a polity such as ours to feeling superior to the people, either in tasts or intellect: it is very comon, and very wtong, to sell the mass of people short becasue they do not share one's interests, or at the moment, one's views. People are nowhere near as stupid as they are often given credit for.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

63. And it's pretty classist to think otherwise

I have read a lot of derogatory remarks about the people who read the Enquirer. They're low-class and stupid. They pick up their copies when they buy their beer. Their opinions don't matter, and so on. But political apathy knows no class and is not limited by one's level of income or IQ.

The Enquirer's circulation in 2001 was around 1.2 million (I don't know more current figures). But its advertisers are willing to believe that 15 million people read it every week, that being the number on which NE's ad rates are based. Who reads it, and who admits to reading it, are two different things.

[Raksha]

59. Ummmm...I wouldn't count on that.

Re >>People that tune into this organ are about as politically astute as an oyster bed. They probably are not a huge voting demographic, so who cares what they think? They most likely didn't even know the chimp was faking the wagon ride, nor would ever really care.<<

Maybe they didn't care enough to vote in the past, but that could very well change if they get pissed off enough. What percentage of the Enquirer's readership is black, for example? I'm not saying I know, because I have absolutely no idea. But if any significant percentage are black, they know good and well that if they had been there, it could have been them left stranded without food and water for four days. They don't have to guess; they KNOW. And that could easily piss them off enough to shake them out of their non-voting, non-caring apathy, and make them receptive to a story like this.

[Junkdrawer]

53. Help Wanted: New Window Dressing Needed. (National) Enquire Within...

No Experience Necessary

[Kurovski]

54. Beautifully put.

Perception is everything, and even a dry-drunk--when all is said and done--is still alchoholic.

[Disturbed]

56. Spot on Mag.

The Silverspoon Sociopath cares so much about people that he starts drinking again is blatant bushit! Nuff said.

[The Magistrate]

60. Indeed, Sir

Most of the audience will read that as "Crawled back in a damn bottle soon's the sledding got rough...."

[im10ashus]

61. Thank you.

As the sad sap who was the original poster of the NE article, it's good to see I wasn't being overly cautious. I wasn't sure if it would get deleted for being trash journalism, but IMHO, it is planting a seed in the minds of the American people, and that's called beating them at their own game.

Cheers!

:hi:

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

64. A note about your note - interesting news about NE staff changes

From The Palm Beach Post business news, August 28, 2005:

In April, AMI replaced the Boca Raton-based editorial staff of the (Enquirer) with a group of 25 British journalists based in New York City, charged with breaking celebrity and crime news.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2005/08/28/a1f_ami_0828.html

[daleo]

69. Very nice, Magistrate.

I thought sort of the same thing - when analysing these tabloids the point isn't what they believe, but what they think their audience wants to believe.

[The Magistrate]

72. That Is The Key, Sir

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"