Snow did NOT know John Yoo worked for Bush

[donsu]

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/mailbag/241


-snip-

Subject: Snow did NOT know John Yoo worked for Bush

BTC's Eric Brewer's post on Snow not knowing Yoo worked for Bush.

http://www.btcnews.com/btcnews/1451

since the transcript of this gaggle wasn't posted Froomkin checked with the WH and posted it.

Yoo Who? (Froomkin/Washington Post)

Eric Brewer, a liberal blogger for BTCNews and occasional visitor to White House briefings, writes about his experiences at Friday morning's gaggle, "in which Tony Snow laughs at me (but the last laugh is on Tony)."

According to Brewer's transcript, he asked a perfectly reasonable question, quoting from a recent New York Times op-ed by former deputy assistant attorney general John Yoo, one of the leading architects of Bush's sweeping assertion of executive power.

Yoo had defended Bush's signing statements. Brewer asked: "Why doesn't the president veto laws that he thinks are unconstitutional?"

Snow responded with scorn: "You haven't been around here much, have you? This is a question we've done many times, so, for those of you who've heard it before, you may resume your crossword puzzles."

After a meandering rehash, Snow asked: "So, who was John Yoo deputy assistant attorney general for?"

Brewer: "Um, President Bush."

Snow: "OK. Was he really?"

Other reporters: "Yeah, yeah. The architect."

Snow: "Wow. He was the architect of this. . . . WOW! This is great! In any event, uh . . . boy, I stepped in that one, didn't I? (laughter)"

A BuzzFlash Reader

-snip-
----------------------------------------

[ScreamingMeemie]

1. You know...everytime I see him, my mind screams FREEPER...

I can't help it. It's a good thing I don't work the ticker tape scrolls at any of the networks.

[hughee99]

2. Shocking...

A press secretary who's been on the job for 6 months doesn't even know the names of all the current and past deputy assistant attorneys general for the * administration. Snow is such and idiot. Brewer totally nailed him!

[gratuitous]

3. I don't know if Snow needs to know the entire personnel roster

But John Yoo has been the Albert Speer of the Bush administration's legal justifications for its unitary executive theory of unbridled power. Certainly Tony ought to be familiar with such an indispensible cog in the machinery of the dictatorship that he serves.

[hughee99]

4. In Tony's "defense"

First of all, he's not a bright guy. He doesn't ask questions and he's not "curious" which makes him an ideal press secretary for *.

Second, Yoo left the Justice department about the same time that Snow came in, so it's not like they really worked together.

Third, Yoo's work on all of this was done while Snow was working over at Faux news, and how can you expect Tony to have any idea what's actually going on in Washington when he's working for the "news" organization that has a 24 hour channel dedicated to proving that they don't know what the hell is going on.