Question about Bush's "I can hear you" moment at Ground Zero...

[LiberalHeart]

Remember the guy in the back of the crowd who yelled out that he couldn't hear Bush -- and Bush told him he could hear him, and that the rest of world would hear him too? Did any of you ever hear that guy interviewed afterward?

That made-for-TV moment struck me as just too good to be true. I never believed that Bush was capable of that quick come-back. Then, when I saw nothing afterward about the guy who said he couldn't hear, I thought it was odd that no reporters grabbed him for a comment. The moment itself got tons of coverage. Why not the guy in the crowd?

Did I just miss the follow up with the guy, or was he plant?

[LearnedHand]

1. Omigod, I bet you're right

I NEVER thought that moment was anything more than * running to his comfort zone -- cheerleading -- but it didn't occur to me that the guy might be a plant. Everytime I remember that, though, all I can see is * shouting in that old firefighter's ear with the bullhorn. What a frickin' loser (Bush, that is, not the old guy).

(edited to clarify pronoun reference)

[speedoo]

2. I have no doubt he was a plant.

All pre-arranged and packaged. Totally scripted.

[RufusTFirefly]

3. Bush? Using a plant?? In-con-thieve-able!!

Q:Mr. President, as the nation is at odds over war, with many organizations like the Congressional Black Caucus pushing for continued diplomacy through the U.N., how is your faith guiding you? And what should you tell America -- well, what should America do, collectively, as you instructed before 9/11? Should it be "pray?" Because you're saying, let's continue the war on terror.

THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate that question a lot. First, for those who urge more diplomacy, I would simply say that diplomacy hasn't worked. We've tried diplomacy for 12 years. Saddam Hussein hasn't disarmed, he's armed. ...

Link

We'll be there in a minute. King, John King. This is a scripted -- (laughter.)

[mrreowwr_kittty]

4. Wow!

Who is John King? I tried to find him on that transcript but I couldn't. But he almost busted himself, didn't he?

**Okay, I just looked King up and he's a CNN correspondent.

[LiberalHeart]

5. Remember when Bush called on a reporter who wasn't present?

He called out her name a couple of times, then looked goofy when he realised she wasn't there to ask her (I'm guessing) scripted question.

[blondeatlast]

15. Oh, yes. One of the few press conferences I actually watched

and the look on his face...

The name was "Brenda," maybe? Does anyone remember?

[RufusTFirefly]

7. As the truth comes out about Bush lies, we re-examine other "truths"...

... although most people stop short of the water's edge.
Folks, these people are willing to do anything. Don't make the understandable mistake of letting your own well-developed sense of ethics project a moral code on a bunch of sociopaths, preventing you from thinking the unthinkable.

[Kurovski]

6. Think about this...

if people in the back couldn't hear Bush--who had a bullhorn, for cry-eye, how on earth could Bush hear them?

Of course they heard him. He had a bullhorn.

Now, if he had said "we can't understand your slurring, you addle-pated coke-monkey." I might have believed the story. But then there would have been no quick "gonna-gettem" tough-guy response from George.

You make an excellent point. Reporters love to talk to guys like that.

[LiberalHeart]

14. You're right ... I hadn't thought about how easily George heard the guy.

This whole episode reminds me of the bused-in operatives who showed up in Florida in 2000, pretending to be what they weren't.

[blondeatlast]

16. It didn't occur to me then, but of course you are correct.

Now, if he had said "we can't understand your slurring, you addle-pated coke-monkey." I might have believed the story. So true, so very, very true! :rofl:

[Lisa]

8. I do know that Karl Rove was running around the site that day

There was a written account by a firefighter who was asked by Rove or one of his minions, to get up on top of the crushed fire truck and "test" it to make sure it was stable for Bush to stand on.

[RufusTFirefly]

9. What the great Jimmy Breslin had to say...

... in an article entitled "He molests the dead":

In his first campaign commercial, George Bush reached down and molested the dead.

<snip>

The ad is nothing more than another George W. Bush fraud. First, arriving at the trade center, he was led by a flunkey to a retired fire fighter, Bob Beckwith, who had come down three days after the attack to take a look. Bush's flacks had Beckwith stand on a destroyed fire engine and Bush came up next to him and Bush put an arm around him and, two heroes, Bush called out "we're tough" to the television cameras.

He had all he wanted out of the place. A picture.

[RufusTFirefly]

10. K et R n/t

[AwakeAtLast]

11. K & R because

I am sure there are many other things that, when looked back upon, we will realize were all planned.

Good catch!

[truedelphi]

12. LIke the Governor of Missouri having his plane

Go down when campaigning for the MO Senate seat.

Like Wellstone's plane going down, taking several family members, two pilots, both of whom were flying the plane, and members of his staff.

And the "elegant" guy in the plane hangar after JFK Jr died - he was the only one to smear John John's reputation. Gave an interview saying, well that kennedy kid was cocky and too sure of himself and his leg was still too injured to fly etc.

That guy spooked me out and raised my suspicion level even higher.

[mahina]

13. Well you can relax about that last one at least.

The first two, I'm right there with you.

And for the record it was a terrible tragedy in my book. But sure not a hit.
Wellstone on the other hand, I felt had to have been. Does anyone know if the
investigation was as thorough as it should have been?

His textbook on organizing is a gem by the way. Required reading for our coming
final exam in 2008.

[truedelphi]

18. Didn't know about the Wellstone text book... What's its title?

And as for the thoroughness of the analysis of the crash scene - I gave the National Transportaion Board's investigation written material (on the Wellstone crash) over to someone I knew who had done a lot of flying (over 40 years) in his day.

This man had headed a major city department in San Francisco, so we are talking about a rather and savvy individual.

The thing he pointed out was that nobody was playing up the fact that this private plane burned for such a long time - the crash occurred a little after 11Am and burned until after 5Pm. he said that indicated something funny about the plane's contents - the jet fuel should have burned for a much shorter time than that.

Also, the people who head the FAA and the National Transportation have all been placed there after serving time with the CIA. After all, if you need to take planes down, you also need to stifle the investigations post plane crash.

[mahina]

19. "Politics the Wellstone Way"

Highly reccomended!
Check reviews http://www.wellstone.org/news/news_detail.aspx?itemID=6077&catID=298 You can buy it on the wellstone site, I did. Might want to get a couple of copies; everyone I've lent mine to keeps it. Grrr.

[truedelphi]

20. the lending - no return thing-ee: Always the sign of a great book!

[blondeatlast]

17. Classic UNPLANNED moment: "Are you going to ask that question with shades on?"

TO A LEGALLY BLIND REPORTER...

At a press conference this morning, President Bush needled Los Angeles Times reporter Peter Wallsten after he stood up to ask a question wearing sunglasses. “Are you going to ask that question with shades on?” Bush said, telling Wallsten, “I’m interested in the shade look, seriously.”

But as Wonkette first noted, and which ThinkProgress subsquently confirmed, Wallsten is legally blind. Wallsten tells us he has a rare genetic disorder called Stargardt’s Disease. The disease is a form of macular degeneration that can be slowed “by wearing UV-protective sunglasses and avoiding exposure to bright light.”

Video at link as well:
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/06/14/bush-reporter-shades/

[Bozita]

21. Boosh is dyslexic. He meant to say, "You can hear I."

As for the grammar, well ...

[GETPLANING]

22. Plants were already in place on 9-11,

Why not at Bush's photo op?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilQqplk1p2U