Former Bush Aide's Book Pisses Off Administration

[Straha]

I find it really funny that people are accusing him of being merely disgruntled and that he has no right to be upset about being kept out of the loop. This is the guy whose job was to step infront of the press and spin the truth for the administration. And if he's supposed to spin it so fast it has RPM he has to bloody well know what the truth is first. That way he can give the Administration's line without actually lying and that makes a huge difference to the press corps. (Between "The guy's a total fucktard who lies between his teeth." and "He may parrot the party line, but at least he wont lie to us about it.")

What's worse is that people in the press assume he has full disclosure of all the internal data. So when they catch him blatantly lying they assume he's the liar and smash him in. Then when he gets behind that blue curtain he has to meet the administration officials who blast him because "The press hates us, Scott. You're doing a terrible job." And he has to go back and forth like a bloody ping-pong ball. If I were him I'd be incredibly bitter too.

[Vympel]

More lame ass excuses from the media:-

The news media, no less than the nation, endured a wrenching trauma on 9/11 and no less than any other institution in society felt the moral obligation to demonstrate solidarity with a country under deadly threat. In that situation, not giving the administration the benefit of the doubt, when it presented "facts" it said were based on the best and most sensitive intelligence available from the CIA and other spy agencies, would have been mindlessly adversarial.

...

Moreover, since the media lacked the ability to do original reporting on the ground in Iraq, what basis would there have been for contradicting the administration's assessment of Saddam Hussein's aims?

"Apparently now, in the U.S., when our Government wants to start a war by attacking another country that hasn't attacked us, it's the duty of the media to presume that they're telling the truth about everything, and it would be extremely irresponsible -- "mindlessly adversarial" -- for them to do otherwise. I just can't even add anything to that."

And I love the "lacked the ability to do original reporting on the ground" pathetic excuse - McClatchy / Knight Ridder in the US and every other media outlet in the world must've been using the magic fucking 8-ball.

[Gandalf]

The news media, no less than the nation, endured a wrenching trauma on 9/11 and no less than any other institution in society felt the moral obligation to demonstrate solidarity with a country under deadly threat. In that situation, not giving the administration the benefit of the doubt, when it presented "facts" it said were based on the best and most sensitive intelligence available from the CIA and other spy agencies, would have been mindlessly adversarial.

So I can show solidarity with a drunk friend by giving him the keys to his car? Can judges show solidarity with the populace by refusing to lock them up?

[The Yosemite Bear]

I wonder how many RPM's Murrow's body is doing?

[Surlethe]

I find the most telling aspect of the White House's criticism of the book is their offense at McClellan's disloyalty. They take issue with his factual claims, presumably, but that is far second to the offense they take at the notion that anybody who had been a part of the White House family could turn around and publicly criticise it.

[Siege]

Any journalist honestly thinking he has an "obligation to demonstrate solidarity" with a government trying to start a war is a goddamn disgrace to the profession and should be bloody ashamed of himself. What the hell are these people thinking? The job is to be wary and critical of authority, not to suck up to it - not even in a time of national trauma! You're not supposed to let yourself get swept up by "let's geddum!" sentiments.

"Mindlessly adversarial"... Christ, they helped bring about a war that cost FAR more lives than the 9/11 attacks and they still dare defend their constant and uncritical fellating of the Bush administration? Assholes. I'm ashamed such people dare to call themselves journalists.

[Mr Bean]

Any journalist honestly thinking he has an "obligation to demonstrate solidarity" with a government trying to start a war is a goddamn disgrace to the profession and should be bloody ashamed of himself. What the hell are these people thinking? The job is to be wary and critical of authority, not to suck up to it - not even in a time of national trauma! You're not supposed to let yourself get swept up by "let's geddum!" sentiments.

"Mindlessly adversarial"... Christ, they helped bring about a war that cost FAR more lives than the 9/11 attacks and they still dare defend their constant and uncritical fellating of the Bush administration? Assholes. I'm ashamed such people dare to call themselves journalists.

There is such a war where journalists must show solidarity with the government, that's a war of survival when the nation they work for faces utter destruction and subjugation.

In that sort of war journalists do have a patriotic duty to work with the government and to an extent move in lock-step to talking points of the government. We(The USA) can't have that kind of war anymore, no enemy can threaten us with a war of subjugation and conquest

Minus aliens, or Q-transported Zombie Nazi's in battlemechs and power armor there exists no war that would either not be over in an hour(Global Thermo-Nuclear) or is no threat to the mainland(see all wars since WWII Brush-fire) Even a purely conventional war between Clancy-wanked Russians and Chinese can't threaten the US mainland with invasion.

No short of the entire fucking world(Including Iceland and Quebec) deciding to tag-team the US for the mother of all global conflicts, the media must question because almost any war we get into from here on in, is of our own choosing. Little Kimmy is not going to launch bombers with conventional bombs at the US nor is Iran, the best they can do is lob a nuke and then the proper response is Nuclear retaliation as soon as we have proof of who did the deed. The media won't come into it except to report body counts, the same goes for a limit extent to large-scale chemical and biological attacks. The media won't come into it except to report some-place on the planet has been turned into glass because of a recent attack on the US.

Thus the media must never march in solidarity with the Government, every war is a war of choice for the US for the foreseeable future. The one type of war where the media must acceed to the governments wishes (Survival) can't happen, the US is to large, to well off, and most of all, to the fucking far away from everyone else.

[Patrick Degan]

The news media, no less than the nation, endured a wrenching trauma on 9/11 and no less than any other institution in society felt the moral obligation to demonstrate solidarity with a country under deadly threat. In that situation, not giving the administration the benefit of the doubt, when it presented "facts" it said were based on the best and most sensitive intelligence available from the CIA and other spy agencies, would have been mindlessly adversarial.

...

Moreover, since the media lacked the ability to do original reporting on the ground in Iraq, what basis would there have been for contradicting the administration's assessment of Saddam Hussein's aims?

Um, didn't a bunch of us manage to figure out all on our own, from available data on Iraq's capabilities (or lack thereof) and clearly observable state of military and infrastructural disrepair, that the maladministration's case for war was bullshit? Not really all that difficult an exercise no matter what the apologists try to spew to the contrary. And what excuse was there to not even try to get reporters in on the ground? Not as if Saddam was running his country like a Nork-style national prison camp.

No, the media were just acting as Chimpy's stenographers. They have no defence.

[The Yosemite Bear]

you know I bet if you told Fox news and the NY Times that they were up for a Leni Refienstal award for their work with the present administration, they would probably think that was a good thing....

hmmm, I wonder can we make an "award" named after Nazi propaganda filmaker?