One thing the Bush administration has done quite well is controlling information — not only information going out to the public, but information going in to the president. After all, Bush doesn’t read newspapers or watch news broadcasts, he instead relies on his advisors to tell him that everything is sunny in America. And Iraq.
Anyway, it was only a matter of time before people started uncovering White House propaganda plans. First it was payola to reporters, and now:
Apparently the Bush administration isn’t just paying journalists to spout White House propaganda – they’re also planting journalists in press conferences to ask helpful questions. At a press conference last week, George W. Bush was happy to take a question from Jeff Gannon of “Talon News.” Gannon asked, “Senate Democratic leaders have painted a very bleak picture of the U.S. economy. Harry Reid was talking about soup lines. And Hillary Clinton was talking about the economy being on the verge of collapse. Yet in the same breath they say that Social Security is rock solid and there’s no crisis there. How are you going to work – you’ve said you are going to reach out to these people – how are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?” Gee.. that sounds… fair and balanced. Rush Limbaugh was delighted to hear the question, saying on his radio show, “I said earlier today in the program, shortly after we began, that somebody in the White House press corps listens to this program. It is Jeff Gannon from Talon News.” No doubt Jeff Gannon does listen to Rush Limbaugh, since Gannon is a poster at Free Republic. As for “Talon News,” well, it consists of approximately two people – Gannon and Bobby Eberle, who is also the CEO of GOPUSA, a “conservative news, information, and design company dedicated to promoting conservative ideals.” Nice to know they have such easy access to White House press conferences, isn’t it?
