In Bush's press conference, he starts to answer John King's question before calling on John King and then says "We'll be there in a minute King, John King. This is scripted." If you watch and listen to the cspan.org recording of the press conference, it's clear (to me anyway) that's what he says and that he's looking down a list of names and possibly questions. Bizarre. I've never heard of this kind of thing happening. From the Washington Post quoting White House Communications director, Dan Bartlett: "[T]his White House uses news conferences more sparingly than other types of presidential events, because "if you have a message you're trying to deliver, a news conference can go in a different direction." "In this case, we know what the questions are going to be, and those are the ones we want to answer," Bartlett said. "We think the public will see the thought and care and attention he's given to a lot of the different questions that are being asked about the diplomatic side and the military side and the potential post-Iraq issue. These are all legitimate questions that he has answers for and wants to talk about." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53542-2003Mar6.html) ______________ Here's Ari explaining things: White House Transcript of Press Briefing on Friday, March 7, 2003: (Excerpt) Q Can I follow with another one? [Lester asks] MR. FLEISCHER: We've got to keep moving now. Lester. Q Last night, after the fifth time has looked down at an apparent list of reporters, he smiled and he said, this is scripted. MR. FLEISCHER: Are you going to complain he didn't call on you? Q No, no, no. No, no. Which surely suggests that he did not write that script which gave two questions to one network, two questions to one wire service, and one to other vague and wealthy media -- but left all the rest, including Helen Thomas, ruled out in advance of any chance to ask, and left to serve only as window dressing. And my question is, since you are always fair, Ari, in recognizing all of us, who was it that wrote that script that the President confessed to? Was it Karl Rove or Karen or who? MR. FLEISCHER: It was me who gave the President a suggestion on the reporters to call. And the President called on all reporters, the President did not call on any columnists. Mark. Q Wait a minute -- MR. FLEISCHER: No, Lester, we're going to go to the -- Lester, we're moving on. _________ And from the Washington Times: A long-running Washington tradition apparently ended last night when, for the first time in memory, the doyenne of the White House press corps was not called on in a presidential press conference. Syndicated columnist Helen Thomas, who has covered every president since John F. Kennedy, was relegated to the third row in last night's East Room event and — if the memory of press corps veterans is accurate — received her first presidential snub. One reporter who has covered the past six presidents said: "I don't remember a press conference in which [Mrs. Thomas] didn't get a question." For many years, it was a tradition for Mrs. Thomas to ask the first question at White House news conferences and end them by saying, on behalf of the press corps, "Thank you, Mr. President."
That bums me out for Helen... she can pack a punch with her questions. Looks like Bush and Ari didn't want to wrangle with her on that night. I see an agenda, step aside if you're not in line with it. In this case, step back to the third row. "On behalf of the press corps, "Thank you, Mr. President." Thank you sir, may I have another?
I saw Mr. Bush looking down at a paper on the podium before calling on a reporter, I assumed it was a seating chart, so he could call the reporters by name. But that was just my assumption.
No, bro. He had a scripted order of who was getting asked and he followed it. He said as much during the speech and questioning period. I have since read that most President's have followed a pretty strict list of who they ask questions, although nobody has been quite as honest as Gee Dub letting everyone know...
Well, like I said, that was just my assumption while watching it at the time. You'd think, though, that knowing which questions (generally speaking) are coming, the President could've had better answers formulated. But that's a public speaking issue rather than a substance of the debate issue, in many ways.
Uh B-Bob, that was RM95's line. Your line is supposed to come after Freak's sarcastic anti-Dem jab, but before Achebe's intelligent but overly personal comeback. Check your script.
And the podium was probably color coded like those McDonalds order menus on their cash registers. Rove is minisculing Bush's speech impedimentations to lessen the fodder for his next election.
