The spin moguls in the administration and their faithless lackeys in corporate offices evidently got busy after Aaron Broussard’s on the air denuncuation of the slowness of federal relief efforts in Louisiana.
That was on "Meet the Press" 3 weeks ago. Today Tim Russert told the world that the MSNBC website and "Blogsters" had "investigated" Mr. Broussard’s activities and statements and had decided that he had "gilded the lily" a bit in what he said about "the cavalry" not showing up in time to keep people from dying.
Russert ungraciously played the tape of Broussard weeping over what he sees as the "abandonment" of his people and the unnecessary death of a friend’s mother. He then challenged Broussard to defend himself against these accusations of lying and exageration.
I don’t want to think the worst of Russert. Let us assume that he was giving Broussard the chance to defend himself. Let us hope that this is true.
The spinsters should give up on Broussard. He will beat them every time.
Pat Lang
The spin may work, but I doubt it. The incompetence and stunning indifference were too obvious.
I’d love to see a FEMA spokesperson, or better yet someone responsible for the Brown appointment (you know who) take up Broussard on his debate challenge.
Here in Southern Taiwan (Kaohsiung City) where I live, we saw the English language coverage of Hurricane Katrina on CNN International. My Taiwanese wife’s older brother, a Buddhist monk, saw the Chinese language coverage on local TV news channels. Despite the language differences, the pictures told the same sorry tale. I had to answer a lot of humiliating questions about why my government would allow its own people to suffer like animals. I don’t care what sound-byte campaign commercials the second-rate ad men (i.e., the current federal bureaucracy) try to beam at America to cover up the shame and ineptitude — It won’t wash and it won’t wear.
As the odious and obtuse Secretary of War Donald Rumsfeld said about the Abu Grahib prison pictures: “The words don’t do it.” No, indeed: they don’t.
On a somewhat related note, I’ve now read several stories on the Internet (where I get most of my news) about the U. S. military shooting off so many bullets (1.8 million, just this year) in Iraq that our soldiers now have to import bullets from Israel. Now, I don’t know how this goes over back in America where the Pet Press homogenizes everything to utter meaninglessness, but from this side of the Pacific Pond, it doesn’t seem like a good idea to have Christian American troops shooting Muslims with Jewish bullets. Don’t we have enough trouble losing the hearts and minds of Middle Eastern people already?
i think your faith in russert is misplaced. apart from the sadistic gotcha attempt, russert has yet to expend any of that valuable airtime to address the the cronyism and corruption that infests the bush administraiton. on a day when the major papers and natl newsmagazines reveal example after example of the rot of the administration, russert tried to humiliate a man who has been performing his public duties under extraordinary stress in conditions russert couldn’t begin to comprehend.
What would Big Russ do? I saw the clip this morning and the look on Pumpkin Head’s face was truly creepy. In this case we need to define how things went wrong not how things were reported. The public received nonstop images that can’t be erased or spun especially by some soft faced corporate shill.
Wow, Broussard is a force. Good for him, good for him. To take his valuable time to address such, as he rightly put, black-hearted attacks? Wow. Hat off to you Mr. Broussard.
I would like to see him on a full night’s sleep having at some of these vultures. Character, eloquence, and fierce commitment to truth over spin. Sweet Jesus we need more of that.
Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once said: “Controversy equalizes wise men and fools alike — and the fools know it.”
The fool Russert pretty much deals in little more than controversy. A wise man like Mr. Broussard has little to gain from dignifying Russert’s reactionary hit-squads with an audience.
As Deputy Dubya and his Christian Ayatollas like to say in Kansas biology classes: Teach the Controversy!
“I don’t want to think the worst of Russert.”
“i think your faith in russert is misplaced.”
I assumed PL’s statement was what the Brits call “Mandarin-speak.”
I would move back to Louisiana to vote for Aaron Broussard for next Governor of Louisiana.
I will point out, however, that Broussard is not particularly unique amongst Louisiana politicians, other than that his stature as the Parish President of almost 1/5th of Louisiana’s population makes him more visible than most. Louisiana is a small state, and politics in Louisiana are thus more personal than in big impersonal states like New York or Texas. As a result, Louisiana politicians tend to be more truthful than the blow-dried pols of the big states. Yeah, lots of them are crooks, but they’re generally honest about being crooks (kinda like ole’ Honest Eddie Edwards, the flamboyant crook that people voted for in his last election *knowing* that he was a flamboyant crook). Broussard’s telling it like he sees it might seem inherently anti-political to outsiders, but Louisianians respond to and reward such candor.
Alas, this also makes Louisianians easier to fool when outsiders like GWB come in merely *pretending* to be straight shooters…
– Badtux the Louisianian in Exile
“I don’t want to think the worst of Russert”.
Which is a sentiment that reflects well on you, if sincere. I think it naive, something you’re obviously not.
There’s a simple reason why Russert asks the questions on Meet the Press, rather than, say, Seymour Hersh.
I’ve always stood prepared to turn a blind eye towards the transgressions, compromises, or out-and-out bullshitting in the give-and-take of what passes for political dialogue in our democracy. Which is doggone conveinent, too, given I’ve no choice in the matter.
But not when the issue is war, as in Iraq. Not when simple, human foible is trumped by calculated and orchestrated Big Lies, in the name of a perverted ideology.
Russert is just another blackhearted whore, schilling for G.E.
He even had the gall to write a paen to himself, with his father cast in the role of both Zues and Abraham Lincoln. I take cold comfort anticipating how the history books will one day- and sooner rather than later- shred Little Russ, and all the media bums of his ilk.
Somoma,
Too much.
We still have to deal with these people in the real world.
You are familiar with the concept of irony I am sure. pl
Like I said, or leastwise, inferred, my sense of humor deserts me where corporate warmongering is concerned. I’m Ralph Naderlike on the subject. Really. That pathetic.
That said, I stand foursquare and no chuckles ago about Russert. He and his ilk are propagandists, not journalists. By my lights, they are utterly corrupt. Individually? Small potato’s. But that’s just it. The airwaves have been assimilated by their likes. Some are smoother, most more blatant than Russert in their truckle to mammon. But they’re all the same breed of cat. That’s the “real world” as I understand it, and I see no reason whatsoever to my pull my punches in saying so. I’m the guy at the end of the bar that Ed Murrow referred to when he cautioned his colleagues about inflated ego’s and broadcast journalism. I wonder what Murrow would have to say about today’s crop of stars, and the dump trucks full of cold cash that make regular deposits into their bank accounts?
Pat:
I fully understand that some folks must deal with people like Russert in the real world. Everyone has bills to pay. Although, I am fortunate to be in a position where I’m not beholden to pull any punches- so to speak. So in lieu of the ironic approach I have the leeway of employing a more forthright approach of open and unadulterated frankness. Maybe it’s my Grand Pappy’s Cajun blood.
Russert’s attempt to totally blind side this Broussard fella went over like a lead balloon.
To my eyes and ears, when they replayed the original interview video from Sept 4 it was quite clear that Broussard became aware quite quickly that he was being set up when he stated, “I’ve never watched this. Why are they taking me here?” Who was he talking to? Before the show Broussard apparently did not know that he was going to be faced with having to deal with or answer to his earlier interview. Russert by being used as a tool proves beyond a doubt that he’s complete unadulterated corporate slut. Slimy and creeping on his belly like a slug for his front office schlubs that are doing the bidding of the powers behind this phony spin campaign. But there was a very positive side that came from this. What I appreciated the most was the fact that Broussard was able to in no uncompromising terms basically call out Russert and the rest of his ilk and the partisan ideologues as the sick-minded, black-hearted witch-burning vultures they are. I’d pay for a ticket just to see this man debate anyone who wishes to take their best shot on stage and debate him.
La vie est trop courte
.
Whast is sad is that simple common decency seems so astonishing that when we see it on the television set, in the person of an ordinary local Louisiana politician like Aaron Broussard, we stand up and clap and cheer.
It shouldn’t be that way.
Baddy
I don’t know. He looks good to me. pl
Dear Pat:
Please Note:
Where I had written…
> > I fully understand that some folks must deal with people
> > like Russert in the real world. Everyone has bills to pay.
Please understand that I was in no way referring to your fine reporting or personal appearances in the media.
Please accept my apologies if you took umbrage of my generalization, poor choice of words and my inability to clearly communicate my true intentions.
Sorry if this caused any misunderstanding.
Yours in all respect,
Jonah . . .