POTUS to speak tonight
In a move that will mark the first anniversary of the transfer of power in Iraq, President Bush will address the nation this evening from Fort Bragg. He will present a "clear path to victory" without setting a timetable of when troops will be coming home but will also warn and prepare the nation for more casualties.
I guess the WH wants to get back on top of the issue, one that has been steadily getting away from them. First VP Cheney said that the restless natives were in their last throes which they probably are not. Every WH staffer and Adminstration official has been telling the media to check the dictionary for ambiguous definitions, insisting that's what the Veep had in mind, not that they're actually on their deathbeds etc.
A Research 2000 poll out today says that 51% of North Carolina likely voters disapprove of Pres. Bush's handling of Iraq, but 54% do not believe he "intentionally misled" Americans "about reasons to go to war." I know it's not good form to extrapolate small findings to the larger scale but I do believe that North Carolinians are not alone on this one and the President wants to show us that he's got everything under control.
But what's he going to say that hasn't been said thusfar? Why is this speech any more important than any other speech he'll give today? No timetable (not that I'm looking for one), no silver bullet (literally and figuratively) to quash the insurgents, no new defense systems to protect our troops-what's he going to say? What's the point?
My politics and media professor would probably argue that it's a ploy by the WH to distract the public's attention (more the media which affects the public) away from what's going on and toward the "event" of the president's speech and speculating about it. This will be today and tomorrow's top story no doubt so it'll give Administration officials an opportunity to repeat their talking points over and over on every media outlet that will give them a microphone (and camera). But it probably won't present any new information and I don't think I'll be watching (though I will definitely read the transcript later).
I guess the WH wants to get back on top of the issue, one that has been steadily getting away from them. First VP Cheney said that the restless natives were in their last throes which they probably are not. Every WH staffer and Adminstration official has been telling the media to check the dictionary for ambiguous definitions, insisting that's what the Veep had in mind, not that they're actually on their deathbeds etc.
A Research 2000 poll out today says that 51% of North Carolina likely voters disapprove of Pres. Bush's handling of Iraq, but 54% do not believe he "intentionally misled" Americans "about reasons to go to war." I know it's not good form to extrapolate small findings to the larger scale but I do believe that North Carolinians are not alone on this one and the President wants to show us that he's got everything under control.
But what's he going to say that hasn't been said thusfar? Why is this speech any more important than any other speech he'll give today? No timetable (not that I'm looking for one), no silver bullet (literally and figuratively) to quash the insurgents, no new defense systems to protect our troops-what's he going to say? What's the point?
My politics and media professor would probably argue that it's a ploy by the WH to distract the public's attention (more the media which affects the public) away from what's going on and toward the "event" of the president's speech and speculating about it. This will be today and tomorrow's top story no doubt so it'll give Administration officials an opportunity to repeat their talking points over and over on every media outlet that will give them a microphone (and camera). But it probably won't present any new information and I don't think I'll be watching (though I will definitely read the transcript later).
posted by Michael at 10:40 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home