Where was the Press on Libby commutation? Bush hearts FOX NEWS: "a fair and balanced decision."
By John Amato Thursday Jul 12, 2007 12:29pm
The press corps jumped on Bush during his conference today and really pressed on his reasoning for commuting Scooter Libby's sentence---Psych!...They asked one question---that's it---ONE.
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Q You spoke very soberly and seriously in your statement about how you weighed different legal questions in coming to your decision on that commutation. But one issue that you did not address was the issue of the morality of your most senior advisors leaking the name of a confidential intelligence operator. Now that the case is over -- it's not something you've ever spoken to -- can you say whether you're at all disappointed in the behavior of those senior advisors? And have you communicated that disappointment to them in any way?
THE PRESIDENT: Michael, I -- first of all, the Scooter Libby decision was, I thought, a fair and balanced decision. Secondly, I haven't spent a lot of time talking about the testimony that people throughout my administration were forced to give as a result of the special prosecutor. I didn't ask them during the time and I haven't asked them since.
I'm aware of the fact that perhaps somebody in the administration did disclose the name of that person, and I've often thought about what would have happened had that person come forth and said, I did it. Would we have had this, you know, endless hours of investigation and a lot of money being spent on this matter? But it's been a tough issue for a lot of people in the White House, and it's run its course and now we're going to move on.
Bush wants to just move along little doggy. Nothing to see here anymore. Bush already paid for Scooter's silence so don't bother him anymore about it. He admits that someone in his administration leaked Valerie Plame's name and he did nothing about it when he said he would fire anyone who was a leaker. Bush was probably trying to shift the blame to Armitage, but we know Rove leaked her name..What about him?
It shifts the focus from Rove, who discussed Plame with two reporters and whose recollections were complex enough that he made five grand jury visits.
And Rover is trying to revise history on his involvement in the case too...Gee, what a surprise. And then there's Cheney's hand prints all over the place that Bush knew about...Hell, Tony Snow wouldn't admit one way or the other if Dick talked to Bush about the commutation...... And there was no follow up question by our press corp....Next...Quick, call a FOX NEWS reporter (Wendall) so they will change the subject..
(full transcript of the Presser)
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I refuse to be angry today, here's something fun.
If you can read this sentence, thank your underwear.
The WH press corp is a disgrace. Spineless shills, selling the American public down the toilet. Nice going. These pawns need to be held accountable for doing NOTHING one day. Bring back "tar and feathering" whores to the WH.
So when the case was being investigated they couldn't talk about it because of the investigation. When it was at trial they couldn't talk about it because of the ongoing case. Now that it's over, they can't talk about it because it's old news.
Brilliant!
"....it's run it's course, and now we're going to move on." Enough said. The king has spoken. Grow up you peasants. Since when do you think YOU need any thing more than his bullshit word???
I think you mean "move along little dogie", not "little doggy".
The White House Press Corps showed all Americans what they thought of them the other day at the unveiling of the new press room, when they laughed along with Bush as he joked about not answering questions.
They were laughing at you, America, not at Bush.
The "good shepherds" despise their "subjects".
Hmmm... a fair and balanced decision
If that doesn't pull the (white) sheets over who's in bed with whom !
I don't know what does . . .
IMPEACH BUSH AND CHENEY!!
Wow - another excellent screen cap! :D
Okay, this man has to go. How do we, netrooters, organize to put pressure on congress for impeachment?
Why don' t they just stop the funding?
The world realizes that we have a freaking insane pResident and we are looking crazy ourselves for not doing anything about it.
We need more protection from our pResident that we do from any foreign terrorist.
Jack Jett
www.jackejett.com
Did it seem to anyone else that David Gregory's ostensibly tough question and the answer Bush gave were well rehearsed? The answer a little too pat? Bush a little too well-prepared? Naturally, Bush's evasion wasn't challenged by Gregory. But now Gregory can point to the tape as evidence that he asks the President tough questions. No, David. Not if they're submitted in advance, vetted, and rehearsed. If David Gregory had any credibility to lose, this would have been the last straw.
One thing we can count on:
The folks who leaked Plame's name will be "taken care of".
I love Bush he never lets us down. He is an asshole to the end.
2003 Bush White House Honor and Dignity Watch:
"I mean this town is a -- is a town full of people who like to leak information. And I don't know if we're going to find out the senior administration official. Now, this is a large administration, and there's a lot of senior officials. I don't have any idea. I'd like to. I want to know the truth. That's why I've instructed this staff of mine to cooperate fully with the investigators -- full disclosure, everything we know the investigators will find out."
- President Bush, on the outing of Valerie Plame, October 7, 2003.
Q You spoke very soberly and seriously in your statement about how you weighed different legal questions in coming to your decision on that commutation
puh-lease! why stroke the chimp's ego? he didn't "weigh" anything. i don't think he would even know how to weigh choices.
and "soberly and seriously"?
first off, there are serious doubts about bush's sobriety, as is evident in his alcoholic-like confusion and seperation from reality. i know that is not how the reporter was meaning, but let's start there, and then move on to whether or not he has a sober bone in his body. secondly, there is nothing that bush does that is "serious". to bush, everything is unicorns and elves, he lives in a complete fantasy world, with rove as the dungeon master.
Mark @ News Corpse @ 3:
Hence the creation of "MoveOn.org" because we hear this reply all too often.
"Move On" is the polite way of saying; "Go Cheney yourself."
Mike Mid City @ 14:
He never disappoints. That is for sure.
He's got that "peevish" "go ahead punk-make my day" look down pat doesn't he?
Isn't it special that he held his impatience in check long enough to deign to answer exactly one question on the subject before brushing it aside and "moving on"?
What a guy.
When I was 19, I got busted for driving with a suspended driver's license. I spent a weekend in jail.
Clearly my crime was worse than Libby's. I can see why the White House just wants to move on.
now if Libby had committed a real crime...
Good, God, every time this criminal monster opens his mouth, I want to vomit.
Impeach!
Indict!
Convict!
Lead him to the guillotine to face justice!
.
Watch this http://rustylime.com/show_article.php?id=549
So, if Bush knows nothing about who leaked Plame's name then he seems more than content with letting the traitor(s) get away with their crime against the nation. On the other hand, if he knows who the traitor(s) are in his Administration but is not saying then he to is an accessory and just as guilty. With that, who in their right mind would want to work for an intelligence agency knowing that this crime will happen again? I sure wouldn't. One thing is for sure, Bush will get his Iranian medal for this.
Main Stream Media has been MISSING IN ACTION since the beginning of Bush's war. Why would you expect anything different now? It's all directed by corporate profits and where THE MONEY GOES.
Awwww, Bushie boy looks so cute when he's pissed off!!
I'm starting to experience outrage fatigue! My God....every damn day another damn outrage
Thanks for posting who asked dumbass that tough question.
I can't stand the sound of his voice nor his face.
Gregory can go back to dancing with Rove now.
Interesting thing about outrage--you just make more!
it's time to move on folks ..
to say impeachment and prosecution and death by hanging
Note the words he chose to describe his get-out-of-jail decision for Libby: "fair and balanced".
That's got to be deliberate. That's language for the Base (what remains of it), for the Dittoheads, O'Reillyites and Hannitoids. It means, don't worry, my loyal cronies are safe, checks and balances are off the table.
You wanna know the great thing about being me?
I never have to prove my points. Other people do it for me every day.
is it just me or is bushie been on the tube constantly lately , yet his poll numbers continue to plumet ..
they truely believe that as long as he is near 30% they can maintain power
sorta reminds me of bigbrother..
oh well on with this good ol republic
bushisaliar @ 32:
What is the percentage of the population that suffers from some form of mental health problems?
Can someone get me a towel ...please... For some reason I blacked out half way through the clip ... I wake up and I am covered in puke...
Liberal AND Proud @ 33:
What percentage of the population are still volunteering to go to Iraq?
apparently , with the fascist hysteria it must be close to 30%
listen to c-span call ins sometime these people are literally jumping out of their skins with fear ..
but there is no reasoning
Bush calls it a "fair & balanced" decision on the fact that ONLY FOX NOIZE agrees with him.
GO TO: WWW.IMPEACHBUSH.ORG
AND TAKE ACTION.
Bush "took care of" Scooter just like he "took care of" the reich wing supreme court that appointed him dictator by appointing 2 more unqualified reich wing ideologues to the court that can trump American democracy again by appointing another reich wing dictator in the future. And by giving to of the reich wing justices kids high paying government jobs as an added "high five" for their decision in Bush v Gore. The GOP "takes care of" their own kind at America's expense and demise.
FOUR MORE FEARS!
FOUR MORE FEARS!
FOUR MORE FEARS!!
Oh God, I almost listened to the whole clip. I began to fear that my brain would suffer irreversible damage if I listened all the way through. God my head hurts!
You are right Cowboy Bob. I just read 2 books on Bush and have 3 more coming. Bush was pissed at her husband and ordered the leak. When you cross Bush, he is out to ruin you. Her husband was speaking out about (negatively) the war.
Weaseldog @ 35:
what percentage of the population is still talking about "bring the troops home..." while we're building permanent bases in Iraq? -- what percentage of the population is completely ignorant about AIPAC and the power they have over our congressmen/electoral system?
Weaseldog @ 41:
This President should come with a warning label.
Liberal AND Proud @ 44:
controlled substance-in-chief?
[Deleted. Do NOT advocate violence on this site-Sitemonitor]
Can Busholini be brought up on charges of obstruction of justice? After all, he all but admitted that someone in the WH leaked the name of a COVERT agent which is still a felony as far as I know!
A drunk like boosh would fail a roadside sobriety test in balance.
That's George W. Bush's M.O.: No accountability--of course in this case that would mean Bush and Cheney being held accountable too--just move on. One would think that if Rove and Libby leaked the identity of a covert CIA agent without being directed by their bosses to do so, they'd be fired and prosecuted. But then again, if that were the case, and I certainly don't think that it is, who knows what Bush and Cheney would do, given their track record.
If a Democratic administration had blown the cover of a CIA agent, and for political motives, can you imagine the reaction? Somehow I don't think that chickenhawk talking heads like Sean Hannity would be ready to move on. They would, however, be ready to impeach; you can bet on that.
Wouldn't he just pardon himself?
Eamon, careful my friend.
hadenuf @ 50:
He should go CHENEY himself!
This is strange. Clearly Bush doesn't want to talk about Scooter because he'd have to serve up a bunch of whoppoing lies in order to do so. So, what's the problem? When has lying ever bothered W, and when have the WH Press Whores ever given a shit? Bush knows they'll just print the lies without comment.
Whatever.
Here's the ting with these pressers. Bush does so few that the reports present at each one have their own pet questions. The reports don't want to give up a pet question to press the president on another reporters question. The reporters don't want to go back 2 weeks and ask questions about past happening because this is their one chance this quarter to ask the president and push him (softly) about the MOST CURRENT TOPIC. These reporters are asking about the hot potato on the top of the heap only. The cooler one's wont guarantee a cover story because everyone there knows Bush will not give a straight answer anyway.
Face it, we're gonna have to wait for a deep throat or a true investigative reporter to really crack this open ;) Wait, it's open and out there what am I talking about.
Here's the gist of all this: Bush knows he all but got away with this. He's not going to be reelected. He knows a dem will win if said dem doesn't screw the pooch too much before Nov 08. He knows he'll never be brought to justice for this one thing so he's not going to push the issue nor will he give a straightforward and honest answer aside from "Shut the fuck up!!! Don't EVER ask that again you spineless reporter!!!"
libby lied
bush lied
cheney lied
rove lied
they ALL phukkking lied!!!
what's this goddamned parsing about: "complex recollection". you're kidding right?
Michael, I.......first off you really annoy me....and...and second, you did not bow before me before you asked this question of me.
“It’s run it’s course and now we are going to move on. Wendell.” …and on to the next question.
End of story.
Shut the fuck up.
And the press does.
If they don’t grow some balls soon, we will be in Iran, no questions asked, again.
I'm so tired of all this bullshit and insanity.
A couple years ago, I told my daughter to save herself and leave this country.
Darned if she's not going to New Zealand.
I'm tired of the press being marks for a "celebrity" They softball the junta about every topic. It doesn't matter to them if agents died when Brewster Jennings was rolled up
PS: it's time to start looking for hard cold criminal acts done by the president. Press you reps to find evidence of a crime!!! You cannot impeach and convict if there is no evidence of a crime. Press your reps to find a crime. Any crime. Bush has until the end of August before he loses ALL support (aside from the mindless true believers). He and/or his admin have broken the law in the past 6 years. The American public is warming up to impeachment hears. The I word is getting thrown around more and we are not hearing a massive uproar against it. Infact, we are seeing America move for said proceedings. Now is the time to find a crime. Press your reps please. Call them, write them (e-mail is the last choice btw) or visit their offices.
My 2 cents.
Wow. He thinks the decision he made was fair. What a hard-hitting revelation!
I'm surprised Bush even said that much, that perhaps someone in his administration leaked the name of "that person." What doesn't surprise me, though, is Bush's desire to move on and the mainstream media's lack of desire to hold his feet to the fire. Notice how Bush couldn't bring himself to say Valerie Plame, who was a dedicated public servant? That's a man who's either afraid to mention names or a man holding a grudge or both.
When I write to my rep--a dem in a safe district--he either does not respond, or responds to another topic.
It would be nice to see the Washington correspondents show a more combative nature, a little muckraking. An aggressiveness that might cause invitations to future political social events to be withheld. If the press doesn’t change, and continue with their cozy relationships, I hope the ghosts of H.L. Mencken and Edward R. Murrow haunt them in the wee hours of the night. And during the day Helen Thomas stalks them in the parking garage.
hadenuf @ 58:
Smart man. Get the passports and visas now. Before our borders are closed.
slowdown @ 60:
So the Pres needs to get caught engaging in oral sex?
"If the President does it, its not illegal." - Richard Milhouse Nixon.
If you want to get a handle on the criminal behavior of Bush, start by reading and comprehending 'The Constitution of the United States of America'. you'll learn a lot about law from that document.
Paddy @ 1:
Hope has two daughters
Their names are Anger and Courage.
Anger at the way things are and
Courage to see that they do not remain as they are.
- St. Augustine of Hippo
so many questions need to be asked but here's an easy one: press take note please, when you first learned of a leak, you stated that if you found it was someone in your administration, then they would be taken care of, or words to that effect. with your pardon or commuting of the sentence of scooter libby, is this what you meant when you said you would take care of them??? i wuold really be interested to see if the little dic-tator loses his cool when asked that question and i also would be very attentive as to his answer. why can't the press ask the obvious????
Frickin IMPEACH him already!!!!
ardee @ 69:
Call Alberto Gonzales. Write your Senator and Congressman! LOLOL!
No blowjobs, no impeachment.
Let's see, the MSM moved on almost before the verdict was in. But seven years later you can still hear the rumblings of Lewinskygate. No problem with consistency there.
What a great act! When Bush said "fair and balanced" I didn't notice the strings, or see Rupert Murdoch nearby throwing his voice.
First Tony Snow, and now Dubya.
The press corps are a pack of quislings...only one question about libby, NONE about frau blucher's non appearance, or his imposition of 'exectutive priviledge. He wasn't pinned about the war. There should be blood in the water. We are doomed to 18 months of this scumbag's unfettered disregard for the constitution.
>"I’m aware of the fact that perhaps somebody in the administration did disclose the name of that person, and I’ve often thought about what would have happened had that person come forth and said, I did it. Would we have had this, you know, endless hours of investigation and a lot of money being spent on this matter? But it’s been a tough issue for a lot of people in the White House, ...."
They played this quote by the little prick on dnow this morning ...
what is a word for something that is beyond unbelievable?
earl @ 75:
Indictable, impeachable, drunken ramblings (ok that's TWO words), reprehensible....
"Fair and balanced" is code. It means "fuck you". Its very likely they use it intentionally to enrage the left with the clear Fox news reference.
Sounds like Rove has hired Ailes to prep Busholini for his pressers.
(Excerpts from the transcript)
THE PRESIDENT:
"new operations"
"new strategy" (3 times)
"new room"
"new hall"
"new building"
"The new me" HUH?
"I'm happy to do it. This is not the new me. I mean, this is just an aberration. In other words -- ", he's sobering up and needs a drink.
Isn't this admission that a crime took place? And if so, why hasn't the person who committed that crime been brought forward? I'm curious. When W says "we're going to move forward", why doesn't anyone bring up the fact that the initial investigation stopped because Libby lied? If Bush knows and isn't talking, isn't he complicit?
raker @ 12:
Dick is waiting for Tony to get outta the chair so he can sit there... sorry Dana, you're cute but you're not one of the guys...
bubba @ 77:
You got that right!!
What's the big surprise here?? Unfair and Unbalanced Faux Noise has always gotten their talking points directly from the White house. They're attached at the hip.
Fair and balanced, my ass. I bet Bush wants to move on... to the next scandal to plague his corrupt administration. I'd like him to move on, too - right out of the White House.
For anyone who's interested, there's a promising segment on Bill Moyers' Journal tonight featuring Bruce Fein and John Nichols discussing impeachment. Here's a link with more info. http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07132007/profile.html
IMPEACH NOW!
for cryin' out loud.
Friday afternoon levity.
http://www.jibjab.com/view/125614
Widespread @ 5:
Which, afterall, makes for a much better allusion.
Whoopie-ti-yi-yo
Get along little dogies
It's your misfortune and none of my own
You know that Wyoming will be your next home.
Translated: "Shut up, young cattle. You're going to be slaughtered whether you like it or not, because I am the cowboy-in-chief"
Why did they bother to waste all that money refurbishing the press room at the WH?
The press corps demonstrates over and over again, save for a very few members, that they are not journalists in any sense of the word "journalist". They are simply stenographers, writing the pap they are fed by their master (bush in this case, snow in most others), or asking fake softball questions (as did the gay male prostitute, and oft-times secret overnight White House "guest" Jeff Gannon/Guckert).
It is time to realize that the cheney/bush administration owns virtually all aspects of the MSM - the cable channels as well as the big 3 networks. Only the likes of "The Comedy Network" and a few of the talking heads on cable provide true journalism anymore. I refer to Jon Stewart of TDS, Stephen Colbert of TCR, Michael Ware embedded in Iraq, Jack Cafferty of CNN, and most notably, to Keith Olberman of MSNBC's Hardball.
KO with his concise and dead-on Special Comments deserves the highest praise for being one of the most gifted of the cable people who speak "truth to power". He is a true patriot.
Colbert, who stunned bush and his handlers by telling the whole truth about the bush administration during the annual WH Correspondent's Association dinner in 2006, deserves high praise as well, for his comedy and his timely and surgical dissections of the hypocrisy.
Michael Ware, embedded for years in Iraq, and who often shows up on cable newcasts, is also an excellent source of the truth. Who should know better than one who is actually at the site of the actual carnage? His courage in the face of danger will become legendary as he likely faces danger from both the enemy and from those who would seek to silence the truth.
These are the real journalists in this country - not the hacks that occupy most of the chairs at the WH pressers.
The new room is simply a more comfortable place to take notes from the masters...
[...] Clark Link to Article george w bush Where was the Press on Libby commutation? Bush hearts FOX NEWS: “a [...]
How does one get a "fair & balanced" decision
From an "unfair & unbalanced" 'Decider'?
Gawd Bush is such a jerk. I saw it DAY ONE!
"A lot of money spent on this matter"....(unspoken) 'when we could have been spending it on Haliburtin or other aspects of my little trainwreck of a war'.....
Am I to take it, this supposedly constitutes the so-called liberal media holding Bush's feet to the fire over his mistakes???
Not fucking working Mikey... Not even close. Guess you better try something else.. Next bullshit video please... It is darkly humorous watching these little games play out between Chimpy and his 'presscorpse'... JD
i heard something on the associated press today day saying that congress
approval rating where lower than bush's. and the main reason is because the public
wants congress to quit going after the white house.
CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
now the white house is citing executive priviledge on pat tillmans records,
wonder why.....is it because karl used pat tillman for maximum gain and
the truth is too ugly?
pretty soon mexican truck drivers are going to be hitting the american road.
they were put there to bypass and weaken the long shore men and their unions.
as well as compete with the american truck driver. which of course will drive down their wages. this is going to be a process that will cause a lot of friction. i believe that
at that point you will see trucks being targeted much like you see earth furst at a hummer
dealership but spread out and organized by our redneck brothers. then you will see the military put into place (remember the R. congress suspended posse comitatus). we will probably see news reports about trrorists attacking trucks, they will probably blame it on the environmentalists. maybe the gov't will hire blackwater to protect the trucks. that way they siphon more tax money into a republican operation. an organization that specializes in the black arts of death and manipulation.
Yes, George... And we ask ourselves, "What if someone had been able to maneuver their way through your web of deciet about Iraq, ad naseum, and said to you, `you did it'; would we have spent four years and nearly a trillion dollars and nearly one million dead for your lies?"
Why doesn't one of these press corps imbeciles just take a pocket tape recorder, or an iPOD into the press room, play Bush's statement about firing whomever was responsible for the leak back to him, and then ask why Rove is still working for him? Confronted with his own words, he'll at least look like the hypocrite he is. Libby, Armitage, and Fleischer are all gone. Rove still works for him, despite transcripts from the grand jury proving that he leaked Plame's identity to Novak. Why do these idiots in the White House Press Corps EVER ask him ANYTHING ELSE?
Any individual who sees that clip and STILL supports Bush afterward is by definition PRO-CORRUPTION within government.
Bush simply does not answer the question. The reason is because he is NOT disappointed that people in his administration leaked the identity of a CIA agent. He is glad that nobody has to go to jail for this crime.
Oh my god. He is so transparently lying. I mean, obviously, from the context. But his body language alone ...
What is really scary about all of this not caring what the public thinks. Is that the administration and their war lords know that everything is going according to plan. They don't want the oil in Iraq, they just want to make sure no one else gets it. That way they can keep the prices high, no pesty Dictators flooding the market. Democracy is a joke if no one applies the rules when needed. Soon there will be another attack and Bush will take control and delay the elections. Martial law. Police state.That is why they all seem so "whatever" about all this "little people stuff" They are not afraid of anyone. And I don't just mean Bush and Cheney.
Limp-Dick Blimpaugh @ 83:
they're not joined at the hip-faux has a liplock on Bush's other parts.
[...] Dubya described his decision to commute Libby’s sentence as “fair and balanced,” just like the motto of his favorite news [...]
The attorney who launched the Lewis Libby investigation ALSO brought down Martha Stewart and used the FBI to do it both times.
Whats up with that?
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