Hughes embarks on 'listening tour' to patch U.S. image

[SillyGoose]

By Barbara Slavin, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Karen Hughes, the State Department's top public relations envoy to the world, is embarking on her first overseas trip Saturday as the nation's image among Muslim nations continues to suffer.

Complicating an already difficult mission for the new undersecretary of State for public diplomacy and public affairs is Hurricane Katrina, which stranded thousands of black and poor Americans for days.

Hughes, a close adviser to President Bush known for her domestic political skills, started work at the State Department last month. She calls her trip a "listening tour" of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Alberto Fernandez, the top public diplomacy officer in the State Department's Middle East bureau, told a Washington conference last week that apart from thanking countries for donations and planning to send jazz bands overseas, the administration was "not quite there yet about what we want to say" to foreign audiences about the disaster.

more...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-09-22-hughes-listening-tour_x.htm?csp=15

*********

more like the Propoganda Tour if you ask me...

[hedda_foil]

1. This is hilarious!!!

Alberto Fernandez, the top public diplomacy officer in the State Department's Middle East bureau, told a Washington conference last week that apart from thanking countries for donations and planning to send jazz bands overseas, the administration was "not quite there yet about what we want to say" to foreign audiences about the disaster.

[Brundle_Fly]

44. the Brand - X presidency

They want to manage their image like exxon does after an oil spill, these corporate bozos have no clue that actions will speak larger than a pre-approved demographically tested ad campaign.

and yeah that's right I said "BOZOS!'

[Demit]

2. In one ear and out the other.

[warrens]

8. The appearing to listen tour

The bushies never hear or see anything that might indicate how vicious, thuggish, clueless, incompetent and avaricious they are.

I'll save you the airfare, Karen. They don't hate America, they hate you and your boss and his henchmen because nobody likes a fascist.

[NYC]

49. Likely, the OTHER people are supposed to listen.

Not likely Karen Hughes will be listening to them, or to anyone.

[Roland99]

11. The Vacuous Blond Tour

edit: I hate my keyboard.

[jsamuel]

3. Alt Title: Hughes seeks how to do more propoganda in other cultures

[tainowarrior]

4. jazz bands? JAZZ bands

that's the solution to the image problems!

I love jazz, but buddy, that ain't gonna cut it!

You don't nead to listen anymore, you know what the world wants.

End IRAQ, cut back your military bases, remove yourself from the Middle East, stop funding autocratic governments in the Mid East, stop funding Israel's occupation of the Palestinians, and adopt a foreign policy of respect to others.

[calimary]

15. Welcome to DU!

Your points are the same ones I'd make to her, also.

They don't want to hear your lipstick-on-pig shtick, Karen dear. Any more than they will remember the looting as the main image they'll take away from Hurricane Katrina. Any more than they'll be hating us because we flushed a couple of copies of the Koran down a prison torture toilet.

Karen dear - consider joining the REALITY-BASED community for a change. You know, the one that really IS, not the one that's the way you'd like it all to be.

BTW - I LOVE this:
the administration was "not quite there yet about what we want to say" to foreign audiences about the disaster.

They're heading out already, and they still aren't sure "what we want to say?" Um... she leaves Saturday. They better get crackin'.

[struggle4progress]

51. Thar's all them unemployed musicians from Nude Orleans. eom

[gratuitous]

5. Yeah, a "listening" tour, that's the ticket

Just nod and smile while all those brown-skinned people have their say. Hope they don't notice my iPod ear buds. No problem so big it can't be papered over with some more phoney feel-good meaningless gesture!

[pushycat]

9. She's not much of a listener from what I've seen - any interview

of her in my experience is where she does all the talking.
Her head could be made of cement for all the listening she does

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

6. catapult her to egypt, saudi arabia, and turkey

[MsLeopard]

7. Is she borrowing a page from Hillary's playbook?

I seem to remember Hillary embarking on a listening tour in NY state as she prepared to run for the Senate. Don't tell me the * administration has to once again rely on Clintonesque measures to try to prop up their pathetic image.

[jobycom]

17. Hillary wasn't hired to calm the anger and hatred of people her boss had

enraged. Hughes was.

[Dulcinea]

48. That was my first thought.

Much as they hate the Clintons, they're emulating them.

[kskiska]

56. They all laughed at Hillary's "listening tour"

What's changed?

[SoCalDem]

10. What a cushy job..

I would do it for a lot less money.. Just hand me a tape recorder, and some plane tickets..and some expense money..

Sounds a bit like a vacation.."Karen, just go on a long trip and "listen to the people"...then come back and tell me about your trip"...:puke:

[spotbird]

12. They think the international community is as easily

fooled as the American public.

[2Design]

13. go to saudi arabia and become a burka wife n/t

[Demeter]

14. A True Sign of Desperation

although whether the desperation has reached all levels of the BushCo regime is not yet clear. I don't think the House is desperate enough yet, nor the Senate: the House is quashing investigations and ignoring increasing cries for impeachment; the Senate is quashing investigations and confirming Roberts. Perhaps after 2006 this will change.

But other than Poppy, I think desperation permeates the Inner Circle. Peality is a bitch that will always win and can bite you even through your best armor, in which case, it's good to have some friends who owe you. I think Bush is running out of friends.

[jobycom]

16. I'm picturing those self-guided tape recorder tours of libraries.

"And if you look the left, you will see the Sphynx and the Great Pyramid. Directly over your right shoulder is a crowd of 100 thousand angry red faces saying nasty things in their language about your boss. Ignore them, step back into your limo so that we may visit Greece."

[Karla Marx]

18. Hey Karen--listen to this:

Go Cheney Yourself.

[Z_I_Peevey]

19. Perhaps she can swing a deal with the Saudis

to let the whole sorry bunch of them live in exile there.

Hey Karen, it beats prison!

[tanyev]

20. Karen, listen closely.

George Bush has had a great fall. All the king's horses and and all the king's men (and women, most especially you) will never, ever be able to put Georgie together again.

[Beausoir]

21. Crank up the First Amendment Zones worldwide.

BigFoot is on the move.

I doubt she'll stop flapping her fat mouth for one second.

SHE is what is wrong with this country.

[maddezmom]

22. kick

[sabra]

23. (Karen) Hughes launches US image makeover among Muslims

http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=N23668378

Hughes launches US image makeover among Muslims

WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Karen Hughes, a powerful confidante of President George W. Bush who has long helped shape his words and message, heads to the Middle East on Saturday as part of a new campaign to make over the U.S. image in the Muslim world.

On the eve of her first trip abroad as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, Hughes said she did not expect quick results and considered the job a long-term challenge. Some skeptics call it mission impossible.

"I'm not naive," Hughes said in an interview with Reuters. "I know a lot of people that we're going to be visiting with disagree with us and certain of our policies."

The former Bush political adviser and communications guru heads for Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey on what she called a "listening" tour, a popular way for U.S. politicians to kick off election campaigns. She will meet with government officials, but also students, academics, religious leaders and ordinary people. She has no formal speeches planned.

[BlueJac]

24. We could only wish they will hold her hostage!

Until we pull our troops out!

[newscott]

25. Let me guess

She'll be speaking to rich/business type muslims whose views are miraculously in line with Bushies.

[Darth_Kitten]

42. And only males.....

doubt that any ordinary citizens she will speak to in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere will be women.

:sarcasm:

[supernova]

26. Good God! We are soooo screwed!

:scared:

Karen is the worst possible person in the world to do this job. It will take generations to repair what that bitch is going to foist upon the world about us. x( :grr: x( :grr:

:nuke:

[etherealtruth]

39. Yes.

She is uniquely capable of making a horrific situation worse. :cry:

[realFedUp]

27. makeovers....

I think sending the Queer Eye guys would have been
more effective.

[tanyev]

28. "I'm not naive, I'm dangerously delusional."

[salin]

30. me thinks the High Priestess of Propoganda

has placed overstock in the belief that mere "marketing" will change a darn thing. Dangerously delusional, indeed.

[PassingFair]

47. Why the hell not? It worked HERE.

It's very likely to work in those 3 countries....
I'd like to see footage of her "listening tour" in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon........

[LeinesRed]

29. "powerful confidante" ??????

what in the hell does that mean?

[punpirate]

31. It means she's tucked Bush in bed each night of...

... his political career, wiped the drool off his chin, and spit on all his skinned knees (metaphorically, of course :) ).

Less facetiously, it means she lies more convincingly than does Dubya and will say just what he wants her to.

[Tatiana]

54. That was my question too.

What makes her so powerful? I can't think of a damn positive thing that she has done in her career for this country.

[2Design]

32. wearing a burka yet ??????? n/t

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

33. somehow the thread title made me imagine

her taking beauty products over there, trying to show Muslims how to "look good".

[AlGore-08.com]

34. Just when you thought it was safe to stop worrying about the Apocalypse

Are they still planning to launch a bubble gum muzak station all about how totally cool Western culture is? Their stupid ideas come so fast and furious it's hard to keep track of them.

Sometime ya just gotta say :wtf:

[Akoto]

35. AKA "Operation: Drop Propaganda Pamphlets on Muslims"

[Puglover]

36. Yeah...that's just what the USA needs...

sending that lying cow to be our liason to the Middle East.

Apologies to cows. No offense intended.

:eyes:

[Zodiak]

37. So which attempt is this? The fifth, sixth? n/t

[Turbineguy]

38. Another jihadist recruiting drive

these natural disasters are hurting Bush's poll numbers.

Rove probably thinks we need a botched up terror attack where all the evildoers are caught.

[stepnw1f]

40. Could They Be Any Closer to the Nazis of WWII?

What frightening lot. Thank God they are going down.

[VegasWolf]

41. She smiles and offers false platitudes while occupation forces gun down

their children. This is really gonna work.

:crazy:

[JNelson6563]

43. Free bacon for everyone!

Wouldn't surprise me considering the complete ignorance and disregard for other customs besides that of Rethug WASPs.

[NYC]

50. Bacon and bibles.

During the Iran Contra arms for hostages deal, Oliver North took a chocolate cake and a bible to Iran during Ramadan.

[Lindacooks]

45. This is, literally, putting lipstick on a pig.

[onager]

46. Remember a great example of Hughes' creative talents...

She wrote those "comedy" monologues for the Tequila Twins at the 04 Repub convention.

According to some sites that may or may know the score, Hughes insisted on doing the writing even though the Convention planners wanted to use a professional comedy writer. After all, she "wrote" that best-selling bio of $hrub back in 2000...cough...

That's why the comedy was about as funny as a rubber crutch. And also why it managed to piss off even conservative Repubs with the "attacks" on Grandma Medusa and the rest of the Bush Klan.

Yeah, this should work out REALLY great...

:sarcasm:

[Fire Walk With Me]

52. Doesn't she know you're either with us or against us?

Only Sith speak in absolutes.

[antonialee839]

53. Just one more unqualified Bush-bot set upon an

unsuspecting public.

[sakabatou]

55. The US image will probably never be repaired

[tinfoilinfor2005]

57. Maybe she'll bring nylons and chocolates...

or bright shiny beads...:)

[Solly Mack]

58. This should be interesting - if the truth is reported about how

the "tour" actually goes


I can't see her being all that welcomed - especially her lies.

[spanone]

59. She's too fucking stupid to know she's part of the problem.