Bush: Didn't Sign Off On It (Newsday) *Oh, Please*

[WillyT]

<snip>

Two Navy officials confirmed Bush's account, saying the banner was hung after someone on board had come up with it to commemorate the carrier's long 9 1/2-month deployment. But one said a White House advance team approved having the banner behind Bush.

"The White House gave them permission," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "They said, 'Hey, we want to put this up there,' and those guys didn't have any problem."

White House spokesman Scott McClellan confirmed the advance team gave permission, adding that the White House approved the banner and arranged for it to be made. "The idea of a banner was something suggested by those on ship," he said. "They asked if the production was something we could take care of, and we did. And the crew put it up."

<snip>

Link: http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-ussign293515712oct29,0,193304.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines

Nice Try, Assholes!!!

:puke:

[0007]

1. Tawana Brawley case has more credibility!

This story will stay in the lime light longer than Tawana's.

Now if junior would only rub goat poo poo all over his body it would be perfect.

[Gman]

8. LOL!

Made me spit my coffee!

[CO Liberal]

49. OJ Simpson Has More Credibility Than The Bush Administration

:-)

[Bob3]

2. Pull the other one.

N/t

[remfan]

3. If the White House approved it, then they SIGNED off on it

and further more, if they "arranged" for it to be made then they MORE than signed off on it, they actively participated in the FRAUD.

This from the administration that used a fucking PAINTED backdrop of BOXES...

[Wickerman]

26. Great Point

Needs to be repeated. They participated. Its that constant shifting of responsibility of this Party of Responsibility that just irks the hell out of me.

[loudnclear]

28. Just think what the whore media would be saying if this were Clinton.

It just blows my mind how they can twist and contort and spin and lie where Bush is concerned. Don't they know that they are not supporting humanity by supporting Bush?

[shockingelk]

4. coincidence?

http://www.airforcetimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2346349.php

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

7. It even looks like the same typeface is used in both. n/t

n/t

[jokerman93]

31. The stars and stripes banner graphic

appears to be the signature logo style for the WH website as well. I'd say that U.S.S. Lincoln banner message was printed up with as close to a White House brand label as you can get!

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

[alphafemale]

20. Yeah. Those came from the same print order I'd say n/t

[DoYouEverWonder]

5. That's not what they told the WP

on May 4th, 2003.


Washington Post

[City Lights]

6. That's not what they told the NYTimes either.

<snip>

The most elaborate — and criticized — White House event so far was Mr. Bush's speech aboard the Abraham Lincoln announcing the end of major combat in Iraq. White House officials say that a variety of people, including the president, came up with the idea, and that Mr. Sforza embedded himself on the carrier to make preparations days before Mr. Bush's landing in a flight suit and his early evening speech.

Media strategists noted afterward that Mr. Sforza and his aides had choreographed every aspect of the event, even down to the members of the Lincoln crew arrayed in coordinated shirt colors over Mr. Bush's right shoulder and the "Mission Accomplished" banner placed to perfectly capture the president and the celebratory two words in a single shot. The speech was specifically timed for what image makers call "magic hour light," which cast a golden glow on Mr. Bush.

<snip>

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/05/16/nyt.bumiller/

[burythehatchet]

10. Ahhh - how nice to reminisce

I find myself enjoying the task of looking back to what journals said prior to the war and seeing who was right.

[kskiska]

21. The WaPo article admits the W.H. chose the slogan

Aides say the slogan was chosen in part to mark a presidential turn toward domestic affairs as his campaign for reelection approaches.

[Stephanie]

35. Excerpt from above

Plus, Dan Bartlett tested out this lie in September:

http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/03/09/27_mission.html
'Mission accomplished': Bush brag or Demo fib?
U.S. News- Washington Whispers ^ | 09/29/03 | Paul Bedard

<snip>After weeks of Democratic assaults that President Bush was a nitwit for declaring "mission accomplished" in Iraq during his May 1 landing and victory speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln, the White House is bidding to set the story straight. The issue should be a simple one: Bush never uttered those words. "The president," argues communications boss Dan Bartlett, "said exactly the opposite: The mission continues." But Bush stood under a banner declaring "mission accomplished." Why? Bartlett says that the Lincoln's captain had the banner made up to thank his crew for the longest-ever carrier tour, not to declare the war over. "It is something the troops are really proud of," says Bartlett. "Of course they can hang the banner." But the picture was all the Demos needed. "On TV," he says, "they never play the bite of the president, they just show the image with the banner." Democratic polls show that the public buys their spin, which doesn't really surprise Bartlett. "Look, perception becomes reality," he says. "But the facts don't back it up."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A10976-2003May3¬Found=true

An Unfinished Mission
Sunday, May 4, 2003; Page B06

<snip>Still, it's also impossible to agree with the banner that was draped near Mr. Bush on the carrier deck, proclaiming "Mission Accomplished." Aides say the slogan was chosen in part to mark a presidential turn toward domestic affairs as his campaign for reelection approaches. But neither Mr. Bush nor the American public can afford to put Iraq on the back burner. There is much to be done; the greatest tests and risks still lie in the future. Perhaps Mr. Bush understands that reality; yet his reluctance to fully explain it to Americans or to work for the support he will need is troubling.

[ClintonTyree]

9. They've been caught lying again.........

but little or nothing will come of it. This is the "responsibility" administration, remember? Nothing is ever their fault. They're never wrong. They're assholes.

[bleedingheart]

11. "The buck stops here" isn't a phrase GOPers understand

this makes him look really bad...these complicated deflections of blame are making them look more disorganized than the keystone cops.

[Robb]

12. They ran with it at Faux News last night...

I dunno. They looked worried; and their panelists' defense of the speech was sketchy, I suspect it even came off that way to their typical viewer.

Now this... the big one here is the WH "arranged to have it made". No one's gonna swallow this.

(plus 10 points to Wes Clark for the "prance around in a flight suit" comment!)

[bleedingheart]

14. I didn't hear about "prance" comment...hahahaha

that's a good one.

[VolcanoJen]

44. The "prance" comment is priceless!!!!!

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/2589225/detail.html

"I think it is outrageous. He blamed the sailors for that and it is something -- an event -- that his advance team staged. I guess that next thing we are going to hear is that the sailors told him to wear the flight suit and prance around on the aircraft carrier. This is a president who does not want to take accountability," said Clark.

[sandnsea]

43. There is no buck

There has to be a Bush economy/credibility joke in here somewhere, damned if I can muster enough humor to find it.

Anybody else want to try?

[0rganism]

45. By the time the buck stops with bush, it's not worth a nickel

Yeah, I know what you mean. There's something lurking in there, a meme waiting to be developed. Keep wacking that pinata, eventually the candy will drop.

[jokerman93]

50. How can the buck stop at Bush

when he's passing them all along to Hallibuton?

[HPLeft]

13. They really do think...

...that the American people are as stupid as we think Bush is.

Funny, but that sign certainly appeared to match the message that the President spoke about that evening. Was that some kind of coincidence?

[bif]

15. More twists than Chubby Checkers!

Unbelievable.

[number six]

16. You can't just go around sticking signs behind Bush

without strict authorisation and approval. If the sign had said "He's a real moron, folks" do you think it would have been there?

[kentuck]

17. Didn't you notice the little 'Made in China" sign covered in the corner?

Just like with the boxes production...

[nostamj]

18. GRAPHIC proof

here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=606903&mesg_id=606903

also featured in Buzzflash's banner article today!

[bushisanidiot]

19. Funny How This Is Only Coming Out Now, AFTER AWOL Slipped

and made up his lie on the spot. Everyone now has to scurry to cover his lame ass..

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

[Wickerman]

27. yep

beat we don't have another news conference where he answers questions again. I can't wait to see whichever Dem beat the crap out of him the debates.

[truthisfreedom]

22. let it be. everyone that matters can see the truth of it...same font,

same background...

f*ck the liars.

f*cking as*hole liars.

let them all rot in hell for what they've done.

[demgrrrll]

23. Someone upthread made the point that nothing would have been done

without approval. Someone had to order the banner and with all the contracting and bidding that goes on for projects they would have had to have made the decision weeks before he set his smarmy behind on the deck of that ship. This wasn't some run to Kinko's project.
I'd like to know what date the banner was ordered, how much all these backdrops are costing the American taxpayer and if the group that does all his scenery are major contributors to his campaign efforts.
I'd bet big money that they are.

[demgrrrll]

24. O.K. I was able to find out that they have stated that they are working

within a 3.7 million dollar budget which is appropriated by congress for travel and events. The person who provided the lighting around the statue of liberty told the reporter that they do not divulge the cost of services, so the Bushies are probably able to skate on the particulars of each event. I can't stand them. I just can't stand them.

[neuvocat]

25. What next?

Bush will probably say he wasn't the one who landed the plane on that carrier strictly for a photo op.

[yellowcanine]

39. and the bulge in the crotch

of the flight suit wasn't his manhood - that really was a potato.

[0rganism]

46. Do you suppose the potato asked to be there?

Shades of the airport scene in "This Is Spinal Tap"...

(Derek Smalls sets off a metal detector at the airport. Airport Security Officer, a black lady, runs a handheld metal detector over him, which seems to go crazy around his crotch)
Airport Security Officer: Do you have any artificial plates or limbs?
Derek Smalls: Er, not really. No...

watch the infamous Airport Scene

[MUAD_DIB]

29. What utter and unbelievable BS!

Whenever the Chimp speaks to the press at one of his photo ops he always has a damn backdrop proclaiming how good things are.

"Jobs, growth, jobs" -or- "Made in USA" etc., etc., are always plastered behind this idiot to hypnotize the masses.

Are we supposed to believe that this * admin planned stunt aboard the Lincoln would allow anything to be unscripted to such an extent?

Considering that the message is everything and fact is buried in this administration I would have to believe that the chimp approved of this little backdrop ahead of time.

This admin has all been carefully crafted horseshit: from the sock in chimpy's flight suit crotch to his spectacular backdrops to his pronouncements of "bring 'em on" etc.


Quite a lying sack of shit this country has for a president. Wouldn't you agree Freep's?

[WillyT]

33. Didn't They Have To Turn The Ship So You Couldn't See...

the San Diego skyline in the background. Ya know, made it seem like a long ardous and dangerous flight for our imposter-in-chief. Bet that was the sailor's idea as well. NOT!!!

UberAssholes, the whole damn administration\party!!!

:puke:

[Stephanie]

37. Yes, they finally admitted that the ship was so close to San Diego

they had to slow down and point the cameras the other way:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A22502-2003May6?language=printer

Explanation for Bush's Carrier Landing Altered
By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 7, 2003; Page A20

President Bush chose to make a jet landing on an aircraft carrier last week even after he was told he could easily reach the ship by helicopter, the White House said yesterday, changing the explanation it gave for Bush's "Top Gun" style event.

Bush's televised landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln, for which the president wore a flight suit and a helmet and took underwater survival training in the White House swimming pool, was the dramatic start to a visit to the carrier that included an air show and a televised speech to the nation. In his address, the president declared victory in Iraq in front of cheering sailors and a banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished."

White House officials had said, both before and after Bush's landing in a Navy S-3B Viking jet, that he took the plane solely to avoid inconveniencing the sailors, who were returning home after a deployment of nearly 10 months. The officials said that Bush decided not to wait until the ship was in helicopter range to avoid delaying the troops' homecoming.

But instead of the carrier being hundreds of miles offshore, as aides had said it would be, the Lincoln was only about 30 miles from the coast when Bush made his "tail-hook" landing, in which the jet was stopped by cables on deck. Navy officers slowed and turned the ship when land became visible.

<snip>

Citing Fleischer's revised explanation, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) wrote to the General Accounting Office to ask for a "full accounting" of the cost of the trip.

After Fleischer's remarks, Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) delivered an impassioned speech on the Senate floor, saying he was "deeply troubled" by Bush's actions, which he called "flamboyant showmanship." The octogenarian lawmaker criticized the White House for using the carrier "as an advertising backdrop" and the military "as stage props" for Bush's speech.

[bigwoody]

30. What if the banner had said "Chimps Rule"? Would they have left it up?

[julka]

38. the swabs actually had one up, but Sforza made them take it down

thanks to somebody at GD

[Lisa]

32. oh, so now he's blaming the sailors ...

How classy. And that nice little backhand to his own people (the ones who are supposed to be loyal to him or they get dumped like David Frum) is such a perfect Dubya touch.

Whatever happened to that "responsibility" thing that he's always lecturing the American people about?

[WillyT]

34. Last Self-Bumpage !!!

:hi:

[pinkpops]

36. The irony is

What was intended to be a Republican campaign commercial might very well become a Democratic one.

[Dr Fate]

40. Why does the US NAVY need the White house to make banners???

Dont they contract people out, or do that themselves??? Bizzare- why would the Navy bother the Whitehouse w/ somthing like this???

[truthisfreedom]

41. because otherwise how would the font and color match all of the other

banners bushboy has been standing in front of to stay "on message?"

the transparency of this is so laughable... i love it! every time they are forced to backpedal and explain and justify and spin, it makes me laugh. we've got this administration so busy covering their asses that we've finally slowed the treacherous destruction of our country a little.

[Evanstondem]

42. Plus it had to be just the right size for the TV cameras

It's unfortunate that other bad news is diverting some attention away from Bush's disgraceful buck-passing.

[Lisa]

48. It would have looked much better if the sailors had painted it ...

I mean, it would have been evident that they themselves were declaring an end to their part of the war.

But Bush just had to crash the party and sop up some glory for himself ... and imply that this was the "big picture".

Now he's trying to weasel out of it. Hah!

[dusty64]

47. And another repig lie

covered up by the media. Did this story ever make it to the network news or anyone's local newspaper?