Hughes Is Varnishing the Nation's Tarnish

[Spazito]

The image of the United States has taken a beating over the past 10 days, as foreign television and newspapers show images of death, chaos and disease in New Orleans. Even lowly Bangladesh (per capita income: $400 a year) was moved to send $1 million in foreign aid.

But Karen Hughes has another view. The Bush confidante, now undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, held a meeting with her staff in Foggy Bottom yesterday and was asked about the international ramifications of the response to the New Orleans flooding. The problem, Hughes replied, was not a failed relief effort but a foreign press that did not appreciate the federal government's good work.

snip

One of her underlings rose to ask how this effort squared with the administration's famously tight control over its message. "Recently, we've had tremendous amount of difficulty in some cases getting clearance for our ambassadors to speak," he said.

Hughes replied that ambassadors are free to talk -- if they use the talking points she sends them. "If they make statements based on something I sent them," she said, "they're not going to be called on the carpet."

more

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/08/AR2005090801788.html

[Chef]

1. Buffing the Turd

n/m

[Boo Boo]

8. Heh. Beat me to it. I was going to say

"Polishing the nation's turd."

The Turd, of course, is George W. Bush.

[Turbineguy]

2. Painting over the rust

[nookiemonster]

3. This bitch is so deluded.

The press did it's job. Bias was not even a relavent factor.

It's just a bitch when you don't have a disaster you can exploit, huh Karen?

[Raster]

4. karen hughes: wetnurse to the beast. vile woman.

And a pathological and serial LIAR. Her folkly texiana-mama belies the fact she's a stone-cold sociopath. LIAR!

[pushycat]

5. WE PAY for that Varnish

Our tax dollars, paying a THING like Hughes to promote America's image. WTF - our image wasn't great, but better than before THEY got here.

[antonialee839]

6. Hell this is better than "The Price is Right". Who will be the next

right wing "moran" contestant to come on down? How many times must you shoot yourself in the foot before it dawns on you to remove the bullets?

[applegrove]

7. Apparently the whole world was screaming "you poor people, you

have to deal with the unwashed on the T.V. You people are angels. We send our love and money to you in the suburbs because we worry so much about you and all your have to put up with. Things were not "just so". "

[salin]

9. "America's problems can be solved with 'message discipline'"

Karen Hughes is an idiot. Reality, Karen, is not changed by words, it is changed by actions. This is why your boss is finally losing control - because the realities created by the actions touch too many people directly for them to be misdirected by the "message discipline" that coordinate.

[teryang]

10. The image of the former US has taken a beating for five years

It hasn't declined one bit. It hit rock bottom the day we invaded Iraq.