Journalist to McClellan: "I'm not interested in what he recalls."

[laura888]

Just another snippet from a glorious white house press conference.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/02/20040210-3.html

[boobooday]

1. It's about time these reporters got surly with Snotty McClellan

What a little jerk. Couldn't ya just slap him?

But what a joy to see this administration facing some REAL questions.

Press corps, arise from your slumber! It's your asses going down with this bunch of creeps too!

http://www.wgoeshome.com

Jeanette

[Skittles]

3. GO KEITH !!!

We don't BELIEVE "what the president (sic) recalls" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Barrett808]

2. "No, no, no, no."

Delicious. Reminiscent of "Shut up. Shut up!"

[Sub Atomic]

4. hahahaha

Q You keep saying this is a shame, and you're talking partisan politics, but don't you think the American public, as well, particularly the U.S. military, who has been tested right now with the fact that they went to war on faulty intelligence, possibly, and now finding out that their Commander-in-Chief possibly tried to avoid going to the Vietnam War -- don't you think that the American public is owed a little bit more than photo copies that we can't see things of? Don't you think the military is owed a little bit more than just, "he served"?

[jpak]

5. my favorite too

:)

[laura888]

7. yeah! I'm framing that one!

the woman deserves a medal!

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

6. Haaaahaaaa haaa. This is pure gold:

"The President and the White House have taken umbrage at that, saying that's denigrating the National Guard. In 1994, the President told the Houston Chronicle, in relation to his joining the National Guard, "I was not prepared to shoot my eardrum out with a shotgun in order to get a deferment, nor was I willing to go to Canada, so I chose to better myself by learning how to fly airplanes." It sounds like the President, himself, acknowledged that he went into the National Guard because he didn't want to go to Vietnam."

I know the press still sucks but I'll give this guy some points for finding that and seemingly grow a pair.

[alfredo]

20. He wasn't thinking about serving the country, he went in because he

wanted to learn to fly airplanes. He did it for selfish reasons.

[doreme]

29. bush pilot

would you get in an airplane this doofus was flying?

[indy thinker]

36. we are

in a country this doofus is piloting

[Danieljay]

8. What do you make of this question?

am I missing something here?

Q Since there have been so many questions about what the President was doing over 30 years ago, what is it that he did after his honorable discharge from the National Guard? Did he make speeches alongside Jane Fonda, denouncing America's racist war in Vietnam? Did he testify before Congress that American troops committed war crimes in Vietnam? And did he throw somebody else's medals at the White House to protest a war America was still fighting? What was he doing after he was honorably discharged?

[Lex]

10. I think that this question

is supposed to illustrate for McClellan that the Repukes are making a deal out of what Kerry did with respect to the Vietnam years and apparently that's OKAY.

But when the press asks about what Shrub was doing with respect to the Vietnam years, that's "partisan politics" and how-dare-you.

[louis-t]

12. Ahhhh, yes, good call.

[Just Me]

14. Although I don't believe it was intended that way,...that is how it read!!

I think that was an extreme right-winger reporter whose mission was a miserable failure *LOL*!!!!

[Lex]

22. Ha! Since I didn't see

the actual press conference, that is the way I read it.

If that right-wing reporter was trying to show what a "good man" Smirk is, the question actually served to legitimize all the questions surrounding Smirk's Vietnam-era activities.

Kerry was a politically engaged young man who did his duty in Vietnam and then came home and loved his country enough to protest a senseless war.

Smirk was absent without permission from the Nat'l Guard, chasing skirts, possibly doing a diversion-program for being arrested for cocaine possession.

[calimary]

35. It was several things:

1) an attempt to steer the line of questioning AWAY from the AWOL scandal, a diversion tactic to muddy the focus. He was undoubtedly hoping the buzzphrase name Jane Fonda would unleash a torrent of questions about how much more patriotic bush obviously must be, than Kerry is. He could even have received marching orders from his editor to make sure he asked something pro-bush. After all, they all want the ego-stroke and glory boost that access to the White House offers. They don't dare want to be "Helen Thomas'ed" to the back of the room for asking impertinent, undesirable, unfavorable questions.

2) an attempt to get SOMETHING, ANYTHING to go with for his nightly news segment or whatever network insert he was there to put together, OTHER THAN what was coming out of this press conference, which was otherwise running completely negative about bush. If he hadn't asked such a loaded, leading question, he'd have no response even remotely on the offensive. Usually, reporters at these things are mindful of the need to deliver good, usable, newsy soundbites, which, of course, will form the centerpiece of whatever report they file for the later newscasts. It's ALWAYS preferable to use the question you yourself asked in your report. Besides, THESE days, you can bet your posterior that while YOU are at the news conference, the folks back in the newsroom (including your boss or supervisor) are watching, too, and watching for you to get your turn and expecting you to hit one out of the ballpark, or at least to 3rd base. ALL those reporters were, and are, in the hot seat, because they're all expected to deliver something. And who wants to build a big, huge, lead-the-newscast report on the response to some other reporter's question? In effect, all the reporters there were showboating - AS USUAL, not merely during this one particular news conference.

3) And yes, this reporter was OBVIOUSLY a right-winger with an axe to grind. Just the timbre of his voice as he "asked" the question, or rather, almost spat it out, and the expression on his face, left no doubt that he was an absolute, card-carrying partisan, and hardly an objective reporter. Hence my suspicion that he works for Pox News.

4) And yes, it was designed to try to spread the shit-spray around so some of it wound up on Kerry. Kerry was the OBVIOUS subject here. It was an attempt to plant doubt in people's minds about the exemplary service Kerry actually DID perform IN Vietnam, as opposed to hiding out in some nice, safe, cushy "champagne unit" back home. Because just the idea of all this automatically and subliminally reflects poorly on bush and well on Kerry by comparison. So he was trying to blunt some of that. Also deeply partisan. Almost makes me question whether he was simply a civilian mole from the republi-CON party, PLAYING a reporter so he could plant this soundbite in somebody else's overall coverage as sort of a two-fer: take the heat off bush and throw some mud on Kerry at the same time.

Nice try, but completely transparent. Next time, they should try to be a little less obvious.

[louis-t]

11. very strange, I had to read it several times...

I'm not sure where this person was going with it. maybe he thought he was talking to Kerry's press sec.!

[fizzana]

15. Apparently it was asked by a freeper who has been boasting

about it on Free Republic.

[grasswire]

27. that's a freeper

The guy's a freeper with WH press credentials. I had a whole thread about him earlier today. He's boasting over on freerepublic.com about how he throws in those zingers that make the other reporters "gasp." The freepers are talking about paying him to raise hell in the briefings.

[Chico Man]

28. Well I think it is going to backfire

He sounds like a complete idiot.

[Say_What]

39. 'a complete idiot' is the requirment for being a Freeper

;-)

[54anickel]

32. Must be with the Moonies, otherwise you'd THINK he'd be a bit concerned

about loosing his job!

[calimary]

33. It was some in-yer-face young-middle aged bald guy who seemed

as though he was simply there spoiling for a fight. Does he work for Pox News? I don't watch them often enough (I like my low blood pressure to remain low) to know their entire roster of "reporter/anchors." Who was this guy? Whoever he was, he was incredibly transparent - I instantly wondered who he was shilling for (who, in turn, shills for bush).

[PretzelWarrior]

37. no. he was in a drunken stupor for 10 years...

until he discovered cocaine whereupon he was in a constant state of fidgety behaviors punctuated by failed business deals, philandering, and being a typical jerk frat boy who had it all and wasted it knowing it would be handed to him again and again.

[louis-t]

9. I hope he brought a change of underwear..

MR. McCLELLAN: -- as we said. And as I said yesterday, everything that we had we released in 2004 -- I mean, 2000, at the time, or during the 2000 campaign. It might have been '99. MR. McCLELLAN: No, I said -- no, I said, no, in response to your question, Keith.

This is a man that is heading for a nervous breakdown. He was coached to NOT answer the questions while insisting he was answering and saying "let me make this clear". Not everyone can accomplish this as successfully as bush*, cheney et al. Guaranteed basket case by October.

[jackstraw45]

13. Play the "recalls" drinking game....

and be as drunk as the President enjoying a pretzel.

Thirteen "recalls" in less than an hour.

[justjones]

16. Tell Snot: Repeating the same line doesn't make it true.....

I counted 20 times the number of times Scott repeated the pResident, "fullfilled his duties," along with saying he "met his/the requirements," around 10. He sounded like a broken record. How someone didn't point out the payroll records just prove he got paid, it's no proof that he was actually THERE. In fact, it just might prove he got paid for nothing, which apparently is a Bush family work ethic in private industry, but fraud when it comes to the feds.

And this line was telling:

"I think there are some that we're now seeing are not interested in the facts. What they are interested in is trying to twist the facts for partisan political advantage in an election year."

Wow, was he describing himself and this administration? Except in this case, they are not trying to twist the facts for political advantage, but to save Bush's arse from those who want it on a stick.

[stilpist]

17. I'm so sorry that Ari isn't there anymore.

It would be especially sweet to watch that prick twist in the wind.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

25. He knew it was coming...that's why he bailed.

[AZCat]

30. Ari's last day was Jul 14, 2003, the same day...

That Bob Novak's article on Valerie Plame was printed!
Ari must have been smiling when he walked out that door!

[bobbieinok]

18. WAS THERE ONE TODAY????????????????

...

[stevedeshazer]

19. There's one almost every weekday

whitehouse.gov carries streaming video. Usually about 1:00-1:30 Eastern time.

[Robb]

21. Dingbat to McClellan:

"Time for Ronnies nap!" :eyes:

(On edit): For the kiddies, former President Reagan used the phrase "I don't recall" a record thirty-two times under oath. :)

[54anickel]

23. Sheesh, Scooter sounds like a broken record broken record broken

record.

[Snappy]

24. "Possibly'?

"now finding out that their Commander-in-Chief possibly tried to avoid going to the Vietnam War."

Dubya the Dunce said so himself. There 100% no doubt!!!

[revcarol]

26. Laughing hysterically right now...MALLOY

rerunning parts of the press conference!!

[Stephanie]

38. God this is hysterical! It's so BLATANT

Q Scott, so, for example, in January '73, the President served, according to this, on January 4th, January 5th, January 6th in either Texas or Alabama -- according to document five. Is that correct?

MR. McCLELLAN: You are paid for the days you serve. You have the documents right in front of you. These are documents straight from the Personnel --

Q Is that "yes"?

MR. McCLELLAN: -- straight from the Personnel Center in Colorado.

Q Is that "yes"?

MR. McCLELLAN: I said you are paid for the days in which you serve. And, again, we're talking about 30 years ago, Elisabeth. The President recalls serving in Alabama. He also recalls serving in Texas. That's what he recalls. And that's why --

Q But, again, -- I know you're going to bat this down, but there are people who --

MR. McCLELLAN: You know, there were a lot of people calling for these records to be released. We finally came across these records. They have been released, and these documents reflect the fact that the President met his requirements and fulfilled his duties.

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[Steven_S]

34. That was a good read..

But it's too bad that the press didn't have any of those documents with them. The one's that show "Not observed during this period"

They could ask why he was suspended from flight status.

Anybody got links to send them?