Karen Hughes: Ambassadors free to talk -- if they use her talking points!

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: Hughes Is Varnishing the Nation's Tarnish
By Dana Milbank
Friday, September 9, 2005; Page A02

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.

"There are a lot of things being said about us around the world that aren't true," said the woman in charge of polishing the American image abroad. "We've marshaled the resources of our federal government" to help fellow Americans, she said, and if people think otherwise, "we need to aggressively challenge that idea around the world."...

***

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."...

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

[Don Claybrook]

1. DOA

All Karen Hughes has is propaganda that no one believes anymore. Everyone on the planet knows it, and this is going to make Hughes look worse than Charlotte Beers.

Oh, Karen, it's time to borrow a move from George Bush Sr. and bail out on your crew. It's either that, or go down with them.

Have fun.

[Bob3]

2. the press is not covering all the good things in New Orleans

like the huge amounts of money we are going to give *'s cronies. Why aren't we happier?

Hey lady - not everything is a pr problem - sometimes things look bad to people because they are bad. Jesus if they spent half the energy they do on trying to spin coverage to fixing the problems they would accomplish miracles. But they are greedy swine (no offense to swine)

[kikiek]

3. This is so disturbing. They can only say what our govt oks? When is

someone going to liberate us?

[Spazito]

4. ROFL, Hughes still thinks there is a shred of credibility of anything

coming out of the White House! She thinks telling countries that SAW people drowned, starved, dying of thirst will be wiped away by press releases saying 'Don't believe what you saw, believe our lies!.


:rofl:

[fooj]

5. She does not represent my America.

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."...


Karen Hughes is a traitor. Karen Hughes is a traitor. Karen Hughes is a traitor. Those are MY talking points.

Peace.

[KharmaTrain]

6. More Fidling While New Orleans Sinks...The Frau Bluecher Show

What are these goons doing? Passing out medals and taking a victory lap again?

They're trying to divert and spin the news cycle...just playing this "ceremony" to keep the bad news off the screens and try to do some pandering and good ole fashioned spinning.

How many under secretaries get this kind of coverage or treatment. In fact, how many under secretaries in the Clinton administration can you remember? Here, the cameras are rolling and the backs are being pat and the parallel universe moves in its own myopic orbit.

Good thing is this game is not only wearing thin, but people are now really sick of it. They see the photo ops and the diversions, they know this regime will lie to protect its ass over theirs and they know they've been handed a steady stream of bullshit now for the past 5 years.

Oh shit, there's the "war on terriers" again. Yep...switch the subject. Ain't gonna work cause in less than an hour the coverage goes back to New Orleans and the real booosh ls played out.

[Spazito]

7. Kick

[bluedawg12]

8. Yea, but they are masters of language.

look at her statement:

Premise:
Things being said aren't--true.
BTW- said around the world as if in the US we were united.


Then, the counter punch. Never admit error. Fighting back.

Marshalled resources
Federal government
Aggressively challenge


In the age of TV media this sounds like the following sub-liminal message.

--Anti-Americans are at it again, attacking "us". The Federal government and the strong military are agrressively protecting Americans. And those that stand with us and not them need to agrressively stand up to this America bashing.--

I keep saying this gang, they are masters of language. Someone is writing very clever speeches, some smart people are picking and chosing words carefully and these speeches are well scripted and they do stay on message. We can learn from them. heh

[magellan]

9. Hubris. Foreign press won't stand for being "corrected" by the US.

But the freepers will tuck in to the daily spin as always and enjoy.