The media will decide if the Attorney scandal brings down the Bushies.

[Jackpine Radical]

The mechanisms available for Congress to enforce subpoenas are dubious. The power of the DOJ to stonewall is enormous. The stacking of the Supreme Court is nearly complete. Only a massive, MASSIVE public outcry can break the grip of the tyrants on the throat of the nation. That outcry will only happen if the media decide they want it to happen. And the media will whip up the frenzy of the masses only if they get the orders to do so. Therefore, the answer to the question of whether or not we are done with Bush resides with the owners of the media--i.e., the owners of the nation: Disney, GE, etc.

We should know their decision by the end of the week.

[chefgirl]

1. Maybe I've finally given up hope

I'm guessing we know the answer already.

-chef-

[stillcool]

2. who knows what the masters will do?

cover-up investigations, hearings etc., are one of their most effective modes of operating in such climates.

[wiggs]

3. No. As you well know, we reached the crossroads long ago. We are not

at a decision point right now, no more so than as if one can decide to turn left after driving off the cliff.

That's true at least with respect to the media, which have shown their true colors repeatedly and clearly. In any healthy society, these guys would have been dust long ago. They are not....so we are not.

This is a serious situation, arrived at intentionally over the course of decades and at tremendous cost. They, including the giants that own media, won't be changing their minds soon.

I think there is some hope, but it doesn't have anything to do with the media. In fact, the solution has to be media-proof.

[alcibiades_mystery]

4. And so how, I wonder, did Bush's ratings ever slip in the first place

Did the so-called masters "allow" that?

These "dumb masses - smart masters" theories are so stupid that I think the posters are dumber than even the masses they imagine. The masses are smarter than you. For real.

[blm]

6. I disagree with you - corpmedia had 3 unspinnable stories in a row with Bush in 2005 -

His plan to privatize Social Security - media tried to spin it for him, but couldn't do it in a way that fooled the people.

Terry Schiavo - it was clearly a case of family privacy that govt. had no business in, let alone calling back all of DC from vacation.

Katrina - an unspinnable event that corpmedia had no way to spin favorably for Bush and his administration.

[LaPera]

5. What smokescreens does Rove have planned, Anna Nicloe didn't do it, nor the high gas prices

usually this is the way Rove kills BushCo scandals until they die off with some bullshit smokescreen stories.

[Jacobin]

7. Right now the media is acting only as a safety valve for

the limited public outcry in the country.

They are mentioning the issues, but not confronting what lies beneath....the Lam firing to try to stop Cunningham investigations, etc.

They are being very vague and somewhat dismissive of congress. Today's MSNBC headline even states that "Congress defies Bush's offer" instead of what is really happening which is Bush is defying Congress' subpoena.

Its being carefully played, letting out just a bit of the goop to the non-watching public, but skillfully spinning what's going on to make it look like Bush's people just made bad PR decisions and this is a tempest in a teapot.

At bottom you are right. One hope is that the bloggers and independent media can embarrass the corporate media into actually reporting what is going on....as Josh Marshall has done so beautifully in the last couple of years.