USNews: Bush has been telling friends he expected a public-relations lift from conditions in Iraq

[sabra]

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/politics/2008/12/15/bush-got-more-publicity-than-he-bargained-for-with-shoe-throwing-incident.html

<snip>

News reports used the incident to highlight the continuing resentments harbored by some Iraqis over the U.S. presence in their country. This interpretation crowded out information concerning the improved security and political situations there, which Bush had hoped to underscore with his visit.

As recently as September, Bush told friends that he expected to get a public-relations lift in the waning weeks of his presidency as the media focused on improved conditions in Iraq. Instead, the big news has been about the financial meltdown and the growing recession, and Bush has been blamed by many for the downturn. Iraq has been pushed off the nightly news and the front pages—until the shoe-throwing drew so much attention to an incident that marred Bush's trip.

In addition, White House reporters are worried that the Secret Service and the Bush press office will now impose even more restrictions on correspondents and photographers in an effort to prevent such an incident from happening again. The journalists argue that it was not an American who caused the fuss, so Americans should not have to live with increased security precautions.

The concern is fueled among journalists because the press office misled reporters—and the country—by issuing a false schedule for Bush on Sunday as a way of keeping his intended trip to Iraq a secret.

Oh well...

[nichomachus]

1. Well, he did get his name in all the papers and on TV

I guess you could call that some kind of PR victory.

Some famous people hire people just to make sure they get mentioned. They don't care whether it's good or bad.

I can't wait for the late night shows and Comedy Central to have a field day with this. Talk about having your material handed to you on a silver platter.

[Karenina]

2. BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!

:rofl::rofl::rofl: