Thursday, September 08, 2005
Accountability
By now, I assume everyone has heard about how Bush, McClellan and others in the administration are saying that it isn't the right time to "play the Blame Game". This post is the result of hearing Scott McClellan say that now is not the time to discuss failures and what went wrong.
I take exception to that and here's why.
He's the goddamn press secretary for the White House. His job is to hold a daily press conference and then, well, that's it. What else? He has the memorizing of the talking points - I forgot that part.
So while we probably shouldn't be all up in the grills of the first responders in NOLA, asking them what went wrong, because, you know, they have shit to do, maybe McClellan could spend some time thinking about this stuff and talking about it. He's not answering the questions not because it isn't the right time, he's not answering them because he doesn't want to. Duh. Obvious.
But it is the intellectual dishonesty and basic disrespect for both the press corps and the American people they represent that bugs me the most. It isn't like the press are taking up McClellan's valuable time and that McClellan will have his tie off even before he's outside of the briefing room on his way to board a helicopter to go flying rescue sorties. HE HAS NOTHING BETTER TO DO than sit around with the press and discuss, ad naseum, what went wrong. These two things (the blame game and the rescue/cleanup/relief) can be done simultaneous because they aren't being done by the same people.
So why should we put this off for later? Again, the reasons for that suggestion are obvious.
update (2:06pm) Media Matters for America
By now, I assume everyone has heard about how Bush, McClellan and others in the administration are saying that it isn't the right time to "play the Blame Game". This post is the result of hearing Scott McClellan say that now is not the time to discuss failures and what went wrong.
I take exception to that and here's why.
He's the goddamn press secretary for the White House. His job is to hold a daily press conference and then, well, that's it. What else? He has the memorizing of the talking points - I forgot that part.
So while we probably shouldn't be all up in the grills of the first responders in NOLA, asking them what went wrong, because, you know, they have shit to do, maybe McClellan could spend some time thinking about this stuff and talking about it. He's not answering the questions not because it isn't the right time, he's not answering them because he doesn't want to. Duh. Obvious.
But it is the intellectual dishonesty and basic disrespect for both the press corps and the American people they represent that bugs me the most. It isn't like the press are taking up McClellan's valuable time and that McClellan will have his tie off even before he's outside of the briefing room on his way to board a helicopter to go flying rescue sorties. HE HAS NOTHING BETTER TO DO than sit around with the press and discuss, ad naseum, what went wrong. These two things (the blame game and the rescue/cleanup/relief) can be done simultaneous because they aren't being done by the same people.
So why should we put this off for later? Again, the reasons for that suggestion are obvious.
update (2:06pm) Media Matters for America
Comments:
From Michael Feldman (outta my head, so my wording may be slightly off):
"Bush has said he doesn't want to point fingers, because he doesn't want to poke himself in the eye."
Exactly.
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"Bush has said he doesn't want to point fingers, because he doesn't want to poke himself in the eye."
Exactly.
