Can't Buy Me Luh Huv... Strike That.
Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has been dropping hundies on Arab journalists in Iraq in the run-up to the rushed elections there.
Giving gifts to journalists is common in many of the Middle East's authoritarian regimes, although reporters at the conference said the practice was not yet widespread in postwar Iraq.
As the Financial Times article notes, keeping reporters in bling in exchange for pro-government stories was also a common practice of Iraq's former leader.
I guess paying off journalists is what you do when the truth is not really on your side.
It is also the practice of the President of the United States.
posted by Abe at 1/11/2005 09:56:00 AM
18 Comments:
Clever.
I guess Bush should have dropped a hundie on Dan Blather? No- Danny boy SHOULD be out of a job since he's a liar! No political agenda powering "Rathergate"? Don't make me howl!!!!!!!!!!
Couldn't have said it better myself! Danny boy is about as objective as Rudy is.
Right. Bush secretly pays a quarter million to a journalist to speak favorably about a failed Bush Administration program and the problem with that is - - - you guessed it: Dan Rather.
Oh, right, I forgot Dan Rather is an elected official. He's a journalist, a mouthpiece, and for some, a codpiece. He's nothing.
Really, this whole so-called media bias thing is growing tiresome. The sad thing about this is that at the end of the day you and I can just turn Dan Rather and CBS off, but G.W.B. and his legacy, or lack thereof, will affect us for years to come.
Name for me the law that was broken by this action. You might not like it, but it wasn't illegal. It wasn't lying like Blather did.
Thanks, further evidence that Americans' standard for their president is devolving.
Yes, I forgot what high standards Bill Clinton brought to the oval office! That's why they had to clean the carpets after he left. Of course the carpets are one of the few things he and Hilly didn't try to take with them when they left.
Bill Clinton's infidelity has what to do with the conversation of government/media relations? It's interesting how often parties rely on the "oh, yeah, but you did such and such ten years ago" defense.
An argument to spin the Williams issue goes something like this: Armstrong Williams was a paid media advisor to the President. This has occurred throughout political history. Williams also was simply advertising for the campaign in a sense. After all, he was required, as the article shows, to abide by time limits and content requirements. There is simply nothing wrong with this, but I agree that the President should have been more careful. But the typical Republican, reflecting their President's sophistication and ability to debate politics, points to Dan Rather. WHAT THE EFF?? Was Dan Rather paid? We are talking about Bush and THIS scandal, debate this issue(I helped you get started above), don't throw up smoke and mirrors because I am not fooled, fool. Your methods are neither intelligent nor worthy of taking up space on 2GL. You will surely gain my respect if you stick to the approach I outlined above......now try a little harder.....
I can't say I find the whole Bush/Williams thing to be totally on the up and up, but I have to agree that no law was broken. I do find it laughable that you guys try to question the ethics of what Bush did and claim that Bush supporters are lowering the standards expected of a President while saying no reference to Clinton can be made. If you're going to castigate conservatives and suggest that they are lowering standards then be prepared to defend your blind support of Clinton. I know. Next you will say that Billy only had sex (oh, but was it really sex?) in office and it doesn't compare. I really don't care who Bill was doing. I'm not too happy that he did it in the oval office, but that's a small point. I have a much bigger problem with Billy giving nuclear and missile technology to the Chinese. Remember Loral Corp? Remember the extremely illegal campaign contrubutions? That was much worse than any promotion of a program to test our school kids and track their progress.
Tell me why you think that program has been a failure. Tell me why it was wrong to use Armstrong Williams to sell the Black community on it. I won't argue that the way the whole thing was set up looked bad. If Williams was a believer in the program, he should have promoted it free.
This wasn't campaign money, 3GL. It was your tax money. A quarter million bucks of it. Do we really give our money to the government so it can fire propaganda down our throats about how great it is doing?
This is what the Bush Administration is spending our money on.
A question to ask is, how many other reporters has the Administration paid off?
The fact that it was tax money is insulting to me. The fact that all Americans, Republican and Democrat alike, are not upset amazes me. The fact that the "liberal media" covered the story for maybe one good day makes me want to strangle someone. The ruling class has our number..........and Rocky you should reconsider your position, you should expect more from your party. Do you stand for principle my friend?
P.S. To extinguish your future arguments: I was also insulted by Clinton's sex in the oval office and adulterous acts.
I already said that I don't think it looks too good. Unfortunately, it's not the first time tax money has been used to "sell" the public on an idea or a program. If you do a little research, I have no doubt you'd find that BOTH Democrat and Republican administrations have done virtually the same thing over the years. PBS has been promoting liberal ideas for decades. NPR also. Your tax dollars "at work". And no, I don't like it no matter who does it. Just don't run around calling it a scandal when it has been done for years. Don't like it? Write your congressperson! I have already.
Nobody answered my question on why NCLB is a failure...OTHER THAN LACK OF FUNDING.
Lack of funding is a major flaw to any government program. Can't imagine any military program getting too far off the ground WITHOUT FUNDING.
What do they say the road to hell is paved with?
For the record, NPR, PBS is not liberal propoganda. Its what you call truth in news reporting. Just because it does not spin to the right like fox does not mean its biased. Nice try balboa, try again
NPR and PBS not liberal? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
You should get a job as a comic.
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