The erosion of White House/media relations

[Guest SavageRulz]

Another White House Briefing, Another Day of Mutual Mistrust

 

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE

 

February 27, 2006

 

Mike McCurry, who was President Bill Clinton's press secretary a decade ago, is kicking himself to this day for ever allowing the White House briefings to be televised live.

 

"It was a huge error on my part," Mr. McCurry recalled the other day after watching a relentless White House press corps badger Scott McClellan, the current White House press secretary, about a hunting accident in which Vice President Dick Cheney shot a friend, Harry M. Whittington, and delayed telling the news media about it. "It has turned into a theater of the absurd."

 

The live briefings, held almost daily, do serve a purpose for both sides. They give the White House an everyday entree into the news cycle and let officials speak directly to the public. And they give reporters the chance to hold officials accountable and on the record (and help reporters get time on camera).

 

By its nature, the relationship between the White House and the press has historically held an inherent tension. And many say it has been eroding since the Vietnam War and Watergate, when reporters had reason to distrust everything the White House said and made a scandalous "gate" out of every murky act.

 

But today, those on both sides say, the relationship has deteriorated further, exacerbated by the live briefings.

 

"It's constantly getting worse," said Ari Fleischer, who preceded Mr. McClellan as Mr. Bush's spokesman. Perhaps surprisingly for a Bush defender, he attributed the soured relationship in part to what he said was a secretiveness within the White House.

 

"It's accented and compounded now because this administration is more secretive," he said.

 

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Exactly. This administration does not lie to the press any more or any less than previous administrations, they simply refuse to give information. That kind of act is blood in the water for the sharks in the media.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

And yet they probably wonder why Bush's approval ratings hover around 34% currently.

[Art Sandusky 0]

This cuts to what's the most maddening thing about the President and virtually any cabinet members, that being the bubble in which they seemingly live, where nothing gets in or goes out at all without incredible pressure from not only the press, but their own party these days.

[Guest SavageRulz]

And yet they probably wonder why Bush's approval ratings hover around 34% currently.

 

Oh? From that slanted CBS polled which over-sampled Dems?

[Art Sandusky 0]

34% is a bit low, it's more like 38 or 39%. Not like that's a massive difference, but still.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I'm sure Bush is pretty isolated from the average American's opinion either way. Granted, you could probably argue that about any President, but with Bush it seems much more obvious.

[Special K 0]

The sad thing, is it's worked so well, every prez from now on could simply refuse to talk about policy.

[Guest SavageRulz]

And yet they probably wonder why Bush's approval ratings hover around 34% currently.

 

And his approval ratings continue to sag.

 

Bush's Approval Rating Falls to New Low

 

Mar 10, 07:26 AM EST

 

By RON FOURNIER - AP Political Writer

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- More and more people, particularly Republicans, disapprove of President Bush's performance, question his character and no longer consider him a strong leader against terrorism, according to an AP-Ipsos poll documenting one of the bleakest points of his presidency.

 

Nearly four out of five Americans, including 70 percent of Republicans, believe civil war will break out in Iraq - the bloody hot spot upon which Bush has staked his presidency. Nearly 70 percent of people say the U.S. is on the wrong track, a 6-point jump since February.

 

"I'm not happy with how things are going," said Margaret Campanelli, a retiree in Norwich, Conn., who said she tends to vote Republican. "I'm particularly not happy with Iraq, not happy with how things worked with Hurricane Katrina."

 

Republican Party leaders said the survey explains why GOP lawmakers are rushing to distance themselves from Bush on a range of issues - port security, immigration, spending, warrantless eavesdropping and trade, for example.

 

The positioning is most intense among Republicans facing election in November and those considering 2008 presidential campaigns.

 

"You're in the position of this cycle now that is difficult anyway. In second term off-year elections, there gets to be a familiarity factor," said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., a potential presidential candidate.

 

"People have seen and heard (Bush's) ideas long enough and that enters into their thinking. People are kind of, `Well, I wonder what other people can do,'" he said.

 

The poll suggests that most Americans wonder whether Bush is up to the job. The survey, conducted Monday through Wednesday of 1,000 people, found that just 37 percent approve of his overall performance. That is the lowest of his presidency.

 

Bush's job approval among Republicans plummeted from 82 percent in February to 74 percent, a dangerous sign in a midterm election year when parties rely on enthusiasm from their most loyal voters. The biggest losses were among white males.

 

http://www.insightbb.com/story.aspx?doc=/X...df1.xml&top=TOP

 

I wonder if AP-Ipsos oversampled Republicans in determining that Bush's approval rating among Republicans has dropped 8 points in a month. (Probably not)