Bush Tells the Truth

Worthy of a headline, no? There’s a lot of bizarre shit going on during this European whirlwind tour, and one of the weirdest has to be the president’s comments on a free press while in Russia. When you read the quote, forget for a moment the laughable hypocrisy coming from the leader of an administration which has no qualms about issuing propaganda to push their agenda—that’s so obvious as to not merit comment. Check out the last bit, instead (via Hesiod at the American Street, emphasis mine):

I think it’s important any viable democracy has got a free and active press … whether it be in America or anywhere else, the sign of a healthy and vibrant society is one in where there’s an active press corps. Obviously, there has got to be constraints. There’s got to be truth. People have got to tell the truth, and if somebody violates the truth, then those who own a particular newspaper or those who are in charge of particular electronic station need to hold people to account. The press — the capacity of the press to hold people to account also depends on their willingness to self-examine at times when they’re wrong. And that happens on occasion in America. And that’s — that’s an important part of maintaining a proper relationship between government and press.

Did you catch it? He’s daring the media to get some balls. It is, according to the president, the responsibility of the press to maintain the proper relationship between themselves and the government. Translation: We’re going to try to coerce, intimidate, threaten, bribe, and use you every chance we get, but it’s up to you to say no. Holding us accountable for using you to be our propaganda tools is dependent upon self-examination; if you can’t admit your own role in it, you will never be able to call us out on it, either.

And he’s right. He’s absolutely right. When you’ve got slimy, unethical, manipulative, opportunistic, soulless drips of dog wank running the government, who will use anything to their advantage no matter how grim, no matter how immoral, no matter whether in direct conflict with the very tenets upon which this country was founded, the responsibility to maintain a proper relationship between the government and the press does indeed fall squarely on the press. A responsibility, by the way, they have taken all too lightly, and consequently failed miserably to uphold their end of the bargain.

Kind of amazing. But there it is, Mainstream Media. Whaddaya gonna do about it?

As an aside, what the fuck is this all about?!


Blurrrggggh.

[UPDATE: I just noticed that Putin kind of looks like a ventriloquist's dummy sitting on Bush's knee. "When you asked if anyone wanted to buy some wood during the debates, I thought you were trying to get ridda me!" Wah wah wah.]