The Feld-Blog

In a political landscape scorched by the press and absolutely dominated by the media, policy has taken a backset to popularity. Substance is not second to spin. Curiously, however, the popularly hailed commander-in-chief of perhaps the largest army of media spinners in history, George W. Bush, seems to have left a powerful legacy of vivid and negative press. Bush’s blunders frequently relegate Rove, Bartlett, Fleischer and Card to damage control. They launch powerful defensives, rapidly erasing inconsistencies, lies and half-truths without recanting a single phrase or retreating a single step. Yet for all their alleged genius, verbal missteps, embarrassing images and Bush’s tenuous grasp on idiomatic English have come to haunt the American conscious.

For some reason, it seems Bush’s most memorable press is the same coverage that have forced his media army into action in the first place. Two of Bush’s most famous images are also his most damaging - reading a book in a children’s classroom as the twin towers burned and standing on the deck of a Navy ship, behind a podium framed by a banner patriotically asserting “Mission Accomplished.”

Bush didn’t make it to ground zero until 3 days later, bearing a curious resemblance to his conspicuous absence in New Orleans. Instead he sat and continued to read a book with elementary-school children even after his chief of staff whispered news of the first attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. Even now, Bush’s sloth-like response to hurricane Katrina has fostered a national image that as the country falls apart, Bush sits on his butt in an obscene and criminally negligent act of voyerism. This image sparked immediate concern that our government was not ready to respond. The infamous ‘Mission Accomplished’ photograph gradually gnawed away as his Presidency in contrast to the more immediate concern dredged up by the first image. It slowly dawned on this country that our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were not quick romps toward peace and democracy, but rather thick military and political bogs through which America would slog for years, dragging a reluctant world in tow. With a growing understanding of the long-haul we are in came a mounting nausea in our stomachs that this is a problem with no solution - a mission that cannot be accomplished. It is true that flattering presidential media exists as well, but for the reverence offered up to Bush’s media control, a staggering proportion of memorable coverage only serves to taint this Presidency.

Furthermore, the army of time seems to be marching against the administration. Some of Rove and Fleischer’s most effective defensive media maneuvers are playing themselves out. Just as the public turns against a catchy song when it is overplayed, Bush’s continuous delaying of opportunities for oversight have become tired, trite and a liability. For years Bush has been saying, “There will be plenty of time to figure out what went right and what went wrong later.” Finally, this country is insisting on talking about it now. His façade of hackneyed catch phrases has crumbled from his shield to the weak link in his rusting armor.

Is Bush himself such a media landmine that his army has no choice but to flail frantically in attempts to soften and distract from the body blows he deals to his own self-image? Or perhaps, are Rove, Fleischer, Bartlett, et al. not the diabolical geniuses we imagined? Is America finally vaccinated against media spin or are we just suckers for some well timed mudslinging?