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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: redfish who wrote (50524)	9/29/2004 1:45:51 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 81568

Press Management 101 ________________________________ Paul Waldman (12:24PM) link gadflyer.com Today's Boston Globe has an article that contains this little nugget: In a brief interview, White House political adviser Karl Rove said the campaign expects Kerry to come out "flailing" at the president. Here's a little tip for reporters: when Karl Rove talks to you, he will not be revealing anything about the Bush campaign's thinking or strategy. Since he gives interviews infrequently, and he is the person who determines President Bush's every step in the short and long term, he understands that reporters treat his every utterance as some kind of revealed truth. So when Rove says something to a reporter, it is for the purpose of convincing that reporter of something, something that Rove hopes will wind up in the reporter's story and the reporter's mind. When Rove talks to you, you might consider asking yourself, "Just what does he want me to write? Why does he want me to write that? Will I just quote him uncritically?" Unfortunately, the answer to the last one is inevitably "Yes," since to political reporters, getting a quote from Rove is like opening up your lunchbox and finding a Snickers bar - all the other kids will look on with envy and longing, hoping that tomorrow they might have something just as tasty. This particular one isn't too tough to figure out. Rove uses the word "flailing" to describe potential Kerry attacks during the debate, in the hopes that reporters will see any criticism Kerry makes as desperate and ineffective, then write their post-debate stories that way. The gullibility of reporters when it comes to Rove is truly remarkable. The best illustration probably came on the Fourth of July last year, when Rove was in a parade and passed a group of Howard Dean supporters, then said to them, "C'mon, everybody! Go, Howard Dean!" Reporters then wrote breathlessly, "Look at that! The White House wants to face Dean! He must be one weak candidate!" So let's think about this. At a parade in Washington, DC, when he knows there are reporters within earshot, Karl Rove - one of the most Machiavellian political operatives this country has ever seen - makes a very loud proclamation about a candidate from the opposing party. Could it be that he wanted reporters to write that the White House wanted to face Dean? Or was it just a revealing spontaneous utterance? If you answered number 2, you're dumb enough to report for one of our major news outlets.