Clapping Along With Bush at the White House Correspondents' Dinner
| Mon Apr. 28, 2008 9:37 AM PDT
On Saturday night, as I was sitting at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner--Washington's official prom--I had a vision of the future.
This is what I saw: it's decades from now, and historians and others are trying to understand what happened in the first years of the 21st century. That was when the United States government initiated a foolhardy war on the basis of fear and hyped-up threats. It was also a period when the people in charge did not take one of their last chances to deal with the real danger of global warming. And, of course, it was during those years that American leaders hocked the nation to China and the nation's global financial standing diminished. And these historians are asking, "What the hell went on."
Well, look at this old tape, one says, it just might explain. And they huddle over a holographic view-screen and watch as George W. Bush, the president during those years, is conducting the U.S. Marine Corps Band at the 2008 correspondents' dinner. He's mugging for the crowd, as he proceeds. The audience of journalists is laughing.
And when the song is over, Bush (and the band) receives rousing cheers and a standing ovation from the crowd.
Continues Below
Continued From Above
"Hmmmm," says one of the historians, "very interesting." "How many dead American soldiers and dead Iraqis were there by this point?" asks another. "We can Noodle it," answers a third historian. "Why were they clapping with him?" asks one. "Maybe they all were just having a little fun during a hard time," suggests a fifth, adding, "And imagine how frustrating it must have been for media reporters--remember media reporters?--back then." Well," says the first historian, "Nero fiddled, and this one conducted."
Yeah, its good that official Washington (all 3000 members of it) can come together (in formal wear) for a few laughs and a good hotel meal. I did have fun at the dinner, hobnobbing with rapper Will.i.am, Amber Lee Ettinger (better known as Obama Girl), B.J. Novak (of The Office), Ben Affleck, Morgan Fairchild, and CNN's Bill Schneider. It was entertaining to watch James Connaughton, the chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and C. Boyden Gray, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union (and a crusader for deregulation), try to pitch a reporter the story that the Bush administration really has succeeded with its global warming policies. It's a story with a "twist," they said. Rick Davis, John McCain's campaign manager, told me and others he didn't care which Democrat wins his or her party's nomination. (Really?) At one point I bumped into Angela Bassett--literally. And I thought late-night host Craig Ferguson, the comedy provider of the night (in addition to the president), acquitted himself well, gently zinging Bush, Dick Cheney, and the media in a hard-to-please room.
But clapping along with Bush? While everyone around me enjoyed the bit, I poked at the raspberries atop the slice of cheese cake before me. It would be far too easy to turn the moment into a metaphor. And I've already railed against such Bush-media comic camaraderie. So I'll leave it to those future historians to render the verdict. As the band played on, I kept my thoughts to myself. (I'm always a polite guest.) And I wondered if I'd be able to spot Pamela Anderson at one of the after-parties.
Comments
Submitted by Leon Avalos (not verified) on Mon Apr. 28, 2008 12:17 PM PDT.
Very nice said dd27 those future historians r living underground
someone should publish for us the names of every journalist who attends that hideous thing, so we know who the true suck ups are. I still can't get the sad image of David Gregory dancing with Karl Rove out of my head......CREDIBILITY LOST. But hey, Gregory has his own show now, so that kind of sucking up clearly pays off.
maybe we could have the list of those who refuse to attend - - they are the people I'd like to read/watch.
I haven't watched the Correspondent's dinner since Corbert of Comedy Central showed no fear and gave it his all. It was wonderful,to see the Emperor's distress,because someone told truthful jokes about Bush's complete incompotency,the most unprincipled and least qualified person in the world,to be our so-called leader.I can't wait to hear what historians say about the man who destroyed America the beautiful.
Submitted by Karen Meredith (not verified) on Mon Apr. 28, 2008 1:19 PM PDT.
It's nice to know that at least one attendee understood the irony of this event.
Those same historians may well wonder where the documented evidence of this occupation is. No photos of flag covered caskets, limited coverage of military funerals and the wounded. They will know how we treated, or more to the point, how we did not treat returning vets and their families. Their stories are buried as surely as the 4055 dead American soldiers.
I'm not sure we can point to any one entity for the shameless relationship between the White House & the media. The current crop of corporate media has some explaining to do.
Those 3000 who attended this little soiree should have looked around the room and considered that everyone in that room plus 1000 more wouldn't even amount to the US dead, let alone the Iraqis. "Official Washington" never has to think about the war/occupation in personal terms. They can party or go shopping, meanwhile we Gold Star Families will live with the pain of our loss every single minute of every single day for the rest of our lives.
Submitted by Claudette Rush (not verified) on Mon Apr. 28, 2008 1:54 PM PDT.
Future historians? journalists? They will be rats and cockroaches, which is what we deserve. We let this criminal steal our country -- twice. We let precious time slip through our fingers as polar bears drowned and wild things lost their habitate, and we fed our insatiable appetite for a joy ride with the corn that could have fed the hungry.
As many as 1 of every 10 soldiers from the war on terror evacuated to the Army's biggest hospital in Europe was sent there for mental problems.
Between 8 and 10 percent of nearly 12,000 soldiers from the war on terror, mostly from Iraq, treated at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany had "psychiatric or behavioral health issues," according to the commander of the hospital, Col. Rhonda Cornum.
That means about 1,000 soldiers were evacuated for mental problems.
The hospital has treated 11,754 soldiers from the war on terror, with 9,651 from Iraq and the rest from Afghanistan, according to data released by the hospital.
It would have been telling and important to have placed 300 of our 10,000 maimed soldiers behind the other curtain and pulled it at the end. Could these cretins laugh and clap at their sight?
"someone should publish for us the names of every journalist who attends that hideous thing, so we know who the true suck ups are."
Careful now! Mr. Corn might be reading the responses. (But of course, you weren't referring to him, right?)
Submitted by Karen Meredith (not verified) on Mon Apr. 28, 2008 2:16 PM PDT.
From the WHCA website:
Since 1914, the White House Correspondents' Association has operated independently of the White House and the White House credentialing process. We intend for the White House Correspondents' Association to remain independent of that process.
Consistent with the First Amendment, the White House Correspondents' Association stands for inclusiveness in the credentialing process so that the White House remains accessible to all journalists. We hope that individual episodes do not obscure the broader principles of a fair and evenhanded credentialing process that serves the goal of free and full exchange of information.
(perhaps they need to re-read it, or maybe re-write it).
There is no list of members, but the courrent board and officers are:
President: Ann Compton, ABC News
Vice President: Jennifer Loven, Associated Press
Secretary: Ken Herman, Cox Newspapers
Treasurer: Doug Mills, The New York Times
WHCA Board Members
Peter Maer, CBS News
Mike Allen, The Politico
Edwin Chen, Bloomberg News
Ed Henry, CNN
Richard Wolffe, Newsweek
Who attended? We may never know the complete list. For those who had the courage to not attend, please stand and be noted!
This article indicates to me, along with the video, that this country is "going to hell in a hand basket" as my dear departed mother would say. The last sentence started with "As the band played on", which brought to mind the book about the AIDS epidemic. This government is ignoring this plague of unnecessary war deaths just as the Reagan government ignored the spread of AIDS. I don't know if the choice of words was accidental or not but it certainly is telling.
I ran across this website by accident. Obviously it is very slanted to the left. I truely don't believe there is a liberal out there that cares about anyone who serves in the United States Military. Those who die or are injured in Iraq are only used to promote the liberal idea that all use of the United States military is wrong,unless of course it is christened by the UN. Just for the record George W. Bush is a great President, but what do I know I just from fly over country.
Ah, poor deluded "Angi"---does it ever occur to folks like her that not only do liberals care about those who serve in the U.S. military, they have loved ones who fall into that category? No one cares more than I do--I want them home, and safe, not abandoned in a war where depleted uranium and armorless vehicles conspire to do them in. My cousin wishes he had been safe in his nice, warm bed, but instead he acquired an incurable blood disease there, and a terrible memory of the agony of his fellow soldiers.
As a musician, I could not help noticing that W is quite consistent.
He conducted the U.S. Marine Corps band just about as well as he has conducted our foreign policy, our global warming efforts, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (On second thought, has he ever conducted anything well?)
Submitted by Martin L. Sherman (not verified) on Mon Apr. 28, 2008 9:10 PM PDT.
The band played on, and this veteran could not pick up the beat. It is good to remember us before starting foolishness. And, better to mention us in comments then fodder for the foolishness of the battles we have entered.
Submitted by gandhi (not verified) on Mon Apr. 28, 2008 9:12 PM PDT.
"While everyone around me enjoyed the bit, I poked at the raspberries atop the slice of cheese cake before me."
Well, maybe that's all the explanation historians will need: while Bush conducted the band, David Corn fiddled with raspberries. Why didn't you shout out in disgust, or at least get up and leave?
Don't get me wrong, David - I love your stuff. But Bush & Co are screwing up the world and as far as I can see NOBODY in the USA is doing ANYTHING to stop it.
You don't have to be "a polite guest" in the company of a War Criminal!
Goldcoastjon: Word. The band must have trained hard to ignore Bush's awful conducting.
Interesting that you bring up The Office, David... As I was watching Bush enjoy himself (in horror) I couldn't help but think of Michael Scott - the disaster of a boss in The Office. The two are scarily similar: they both think they're popular, they're both out of touch with reality, and they both think it's all a big game. I cringe when either opens their mouth to speak. (Now that I've started to list the similarities, I realize just how much in common they share. I could go on and on... and believe me it doesn't get any prettier.)
Thanks DC for bringing some perspective to this mess of a media circus. Hopefully your historians dig up this post.
I think that the whole shebang
represents American politics.
Just like the dessert you consumed. A tasteless berry on top of a souffle of a cheesecake
with the crushed little bit underneath all to be consumed by the privileged.
Yep!! I reckon that sums it.
tomedgar @halenet.com.au
There is an unbelievable disconnect between the President's behavior, particularly in these last months of his regime, and what his actions and policies have brought about. It has been really disgusting to watch him sing, dance, joke, and generally act like an adolescent desperately looking for approval while both Americans and Iraqis (and Afghanis) are suffering and dying in failed occupations thanks to his impetuous and ill-informed decisions as the "decider."
But just as bad is to see and read about people who are supposed to be the ones who "speak truth to power" laugh and give him standing O's for his insensitive and offensive behavior.
Ordinary Americans are worried about losing their homes, high fuel costs and food prices, lack of access to decent health care, educating their kids and paying for the astronomical bill Bush has presented to us and our children and grand-children. But our so-called news correspondents feel perfectly comfortable to sit and yuk it up with the guy who gave us eight years of enriching "his base" at the expense of the middle class; of sending men and women to war but not taking care of those who come home and then shamelessly using the military as a prop to get himself re-elected.
These same correspondents have been slow or missing in action in reporting on the monumental corruption, negligence and incompetence in the Bush Administration. The truth has begun to seep out slowly but no thanks to most of the people who pretend to be "news people."
These dinners have become an embarrassment to anyone with an ounce of awareness and human decency. If these affairs are to continue then a Stephen Colbert style roasting should be a requirement to remind these politicians and their audience of the consequences of their actions and their negligence.
Even if we got their names, addresses, and every sin they've ever committed, what would we do? There are BOOKS full of Bush's, Rove's, Cheney's, and their ilk out all over the place and we still do NOTHING about them. We nod our idiot heads and then go watch American Idol. So why add MORE names to the list when we are impotent?
Do you expect whores to behave in any other way? Their masters pay them well to spin and divert. Its the same everywhere throughout the industrialized world. What makes the bs so complete in the United Corporations of Jesusland is a compliant, uninformed and docile citizenry.
It already is history - just replaying itself. This is a somewhat iconic image of a mad dictator or monarch, stuffing his mouth with quail, giggling with his court jesters, passing out on a gilded divan, while outside the castle walls, plague, poverty and war eat away at the masses. Nothing new here. The historians could crack open any book dealing with the down-fall of the many at the hands of the few and, except for the specifics, the tale is the same time and time again. I think America has really been on this track steadily from the beginning. Truly, if you step back far enough, you can see that this almost seems inevitable.
Home sick today with a flu, so this might explain my pessimism.
Angi, Angi, Angi...... Your "great" president took approximately the same tack when he was "serving" during the Vietnam War as he did during his comedic act while many people are dying for his political scheme in Iraq. The military must serve at the whim of the president; assuming that the decision to go to war is a last and necessary resort. For shame!
Jon R White
(Twelve year military veteran)
The United Corporations of America really don't give a damn what we the people think. After the 60-70s the corporate heads made sure that would never happen again. They managed to coopt the Hippies with "stuff" and stifle
education about our flawed history along with producing goods to entice the masses into thinking they belong too. They obviously succeeded.
To an earlier poster, the NYTimes refused to attend. They bought two tables and had Karl Rove join them last year so maybe hope does exist. T o another earlier poster who said only rats and cockroaches will be around. You forget to add their leaders...Dick and Lynne Cheney.
I like the fact that all posting here are all still hanging on to the ideal that reporters are supposed to deliver unbiased information and not be beholden to corporations/politicians. To help speak truth to power. It is a good and hopeful sign. If anyone wants a cheering up, check out Eric Brewster, reporter for Raw Story's experience at WH press room today.
dear Angi, certain issues do not have anything to do with left or right: justice, hunger, pride, hardwork, responsibility, prosperity are issues that touch us as human beings or citizens not because of the politician we voted for. I encourage you to study the issues, instead of making up your mind based on the rhetoric spewed by whichever candidate you feel is closer to you. But don't do it if you are faint of heart, you might be deceived by what you might find out about your political heroes. Finding out that they were about ensuring a prosperous future (and present) for themselves and a handful of good friends rather than ensuring America's security and prosperity might be hard to swallow. Realizing that at every bill or amendment they have been giving huge handouts of government money to giant corporations, giving them an unfair advantage over their small competitors, allowing them to move their plants over the border or oversea at taxpayer's expense, while pretending they were caring for small town Americans, protecting them from abortionists, hippies, gays and terrorists, might make you feel that they have been fooling you all along. Feeling like a fool has never pleased anybody, so after all you might want to keep Foxnews running all day long and keep pretending all is good; the stimulus check is coming!if you'll have to work until you're 85 because high inflation has made your savings worthless, well that's just part of being a responsible citizen.
If you absolutely have to follow the lead of a great republican may I suggest you check out Ron Paul instead.
Angi, have you realized how callous you sound? In your "caring" you did not once mention those who are really suffering: the innocent Iraqis -men, women and children whose only fault has been to be born in the wrong country at the wrong time. Do you know (or want to know) that the person you consider a great president lied to you and the rest of your countrymen? Perhaps you will say that this is something politicians do all the time. However, those lies do not kill over one million people and counting. I'm sorry for not caring so much about those 4,065 US casualties. Maybe it's because they had the choice whether to go to war, something the Iraqis did not. Maybe it's because I am a foreigner and we are sick and tired of your country's record of invasions, crimes and hipocrisy. Maybe it's because we are frightened by the total recklessness the leaders of your country show in dealing with the fates of others (including yours). We have nothing against your nation, but after all these years of rampant violence (shall we say state terrorism?) we have come to understand the rationale of those you consider terorists.
We shouldn't be laughing at jokes made by this criminal - we should be stripping off his suit and putting him into an orange jumpsuit and marching him off to a federal penitentiary. This is appalling the way we have let this criminal escape all accountability for his actions.
To Troutman,
BUSH is no stoner, believe me. A stoner wouldn't go to war with no just cause and he sure as hell wouldn't have thousands incarcerated for smoking a flower. A hypocritical AWOL rich boy who drank whiskey and did coke, that's another thing. Don't go giving stoners bad name, since you obviously have no idea what the hell you are talking about. Take a toke and pass it mate. Peace.
Like the band Faith No More said in their song 'Ricochet', and I
quote, 'It's always funny till someone gets hurt, it's always funny till someone gets hurt, AND THEN IT'S JUST HILARIOUS!'
Guess that pretty much sums up
the tenure of the Bush Administration and all of those that think it was such a great thing. By the way, where have all those 'Support the Troops' ribbons you used to see on cars go? You know, the cheap ones that were made in China? Been wondering about that, me.
The arrogance never stops. Having a good time and giving up golfing because of Iraq. So let me understand this, he has played golf for six or seven years and now he decides that 4,000 or more soldiers have died fighting for the "Corporations" and its time for him to sacrifice something. Hell is ready to snatch his soul and forever pay for the atrocities made on the American people.
ask siirleri
Submitted by ask siirleri (not verified) on Fri Mar. 20, 2009 5:30 AM PDT.
Angi. I don't know if you are real or just a CIA/FBI/Pentagon stooge, but it's obvious from your comment that the blood does not make it all the way to your brian.
