Latest Bush administration leak comes from ... Bush

[sabra]

http://www.kaj18.com/Global/story.asp?S=4485542

Latest Bush administration leak comes from ... Bush

<snip>

Thanks to an error by a White House technician, the sound of what were supposed to be private remarks to G-O-P House members was relayed to the White House press corps.

Bush made a brief public speech to lawmakers at their retreat on Maryland's Eastern Shore. He then shooed out reporters and photographers, saying, "I support the free press, let's just get 'em out of the room."

Once they were gone, Bush -- not realizing he was still audible -- said, "I expect this conversation we're about to have to stay in the room." He added, "I know that's impossible in Washington."

Bush then spoke for roughly two minutes on the war on terror and his warrantless eavesdropping program before the outside feed was switched off. On the surveillance, he repeated earlier assertions he'd cleared the program with top government lawyers.

more... this looks like a Rovian ploy, check out this headline:

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1603961

Bush Reveals Rationale Behind Surveillance
In Candid Remarks to Fellow Republicans, Bush Talks About Rationale Behind Surveillance


CAMBRIDGE, Md. Feb 10, 2006 (AP)— President Bush defended his warrantless eavesdropping program Friday, saying during what he thought were private remarks that he concluded that spying on Americans was necessary to fill a gap in the United States' security.

"I wake up every morning thinking about a future attack, and therefore, a lot of my thinking, and a lot of the decisions I make are based upon the attack that hurt us," Bush told the House Republican Caucus, which was in retreat at a luxury resort along the Choptank River on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

The president said he asked the National Security Agency to devise a way to gather intelligence on terrorists' potential activities, and the result was the super-secret spy outfit's program to monitor the international e-mails and phone calls of people inside the United States with suspected ties to terrorists overseas. Bush said lawyers in the White House and at the Justice Department signed off on the program's legality, and "we put constant checks on the program."

"I take my oath of office seriously. I swear to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States," Bush said.

The president's comments on the NSA eavesdropping came after six minutes of remarks intended for public consumption. In them, Bush stroked lawmakers with thanks and gave a gentle push for his 2006 priorities in a scaled-back version of last month's State of the Union address.

[fooj]

1. Someone give him the "YOU ARE NOT KING" memo!

Peace.

[MadisonProgressive]

2. Obviously a setup to make * look honest

[Divine Discontent]

5. exactly!!!

and is that msnbc cindy caption real? when was that?

[MadisonProgressive]

20. Yes, it's when she got arrested at the SOTU address

[Roland99]

9. Bingo! Rovian ploy executed perfectly.

[Roland99]

21. And the "top gov't lawyers" are the same ones that said torture was OK!!

[lindisfarne]

17. without a doubt, the "mistake" was deliberate. n/t

[0007]

44. Who do they think they're kidding? 0 Never mind, I know!

[Tuttle]

3. delicious

...mmmm... irony!

Tut-tut

[Divine Discontent]

4. darn

he's such a douche.. I wished he would have said something greatttttt

[havocmom]

6. Error or a very patriotic technician

I have to hope there are heroes - average people who do extraordinary things when the opportunity presents its self.

Then, there is Karma. Karma has been getting a workout lately. Or there are unsung heroes everywhere.

[Botany]

7. hahahahahahahahahahahahaaha

little lord bunny pants' world is crashing in around him.

[KansDem]

8. So where do we find these "two minutes?"

Bush then spoke for roughly two minutes on the war on terror and his warrant-less eavesdropping program before the outside feed was switched off.

Or was this a "set up?" I wonder about this "supposedly candid" statement: On the surveillance, he repeated earlier assertions he'd cleared the program with top government lawyers

So now he can say, "Ooops, you caught me off-guard, saying what I've been saying all along!"

[sabra]

10. me thinks you are on to something... considering this was a WH

"technician"

[zbdent]

11. Sure, Sawyer

and "Liberty" tower was a mere mental error . . .

(Sawyer, the con man on Lost, was doing the long con on a woman on the latest episode . . .)

[Kierkegaard]

12. Couple that with the perfectly timed 'foiled terror attempt...'

If there is one thing more transparent than glass, it's this swaggering bonehead and his minions.

[sabra]

13. I appended another article detailed the "candid" remarks...

[KansDem]

18. Thanks...

These remarks did it for me:

"I wake up every morning thinking about a future attack, and therefore, a lot of my thinking, and a lot of the decisions I make are based upon the attack that hurt us," Bush told the House Republican Caucus, which was in retreat at a luxury resort along the Choptank River on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

The president said he asked the National Security Agency to devise a way to gather intelligence on terrorists' potential activities, and the result was the super-secret spy outfit's program to monitor the international e-mails and phone calls of people inside the United States with suspected ties to terrorists overseas. Bush said lawyers in the White House and at the Justice Department signed off on the program's legality, and "we put constant checks on the program."

"I take my oath of office seriously. I swear to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States," Bush said.

Now I know this was a charade. But expect these excerpts to make the Corporate Media evening news...

[LiberalFighter]

37. Media is gullible enough to believe that it was a mistake

[glitch]

40. Not gullible - complicit.

After 5 years the gullible excuse doesn't cut it.

[Double T]

14. More Karl Rove staged BULLSHIT..............

Pssst! Pssst! Know don't let anybody know what I am about to tell you. Wink. Wink. The WH A-holes must think we were all born yesterday.

[flordehinojos]

15. isn't this, "I support the free press, let's just get 'em out of the room"

a contradiction in terms? and if it is which of the two terms is the one that he really supports?

free press?

keeping the press/and people/in darkness regarding his evil plottings--which by his nature is everything he does?

[Arkansas Granny]

16. Probably a set up by Rove, but even so, he's still trying to

convince some Republicans that he was acting legally so he's not going to tip his hand to them either.

[stop the bleeding]

19. definitely staged n/t

[54anickel]

23. Yankin' the media's chain again - but will they call him on it this time?

Could go on, and on, and on....

[donkeyotay]

22. Catapult the propaganda over the fence of the luxury resort

and smack a few GOPers who might still believe him upside the head with it. He has no credibility. If this had been real instead of Rove, he would have been swearing something nasty about a**holes and that tech would have been fired.

[fed-up]

24. How low will they go??? I don't buy it for a minute... n/t

[lovuian]

25. No King is Above the law...

Why has republicans forgotten this...

[MrBenchley]

26. In other words, he's got nothing in private

except the same horsecrap that's not fooling anybody in public.

I suspect we're going to see more Republicans trying to put distance between themselves and Chimpy next week.....

[drm604]

27. An error, sure I believe that.

And I'll buy that bridge if they try to sell it to me!

That was not to be and it was telling that the president chose the controversial NSA program as the first topic to raise out of reporters' earshot. Even so, there was no substantive difference between those statements and the series of public speeches he has given recently on the program.

(I added the bolding.)

If there was no substantial difference, than why lock out the press? :eyes:

I am getting so friggin sick of this patronizing, transparent, "the American people are stupid" type of behaviour. :grr:

Well, we're not stupid and more and more of us are catching on to your bullshit!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

28. sniff...sniff...

I keep smelling bullshit.

[Carni]

29. Oh GOD they are transparent!

How freaking stupid do they think we are?

[sinkingfeeling]

30. Let's just impeach him and get busy cleaning up the damage!

[LiberalFighter]

38. If only we were France... they had such a wonderful invention

[grahamhgreen]

31. FULLY SCRIPTED B.S.!

[jpak]

32. Oops! - Bush Unaware Mikes Were Still On

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-wh/2006/feb/10/021003020.html

The eavesdropping tables were turned on President Bush on Friday. The president apparently believed he was speaking privately when he talked about listening in without a warrant on domestic communications with suspected al-Qaida terrorists overseas. But reporters were the ones doing the listening in this time.

The incident happened at a House Republican retreat. After six minutes of public remarks by the president, reporters were ushered out. "I support the free press, let's just get them out of the room," Bush said, intending to speak behind closed doors with fellow Republicans and take lawmakers' questions.

When reporters left, Bush spoke about the National Security Agency program that he authorized four years ago and which has drawn criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike.

However, the microphones stayed on for a few minutes. That allowed journalists back at the White House to eavesdrop on Bush's defense of the eavesdropping. His private statements were basically no different from what he's said in public.

<little bit more>

[LisaM]

33. So...... was it a set up? Pretending they thought the mikes were off

so the private conversation sounded just like the public one? Eh?

[rodeodance]

34. well, jr just knows the text he has been given--so it would be the same.

However, the microphones stayed on for a few minutes. That allowed journalists back at the White House to eavesdrop on Bush's defense of the eavesdropping. His private statements were basically no different from what he's said in public.

[Kierkegaard]

35. "... Whew. Good thing I was a eevsdroppin' on them terrists...

otherwise, the Liberty Towers in San Diego wouldda got knocked over! Reminds me of the tyme we was prevented from helpin' those poor folks down in Norlins cuz we wernt awares that a category 5 hurrycane could do so much damage! Wow, we wuz reely surprised..."

:eyes:

[silverweb]

36. Bullshit.

n/t

[magellan]

39. All the above + it still doesn't explain PRE-9/11 domestic eavesdropping

They can duck and spin however much they like. NONE of their excuses explains the massive domestic wiretapping that began just after Bush** took office in 2001.

You can bet if it's not being reported by our corporate media, it's important.

[alarcojon]

41. This sounds really lame

but I'm sure the usual suspects in the press will be fawning all over Bush's "honesty" and "genuine concern for his fellow Americans."

Nauseating.

[Rex]

42. At a time when more and more people think of Bush as a tyrant.

He goes and proves them right by saying this -"I support the free press, let's just get 'em out of the room."

Ha ha ha ho ho ho, I'm so not laughing. :(

[MrPrax]

43. Scripted...

The 'irony' part seems more like a scriptwriters setup to give the story 'play' for editorial comment: the Public eavesdropped on the President and the President eavsdropped on them...

The setup is implying moral symmetry and making the point that 'no real' harm was done to either the President or the Public afterall. The issue is humanized in a understandable context for the public and then personalized with Bush at the center.

(start BS editorial rap)

The Lesson; "we all have been guilty of listening in on conversations or looked at documents we weren't suppose to... and sure parents these days do have to have a look at what their kids are doing online and they might have to--schucks--look at their personal diaries to make sure everything is all right...

That's all George and his good friends at the NSA are doing...keeping America safe. George ain't complainin' and neither should I...we got nothing to hide.

Yes kids...freedom has it's price and even the President learned that today..

(end BS editorial rap)


Shit...editorial filler from this little 'faux pas' writes itself completely out of legal and constitution context.

This is the psych stuff that marketing and ad guys come up with...

[Straight Shooter]

45. Sniff, sniff .... PHEW!!!

[antonialee839]

46. Yeah, an "error" by a White House technician. More like a direct

order from that scumbag Rove.

[Not a robought]

47. Some other things that weren't overheard...

"I support no child left behind, let's just not put any money into it."

"I support a strong health care system for the nation, let's just make sure we royally fuck up Medicare and put the money into pharmaceuticals' hands."

[dubya_dubya_III]

59. but what do they think free means?

[NJCher]

48. the stunt speaks

The fact that they felt the need to stage such a stunt, though, says plenty. It says they are feeling the heat and that their strategy is nothing more than staying on message staying on message staying on mesage staying on message staying on message staying on message staying on message staying on mesage staying on message staying on message staying on message staying on message staying on mesage staying on message staying on message.




Cher

[intheozone]

49. I call BULLSHIT!!

This is bullshit, it was planned and they knew the press would hear his remarks. Otherwise, you would have heard a lot of "fuck the press" kind of statements as soon as the press left the room. Another Rove set-up!

[Trillo]

50. Checks and Balances?

Bush said: "we put constant checks on the program."

Does he mean that the Executive Branch checks itself? (I think I read something similar to this idea elsewhere.

Or does he mean that they constantly check the system for technical glitches?

[dubya_dubya_III]

56. Like putting the names of who and reason why in the hands of a judge?

Oh I forget all our Judges and their staffs are pipelines to al Quaeda, but the 'fight for your God" CIA/NSA Mafia who manufactured Osama's sorry ass in the first place, to replace the bleeding Russians for them,(and our continued and apparently endless pride and edification) and who secretly engineered and manufactured our country this tragic violent catastrophe and embarrassment in Iraq would be the kind of a place you would trust not to have any problems with honesty. exaggeration, overzealousness or insecurity?..

I think A Million Little Pieces had far more honest facts in it than any Defence Estimate they've produced in their Paranoia'R US fiction labs in years.

[dubya_dubya_III]

58. People talkin with them fureigners probably aren't gettin our kinda news

anyhow so we need ta do em all...

"just checking"

[rodeodance]

51. Bush Reveals Rationale Behind Surveillance

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060211/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush;_ylt=Ajd0bufrGNxhOIVClyfYHlms0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3b2NibDltBHNlYwM3MTY-


Bush Reveals Rationale Behind Surveillance



By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer 6 minutes ago

CAMBRIDGE, Md. -
President Bush defended his warrantless eavesdropping program Friday, saying during what he thought were private remarks that he concluded that spying on Americans was necessary to fill a gap in the United States' security.

"I wake up every morning thinking about a future attack, and therefore, a lot of my thinking, and a lot of the decisions I make are based upon the attack that hurt us," Bush told the House Republican Caucus, which was in retreat at a luxury resort along the Choptank River on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

The president said he asked the National Security Agency to devise a way to gather intelligence on terrorists' potential activities, and the result was the super-secret spy outfit's program to monitor the international e-mails and phone calls of people inside the United States with suspected ties to terrorists overseas. Bush said lawyers in the White House and at the Justice Department signed off on the program's legality, and "we put constant checks on the program."

"I take my oath of office seriously. I swear to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States," Bush said.

.

[Kagemusha]

52. Guess the AP thinks this was totally unstaged all these hours later

I have my doubts...

[fed-up]

53. We all know that's NOT what he'd say in "private" LIAR-pants on fire n/t

[dubya_dubya_III]

54. So? Good news?

Thank the One That Is Love his lawyer didn't get on to the supreme court. I think we deserve a refund from Harriet.

[Jade Fox]

55. This sort of garbage isn't even worth responding to...

anymore. How much can crap can one man spout? And at a "luxury retreat" attended by the House Republican Caucus. Geez.

[LincolnMcGrath]

57. ROVE

[gauguin57]

60. Oops! - Bush Unaware Mikes Were Still On (reporters hear private talk)

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EAVESDROPPING_ON_BUSH?SITE=JRC&SECTION=POLITICS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-02-11-10-08-45

Oops! - Bush Unaware Mikes Were Still On

CAMBRIDGE, Md. (AP) -- The eavesdropping tables were turned on President Bush on Friday. The president apparently believed he was speaking privately when he talked about listening in without a warrant on domestic communications with suspected al-Qaida terrorists overseas. But reporters were the ones doing the listening in this time.

The incident happened at a House Republican retreat. After six minutes of public remarks by the president, reporters were ushered out. "I support the free press, let's just get them out of the room," Bush said, intending to speak behind closed doors with fellow Republicans and take lawmakers' questions. When reporters left, Bush spoke about the National Security Agency program that he authorized four years ago and which has drawn criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike.

However, the microphones stayed on for a few minutes. That allowed journalists back at the White House to eavesdrop on Bush's defense of the eavesdropping. His private statements were basically no different from what he's said in public.

"I want to share some thoughts with you before I answer your questions," Bush began. "First of all, I expect this conversation we're about to have to stay in the room. I know that's impossible in Washington." He was right.

[HeeBGBz]

61. Manufactured goof-up for the masses

Might work for the stupid, but obvious to most thinking humans.

[gauguin57]

65. It does sound pretty fishy, doesn't it?

I mean, the fact that he was behind closed doors and not cussing his head off is our first clue!

[Kierkegaard]

62. Done to death.

Major league set up. Ain't workin' GW.

[Greeby]

63. Whats wrong with this story?

Hes actually able to compose a sentence :shrug:

[Flubadubya]

64. That's it?

I noticed the piece didn't go on to detail what he said after that. Media still protecting the blivet? :shrug:

[Debi]

66. So...who's a major league asshole this week??? n/t

[DemoTex]

67. My thought exactly!

I guess Bu$h didn't learn a thing when he and Cheney got busted calling NYTs reporter Adam Clymer a major league asshole. Stupid is as stupid does. Eh?

[Debi]

68. actually with as calm as he spoke this time I don't doubt the idea

that he knew the mics were still on....:tinfoilhat: