Networks Huffed Over Bush's 'Presidential Shell Game'; No Complaints for Obama's Secret Trip
The same networks that huffed and whined about George W. Bush's secret trip to Iraq over Thanksgiving in 2003, calling it an "embarrassing" "presidential shell game," had no such harsh language for Barack Obama's clandestine visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday.
Jake Tapper on Wednesday deemed the visit simply a "surprise." On CBS This Morning, Scott Pelley proclaimed it "remarkable," insisting, "These things are always kept secret, in the Bush administration, in the Obama administration, until the President arrives safely." Yet, on the November 30, 2003 CBS Evening News, Mark Knoller bitterly complained, "It was professionally embarrassing to be clueless...And from now on when I report that the president is at his ranch, neither you nor I will be sure of it."
How did Knoller react on Tuesday? He registered no complaints, mildly tweeting, "Pres. Obama left Washington last night under cover of darkness from Joint Base Andrews a little after midnight."
On the November 30, 2003 Meet the Press, Mike Allen (then of the Washington Post), griped about Bush's surprise visit to Iraq: "The reporters who joined us at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, their phones were confiscated. So we really did have a bag pulled over us."
A day earlier, on the November 29, 2003 Saturday Early Show, host Randall Pinkston used similarly annoyed language, promising to explain the "inside story" of how "the White House press corps were fooled by a presidential shell game."
Knoller than appeared for another grumbling report on Bush's visit:
MARK KNOLLER: The reasons for the misleading information and deception were understandable. The danger in Iraq is very real; lives were at stake, including the president's.
...
KNOLLER: So it was only after the president was wheels up from Iraq that the reporters with him were able to tell what they knew and the rest of us didn't. It was professionally embarrassing to be clueless in Crawford, though I'll get over it, but it means when I tell you that the president is at his ranch, it means neither you nor I can really be sure about it. Randall.
On the November 27 CBS Evening News, then-anchor John Roberts explained that Knoller "was one of dozens of reporters kept in the dark by the elaborate deception."
On Tuesday night, the NBC and CBS newscasts were much more forgiving, offering bland descriptions of the President's deception. (ABC featured another recap by Tapper):
CBS Evening News
SCOTT PELLEY: [Obama] made an unannounced trip there today on the first anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden.
...
NORAH O'DONNELL: Air Force One touched down at Bagram air base under the cover of darkness, a sign of the secrecy and security surrounding the President's trip.
Nightly News
BRIAN WILLIAMS: On our broadcast tonight, on the ground tonight in Afghanistan. Tonight the President's unannounced visit there landing in the dark and much secrecy a year after bin Laden was killed.
...
CHUCK TODD: Now, the White House did not lift the embargo until the President was safely inside Hamid Karzai's presidential palace in Kabul.
Apparently, presidential deceptions are only a problem some of the time.
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Comments
Personally
Submitted by misterbee241 on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 1:10pm.
I think the president entering
or leaving a war zone should be kept secret. Can you say Stinger?
Of course it should. That's
Submitted by Scott Whitlock on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 1:20pm.
Of course it should. That's not the point. The point is they complained about the secrecy surrounding Bush's trip and not Obama's. You know?
— Scott Whitlock is the senior news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
Can you say "counter mesures?"
Submitted by CobraMan on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 2:03pm.
"Can you say Stinger?"
How many times has a Stinger missile been fired at Air Force One, even when the travel itinerary is well know? The answer, of course, is NONE! The President has flown into, over, and within many a hostile airspace, for no other reason than to be seen there, without incident. Why does this instance warrant such secrecy? Because the President wanted to "surprise" everyone with a visit. Just as what happened when Bush did it. It's purely political, purely for show.
Apparently it';s OK when Obama does it, but not when Bush did it. At least it is with the liberal press.
The question, of course, is WHY is Obama doing this? WHY did Bush do it? There's no reason for it, other than for show, as the President doesn't have any overriding NEED to be there. We stopped having Warrior Kings a long time ago. That's what Generals are for. Obama, being inn Campaign mode, saw fit to risk an international flight simply for reasons of heightening his "warrior" image. He shouldn't be there. He should be back in Washington, doing his job!
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Mark Knoller bitterly
Submitted by SolvingADream on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 2:08pm.
Mark Knoller bitterly complained, "It was professionally embarrassing to be clueless...And from now on when I report that the president is at his ranch, neither you nor I will be sure of it."
Barry O has a ranch? What the hell does he do on this ranch? Metrosexuals don't do ranches, unless they are planting stuff to offset for carbon credits.
Sounds like Knoller
Submitted by Radical1979 on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 2:13pm.
Is clueless regardless of his accuracy in reporting.