Having just watched the television news coverage of the Gonzales grilling, it seems that public opinion may stay neutral. Remembering who we are dealing with, it seems possible that this may have all been thought through way in advance.
There is no longer even the impression of a free and independent press in America. The White House has a clear understanding of the voters and judged that the news of Curious George's snooping would be harmful if known before the election. So they stepped on the New York Times until this much more appropriate time. Karl Rove knows an appropriate time when he sees it.
Politicizing, public relations and personal attacks against opponents are where the White House staff shines but this is also the most secretive bunch to ever occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Below the fold I do a little speculating as to why Bush didn't play the National Security card to stop the newspaper from publishing the information about domestic spying and try to suppress the story until after this November election.
What we do know is the fact that the top staff of the
New York Times went to the Oval office to ask George W. Bush for permission to tell America the truth. They explained the fact to Bush that they had no choice but to publish the
damming story that they had been withholding for over a year because
James Risen was going to publish the story in a book and they couldn't afford to be scooped.
It just isn't like Bush to at least try to shut them down behind closed doors. It is surprising that no attempt to place a gag order on the New York Times and Simon & Schuster (the publisher of State of War: The Secret History of the C.I.A. and the Bush Administration) and suppress the information that was came out on December 16, 2005.
Bush was quick to tell the public that the New York Times jeopardized national security by revealing that he authorized wiretaps on U.S. citizens after September 11. Why didn't his staff take that argument to court?
This isn't Nixon's Supreme Court. There probably would not be a ruling similar to the Pentagon Papers. There could have been a fast ruling that disclosure of the information would give the enemy the upper hand and in the interest of national security both the news story and book would be withheld.
Instead of suppression the people got a very well coordinated public relations campaign designed to sell Bush's domestic spying program. Taxpayer dollars were spent on pamphlets explaining the White House version of Bush's rights to a public that should be worried about their own rights. A general who is suppose to be a spook, takes the podium and delivers a very well rehearsed speech and now we have Gonzales to tear apart while most Americans will get a two minute watered down report.
Why didn't the Bush administration try to bury this in secret court proceedings? Perhaps, because Bush's mastermind, Karl Rove saw this as opportunity to change the national focus from a weak and incompetent president to a powerful leader trying to protect the people!
To some voters in this strongly divided nation, this all looks like liberal Democrats complaining about Bush's actions to protect the nation. For many we are just back to the Republican spin that they are strong on national security and the Democrats are trying to give the terrorist the upper hand.
These immoral White House strategists aren't that smart. They just understand the power of fear. The White House has jumped on every opportunity to create fear since 9/11 to cover up the agenda of the president and it has been working so far when you consider how many Americans have yet to see through George W. Bush.
It is not so hard to understand the fact that around half of the American public agree with the use of wiretaps without warrants. Americans go home after a hard day's work and watch news shows designed to scare them senseless. After dinner, they sit down to T.V. shows like 24 that depicts a nation on the verge of the next terrorist attack. People don't want to be ignorant; they just don't have the time to find out what is going on.
There is also the fact that illegal surveillance is overshadowing pertinent issues. The largest deficit in our history, the billions of dollars that is just disappearing in Iraq, the inability to support the people in New Orleans and White House association with Jack Abramoff are things they would love to see fade away while the nation debates the president's right to listen to phone calls.
If this play works out for the White House and strengthens Bush it will also make other impeachable offenses that have already disappeared down the MSM memory hole fade even more as Bush is looked at as the great protector. The lies that Bush and his entire staff have told to get us into a war in the first place are no longer discussed. The torture that will always make us the enemy of Islam had to be the stupidest thing ever endorsed by a president in history. The rendition of prisoners and the C.I A. secret prisons all over the world are just gone from the American conscience. Libby's indictment went unoticed and Valerie Plame is almost forgotten.
That's the real drawback. How much will this issue displace so many other issues? As the talking heads and the water cooler discussions go here, the inaction on domestic issues that really matter are taking a back seat. As Bush's ratings go back up, what new international SNAFU will he unleash?
The Bush administration often called incompetent has always been way ahead of the game in the political arena. Even the incompetence can be viewed as a political strategy as it tends to justify the tax cuts, enhancing the "starve the beast" mentality. How many taxpayers claimed that Katrina or the overcomplicated Medicaid prescription plan is proof that giving money to the government is a waste of time?
Is this all just a huge gamble by people desperate to hold on to power because they know losing a majority in November will be their undoing or did they see this as coming out in their favor? Or a strategy to keep Americans fearful while grabbing more power as the worse case scenario under a Republican controlled congress would be a few new laws or another level of oversight.
The story broke and is moving through every phase of investigation as quickly as possible. With the upcoming election the advantage of taking swift action is clear. The Republicans who have and want to keep control had to address an affront to their own power but they won't rock the boat. They will be holding Bush's coattail on national security come November.
There is a very negative possible outcome of the Senate NSA surveillance investigation. The hearing may end with a Republican controlled committee deciding that new rules must be enforced but no crime was committed. It may go differently but it may just end up being Bush's best cover with little or no penalty.
Focusing on the facts of the case and judging this to be an impeachable offense is not where the press is going to take this hearing. Even a Wingnut watching CSPAN today might be asking questions after watching Abu's bobbing and weaving but they will tune into talking heads for misinformation.
The first television news cycle has already passed and the story may sound good to us but the coverage was misleading to a busy American. Mention was given to Senator Feingold's accusation but Gonzales got the last word on all of the news reports I've seen. How could they pass up Senator Leahy's sarcastic remark.
"Of course I'm sorry Mr. attorney General I forgot, you can't answer any of the questions that might be relevant to this."
If the MSM plays along with the White House spin and they will, Bush may begin to look like a strong protector of the American public once again.