NYT: Ari Fleischer's "sorry volume" a continuation of BushCo spin

[kskiska]

After Years of Taking Heat, Spokesman Takes Potshots
By MICHIKO KAKUTANI

TAKING HEAT
The President, the Press and My Years in the White House
By Ari Fleischer

(snip)

Full of excerpts from Mr. Fleischer's often contentious exchanges with members of the press, it is essentially a collection of talking points hastily pasted together with large slatherings of the vitriol and exasperation the author seems to have accumulated during his years as a "piñata," his word for how he sometimes felt in the White House briefing room. In short, it's an extended exercise in Mr. Fleischer's spinning his own earlier spin.

Some books by former White House insiders (from Donald T. Regan's unsettling account of the Reagan White House to Ray Price's sympathetic but revealing portrait of Richard M. Nixon) have fleshed out our understanding of individual presidents and the office they held. This sorry volume, in contrast, remains so focused on the author's adversarial relationship with the press, and so intent on promoting a positive image of the administration, that it will only ratify White House reporters' complaints that Mr. Fleischer was a "tight-lipped and secretive" press secretary.

Unlike Marlin Fitzwater's engaging 1995 memoir, "Call the Briefing!," which detailed his years as chief spokesman for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, this book does not provide any new insights into the workings of the current White House. It does not present compelling portraits of cabinet members or members of the White House supporting cast. And it does not shed new light on the president or his methods of governance.

Instead, the book simply tries to reinforce the presidential "persona" once outlined by the political adviser Karl Rove in a campaign brief: a "Strong Leader" with a penchant for "Bold Action" and "Big Ideas." On 9/11, Mr. Fleischer reports, Mr. Bush, "under inconceivable pressure," maintained "his composure and sent an image of calm to the nation." He also tells us that Mr. Bush is "one of the most uplifting, personnel-oriented, tough, demanding, humorous bosses you'll ever find." Mr. Fleischer also stays on message when it comes to griping about the media, echoing other administration members' frequently repeated accusations that the press is guilty of negativity, liberal bias and an obsession with conflict. In presenting his complaints about the media, Mr. Fleischer is highly selective in his citation of examples, often ignoring facts that might undermine his thesis or underscore the flip side of his assertions.



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http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/01/books/01kaku.html?

[imenja]

1. naturally he's going to support Bush

It's silly to expect otherwise. If he wanted to write an honestly reflective memoir, he should have waited until Bush was out of office.
I have to say Fleisher is the best press secretary I've seen in my lifetime, that is in terms of the interests of the administration, not the American public. He's very persuasive in making arguments. If I didn't know better, I'd have believed he was telling the truth. He was so effective is spinning lies it was scary.

[Skittles]

3. he was good at keeping the same expressionless face

no matter what the circumstances

[AuntiBush]

2. Fleischer - He can kiss off, too!

I have no respect for him. He's just like the rest of them.