Is this "press" conference tonight totally choreographed?

[Lex]

Last time this happened, it was clear that *'s favorite reporters were allowed in the room (no one else) and the questions were cleared ahead of time.

Any remember that? Isn't that what happened last time we had one of these dog-and-pony shows that * likes to call a "press conference"?

Any reason to believe this one tonight is going to any less scripted?

[hippiegranny]

1. yes

they will begin the evening with don quixote and for the finale, swan lake.

the pinhead doesn't do off the cuff, he will be well rehearsed in answers to questions vetted well in advance. they just need to trot him out so he can pretend he gives a shit about all the death and chaos in eye-rack. which of course will all be blamed on the terra-ists.

[stellanoir]

2. as well as the. . .

Bolshei ballet. . .

or Isadora Duncan. . .

or Firedance. . .

or the Third Reich. . .

or the North Korean Army. . .

swoon

[Rufus T. Firefly]

3. If Helen Thomas is there, and is called on,

then I'd say at least THAT question is not scripted. But if she's not there, I'd be wary of the whole thing.

[Lex]

5. No way Helen Thomas is allowed in the room!

I think * has control over which reporters are even in the room.

BTW, a friend of mine who was a newspaper editor his whole career swears that * will "meltdown" tonight in some way.

[displacedtexan]

4. They do have assigned seats AGAIN!

What crap!

[mtnester]

6. All it would take is just ONE

reporter to deviate, not "fall in line" and totally screw up Bush* strategy...get him flustered, say something wrong or even worse - BAD or FOUL or INSULTING, then the rest of the pack maybe, just MAYBE, smells blood in the water and turns on him like a pack of wild wolves.

I can dream...right?

[Lex]

9. Ha! It would be great if just one reporter woke up

and decided that they loved his/her country enough to ask an unscripted question of *.

Even if they lost their jobs. I would do it. Soldiers are dying in Iraq and 3000 died on 9/11, surely ONE of the reporters loves their country more than their job.

[Eurobabe]

10. think you meant "strategery"

:D

[Katherine2]

12. This guy at work

said that this morning George Stephanapoulos said that the press is (finally) getting tired of being jerked around by Bush, and they're planning on asking him a string of questions, as one reporter will ask something, and the next one will follow up, etc. I'll believe it when I see it. I hope it happens, and I can't wait to see what the Daily Show has to say about it.

[mtnester]

13. From Steph's mouth

to God's ears

Can I tell you I have been walking around with my fingers crossed, saying over and over "please please just one hard unscripted, unexpected question, just ONE"

[Skittles]

16. LOL

the press has been bending over for Dubya since before the election and NOW they're getting tired of being jerked around? F***ing morons.

[tom_paine]

7. Yes, as choroegraphed as a Brezhnev "Press Conference" circa 1978

Designed to simulate a Free Press that no longer exists.

Nothing more, nothing less.

[skeptic9]

8. John Dean says, not only are the "press conferences" scripted,

... Dubya's "Cabinet meetings" are scripted! There's an agenda with a name and a topic next to each item. Dubya's usual role is to appear thoughtful and nod wisely. After each person on the agenda has had his turn, the meeting ends, usually with very minimal discussion.

"Press conferences" usually are held in a tiny briefing room that used to house a small swimming pool. Whenever, as tonight, a conference is scheduled for the much more spacious East Room, the WH Communications Office becomes much more strict about scripting. Dubya will know in advance not only who comes next but what he or she was intructed to "ask".

This comes from the "Obsessive Secrecy" chapter of Dean's new book, "Worse than Watergate".

[mark11727]

11. Leni Riefenstahl died too soon...

[oasis]

14. Bush will call on trusted Fox correspondent Jim Angle to offer a change of

focus question.

April will end the session by asking Bush how his faith has helped him through these troubled times.

[RememberWellstone]

15. Sort of..

Cheney will have his hand up Chimp's ass..moving his lips. That is pretty much choreographed.