It is official: the "all-powerful" Stephanopolous: IRAQ STABILIZED!!!

[LittleApple81]

Just said it on his program "This Week" on ABC. I just could not believe it. And Sam Donaldson (the oly "liberal" in his panel) did not jump on him. I don't expect Cokie Roberts or George Will to say anything... but Donaldson?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

1. What ever happened to Stephanopolous anyway? I never watch

much TV. Does he actually openly shill for the Repubs now, or just represent their views in a "subtle" way? What happened to him?

[librechik]

2. Donaldson a liberal?

how far we have sunk

[LittleApple81]

5. Isn't it sad? But compared to Cokie and George Will....

[Sparkly]

3. Maybe he could fax the Iraqi citizens and let them know.

[teach1st]

4. That's all it takes..

..tell the lie: "Iraq is stabilized." If you tell it, they'll believe it.

A conservative type tried to tell me that last night.

Oh well. Let's bring our troops home if Iraq is stabilized.

[Selwynn]

13. They won't believe it when 100 US troops are killed next month

If its stabilized, then we shouldn't be seeing kidnappings or executions or dead US soldiers or Iraqis next month. To me, even if the media tries to push a wishful thinking agenda, if the actually situation on the ground doesn't back that up, then it will be no different than Bush proclaiming "mission accomplished" without any grounding in reality.

[TexasSissy]

6. He needs to tell those six guys who are about to be beheaded. I'm sure

they'll be glad to hear the news.

[LittleApple81]

7. And then he says 22 US soldiers have died during the last two weeks...

How can he reconcile this with his stupid statement about Iraq stabilization????
HOW CAN THESE PEOPLE LIVE WITH THEMSELVES? IS MONEY AND HAVING YOUR STUPID FACE ON TV WORTH SELLING YOUR SOUL?

[DoYouEverWonder]

8. Not according to Robert Fisk

and Fisk has been there since the invasion.

He is a much more credible source of info about Iraq, than any of these talking airheads.

[truth2power]

9. Maybe Steph should listen to Robt.Fisk

on Pacifica radio last week.

http://www.kpfa.org/cgi-bin/gen-mpegurl.m3u?server=209 ....

Fisk describes traveling to Najaf and back:

"So what I realized -- I did a 350 mile round trip by road and I don't carry security with me, I had one Shiite cleric in my car -- was that the central government authority in Baghdad controls only Baghdad -- just like Afghanistan, where Karzai controls only Kabul. So the same applied here. The central government which was set up and controlled by the U.S. controls only Baghdad. We know that the cities of Aquba, Samarra, Ramadi, Fallujah in the Sunni areas, and indeed Mahmoudiyah, are outside government control. Now I learned that 70-100 miles south of Baghdad, by traveling there and seeing with my own eyes, is outside government control. Alas, our journalists, with one or two exceptions (I'm not the only one who's traveling) prefer to stay in the hotels, and they talk about the new Iraq, and they go to press conferences in carefully concealed areas of Baghdad where American-appointed officials say things are getting better."

Anyone who hasn't heard this interview should listen. Fisk tells it like it is.

[rucky]

10. Translation: "Iraq coverage just doesn't bring in the ratings it used to"

[Selwynn]

16. That's more the truth than even liberal/conservative bias.

What people seem to not get here is that the bias of individual media persons is not the biggest driving factor shaping news most of the time. Clearly FOX is an exception to that. The biggest driving factor shaping the message of the media is ratings - what will make their corporate owners a lot of money. If criticizing the war and continuing to cover it intensely would make them a lot of money, they would do it. When it doesn't, they wont.

To be sure, the agenda of the corporations that own the media skews reporting. And of course, the very fact that human beings are doing the reporting means that it will never be totally without bias. But its a huge oversimplification when we act like the number one motivation is to push a conservative (or liberal) agenda. The number one motivation of corporate media is to make money. You make money by getting ratings and selling advertising. If they felt that the public overwhelmingly wanted to keep hearing negative commentary on the occupation, they would do it more often. If they feel that the public is getting burned out on the coverage, or losing interest, then they'll move to other ways to grab the ratings.

I'm not saying there is no media bias. I'm just saying don't forget that the number one agenda of corporate media is to make money by grabbing ratings. Everything else is subordinated to that goal. If there was a major shift of public thinking to the left, the media would shift a bit too. People who talked about the "liberal" media under Clinton weren't entirely inaccurate. There was a bit of a shift in the media - the popularity of Clinton in the late 90s meant the media shifted slightly to attract a country that was moving more moderate. With the rise of Bush to power, for a while he enjoyed insane popularity numbers and the media shifted slight back that direction to stay with what was popular and would get ratings. Now that Bush's popularity is falling the media has recently started shifting back a little bit. I said a little bit. Just a little. Not always. Not in the case mentioned here. But on the whole there is a trend.

The media follows the public more than it stays committed to one kind of political bias over another. Again, the exception is always FOX - but see, FOX isn't a media outlet, its a propaganda piece for a political party. Their aim is different, the primary aim is not actually to make money unlike most corporate media. Their primary aim is to assist the RNC, as was freely admitted by its CEO/owner.

[Tosca]

11. Hey Georgie!!

Why not visit Iraq and take a leisurely stroll down Main St, Baghdad?

Instead of sitting in your whore seat and spouting off ridiculous statements.

[Catfight]

12. Iraq is probably stabilized, I suppose the barometer would be

that American soldiers will not longer be killed, right? So we should be seeing a parade on TV this week to divert attention from the DNC, right? When can I get a plane ticket to go see the new stabilized Iraqi? I'd like to take a tour of all the cool graveyards and buildings we strategically bombed. I'd also like to take a tour of Abu Garib and maybe see a reenactments of a torture chamber for my American pleasure, while eating a sandwich made by a local deli. I guess this means that since Iraq is stabilized we shouldn't really have any worries about terrorist threats in America, right? This should also mean that Osama isn't really a threat, right? So am I going to see 95 cent oil again now that Iraq is stabilized?

A stable Iraq, an unstable American president.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

14. He's Not The Sharpest Knife In The Drawer...

I don't like George Will's politics but he's a bright guy...

[PsN2Wind]

15. He'll soon be doing

"man on the street" interviews in Baghdad, in the "green zone", surrounded by "contractors".

[LibertyorDeath]

17. AAAAAAHHHHHHH LOL

TOO Funny.

How can he say it with a straight face.

Must be Botox Lots & Lots of Botox

IRAQ STABILIZED HAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

[LibertyorDeath]

18. Saddam's People are Winning the War

The Crazy Canadian (25 posts) Sun Jul-25-04 12:07 PM
Original message
Saddam's People are Winning the War



http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0723-08.htm

Published on Friday, July 23, 2004 by Tribune Media Services
Saddam's People are Winning the War
by Scott Ritter

The battle for Iraq's sovereign future is a battle for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. As things stand, it appears that victory will go to the side most in tune with the reality of the Iraqi society of today: the leaders of the anti-U.S. resistance.

Iyad Allawi's government was recently installed by the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) to counter a Baathist nationalism that ceased to exist nearly a decade ago.

In the aftermath of the first Gulf War, Saddam Hussein's regime shifted toward an amalgam of Islamic fundamentalism, tribalism and nationalism that more accurately reflected the political reality of Iraq.

Thanks to his meticulous planning and foresight, Saddam's lieutenants are now running the Iraqi resistance, including the Islamist groups.

more.....

[salin]

19. more US troop deaths this month than last

big incidents daily.... = stabilized? I think these guys have morphed DC into Disney's fantasy land.

[SoCalDem]

20. Gee only FORTY FIVE killed from 7-1 to 7-21..(more than BEFORE)

the handover..

[mtnester]

21. Georgie - small man

small disease

I always believed he was a spy planted, just my own paranoia

[Disturbed]

23. Ratings and Media Whores

That sums it up.

[KeepItReal]

24. I watched "The War Room" on IFC...He *used* to be one of the good guys...

"The War Room" documentary is about George Stephanopoulos and James Carville and how they helped our last Democratically-elected President pull off the victory in '92.

It was a really nice film. I was really impressed with the level of intensity and determination these guys, especially Mr. Carville, brought to President (then Gov.) Clinton's campaign. Why do I always get the feeling that Ms. Donna "I-am-a-friend-of-Karl-Rove-now" Brazile and the rest of that campaign didn't have that same kinda fire and determination for Al Gore??

[TexasBushwhacker]

28. Georgie Boy will go GOP

Yeah, at one point in "The War Room" George was thanking Clinton over the phone and told him "This is the best thing I've ever gotten to do." or something to that effect. Then he turned around and wrote "All Too Human".

His wife, Alexandra Wentworth, dropped something about "being a future first lady" when she was on The Weakest Link a couple of years ago. Her mother was Nancy Reagan's social secretary. Remember the "Schmoopie Girl" on Seinfeld? That's Ali! She did some Clinton skit on Jay Leno's show too. Here's a couple of screen caps of Mrs. Stephanopoulos. NICE!

[Jacobin]

22. Let's all chip in for an all expenses paid vacation to Beautiful Iraq

for George Stephanapolous, courtesy of DU.

I suggest he land in Baghdad aboard a military plane, tour Sadr City in a convertible, and then take a leisurely drive through the countryside.

Highlights will include two nights as guests of grateful Iraqis in Falluja.

His remains will be shipped back to Dover AFB, where he will land at night with no cameras allowed.

(Disclaimer: If he's kidnapped, DU takes no responsibility to raise his ransom)

[goddess40]

25. 51

As of July 24 we have had 51 of our troops killed in Iraq. Stable? I think not.

[Jacobin]

26. Two a day killed on average

LOTS more maimed for life.

Not to mention civilians on both sides.

So damn sad.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

27. What did he actually say?

Precisely? Just wondering.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

29. Just as stabilized as Afghanistan, eh, Georgie?...

How did this guy ever help the Clinton organization win the White House?

[bacchant]

30. My wife: George S is kind of cute.

Me: Fuck that little rodent!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

31. He's been assimilated.

George Staphylococcus is now Borg. He's been hanging out with Novakula and the other whores for way too long.

[struggle4progress]

32. What a useless POS:

Heavy Clashes in Iraq; Hostage Crisis Spirals
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[Disturbed]

33. Hey! Trust our Pres. He is an honorable man.

"We ended the rule of one of history's worst tyrants, and in doing so we not only freed the American people, we made our own people more secure."

—Bush, on regime change in the United States
Source: Federal Document Clearinghouse

* Yes, he freed the American people. He besowed the Patriot Acts on us. We are Patriots, right?