Scotty WH Daily Press Briefing on NOW (it's now 12:17est)

[soothsayer]

I'm at www.whitehouse.gov

Snuck it on again with no notice!

[soothsayer]

1. Al Hubbard coming on now to talk about economy, followed

by questions for him, and then scotty to come back up for questions

[coffeenap]

2. Thanks for the heads-up--I'm there now. nt

[soothsayer]

26. q. what's the rationale for not telling american people whether

secret prisons exist? think to confirm or deny would help the enemy?

A. american people know we must use all tools necessary to fight war on terror, we act in ways consistent of laws, etc

[stop the bleeding]

3. Snotty is up now - issue popcorn

[liveoaktx]

40. Audio (MP3) of the questions part

Ignore the fact that this audio says November, I'll fix it later

[soothsayer]

4. scott back. Q. at rose garden today, did prez know about marines?

yes he was briefed last night, we're so saddened, grateful, blah.

followup Q--so does this undercut your good news on the economy?

A. well our thoughts and prayers, grateful for sacrifice, blah blah. Economy is another issue, economy showing sustained expansion, etc.

follow-up-do you think the pretzeldent is getting the credit he deserves lince this loss of life is taking the headlines? does it overshadow him?

A. the economy is important priority, iraq is too, war on terror, clear plan for achieving mission, blah blah

[stop the bleeding]

6. stay focused on the economy - forget about the deaths in Iraq

typical


"Big Dick in the Sky Keeps on Spinning"

Ripped off of 70's or 80's rock song.


Now on the prisons - so called allegations - back to war on terror

[ContraBass Black]

35. It used to be, "Stay focused on Iraq, forget about the economy"

I don't think I like either.

[soothsayer]

5. q. people don't seem excited about this economic news

a. people are spending more, confidence up, that's more important than polls

[stop the bleeding]

7. keep the updates going for the people that are not listening to this

your doing a good job.

[soothsayer]

8. q. rice going to romania with secret cia prisons. A. allegations

of secret prisons, not going to talk about intelligence matters. war on terror, prez will act to protect us consistent with our laws and obligatiions. rice will respond to sec. straw in due course. issues are difficult because we are facing a different enemy who doesn't follow laws, wear uniforms, blah, take fight to the terrorist, blah blah

[stop the bleeding]

10. please keep updating have to goto a meeting for work - bummer

[Thorandmjolnir]

12. What do I need to watch it?

I cant seem to watch it from the white house link?

[sabra]

13. c-span3 too

http://c-span.org/watch/cspan3_wm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS3

[sabra]

9. Scotty: the terrarists have failed every step of the way

blah blah

[soothsayer]

11. Q. prez gave what was billed as a major speech this week, does

the marines being blown up in big numbers make it a harder sell that the war is working.

A. the stakes are high in iraq, we are in a war on terrror, terrorists with no regard to innocent life, iraqis are getting ready to vote in 2 weeks, terrorists will try to derail but they've failed every time, and this will inspire the M.E. for generations to come, that;s why prez saying we have a plan for victory, most americans want to see troops succeed and come home, blah.

[Thorandmjolnir]

16. For once I would like for someone

to ask if the US soldiers in Iraq are considered "Innocent life"?

I can understand calling people that blow up markets for terrorists, but when they attack soldiers?

[stop the bleeding]

31. welcome to DU - big fan of CSC? or Ivan Basso?

[Thorandmjolnir]

38. Yep

You're the first one to get the reference

[sabra]

14. Scotty gets his gold sticker: "September the 11th...."

[soothsayer]

15. scotty: prez said this is going to be along war, we are engaged

in struggle against radical ideology, lessons of sept 11, this will help change whole middle east, important progress being made, always grateful to men and women and their families, he hugs them and consoles them and meets time and time again, but there will be tough days ahead, yesterday was a tough day but they are sacrificing for peace for years to come

[soothsayer]

17. q. you keep framing as war on terror, even prezzy said that

about the jihadists, but why do you keep stressing it's about war on terror. it's about the sunnis and others...

a. it's about hte broader war on terror. iraq will inspire the rest of hte M.E. the jihadist are teh smallest group but the most lethal, targeting women and children

[sabra]

18. wow, reporter asks tough question regarding "WOT"

indicating, that the "jihadists" is just a small component in Iraq...

[soothsayer]

19. q. what is prez view on capital punishment? A. he strongly supports

it as a deterrent, supporst dna initiative to make sure innocent are blah blah.

Q> is prez going to army navy game?

A. will watch on tv

[sabra]

20. stupid question from report re: Army Navy game...

[sabra]

21. Loony Lester bringing up the attack on Christmas...

[soothsayer]

22. les---xmas party for media now a Holiday Reception---given

the recent statement by hastert re: xmas, why did the WH eliminate christmas?

A. i don't think we did that

Q. it says holiday not xmas

A. yesterday he did the national xmas tree

Q. it wasn't aholiday tree?

A. no

[soothsayer]

23. les--why did prez leave israel out of remarks yesterday in annapolis

A. he didn't mention every country, les

[sabra]

24. Loony Lester: why didn't * mention Israel in Annapolis speech?

:wtf:

[soothsayer]

25. q. prez is going to NC to talk of economy, there's a disconnect

between your news and the way americans feel, will he talk about it more?

A. yes, and will keep economy growing, help with afffordable and accessible health care, medicare is going into effect, seniors to realize significant savings on their drugs (ha!), additional reforms needed for small biz to pool resources, etc. and continue to help job training for eductated workforce

[soothsayer]

27. but why don't you tell americans whether there are secret prisons?

i'm not going to confirm or deny. americans understand importance of war on terror, and how important not to talk about intelligence.

[soothsayer]

28. q. so when you say all available tools, do you mean torture?

a. we don't condone torture, we tell countries not to do it, we liberate countries like iraq

q. it's still not clear the way you say it when you say using all available tools, there is no clear definition of torture

a. there's laws onthe books, treaty obligations, and we follwow them

q. but we ask you specific things to see if they are or aren't torture

a. not going to get into intelligence mattters

[soothsayer]

29. is prez going to talk about innovative energy stuff next year?

a. yeah, we've passed some legislation, congress should pass anwar drilling,

BYE

[SCDem]

36. Ok since when is drilling in ANWAR innovative?????

I guess that's more of the Republican double speak

[soothsayer]

30. And he's gone!

[stop the bleeding]

32. thank you n/t

[Neil Lisst]

33. cartoons on Scott ...

I try to watch all his press conferences, but they are getting more and more difficult to catch. He's intolerable. If he had any backbone, he'd quit and do so because he was lied to by the WH.

[halobeam]

34. thanks for keeping us up to date on this.....

I just got back and refreshed the page, and you kept up with it until the end!...

much appreciation!

[soothsayer]

37. Aww shucks---I feel for the cube rats

Now treat yourself and go look at this hysterical video of * and blair cussing each other out (warning: salty language)

Short and silly but oh-so-well-done
http://www.yourdailymedia.com/media/1133006322

[Gabi Hayes]

39. har.....deserves its own thread. you can barely tell with the chimp

that it's even edited at all!

OK, that's an exaggeration, but not by much

what a cretinous mass

some of those looks are priceless!

[soothsayer]

41. Post a new thread! I tried one early this morn with few takers