WH plan for tomorrrow--insulate Bush.

[rodeodance]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/20051027/ts_latimes/whitehouseplanstodeflect;_ylt=AoScxxlVZFc2FQO7UL2lqNKs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3b2NibDltBHNlYwM3MTY-
White House Plans to Deflect

By Doyle McManus, Warren Vieth and Mary Curtius Times Staff Writers
Thu Oct 27, 7:55 AM ET

.......

Some key elements of the post-investigation game plan have emerged, GOP advisors said:

• Any indicted White House officials would immediately step down, and Bush would quickly name their successors. If Rove is indicted, more than one person might take over his many responsibilities.

• The president and other White House officials would limit their public comments on the case. Outside interest groups and allies would do most of the talking.

• Whenever possible, Bush and other administration officials would try to change the subject. Among the issues the president plans to put atop his new agenda are spending restraint, tax changes and immigration. In addition, Bush's foreign policy advisors have discussed launching a more visible presidential effort to prod
Israel and the Palestinians toward peace, one official said.

• The White House would try to insulate Bush from the scandal allegations. Officials would argue that the president has not been accused of any direct involvement in the leaking of information in the CIA case or subsequent efforts to minimize the political damage. Although it is not yet clear who would coordinate the defense, several advisors said they expected
Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman would be heavily involved. One official said former Cheney aide Mary Matalin was another likely participant. Neither Mehlman nor Matalin could be reached for comment........

[wtmusic]

1. "Change the subject" ain't gonna fly this time

May the Idiot King still be trying to change the subject at his war crimes trial.

[Tom Joad]

2. Maybe he will go in those bunkers like he did on 9/11

And then he can finish "My Pet Goat"!
He would have finished it on his August vacation, but that pesky Cindy Sheehan was quite a pain in the ass.

[shaniqua6392]

6. I think Cindy ruined the Crawford atmosphere for poor Georgie.

I noticed he has not returned there since then!! How funny.

[WhiteTara]

19. I heard one of her plans was to

go to Crawford for Thanksgiving

[Catfight]

3. Mission Accomplished! nt

[wishlist]

4. Dodging questions and changing the subject par for the course already

No surprise that diversion will be one of their primary damage control tactics but this still made me smile:

"Whenever possible, Bush and other administration officials would try to change the subject"

[Moochy]

5. Have you all seen the Lincoln Bedroom?

Whenever possible, Bush and other administration officials would try to change the subject.

:rofl:

[rodeodance]

11. you got me.

[Lancer]

7. KO mentioned *'s agenda for Friday includes -- you guessed it --

another "major speech" on terra and the war in Iraq.

[rodeodance]

10. yes, i heard that. a press conference that means.

[jedr]

8. Bird flu...run for your lives!!!!!!

We don't have time for silly investigations....It's bird flu...run!!!! (I know the bird flu is a true concern, but they're using it like they used to use terror levels)

[ThoughtCriminal]

9. "Changing the subject" is a loser

There isn't a single issue that he has a popular position on these days - only ones where he's still above 40%. And the more he talks about them, the less popular it becomes (ie: Social Security).

[Birthmark]

12. Everyone has a plan...until they get hit.

And Bush might get harder than he thinks. Especially if this story - An angry President Bush rebuked chief political guru Karl Rove two years ago for his role in the Valerie Plame affair - is true! http://nydailynews.com/front/story/357107p-304312c.html

[rodeodance]

13. wonder if Cheney put a call into Rush and Fox?--

Outside interest groups and allies would do most of the talking.

[rodeodance]

14. "Changing the subject will not work," said David Gergen,

.....The White House doesn't plan to attack Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor in the
CIA leak investigation — at least not directly, several GOP officials said. Instead, expect Bush to unveil a flurry of proposals on subjects from immigration and tax reform to Arab-Israeli peace talks.

"We've got a lot of work to do, and so we don't have a lot of time to sit back and think about" possible indictments, Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said Wednesday, reflecting the strategy. "We're focusing on what the American people care most about, and that is winning the war on terrorism, succeeding in
Iraq, addressing high energy prices … and helping the people in the Gulf Coast region recover and rebuild."

Republicans outside the White House are pleading with Bush to act quickly and decisively if aides are indicted. "What is of most concern is that the president handle it properly — that he ask to step down; that he not vacillate, not equivocate; that he be decisive," said Rep. Christopher Shays (news, bio, voting record) (R-Conn.), a leading Republican moderate.

"Changing the subject will not work," said David Gergen, a former aide to Presidents Reagan and Clinton. "Giving more speeches about Iraq or the state of the economy doesn't have the weight that action does…. It's dangerous for the country to have a disabled president for three years, and we're getting close to seeing that happen. I worry that they are in denial."

[rodeodance]

15. "I worry that they are in denial."---he may be right.

[rodeodance]

16. says only 50% of the public even recognize Rove's name. geech!

...So far, the probe has attracted relatively little attention from the public. One recent poll found that 50% of those surveyed recognized Rove's name; NBC's "Today" show ran a three-minute primer on the case Wednesday morning called "Leak Investigation for Dummies."

[Demeter]

17. Do They Still Have That Cryogenic Storage Out in California?

Bush could try to go for that---hide out until Hell freezes over or people forget about him.

[emulatorloo]

18. Ken Mehlman and Mary Matalin

<snip>

Although it is not yet clear who would coordinate the defense, several advisors said they expected Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman would be heavily involved. One official said former Cheney aide Mary Matalin was another likely participant. Neither Mehlman nor Matalin could be reached for comment.

<snip>

Won't that be fun . . . gonna get down and dirty.